Football: Falcons Win Streak Screeches to Halt in 40-7 Loss

Cranston West was stunned on its home turf on Saturday night, as the Rebels blew out the Falcons 40-7. The offensive line for the Falcons could not create consistent holes and Cranston West struggled to get its usually potent running attack going. And on the other side, the normally stout Falcon defensive line was steamrolled for over 300 yards rushing, while South Kingstown lit up the scoreboard.

Both teams punted on their opening possessions and South Kingstown was stopped on 4th down deep in Falcon territory.

Cranston West got a 37 yard pass play, but fumbled on the ensuing play, giving the Rebels the ball at midfield.The Rebels got a first down and then faced a 3rd and 8 on the next set of downs. Sean Conley found a big seam and ran it in for 40 yard touchdown, giving South Kingstown a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Cranston West turned it over again on its next possession. Bryan Stetson was stripped by Garrett O'Dowd who recovered at the Falcon 45 yard line.

Nick Neil and Sean Conley got the bulk of the carries on the drive, and Conley found another big hole and scored from 31 yards out. Conley finished with 163 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Rebels, and the South Kingstown jumped out to a 13-0 lead.

The Falcons started a nice drive on their next possession but stalled near midfield. They were forced to punt, but were able to pin the Rebels back to their own 14 yard line.

The Rebels put together a 12-play drive spanning six-and-a-half minutes to give themselves a three touchdown lead going into halftime. Sean Conley got the bulk of the carries on the drive, on which the Rebels converted on four third downs. Nick Neil capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, but was set up by a 38-yard pass play from John Castore to tight end Chase Almond. The Rebels converted on the two-point conversion and took a commanding 21-0 lead into halftime on the road.

Similar to the first half, both teams were forced to punt on their first possessions. The Falcons strung together a a set of solid of plays on their second possession, as Matt Rousseau found Xavier Ferland-Haroun who collaborated on a 41 yard post route, bringing the Falcons down to the 9 yard line. But the drive would have a fate similar to that of the Falcons' winning streak, as the drive came to a screeching halt. Cranston West was sacked twice and turned it over on downs. 

The Falcons forced a 3 and out and got good field position at the South Kingstown 40 yard line. Bryan Stetson took over from there, gaining 22 yards on the ground and grabbing an 18 yard touchdown pass from Matt Rousseau. The extra point was good and the Falcons had made it a game at 21-7 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Rebel running backs would take over after the score from Stetson. Garrett O'Dowd had forty yards rushing on the next drive and capped it off with a 9 yard touchdown, giving South Kingstown a 27-7 lead with eleven minutes to play. But the big play was on 3rd and 15, when, while overcoming a holding penalty, Sean Conley found a seam and ran for 35 yards down to the Falcon 7 yard line. 

South Kingstown literally ran away with it from there, as Garrett O'Dowd and Nick Cruz shared the ball-carrying responsibilities, while leading two more scoring drives, both of which were capped off by Cruz. The Buzzer sounded and the Falcons were upset 40-7 at home by South Kingstown.

O'Dowd finished with 156 yards rushing to go along with his forced fumble, in a game in which he switched from quarterback to running back.

"He spelled Nick [Neil] and he looked good out there," Rebels Coach Eric Anderson commented after the game.

"I thought we had a great team effort tonight. Outstanding team football," Coach Anderson said, commenting on the game as a whole.

A huge turning point in the game was the long, methodical touchdown drive that the Rebels put together going into halftime.

"We closed out the half real well. We let the clock tick down and punched one in before the half, so they didn't have the opportunity to score before the half. And the execution was outstanding," Anderson said.

South Kingstown picks up its first win of the season, while Cranston West suffers its first loss, falling to 3-1 on the season.

The Falcons will look to get back on track next week against St. Raphael.