Freshman Football: Thunderbolts Squash Skippers with Ground Game

On Friday afternoon at Cranston Stadium, the Skippers from North Kingstown matched up against the Cranston East Thunderbolts in the state semifinals. The two teams battled for a spot in the Division II Freshman Football State Championship game. The Bolts ran away with the game in the second half and won it 36-14.

Cranston East's quarterback, Logan Mcconaghy, did not attempt one pass in the game. The running attack of the Bolts allowed their offense to succeed despite being one dimensional.

In a sense, East reminded the fans of another football team who wears green. The New York Jets offensive gameplan centers around "ground and pound" as their head coach Rex Ryan says. The Bolts played great defense and ran the ball well, similar to the Jets formula for success.

In the first half, Cranston East came out flat and did not look like themselves. The Skippers were unable to mount any offense, as their only first down of the first quarter came on the final play.

North Kingstown's Jacob Porter hauled in a 34 yard reception down to the Bolts 16 yard line, as the Skippers marched down the field. Samuel Vallee ran a slant route two plays later, good for a 13 yard touchdown reception. About four minutes into the second quarter, North led 6-0, after the two point conversion failed.

The Bolts looked to answer on their next drive, but a critical turnover prevented them from scoring. Only one yard away from tying the score, the Bolts handed it off to Ashford Peal on first and goal. Peal fumbled it and North's David Poirier recovered it.

Poirier made another huge play on the Skippers next possession, following another fumble by the Bolts. On 4th down and 5, he rumbled for 26 yards, down to the Bolts 27 yard line. North Kingstown was driving down the field with ease, primed to take a two score lead heading into halftime.

The Bolts cornerback and running back, Marquem Monroe, made a game changing play to close the first half. He made an unbelievable leaping one handed catch, slipped past a defender and took it to the house for a 90 yard interception return for a touchdown. It was the final play of the first half, and after the two point conversion was unsuccessful, the game remained tied at 6.

Cranston East's defense started to dominate in the second half. They forced a punt on the opening possession, and North had to punt from their own end zone. The ball sailed out of bounds at the Skippers 16 yard line, giving the Bolts excellent field position.

Monroe had an 10 yard run down to the 6 yard line, and Peal punched it in on the next play. They went back to Monroe for the two point conversion and he took into the end zone, upping the lead to 14-6.

Poirier had his hand in several big plays on the afternoon. His 82 yard touchdown on the kickoff return, halted any momentum the Bolts had gained. Bodden-Hoyle took the sweep to the right sideline, to tie the game at 14 on the two point conversion.

Peal returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards, giving the Thunderbolts 1st and ten from their 45 yard line. He scampered into the end zone on a 27 yard run down the right sideline, and they took a 22-14 lead after the two point conversion.

He was not finished yet. On the next possession, he took the hand-off up the middle, cut it to the outside and used his breakaway speed to reach the end zone for a 26 yard run. His fourth touchdown run of the day gave the Bolts a 34-14 lead, and Monroe scored on the two point conversion. Cranston East won the game 36-14 and will face off against Westerly next Saturday at 3 p.m. in the state championship game.