By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
Tyrell Nealy rushed for three touchdowns, including a 73-yard romp, and Travis Gagne added a pair of scores to pace Woonsocket to a 38-20 win over Westerly last Friday.
Despite the Villa Novans' win over the Bulldogs that knotted them with four other teams in Division 2A for a share of the regular season title (5-2), they did not qualify to compete for the Division 2 Super Bowl.
With only four teams each from 2A and 2B eligible for the playoffs, a complicated tiebreaking system used by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Football Committee determined West Warwick, Tolman, Westerly and Warwick Veterans made the cut from 2A, knocking Wooonsocket out of postseason play. The committee rejected an appeal by the school to reconsider the decision..
Warwick Veterans rescued its very slim playoff chances with a 19-point comeback in the fourth quarter to defeat West Warwick, 21-20. A TD catch by Jared Coffey from quarterback Rob Bentsen salvaged the Hurricanes' postseason hopes with less than a minute to play. Bentsen had also completed a fourth-quarter pass to Ryan Tice for a 30-yard scoring strike and Dave Wentworth also returned a fumble for 40 yards to spark the Hurricanes to its miraculous win.
The Hurricanes now travel to South Kingstown, Division 2B leader and defending state champion, to play their first round game. The Rebels only needed an eight-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Ben Hamill to Ty Stromley in the first half, along with a stiff defense throughout, to register a 7-0 win over Toll Gate.
Toll Gate, which also qualified for the playoffs, plays Westerly in the first-round.
West Warwick, despite its loss, ended up as the Division 2A top seed and will host Cumberland. The Clippers qualified for the fourth playoff spot in 2A by defeating Lincoln, 20-15, highlighted by the running of Barry Greaves with touchdown runs of 54 and 17 yards.
Jason Lafond ran back a 32-yard interception for a score and added a 15-yard TD to propel Tolman over Mt. Hope, 28-0. The Tigers face Cranston East in a first-round playoff game.
All Division 2 first-round playoff games begin this week with the four winners resuming their quest for a Super Bowl opportunity after Thanksgiving.
La Salle Academy Storms into Playoffs
Kendall Perry rushed for two touchdowns and quarterback Joe Charest passed and ran for two more TDs to keep La Salle Academy undefeated, 27-13, over Barrington. Mike Read scored twice for Barrington in the first half on runs of 50 and 84 yards to keep the Eagles tied at 13 in the first half.
Remington Alves scored on two short TD runs as Portsmouth upended North Kingstown, 28-20, to clinch second place.
Portsmouth will host third-place Barrington and North Kingstown goes to La Salle in the first round of the playoffs on Dec. 2.
Notes: Tiverton Clinches Top Seed
* Tiverton, one of just two unbeaten Ocean State teams, locked up first seed in the upcoming division playoffs with a 49-14 conquest of East Greenwich. Zach Kapstein and Ryan Flick each had three TD runs for the Tigers.
* Ponaganset prevailed, 23-8, in an upset over Narragansett to keep the Chieftains' playoff hopes alive. Quarterback Jacob Kravitz threw two TD passes to Josh Morgan and Ethan Walsh scored five points on a 35-yard field goal and two conversion kicks to spark the hosts.
* Johnston sewed up the third playoff spot with a 27-12 win over Smithfield sparked by two scores by Dan Galligan and a TD pass and run by quarterback Brandon Parrillo. The other playoff spot remains a toss-up with East Greenwich, Moses Brown and Ponaganset still having a chance to sneak into the final postseason position.
* Middletown, Hope and Exeter-West Greenwich finish tied at the top in Division 4. A 22-20 double-overtime win by Hope over Exeter-West Greenwich helped cloud the picture.
Hope running back Stephen Wegby scored on two runs of 49 and 13 yards. A 20-yard TD pass from Zach Hornoff to Gibson Fines and a 5-yard run by Keligh Greenhalgh tied the score in regulation. In the second overtime Jamal Mangum ran in for a 5-yard score and 2-point conversion with the Blue Wave hanging in for the win by stopping a conversion after Joseph Ferle scored on a 8-yard reception for the Scarlet Knights
Middletown is now tied with Hope and Exeter-West Greenwich at 6-1 after the Islanders edged out North Providence, 14-12, on TD runs by Rico McCray and conversion kicks by Zach Yates.
