La Salle uses big second half to hand East second straight defeat

Matt Metcalf
Posted 10/22/14

The Cranston East football team dropped its second straight game Friday night, surrendering 17 unanswered points in the second half to fall to La Salle, 31-14.

With the score tied 14-14 going …

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La Salle uses big second half to hand East second straight defeat

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The Cranston East football team dropped its second straight game Friday night, surrendering 17 unanswered points in the second half to fall to La Salle, 31-14.

With the score tied 14-14 going into the third quarter, the ‘Bolts began to unravel. East committed three turnovers in the third quarter alone, one of which was a Darrio Carter interception that La Salle’s C.J. Waite took back for a 45-yard touchdown. Just a minute later, Michael A’Vant intercepted a Carter pass, which resulted in a 32-yard field goal from Rams’ kicker Andrew Salzillo, making it 24-14.

“That was huge,” said East coach Tom Centore. “On the second one, the kid was beat and he made a great play. On the other one, (Waite) just stepped in front, it was a little bit of a late decision. But I’m not going to fault the quarterback because he’s played well for us.”

After a stalemate in the first quarter, East broke a scoreless game on its first drive of the second quarter. Carter found Marquem Monroe down the right sideline, and Monroe eluded defenders and took it in for a 31-yard score.

The Rams would answer quickly on a 59-yard run from Nick Varrichione, but it didn’t take long for the ‘Bolts to regain the lead. Carter and Monroe connected again at the 5:36 mark, as Monroe out-leaped a defensive back and sprinted by him for a 28-yard touchdown, giving East a 14-7 lead.

The run game wasn’t there from the start for the ‘Bolts, but the passing game sure was. Carter threw for 168 yards in the first half, while East mustered minus-four yards on the ground. Monroe reeled in five passes for 114 yards to go along with his two touchdowns in the first half.

La Salle found the equalizer with just 18 seconds remaining in the first half. After the Rams had two touchdowns called back on penalties, Jace Pena found Waite with a pass from 15 yards out to make it 14-14 at the half.

Although East surrendered a late touchdown to La Salle to end the first half, it was still in a good position, locked in a tie game on the road against an undefeated Rams team.

But that turned around quickly.

The Waite 45-yard interception return gave the Rams a 21-14 lead. At the 8:03 mark of the third quarter, A’Vant came up with the Rams’ second interception in less than a minute. Salzillo’s 32-yard field goal made it 24-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, La Salle tried an onside kick and regained possession, as Cam Morenzi emerged from the bottom of the pile with the ball. La Salle’s gutsy call paid off, as their next drive would result in a one-yard touchdown run from Kyron Lopes, increasing the Rams’ lead to 31-14.

La Salle’s defense stifled the ‘Bolts in the second half, completely shutting down their passing game while continuing to surrender nothing on the ground. East’s only pass completion of the second half was called back on a penalty and the running attack mustered a total of minus-six yards for the game.

La Salle’s offense, on the other hand, was able to wear down East’s defense through its physical running backs. The Rams grinded out 293 rushing yards, led by Pena and Don’Trae’ Odufunade, who each totaled 84 yards apiece. Lopes also chipped in with 61 yards and a score.

“Their backs are big and physical and they wear on you,” Centore said. “That certainly hurt us tonight. Coming off of last week and then this week, we played two physical football teams. It’s definitely taken a little bit of a toll on us.”

The ‘Bolts, now 1-3, will travel to Cumberland High School (2-2) on Friday for a 7 p.m. game after facing Division I’s only undefeated teams in Hendricken and La Salle the last two weeks.

Even though the ‘Bolts are in a tough spot, they sit just one game out of a playoff spot and are no strangers to being in this position.

“We were in the same place last year and we ended up 5-3,” Centore said. “Hopefully we can do it again.”

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