The Falcons had been flying high following their last-second touchdown against the Townies of East Providence. Momentum was back on their side despite losing in brutal fashion against St. Raphael Academy just a week prior.

That momentum was lost last Thursday when they took on the buzzsaw that was, is, and continues to be Bishop Hendricken. The Hawks took control of the game early and never looked back, winning by a statement-making final score of 31-0.

Both schools are known for their notoriously boisterous and brash fan bases, and they made themselves heard in the battle of the birds. However, on the field, it was all Hendricken. The Hawks had Cranston West’s infamous “Red Storm” heading towards the exits in the third quarter. The unrelenting attacks down the field by a returning Jayden Falcone, coupled with undeniable pressure on defense guided the Hawks to their first shutout victory of the year.

“It felt good to be back,” said Falcone, and he looked good on the field in his return. It didn’t take him long to get back into the swing of things, finding the endzone after forcing a punt on Cranston West’s opening drive. Falcone connected with Sebastian Nault for a 60-yard touchdown on the first play of Hendricken’s night on offense. The extra point pushed the score to 7-0 before fans could even get comfortable.

Falcone led Hendricken back down the field through the air with chunk passing plays to start the second quarter. Their drive culminated with a third-down pass off of his back foot to Jonus Rivera to add to its lead.

Following the Hawks’ second touchdown, Cranston’s quarterback Kelan Cornell looked for a deep shot to try to force the Falcons back into the game. Unluckily for the Falcons, sophomore defensive back Rollins Sonpon was there to intercept the pass attempt. With the Hawks set up to again get in the scoring column, a 24-yard field goal by Scot Belford Jr. extended their lead to 17-0.

Bishop Hendricken continued to dominate the football on all ends of the ball, despite multiple penalties they found the end zone again, this time on the ground with Oscar Weah breaking the plane. The Hawks entered halftime leading 24-0 over the Falcons.

Hendricken kept the pedal to the metal as they started the second half with the ball. Jeremy Seidi punched it in on the ground with the fourth touchdown of the day for the Hawks’ offense.

The Falcons continued to struggle to gain any traction on offense against a stalwart Bishop Hendricken’s defense. With the score at 31-0, Dylan Lynch took over quarterbacking duties for the Hawks just before the end of the third quarter.

Post-game, Falcone praised Lynch’s play in his absence, “Dylan stepped up and did what he had to do, I’m proud of him.”

The Hawks finished their dominant display on both sides of the ball with a shutout 31-0 victory. They’ll look forward to the next two weeks where they’ll face two of their Division-1 rivals back to back: La Salle Academy and Central High School.