Cranston Herald – Dec. 4, 2013
By William Geoghegan
The book on Cranston East was written on a September night in Barrington, when the ‘Bolts lit up the Eagles for 37 points but got lit up for 41 in a shoot-out loss.
At the most important time of the year, on the same field, the book needed some editing.
East’s defense delivered its best performance of the season and the offense shined as usual as the ‘Bolts clinched a spot in the Division I Super Bowl with a 46-13 semifinal victory over the top-seeded Eagles. It’s the first trip to a D-I Super Bowl for East since 1987 and the first time in the 15-year history of the current playoff format that a No. 4 seed has beaten a No. 1 in the D-I semifinals.
“We’ve been playing hot the last few weeks and we knew if we kept this momentum we could do it,” said senior quarterback Alex Corvese. “We knew if we could execute on offense and get some stops on defense, we could win this game.”
The ‘Bolts scored two second quarter touchdowns to take an 18-7 lead, forced turnovers on consecutive Eagles possessions to start the second half and scored after both. Barrington made one push to get back in the game but never got closer than 19 points. Jimmy Saab’s 95-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:25 left and a David Todd interception with under two minutes to go had the ‘Bolts celebrating.
They’ve won four straight games since a mid-season slump – and they’re riding that streak right into the Super Bowl.
“There was some pressure on them at the beginning of the season, people expecting them to win easily,” head coach Tom Centore said. “It doesn’t happen that way. We have the athletes but you need everybody. Defensively, we were really young but we’ve started to play a lot better. We’ve been able to get better in the interior. Everything has improved.”
East struck first and needed less than two minutes to do it. Corvese completed a 33-yard pass to Marquem Monroe then capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. East missed the extra point. The Eagles answered with a 70-yard touchdown march and took a 7-6 lead. After an Eagles stop, they marched deep into East territory, but the ‘Bolts stopped a fourth-and-1 at the 4-yard line for a turnover on downs.
Then the ‘Bolts started a surge – and never really stopped.
Corvese marched East 96 yards for a score, capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run for the 12-7 lead. East then came up with its second consecutive defensive stop. A tackle for loss by Max Perez and a third-down sack by Dale Rodriguez forced a punt.
East took over with 1:57 left in the half and wasted no time. Corvese hit Marven Beauvais on a fade for 41 yards. Two plays later, Corvese found Saab for a 27-yard touchdown. East failed on the two-point try but led 18-7 and went to halftime with that cushion.
“Once we got some momentum, that’s all it takes,” Corvese said. “We have that mentality that we’re unstoppable.”
In the early part of the second half, East couldn’t have drawn things up any better. Mike Rodriguez intercepted a Matt Rota screen pass on Barrington’s first possession. Two plays later, Corvese hit Monroe in the front corner of the end zone. Logan McConaghy’s extra point made it 25-7.
Still very much in the game, the Eagles marched to the East 29 but Rota fumbled in the face of pressure. Justin Silva scooped the ball and took off, returning it to the Barrington 19-yard line. Then, on a third-down play, Corvese saw an opening on the left and took off, rushing 16 yards for another score.
All of a sudden, it was 32-7.
“That changed the game,” Centore said.
The Eagles finally got their feet under them thanks to a 36-yard pass on a flea flicker that set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rota to Nick Jensen with 2:40 left in the third. That made it 32-13.
But the ‘Bolts wouldn’t let Barrington even sniff a comeback. East recovered an onside kick and on the second play of the next drive, Corvese found a hole on the right and rambled 48 yards for a touchdown.
“The play that Alex ran was huge,” Centore said. “At that point, you still don’t know.”
From there, East didn’t need much more. It forced a turnover on downs, then saw Saab pick off a Rota pass at his own 5-yard line and bring it all the way back to the end zone for the final score of the day.
Todd intercepted a pass in the end zone on Barrington’s final drive, and East took a knee.
The celebration was on.
“It’s awesome,” Corvese said.
The East defense limited Barrington to 145 yards rushing after being gashed for 371 yards on the ground in the regular-season meeting. The ‘Bolts sacked Rota five times and forced five turnovers.
“Offensively it was good, but the difference is the defensive side of the ball,” Centore said. “They’ve been playing well and this was the best they’ve played. We’ve got to be proud of what they’ve done. They’ve truly stepped up.”
On the other side, Corvese had a dynamic day at the controls. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for four scores.
“They played a lot of the double on the outside and Alex did a nice job,” Centore said. “We’ve seen every defense in the world so we know what to do. We played very, very well.”
East will now get set for Sunday’s Super Bowl, which happens to be on their home field at Cranston Stadium. Game time is 12 p.m., and East will face No. 2 Hendricken, which beat Portsmouth 36-15 in the other semifinal. The Hawks are looking for a record fourth consecutive Super Bowl title, and they beat East 35-7 in a regular-season match-up.
Centore, whose father Tony was an East coach, remembers the program’s last appearance in a D-I Super Bowl. He and the ‘Bolts will enjoy the long-awaited return trip.
“I remember being there, watching that. I was in college,” Centore said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s exciting. We’re not satisfied just being there. We certainly want to win it.”