The 10U Panthers continued their winning ways into the playoffs with a convincing first-round victory over Darlington 39-13.
After winning the toss, the Panthers’ offense took the field and on the first play from scrimmage Dante Iafrate took the ball 30 yards to the outside to set the tone for the day. Isaiah DeBritto then ran the ball up the middle for 45 yards for the Panthers’ first touchdown of the day. Dimetri Iafrate took the ball around the end for the conversion, giving the Panthers the early 7-0 lead.
After a quick four plays and out on offense for Darlington, the Panther offense took the field for their second possession. Johnston’s quarterback Derek Salvatore ran a good play action fake in the backfield and kept the ball to the opposite side of the field, fooling the Darlington defense and scoring from 20 yards out. The conversion was pounded in by Dimetri Iafrate, giving the Panthers a 14-0 lead.
The Panthers defense, led by Carlos Alfaia’s eight tackles, as well as steady play from Austin Jencks, Dante Florio, Dylan Silva, Michael Salzillo, Matthias Barros, Dante Iafrate, Andrew Picard, Isaiah DeBritto, Rafael Ariyan, Armand DeCosta, Joe Forte, Jake Trahan, Adrian Orellana, Devin Kent, Eric Luna, Nick Perron,and Jayden McKenna, took the field, and after initially moving the ball Darlington was once again stopped.
The Derek Salvatore-led offense took the field and Dimetri Iafrate received the handoff on the first play and ran 80 yards for the Panthers’ third touchdown of the day. Michael Salzillo ran the conversion in to give the Panthers a 21-0 lead. Darlington’s next offensive possession came up short once again, which put the ball back into the hands of the Panthers’ hot offense. After a few good runs by Hudson Carvalho, Isaiah DeBritto and Dante Iafrate, Dimetri Iafrate connected with Andrew Picard on a 45-yard pass play to extend the Panther lead to 27-0 going into the half.
The Panthers dominant first half was led by the big and strong offensive line anchored by Alex Morin, Jesse Pascetta, Dylan Silva, Michael Morris, Rafael Ariyan, Michael Franco, Dario Branch, Noah Lavergne, Michael Vita, Kyle Iannucillo, Picard and Alfaia.
The second half didn’t go much differently for the Panther offense, as Carvalho ran 45 yards to extend the Johnston lead to 33-0 early in the third quarter. Darlington came right back and scored on its next possession, moving the ball down the field to make the score 33-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Dimetri Iafrate fielded the kick and returned it 55 yards for the Panthers’ final touchdown of the day giving the Panthers 39-7 lead. Darlington retaliated by scoring on its final possession, cutting the lead to 39-13, which proved to be the final.
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Johnston 12U opens up playoffs with impressive win
The Johnston 12U Panthers hosted the first round of playoffs last Thursday night under heavy rain conditions. The undefeated Panthers were determined to keep their season alive against the Upper Cape Spartans and did so with a 33-8 win.
The Spartans kicked off to start the game. Quarterback Zach Lavergne pitched out to Tom Comella early in the drive, and he ran for a first down. Lavergne then handed the ball to Nic Comella on the next play, and he ran for a 40-yard touchdown, for the game’s first score. Tom Comella converted the extra point, and the Panthers were up 7-0 very early.
Joey Patterson kicked off and pinned the Spartans back. The black and blue defense came out strong. Nick Guenette, Joe Patterson, Anthony Marsalla, Arion Kennedy and Tom Columbo forced the Spartans to a four-and-out.
On the next offensive series, Nic Comella picked up where the offense left off and ran for 53-yard touchdown. The extra point was unsuccessful, but the Panthers were up 13-0.
Patterson did the honors again with a great kick and James Isme came in with a great tackle, not letting the Spartans achieve good field position. Once again, the defense held the Spartans to a four-and-out.
Tom Comella, now in at quarterback, ran for 30 yards and Jacob Martins for 35 yards to put the Panthers in the red zone. Isme, started the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run. Jacob Martins converted the extra point, and the Panthers extended their lead to 20-0.
On the kickoff, the Spartans fumbled the ball and the Panthers recovered. Michael Ferreria and Anthony Gawlick each ran for positive yards on the ensuing possession, and Tom Comella ran the ball in for a 30-yard touchdown with Ferria converting on the extra point. That made the score 27-0 at halftime.
The Panthers came out as strong in the second half. Daryl Harley, Gawlick, Ferreria and Isme all had great tackles. The Spartans fumbled the ball again early, and the Panthers recovered. Tim Isom made it hurt, running for a 45-yard touchdown.
The Spartans were still determined to put up a good fight, and they did score on their next offensive possession and successfully kicked for the extra point. But the Panther lead was still 33-8.
That was as close as the game would get though, with Johnston holding on.
“The boys played amazing under these conditions,” said Johnston head coach Tom Comella. “They never turned the ball over on offense and held strong on defense. The coaching staff could not be any prouder.”
Johnston will now host the Central Fall Panthers tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Johnston High athletic complex.
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