It’s been an up and down season for the Johnston football team this year to say the least. It started off by posting an impressive Injury Fund game win over Burrillville, but then proceeded to drop its next five games, four of which were division games against the four eventual playoff teams in Division II-B. The Panthers finished the regular season on the high side with a homecoming day win over Westerly and a huge victory at Chariho in which they put up 54 points, the most points a Johnston team has scored in recent memory. The Panthers, who finished 2-5 in league play and 3-6 overall, topped off the 2015 season with a dominant 64-6 win over Warwick Vets last Friday night at Johnston’s Polisena Stadium in a non-league contest in what was Teacher Appreciation Night. Several Johnston teachers were escorted by the players on the field during a pre-game ceremony, thanking them for all the hard work and care they put in on a daily basis.
The Hurricanes finished with an 0-7 record in Division II-A and 1-8 overall in the final season of Warwick Veterans Memorial High School, which has had some memorable moments in its rich history.
It was the Hurricanes who struck first in this game, as James Baldwin returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Not to be outdone, the Panthers’ Nassir Vasquez returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a score and senior co-captain Joe Turchetta’s two-point conversion gave Johnston an 8-6 lead 29 seconds into the game.
Warwick quarterback Nicholas Beaufort’s 45-yard run got his team inside the Johnston red zone, but the drive stalled on a fourth-and-goal at the 6 when Beaufort’s pass fell incomplete. The senior signal caller injured his throwing arm on the play and would be forced from the game and would not return.
Johnston doubled its lead on a perfectly thrown ball from junior quarterback Kyle Nelson to a streaking Vasquez that covered 50 yards. Turchetta added another two for a 16-6 lead. Johnston’s Jon Soto recovered a Vets fumble at midfield and he would score a few plays later on a 40-yard run thanks to some good blocking by Carson Kenny and his offensive line. Nelson hit Riley Brazenor, who made a nice catch in the back of the end zone, for the two-point conversion and a 24-6 lead.
Turchetta’s 34-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter and a two-point conversion by Matt Fontes, gave Johnston 32 points in just 12 minutes of play. In the second quarter, Evan Pennachia recovered another Hurricane fumble that JHS turned into points on a Tyler Nasisi 7-yard run with Soto adding the two points. Seniors Nasisi and Turchetta would run for 56 yards each in the first half before being taken out. Lamel Stokes recovered the third Warwick fumble of the half and Fontes ran 12 yards for a score. Offensive and defensive tackle Raymond Saleh rumbled in for the two-point conversion in what he called his best Refrigerator Perry impersonation. JHS led 48-6 at the break.
Ty Harriel’s 45-yard run set up a Mike Burgess 12-yard touchdown run with Dante Stubbs running in the two in the third quarter. Harriel would lead the team in rushing with 85 yards on just three carries. Dante Parisi capped off the scoring for the Panthers with a 25-yard score with Dante Masi’s two-point conversion, as some younger Johnston players gave us a preview of what the team will look like next year. Johnston rushed for 382 yards in the game and totaled 450 yards of offense.
“We have matured,” said Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo. “We learned a lot this year, and even though our record does not show that we were always winners, the kids still had a great time. They made great friendships and the time spent together was well spent. Some people say the success of a season is all about the wins, but if you listen to these kids, they were happy that they were part of the team.”
Acciardo commented on playing the top four teams in the division saying, “We knew we had a learning curve and it’s tough to learn when you get the lumber thrown at you early in the season, it was frustrating. The key for us was that we had to stick together and make sure that we were going to get better each week and we definitely did. When you see improvement, it is something to be proud of, and I am proud of this team. If we were playing like we are playing now at the beginning of the season, maybe things would be different. Our guys bonded together and played hard; they never quit this season and they learned valuable lessons. Losing is tough, but sticking together is more important because friendships last forever.”
“We lost our starting quarterback on the first series and it was all down hill from there,” said Warwick head coach Rob Pacifico. “Give them (Johnston) credit, that is a pretty good football team.”
Pacifico looked ahead at his team’s Thanksgiving Day game with cross-town rival Pilgrim next week. He said, “I have been around the Warwick-Pilgrim rivalry a lot of years, it is like two brothers fighting. The players are the best of friends off the field, but it is hard-nosed play on the field. If you watch Warwick and Pilgrim on Thanksgiving Day on any given year, the hits are vicious, the game is nasty, but at the end of the game there are hugs and handshakes. We will lick our wounds and get this back on track, we have no choice.”
Game time is at 10:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day in what will be the final game for the Warwick Vets football program, as the school will close down next year.
“It will no doubt be an emotional game,” Pacifico said.
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