The rebuilding Cranston East football team is searching for answers early this fall season as it sits at 0-2 after dropping tough games to Mt. Pleasant and Central to open things up.

East’s most recent loss came to powerhouse Central in a 44-8 match. East’s lone score came when Michael Terry hauled in a touchdown pass from A’Driahn Foreman, followed up by a successful two-point conversion when Saqari Monroe rushed for the score.

Mt. Pleasant ran away with a 20-6 win over East in the season opener which was a non-league matchup. Freshman Armand Northup-Reed accounted for East’s touchdown when he returned a kickoff 95 yards to go the distance.  

Despite the final scores, the Bolts have had some moments of quality play. East held Mt. Pleasant to no points in the second half of the opener and trailed just 22-8 at halftime against Central. Turnover, though, have caused the offense to sputter in critical situations.

“We definitely had our opportunities to score but turnovers and not finishing drives got us (against Mt. Pleasant). It takes some of the wind out of your sails. We played a great second half but just couldn’t get across the goal line. We have to do a better job of taking care of the football and finishing drives,” said East head coach Isaiah McDaniel.

With a young roster, East has been waiting for players to emerge as potential cornerstone pieces moving forward. A few players have popped through the first two games.

“Armand Northup-reed has definitely shown flashes of being a game breaker, someone that can change a game on special teams. Dionandre Brown is doing a great job on defense. Cameron Manley is also starting at right guard. We have some young guys stepping up and playing well,” said McDaniel.

Next up for the Bolts this week is South Kingstown on the road, which is off to a 2-0 start. McDaniel expects a physical battle up front and is emphasizing the little things with his team.

“They’re always a tough football team and run the football hard. This will be a, “Let’s see who is tougher up front,” type of deal. We just have to worry about us, execute and not turn the ball over,” said McDaniel. “I have all the confidence in the world in these guys, but we’ve got to fix the things that are holding us back and move forward. We just need to be more aggressive in doing the things we do.”