SPORTS

Hawks beat Townies in finale

By RYAN D. MURRAY
Posted 11/2/22

The Hawks crushed the East Providence Townies 35-7 on Friday evening during a non-league football battle under the lights at Bishop Hendricken High School.

It was senior night for the Hawks and …

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SPORTS

Hawks beat Townies in finale

Posted

The Hawks crushed the East Providence Townies 35-7 on Friday evening during a non-league football battle under the lights at Bishop Hendricken High School.

It was senior night for the Hawks and the last week of the regular season.

Hendricken junior quarterback Jayden Falcone headed the offense with three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

“We’ve always believed in Jayden,” Hendricken head coach Keith Croft said. “He’s a great competitor and he’s got a lot of tools. And I think he’s really starting to come into his own right now, and I think he’s got a really high ceiling. He’s going to get better over the rest of this year and into next year too.”

Two of Falcone’s touchdown passes went to wide receiver Devin Lynch.

“Devin had a great game tonight,” Croft said. “He’s been our guy. He’s been our big-guy receiver, big possession guy, and he made some plays after the catch tonight.”

And Croft hopes the team’s success continues throughout its final two games.

“I hope it carries into the next two weeks,” Croft said. “I think all of our receivers played well tonight. I think our quarterback threw the ball well. I think our running backs did what they had to do tonight.”

Hendricken went to its air attack often against East Providence.

“Obviously, we came into this game and tried to pass the ball a little bit more than we have been passing,” Croft said. “But it’s good. Hopefully it gets our guys going and it’s another part of our offense that we really need for these last couple weeks.”

The Hawks took a 6-0 lead with 8:53 remaining in the first quarter when Falcone tossed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Lynch. Kicker Charles Kretzer added the extra point after that and upped the Hawks lead to 7-0.

Kretzer made all five of his extra point attempts on the night.

East Providence quarterback Max Whitling tied the game at 7 midway through the second quarter when on a fourth-and-9, he rushed 12 yards through traffic and into pay dirt.

Hendricken answered a little over two minutes later when Falcone scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown, which gave the Hawks a 14-7 lead.

East Providence began the third frame with possession and drove as far as the Hawks 32 before Whitling fumbled the snap and it was recovered by Hendricken senior Noah West.

With the first play of the drive, Falcone tossed up field to Lynch, who made a sensational one-handed grab, and brought the ball 34 yards to the East Providence 34.

Two plays later, Falcone threw to a wide-open Lynch, and he took it down the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown reception and upped the Hawks buffer to 21-7.

Next, East Providence junior Trey Rezendes fumbled the Townies ensuing kickoff return and it was recovered by Hendricken junior Nathan Rivas at the East Providence 24.

Four plays later, Falcone passed to Mike DaSilva, a sophomore, in the right side of the end zone for a touchdown, and that extended the Hawks lead to 28-7.

Hendricken totaled three fumble recoveries on the day with Rivas, West, and Robert Dickinson each getting one.

“We did well,” Croft said. “Our guys were flying around the field and getting their hands in there, so happy with the way they played. I thought it was good to force turnovers. We work on it a lot in practice and it was good to see it come through tonight.”

Hendricken upped its lead to 35-7 with 2:43 left in the third quarter, when Falcone, who was almost sacked, broke a tackle, and rushed up the middle 24 yards into pay dirt.

With the win, the Hawks closed the season with an overall record of 7-2, while going a perfect 3-0 in the State Championship Division and finishing as the top seed.

“I’m very proud of the kids and coaches and I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance to go undefeated in the regular season,” Croft said. “So, it’s a great moment”.

Hendricken will host 4-seeded Central in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m.

The squads last faced off on Oct. 21 at Central where Hendricken squeaked out a 14-12 victory over the Knights.

“Happy we have a home playoff game,” Croft said. “They’re a heck of a team. Our kids have to really get back to work. They’ve battled us really hard in two games, and I think this is the game that they want, and our kids will be ready.”

Hawks, football

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