By RYAN D. MURRAY

The Hawks squashed the Central Knights 41-13 on Friday night during the Rhode Island High School Football State Championship Division Semifinal at Bishop Hendricken High School.

With the first play of the contest, Central senior running back Armase Edouard rushed 72 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown and gave the Knights an early 6-0 lead. Next, senior kicker Gabriel Dosunmu added the extra point and upped the Central advantage to 7-0.

Late in the first quarter, Hendricken junior defensive back Oscar Weah intercepted a pass from Central quarterback Avani Rodrigues and returned the ball to the Central 33.

Two plays later, Hendricken junior quarterback Jayden Falcone connected on a bomb through the middle to Anthony Manna, a senior, who brought the ball to the Central 1-yard line.

Next, Falcone rushed a quarterback keeper up the gut a yard and into pay dirt and pulled the Hawks within 7-6. Then, kicker Charles Kretzer, a junior, added the extra point and deadlocked the score at 7.

Early in the second quarter, Central ran a reverse to the right with Edouard, and the running back brought the ball 14 yards to the Hawks 9.

Three plays later, Edouard dove through the gut, over the Hendricken defense, and into the end zone, and gave the Knights a 13-7 lead. However, Dosunmu missed the extra point after that.

The Hawks evened the score at 13, with 5.8 seconds remaining in the first half, when Falcone tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Mike DaSilva, a sophomore, who outbattled Central junior defensive back Adonis Medina for the ball in the end zone. The Hawks headed into halftime with a 14-13 lead after Kretzer added the extra point.

Two plays into the second half, Hendricken extended its advantage to 20-13 when Falcone tossed a 61-yard touchdown pass through the middle to DaSilva. Kretzer would miss the extra point attempt after that.

Next, Hendricken executed a successful onside kick when Nathan Rivas recovered the ball at the Hawks 49.

“We pride ourselves on being a second half team,” Hawks head coach Keith Croft said. “And I think that onside kick was a huge swing in the game and we just did what we had to do. We played physical-branded football and played good defense.”

On first down, Weah, who was now at running back, rushed 30 yards to the Central 21.

Three plays later, Falcone rushed a keeper into pay dirt from ten yards out and increased the Hendricken lead to 27-13.

The Hawks upped their lead to 34-13, late in the third quarter, when Ronjai Francis, a junior, rushed left, 54 yards for a touchdown.

Lastly, with 5:30 remaining in the contest, Josiah Dennis rushed up the gut 16 yards for a touchdown, and ballooned the Hawks lead to 41-13.

Hendricken moves on to the State Championship Game to face the La Salle Academy Rams on Sunday at 12 pm at Cranston Stadium.

It will mark the 13th straight season that the Hawks have made the championship game. Hendricken has won the last four state titles in a row.

Hendricken may have edged out La Salle 10-9 during its regular-season matchup, but Coach Croft isn’t overconfident heading into the rematch.

“You never feel good heading into a championship matchup,” Croft said. “It’s all about how you practice, and get ready, and prepare. And I’m sure they feel good, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready for them, starting tomorrow.”