The Johnston football team fell in a heartbreaking 20-14 defeat to Middletown in the Division III Semifinals last week on the road.
After falling being 14-0, the Panthers would come storming back in the third quarter as running back Steven Finegan found the end zone. Finegan would then cap off another drive with a touchdown rush five seconds into the fourth to knot things at 14.
The two defenses traded stops in the final frame, but Middletown would piece together one final drive and score on a touchdown pass with 18 seconds remaining to seal the win.
The Panthers fell victim to two costly penalties in the final drive, one coming on an unsportsmanlike conduct call for a late hit on the sideline and the other on a facemask penalty, which resulted in 30 yards given to the Islander offense.
“We asked them all year to play four quarters as hard as you can, and tonight they gave us four quarters. It was never easy, it didn’t matter who we played, they always gave us four quarters. They played with all their heart today. Every coach wants their team to give them everything they’ve got and tonight they did. You can’t ask for anything more,” said Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo after the loss.
Johnston’s defense was sharp in the first half, coming up with two red zone stops in the first quarter to keep the Islanders off the board. Chris Civetti would also haul in an interception in the second quarter to end another Middletown drive.
The Islanders managed to find the end zone with 3:48 remaining in the first half to go up 7-0 at the break, then would open the third quarter by going on a three-play scoring drive to up the advantage to 14-0.
The Panthers turned to a power rushing attack in the third quarter which gave the Middletown defense fits. Finegan would catch fire behind some sturdy line play up front to help get Johnston on the board in the third.
“Everything is a discussion about what is going to work best. We did what we thought we had to do, we were right there, that’s why it hurt so much,” said Acciardo of the stylistic switch in the second half.
With the win, the Islanders will next face West Warwick in the DIII Championship on Saturday, while Johnston’s season came to a close with the loss.
Acciardo was proud of his team, which bounced back after a down 2022 to become a contender once again.
“They play with their hearts. That’s what they did and they did a great job. It just didn’t turn out our way,” Acciardo said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here