After big win, Panthers knocked back down by Moses Brown

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After a historic win over defending Division II Super Bowl champion West Warwick two weeks ago to open its new athletic complex, the Johnston football team suffered a major let down against Moses Brown on Saturday afternoon in Providence.

The Quakers’ Andrew Howard ran for 121 yards and four touchdowns, leading his team to a 48-20 victory that dropped the Panthers to 1-3 in league play. Moses Brown is 3-1.

The loss was a big set back for the Panthers’ playoff hopes. They’ll now need to win their final three league games just to have a chance, and there won’t be any guarantees.

“It seemed like we were flat today, we just could not get going,” said Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo. “Moses Brown is good no doubt, they beat us on offense and defense. They were the better team today by far. They did a good job running the ball, passing the ball, and were very good defensively. They are strong and will be right there at the end of the year.”

The Quakers took control of the game early in the first quarter by using a no-huddle offense. Howard gave his team a 7-0 lead halfway through the first quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Early in the second quarter, Johnston gambled on fourth-and-1 from its own 39-yard line but was stopped by the Moses Brown interior defense. That set the Quakers up with good field position and they took advantage quickly. Quaker quarterback Adam Romano hit Tommy Chase for a long gain, setting up a Howard 12-yard touchdown rush and a 13-0 lead.

With 1:41 left in the first half, Moses Brown extended its lead thanks to a lucky bounce. On third-and-long, Romano completed a pass to Chase, who was stripped of the ball by a JHS defender. The ball bounced into the hands of Moses Brown’s Kuba Witczak, who raced 28 yards for a score and a 20-0 lead.

Running out of time in the first half, the Panthers managed to keep themselves in the game thanks to a quick strike. With 55 seconds left in the first half, quarterback Mike Caparco completed a deep pass to Marc Conte, setting up the visitors at the Quaker 3-yard line. As time expired in the first half, the Panthers got a much needed score on a Caparco to Conte 3-yard touchdown pass, closing the gap to 20-6 at the break.

As the third quarter began, Johnston tried to catch the Quakers by surprise with an onside kick but it was not successful. Moses Brown took over at its own 47 and Romano went to work on the JHS secondary. Howard finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown that increased the Quaker lead to 27-6. Later, Romano would give his team a 34-6 lead when he found Chase for an 18-yard score.

The Panthers would not quit, as Conte plowed into the end zone from 3 yards out with four minutes left in the third quarter. A scrambling Caparco found Larry Dureault for the two-point conversion, which made it a three-possession game at 34-14.

But the Quakers put the game out of reach when they touched the ball again. Howard scored his fourth touchdown of the day on a 39-yard dash.

Rodger Brown added a fourth quarter score for the Quakers. Joe Turchetta delivered Johnston’s last score with a 32-yard touchdown run.

“I can't say we did a lot of things wrong, we just got beat,” Acciardo said. “No excuses, we just have to put this game behind us. We have to win out and hopefully make the playoffs. We have to play great if we are going to make the playoffs. Our guys will not quit. They will keep playing hard.”

The Panthers will make the trip to Westerly High School on Friday for a 7 p.m. game that both teams will circle as a must-win. The Bulldogs are 1-2, but nearly knocked off unbeaten North Kingstown last week.

The Panthers are in a similar situation as the 2008 season, when they won the Division III Super Bowl. They had the same 1-3 record and proceeded to run off four straight regular season wins to make the playoffs.

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