The Johnston Panthers 10U football team finished up their perfect season by beating the Worcester Cowboys 37-7, capturing the New England title and concluding their 14-0 season. The Panthers won the toss and elected to receive. The Panthers got off to a good start with successful runs by Dimetri and Dante Iafrate and Isaiah DeBritto. After taking the first six minutes off the clock, Dimetri Iafrate put the Panthers on the board from five yards out to give Johnson a 6-0 lead. Worcester’s offense took the field for the first time, and just like Johnston, had success moving the ball down the field. The Cowboys took the ball down to the 10-yard line and then ran the ball in for their first touchdown giving them a 7-6 lead at the start of the second quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Dimetri Iafrate returned the kickoff 50 yards for the Panthers second touchdown. The Panthers’ extra point was successful, giving Johnston a 13-7 lead. On Worcester’s next possession Johnstons’ defense led by Carlos Alfaia, Rafael Ariyan, Dante Florio, Alex Morin, Austin Jencks, Nick Baccala, Michael Salzillo, Dante Iafrate, Andrew Picard, Isaiah DeBritto, Matthias Barros, Jake Trahan, Eric Luna, Nick Perron, Jayden McKenna, Devin Kent, and Adrian Orellana stepped up their efforts and closed the door on Worcester’s offense.
The Panthers’ offense led by Derek Salvatore, took the field and quickly drove the ball down to the one-yard line and was eventually punched in by Johnston’s Isaiah DeBritto to give the Panthers a 19-7 lead. The Panther’s offensive attack was led by solid play from offensive linemen Alex Morin, Kyle Iannucillo, Michael Morris, Nick Lavergne, Michael Franco, Michael Vita, Armand DeCosta, Andrew Picard, Michael LaFlamme, Dario Branch and Jesse Pascetta. The Panthers’ defense, for the second consecutive defensive possession stopped Worcester in its tracks, putting the Panthers’ offense back on the field with about five minutes left in the half.
After good runs by Dante and Dimetri Iafrate, Dimetri Iafrate connected with Andrew Picard on a long pass to bring the ball down to the 2-yard line. DeBritto punched the ball into the end zone to give the Panthers a 25-7 halftime lead.
The second half wasn’t much different for the Worcester offense. They never really got anything going after the opening scoring drive. The Panthers managed to score again on their next possession, as Dimetri Iafrate scored his third touchdown from 25 yards out to give the Panthers a commanding 31-7 lead. The ensuing kickoff was recovered by Dante Iafrate, setting up the Panthers final touchdown from 20 yards out by Dimetri Iafrate.
12U Panthers fall in Regionals
On Sunday, the Johnston 12U Panthers headed north to Nashua, N.H. for the New England Regional Championship against the defending National Champion Wellesley Jr. Raiders. The Jr. Raiders have not lost in their 4-year history. They came in with a record of 52 wins and zero defeats. The Panthers won the toss and elected to receive. The offense came out strong with great blocking by Tom Columbo, Arion Kennedy, Jacob Mainey, Justin Salvatore, Daryl Harley and Tim Isom. Some nice runs by James Isme and Tom Comella set up a 33-yard touchdown by Nic Comella. The touchdown put the Panthers up 6-0.
The black and blue defense came out strong, getting great play from Tim Isom, Nicholas Guenette and the Comella brothers. This would continue for the entire first half. At halftime, the Panthers lead was still 6-0.
The Panthers were determined to hold their ground, and they did, until halfway through the third quarter. The Jr. Raiders finally scored on a 1-yard run and the extra point was successful to take a 7-6 lead. The Jr. Raiders then scored on a 41-yard run to increase their lead, 13-6, heading into the fourth quarter.
The experience of the Wellesley Jr. Raiders was too much for the Panthers, as Wellesley then scored the next 20 points to win the game 33-6.
“It took the defending National Champions to beat our team,” head coach Tom Comella said. “Hats off to Wellesley and we wish them luck in Orlando, Florida to repeat.”
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