Fresh off a 51-20 blowout in week one, the Johnston Panthers 12U team won by an even bigger margin in week two. Facing the Fall River Falcons in Fall River, Mass., Johnston cruised to a 33-0 victory.
Johnston received the ball first, and Nic Comella had a 50-yard kickoff return. Tom Comella then ran 31 yards for the Panthers’ first score of the day. James Isme ran the ball in for the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Panther defense then started strong on what proved to be an impressive day. Tackles by Arion Kennedy, Anthony Marsella, Zack Lavergne and Nic Comella forced the Falcons to a four-and-out. On the Panthers’ next possession, Isme rumbled for a 55-yard run but was tackled at the 15-yard line. Nic Comella wasted no time and scored on the next play. The extra point was no good but the Panthers lead was now 13-0.
On the next defensive series, Nic Comella jumped the defensive line and sacked the quarterback. Jacob Martins had great tackles and forced the Falcons into another four-and-out. To start the second quarter, Nic Comella caused a fumble and Justin Salvatore recovered. Tom Comella ran for a 45-yard touchdown and the extra point was no good but the Panther lead increased to 19-0.
The defense continued to shine. Kennedy, Christian Olasanoye, Aidan Scott, Jacob Mainey and Tim Isom held the Falcons to another four-and-out. On the final possession before the half the Panthers had strong runs by Martins and Isme. On fourth down quarterback Zach Lavergne threw a beautiful 10-yard touchdown pass to Isom in the corner of the end zone with nine seconds left in the half. Panther kicker Joey Patterson nailed the extra point to make it 27-0.
In the second half, it was more of the same as the defense was stout. Olasanoye forced a fumble on defense and Martins ran the ball hard all afternoon. Isme had the Panthers’ final score of the day with 10-yard touchdown to make it 33-0.
“The boys were aggressive from the very start and never let up,” head Coach Tom Comella said. “The coaching staff is very pleased.”
The Panthers travel to East Providence’s Pierce Memorial Field next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to take on the East Providence Jr. Townies.
Falcons pull away from 11U Panthers
After a week-one victory, Johnston ran into a strong Fall River team on Sunday and stayed close until a late surge led to a 19-0 Falcons win.
The first quarter saw the Panther offense establish their running game early on. The offensive controlled the line of scrimmage with strong blocking from Ryan Schino, Phil Costantini, David Andreoli, Gianni Palumbo and Rozellio Jones. The running back corps had some great runs from Peter Bibby, C.J. Ragosta and Joey Legault. The Panther passing game caught the Falcons by surprise with an 11-yard strike to receiver Thomas Zednick. The defense showed its toughness against the Falcons offense with great tackles by Robert Joseph, Joey Acciardo, and Antonio Gemma.
Unfortunately for Johnston, the Falcon offense struck first to take a 6-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, the Panthers special teams gave the offense a second chance after punter, Caleb Visnicky, was knocked down after a booming punt and the Falcons defense was called for roughing the punter.
The second quarter saw Panther defender Connor Diamantino making some outstanding tackles and the defense keeping the Panthers in the game. Going into halftime, the Panthers were down 6-0.
While the offense struggled to score in the third quarter, the Panthers remained resilient with contributions from Todd Dilullo, Domenic Petrarca, Gian Souza, Ray Beaumier, Brando Coico and Sebastian Annicelli. After three quarters of play, the Panthers were still in the game, trailing by only a touchdown.
But Fall River eventually put the game away, scoring early in the fourth quarter to make it 12-0. The Panthers continued to fight hard with great efforts by Emma Salzillo, Jake Martino, Nick Keller, Jonathon D’Angelo, Jack Russo, Troy Nicotra and David Silva. Late in the fourth quarter, the Falcons sealed the victory with their third touchdown.
The Panthers will look to rebound next week as they travel to East Providence to take on the Townies at 2 p.m.
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