For the last several weeks, the Johnston football team fought an uphill battle as it chased a playoff berth. The odds were long, and even though the Panthers won their final two games, their hopes were dashed on the last weekend of the league season.
That meant Friday’s crossover game against Pilgrim would be the first where Johnston officially had no shot.
But that didn’t stop the Panthers from staying on a roll.
Johnston hurt the Pats with big plays and built a 22-0 first-half cushion. Pilgrim made headway in the second half, but the Panthers kept right on going and came away with a 36-12 victory.
“For how you want to finish out overall, you’ve got to come out and play with pride,” said Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo. “There’s not a lot of electricity for a game like this, but you want to play well. No matter what the story is, you want to go out there and make yourself proud.”
The Panthers certainly did that.
Johnston has now won three straight games, a streak that started after it had lost three straight. The team’s overall record now stands at 6-3, and their credentials look even stronger after the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers lost overtime games to Central and Cumberland, who both won their quarterfinal playoff games. Johnston also beat Westerly, which won its quarterfinal.
Pilgrim came in with a solid reputation of its own – the Pats finished 3-4 in league play and narrowly missed a playoff berth.
On Friday, Johnston had too much.
“Johnston is a good team. They’re strong and they probably should have been in the playoffs, if not for the two overtime losses,” said Pilgrim head coach Tom O’Connor. “They’re a good quality team, and this game shows us that we still have the breakdowns. We hold teams, and then they bust one loose. We still haven’t fixed that problem. That’s what we have to work on going forward.”
Johnston didn’t break loose right away. After the teams traded punts on their first possessions, the Panthers fumbled the ball away at their own 40-yard line.
But then the momentum swung.
A personal foul penalty and a false start on the Pats put them into second-and-27. A fumbled snap made it third-and-31, and Johnston’s Phil Ndifon then sacked Lee Verrier for an 8-yard loss. Facing fourth-and-39, the Pats punted.
Johnston took over at the Pilgrim 33 and needed just one play to find the end zone. Brenden Pappas broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown, and Evan Hopson hit the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
After that sequence, the rest of the first half was all Johnston.
Pilgrim fumbled on the second play of its next possession and with the ball bouncing backwards into the end zone, Alex Leddy kicked it out the back rather than risking a Johnston recovery, which would have been good for a touchdown. Instead, Johnston was awarded a safety.
The Panthers recovered the ensuing free kick at the Pilgrim 40. Penalties pushed them into a second-and-20, but on the next play, Ndifon ran right then cut up the middle and raced 49 yards to the end zone. Hopson made another extra point for the 16-0 lead.
The Panthers added to that cushion just before halftime. An interception gave them the ball with 49 seconds left, and Ndifon broke a 32-yard run to put the ball at the 13-yard line. After a timeout to stop the clock, Johnston quarterback Steve Simone found Jason Cate in the back of the end zone for another score.
The Panthers went to halftime up 23-0.
“We’ve got a good little ball club,” Acciardo said. “We just needed some experience. I think if we had a little more experience, all those close games, we would have fared a little better.”
Still within striking distance, the Pats came out strong in the second half, putting together a methodical opening drive that took them all the way to the Johnston 7. But on first-and-goal, Alex Leddy couldn’t hold on to a handoff, and the Panthers pounced on the fumble.
The turnover didn’t hurt too much – Johnston punted on the ensuing possession – but it did cost the Pats some time. They got another drive going and scored on a 3-yard touchdown by Andrew Leddy, but at that point, just 31 seconds remained in the third quarter.
And it didn’t take Johnston long to answer. After his team recovered an onside kick, Hopson broke a 35-yard run on an option, taking it all the way to the Pilgrim 1-yard line. He ran it in on the next play and then made the point after for the 30-6 lead.
Pilgrim was forced to punt on its next possession as Johnston’s defense regained its footing.
“We don’t have a lot of size, but we’ve got some spunk,” Acciardo said. “The guys are feisty and they like to go at it. They’re fighters.”
Johnston added an insurance touchdown after the Pilgrim punt. Hopson broke another long run, this one a 65-yarder to the Pilgrim 5-yard line. He scored from there, finishing the night with 120 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s got a lot of talent,” Acciardo said. “He’s struggled a little bit with the playbook, but when he goes, he’s obviously a talented back.”
Pilgrim added a late score, marching 51 yards in eight plays. Alex Leddy capped it with a 14-yard touchdown run. Leddy led the Pilgrim offense with 114 yards on 25 carries.
Johnston was led by Hopson’s 120 yards. Ndifon added 83 on just three carries, and Pappas tallied 43 yards on five carries. Simone completed four of seven passes for 19 yards.
“I think we did well,” Acciardo said. “The weather was tough, but we made some adjustments and we played pretty well.”
Johnston will now turn its attention to the Thanksgiving Eve game against St. Raphael. It’s the second year for the match-up, and this season’s tilt is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Johnston.
“One more to go,” Acciardo said. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys and we enjoy hanging around with them and having fun. Hopefully Thanksgiving, we can finish out the season with a W.”
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