Breakout fourth quarter helps Pats even record at 2-2

Posted 10/21/14

The drought was long, and it was becoming even harder to tolerate.

Saturday morning, it ended.

The Toll Gate football team beat Hope 23-6 for its first victory in a league game since the 2010 …

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Breakout fourth quarter helps Pats even record at 2-2

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The drought was long, and it was becoming even harder to tolerate.

Saturday morning, it ended.

The Toll Gate football team beat Hope 23-6 for its first victory in a league game since the 2010 season.

“It’s amazing,” said senior captain Nick Lemoie. “It feels good to finally change something and turn it around.”

Lemoie and his fellow seniors were in eighth grade on Oct. 8, 2010, when Toll Gate beat Pilgrim 38-19. That team lost its last three league games, and the next three teams never managed to stop the streak.

Knowing where they’ve been, the seniors didn’t go wild in celebration on Saturday, but there was satisfaction.

“First win in four years,” Stringfellow said. “It means a lot to these guys, especially the seniors.”

Toll Gate expected to find a league win at some point this season, but the clock was ticking and the streak was getting more and more frustrating. After an Injury Fund win and a victory in a non-league game, the Titans hung close in a loss to Narragansett but were beaten soundly by division leaders Middletown and East Greenwich.

“We’ve been pounding and pounding and struggling the last few weeks,” Stringfellow said. “We played Narragansett, East Greenwich, Middletown – three of the best teams in the league. They didn’t put their heads down. They came to practice every day. They worked hard. This is the result of their hard work.”

The Titans never trailed against Hope and blew the game open in the second half, after leading by just a point at the break. Senior Sean Vann ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns, while catching a pair of passes for 40 yards. Freshman Anthony Vann, Sean’s brother, handled the quarterback duties and delivered the other score. Alex Mowry rushed for 65 yards.

The Toll Gate defense sacked Hope quarterback Bernard Hardy five times. Senior Wendell Thao had three of them, to go with 15 tackles. The Blue Wave finished with 70 yards of offense.

“The first half was a little shaky, but then they turned it around in the second half and they played fantastic,” Stringfellow said.

Toll Gate drove into Hope territory on the game’s opening drive. It came up empty on a fourth-down try, but eventually used the field position to its advantage. The Titans blocked a punt on Hope’s first series, turned the ball right back over on an interception by Elijah Lewis, but got the ball again on another special teams miscue by Hope. A bad snap on a punt led to a 19-yard loss, as David Pardy and Brandon Neiwert tackled Oseas Lopez-Giron before he could get a kick away.

That set the Titans up at the Hope 10-yard line, and they were in the end zone two plays later. Sean Vann scored from 5 yards out on the first play of the second quarter, and Datyn Deasley’s extra point made it 7-0.

After a turnover on downs by Hope, the Titans came up empty on their next drive and soon found themselves in a tight game. A failed fake punt gave Hope the ball at the Toll Gate 42. Prince Mallay converted a fourth-and-eight when he caught a short swing pass and bowled through several tacklers for 10 yards. He then scored from 7 yards out.

The Toll Gate defense stuffed Mallay on the two-point try, keeping it a 7-6 game.

But the Titans still weren’t thrilled.

“We shut them down pretty much the whole game,” said senior linebacker Jake Lima. “Just mistakes on that drive where they scored. We just had to clean it up.”

Any momentum that the Titans had lost swung right back on the first play of the second half, when Hope’s Theodore Wise fumbled. Alex Christina recovered for the Titans.

Taking over at the Hope 34-yard line, Toll Gate reached the end zone with a methodical drive powered by 10 short runs. Sean Vann converted a fourth-and-1, and Anthony Vann capped the march with a touchdown on a quarterback sneak from a yard out.

“We just needed to turn up the intensity,” said senior Jacob Moran.

Hope threatened to answer when it drove inside the Toll Gate 10-yard line on its next possession, but the Titans defense rose to the occasion. Mallay was stopped for 1-yard gains on first down and second down. On third-and-goal from the 5, Cameron Vickers sacked Hardy for an 11-yard loss, giving Hope fourth-and-goal from the 16. Hardy tried a slant to Lewis, but the Titans had it well-covered and he overthrew his receiver.

“The focus was just on knowing their jobs, tackling, holding their blocks – things like that,” Stringfellow said. “Just do your job, no excuses. That’s what they did in the second half.”

Hope would never threaten again after the Titans’ stand. It went four-and-out on its next drive, and Toll Gate soon pulled away. Sean Vann capped a 64-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. The drive took more than four minutes off the clock and left Hope with just 4:08 remaining.

And the Blue Wave didn’t even get to use that time. After a penalty on the kickoff pinned Hope at its own 2-yard line, Hardy dropped back to pass and was smothered in the end zone by Christina, Vickers and Neiwert for a safety.

“The defense was fantastic,” Stringfellow said. “Erik Stachurski, our defensive coordinator, put in a lot of time and effort this week, and it showed. Wendell Thao was unbelievable. He was everywhere.”

Toll Gate got the ball on the ensuing free kick and never gave it up, killing the final 3:39 to clinch the victory.

“These guys don’t quit,” Stringfellow said. “That’s one thing I can say about this whole team. No matter what the score is, they’re plugging away.”

With a win under their belts, the Titans will look for more. They’ll visit Classical, who’s 3-1, on Saturday at 2 p.m. The week after, they host cross-town rival Pilgrim.

“Hopefully this gives us a little momentum and carries over,” Stringfellow said. “We’re still trying to make the playoffs. That’s our goal this year, and I think this team can do it.”

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