Pats cruise past Titans for fifth straight win

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 11/10/15

A new rivalry is developing in Warwick, and Pilgrim has struck the first blow.

Seniors Owen Kelly and David McMullen combined for four touchdowns on the night, with junior running back Sean Cooney …

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Pats cruise past Titans for fifth straight win

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A new rivalry is developing in Warwick, and Pilgrim has struck the first blow.

Seniors Owen Kelly and David McMullen combined for four touchdowns on the night, with junior running back Sean Cooney adding another, as the Pats (6-1) rolled to a 40-8 victory over Toll Gate for Homecoming on Friday night.

“It’s a new rivalry, it’s coming to the forefront, but we always love to beat Toll Gate,” Pilgrim head coach Tom O’Connor said.

Kelly dashed for 226 rushing yards while McMullen ran for a touchdown and took an Anthony Vann interception to the end zone for a crucial pick-six in the second half. Cooney chipped in 64 yards on the ground, helping to run out the clock with Pilgrim up big.

The defense succeeded in shutting down the Toll Gate offense as well, holding it to under 80 yards of total offense and forcing three turnovers.

“It was an excellent effort by our defensive players,” O’Connor said. “We stamped out a lot of the wide sweep stuff that we struggled with last week [against Middletown]. It was great to have Middletown come in and then have Toll Gate run the same exact offense right after it, so it helped us prepare for this game.”

Despite the final score, Pilgrim started off the game on a rough note. McMullen was faced with a second-and-8 when he threw an interception into the arms of senior Alex Mowry at the Toll Gate 36-yard line on the opening drive.

However, the Titans (3-4) would give it right back on a three-and-out and a partially blocked punt that set the Pats up at their own 47. Two plays into the drive, Kelly found a hole near the sideline and took off 55 yards for the touchdown. Cooney just missed the two-point conversion, but Pilgrim led 6-0 early in the first quarter.

“We never got a rhythm together,” Toll Gate head coach Jim Stringfellow said. “That’s what killed us.”

Turnovers hurt Toll Gate in its efforts to level the score. On second-and-1, sophomore running back Sean Devlin rushed for enough yards to get the first down, but the ball was ripped away from him and McMullen recovered it. He got up and rumbled up to the Titans’ 20-yard line.

Cooney set the tone for the short drive with a nine-yard burst on the first play, before Kelly weaved through defenders for a 10-yard score. McMullen’s pass to Kelly secured the two-point conversion and the Pats took a 14-0 lead halfway through the first.

After another Toll Gate three-and-out, Pilgrim rattled off a 13-play drive that killed the rest of the first quarter and extended into the first minute of the second. Kelly had the key play of the drive when, on fourth-and-1, he carried the ball nine yards to set the Pats up at the Titans’ 26. Three plays later, Cooney crossed the goal line from two yards out to extend the lead to 20-0, where it would stand at halftime.

The Titans received the second-half kickoff and got themselves momentum. Mowry grabbed the ball at his own 35 and ran left, but then reversed it to Austin Giard going right. Giard got blocking down the right sideline before cutting back across the field for the return touchdown. The two-point conversion cut the deficit to a couple scores.

“We work on special teams, that’s something we do take pride in,” Stringfellow said. “Special teams is very important. We practice it all the time and this is I think our fourth one for a touchdown.”

Pilgrim answered back, though, again with a long drive. The Pats took 11 plays to march down the field, culminating in McMullen breaking two tackles and scurrying into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. The two-point attempt failed, but the Pats had brought the lead back out to three possessions.

“Just wearing them out,” O’Connor said about his team trying to stop the Titans’ momentum. “Like we do in the second half with everyone. Our strength is our second half, and we were unable to hold the ball for long periods because of the penalties. We reverted back a little bit, but running on all that emotion, and being up by three [scores], we kinda relaxed a little bit. Something that a young team that’s new to the playoffs is realizing we can’t allow.”

Vann would inadvertently help the Pats add to their lead on Toll Gate’s next drive. McMullen read his counterpart perfectly on a pass to the right side and jumped in front for the interception. He scampered 45 yards down the sideline for the touchdown to extend the lead to 32-8.

Cooney iced the win with a 10-yard rushing touchdown with just 55 seconds to go, bringing the lead out to 40-8 after the two-point conversion. A failed onside kick gave the Titans the ball at Pilgrim’s 26, but the drive was halted at the Pilgrim 4 as time expired.

“In the fourth quarter, I’m just, like, ‘Give it to Cooney,’” O’Connor said. “He’s fired up [and] ready to go.”

The rivals’ next opponents couldn’t be more different. The Titans will look to close out their season on a positive note when they travel to winless Ponaganset this Saturday. The Chieftains have scored a Division III-low 69 points in seven losses this season.

“We’re not gonna take them lightly,” Stringfellow said. “We can’t. We’re gonna go in there and hopefully we get a win.”

The Pats will tangle with undefeated East Greenwich this Friday night at Nick Carcieri Field. The Avengers boast the only offense more explosive than Pilgrim’s in D-III, scoring 317 points in seven wins on the campaign.

“We’re gonna sit down and watch some film, and come up with the best thing we can that suits our kids and gives us the best chance to win,” O’Connor said.

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