Hawks win thriller

Hendricken tops Skippers in shootout

By RYAN D. MURRAY
Posted 10/1/19

The Bishop Hendricken Hawks went to North Kingstown High School on Friday night and edged out the Skippers 42-34 under the lights during their home opener on their brand new turf.

“It was a …

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Hawks win thriller

Hendricken tops Skippers in shootout

Posted

The Bishop Hendricken Hawks went to North Kingstown High School on Friday night and edged out the Skippers 42-34 under the lights during their home opener on their brand new turf.

“It was a great win,” Hawks head coach Keith Croft said. “Really exciting. The kids played hard. Both teams were gassed at the end.”

Hendricken was led by senior quarterback Tom Comella and wide receiver Angel Sanchez, also a senior, who each had a passing and rushing touchdown.

North Kingstown was headed by its senior quarterback James Osmanski, who tossed five touchdown passes to four different receivers, two of which went to senior Edward Cardarelli.

The Hawks first touchdown came during a third-and-8, when Comella passed up the middle to Sanchez for a 42-yard score. After that, Cole Peterson, the kicker, added the extra point and that put Hendricken on top 7-0 with 7:57 remaining in the first quarter.

With 10:49 left in the half, North Kingstown too would connect on a third-and-8, when Osmanski connected with Shane Kenyon on a 9-yard TD pass which evened the game at 7, following a Max Rome extra point.

Hendricken drew a 14-7 advantage with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter after Sanchez heaved a halfback pass to Andrew Noland for a 33-yard touchdown.

Then, with 2:22 remaining in the half, North Kingstown tied the game at 14 when Osmanski tossed a 53-yard bomb to Cardarelli for a touchdown.

However, during the ensuing kickoff, Hendricken’s Noah Dogon returned the ball 78 yards before he was knocked out of bounds at the North Kingstown 5.

Two plays later, Comella ran a keeper one yard up the gut and into pay dirt and gave the Hawks a 21-14 edge heading into halftime.

Hendricken upped its edge to 28-14 with 8:40 left in the third frame when Angel Sanchez rushed right 10 yards and into pay dirt.

Next, with 2:13 remaining in the third, James Gobewole rushed seven yards, through the middle and into the end zone and increased the Hawks advantage to 35-14.

Then, with 11:11 to play in the contest, Osmanski flung a 31-yard touchdown pass to Matt Reilly, a wide out, and that pulled the Skippers within two scores at 35-21.

Next, North Kingstown forced the Hendricken offense into a three-and-out before drawing within a score at 35-28 when Osmanski tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Cardarelli, with eight minutes remaining.

But with 5:01 left to play, Hendricken extended the margin to 42-28 when Nic Comella, the senior running back, rushed 31 yards, up the middle for a TD.

Then, with just 25 seconds to play, Osmanski threw a pass 20 yards to Tyler Pezza, a wide out, who made a circus catch in double coverage and that got the Skippers to 42-34.

But by then it was too little too late. Hendricken denied No. 3 ranked North Kingstown just enough.

“We made the stop when we had to,” Croft said. “They dug down. At some point, you kind of felt like whoever had the ball last was going to win, but fortunately we hung on at the end. And now we’ve got to get healthy and ready for next week.”

No. 1 Hendricken (2-0) will host No. 2 La Salle Academy (2-0) this Friday night at 7 p.m.

Playing North Kingstown (1-1) a week prior was perfect preparation for what on paper is an even tougher battle for the Hawks.

“They’re all good tests,” Croft said. “At this point, that’s such a rivalry game. We’ve got to get some guys going again. They’re just gassed right now. Heck of a football team we played. We battled all the way to the end, so we’ve got to get some guys ready for next week.”

“We’re expecting another big crowd,” Croft added.

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