The Bishop Hendricken football team returned home last Friday night and jumped back into its inter-state schedule. Although the Hawks took a few losses to its out-of-state opponents, they reminded RI that they are still the state’s top team as they rolled past La Salle 24-7 in a championship rematch.
The Hendricken rushing attack had been the engine of the offense with its 1-2 punch of Jeremy Seidi and Jeremy Dennis to that point. All three of Hendricken’s touchdowns on Friday came on the ground, but quarterback Dylan Lynch would connect with receivers at critical moments throughout to set up a handful of red zone trips. Lynch finished the day going 13-for-16 passing and nearly 200 yards in the air.
“It felt great. The rivalry, the legacy, I think that it was more for the teams before us and after us to keep the legacy going. It shows the weapons that we have. We have (Sebastian) Lora, (Will) Mascena, Jonus (Rivera), Chase (Bedrossian), there are so many weapons to go to. Our running backs, the two studs. That opens up everything,” Lynch said.
The two clubs were scoreless after the first quarter but Lynch would rush for a 6-yard score early in the second to get Hendricken on the board. The Rams responded when La Salle quarterback Sam Perry tossed a deep touchdown pass to tie things up, but the Hawks marched down the field to set up a Dennis rushing score to regain the 14-7 lead at halftime.
The Hendricken defense was dominant in the second half as Lynch and the offense continued to roll. Scot Belford converted a 27-yard field goal in the third to extend the Hendricken lead and then Michael DaSilva rushed for a score deep in the fourth to close the door.
“It’s always good to get a win. Still a lot of things to clean up, but I am proud of the kids, proud of the coaches. It was a really well-balanced win today. It’s always intense and every year it gets a little bit bigger. It’s the biggest rivalry in Rhode Island and in this sport it’s the biggest rivalry. You see the intensity, the physicality,” said Hendricken head coach Keith Croft, who credited all three phases. “The defense played great and one thing that won’t show up on the stat sheet is that our kickoff team played great. We covered kickoffs very well. Our defense played really good. (La Salle) always (has) some different wrinkles, they’re a tough defense to prepare for. We were able to slow things down and I think our quarterback and receivers played well, too.”
Lynch added: “The defense was unbelievable. They were the MVPs of the game. Keeping that offense to 7 points, our defense showed out today.”
The Hawks will now hit the road to take on Barnstable before returning to RI for a DI clash against Central the following week.
After breaking out last season coming off the bench, Lynch is excited to keep the ball rolling as the Hawks eye the playoffs.
“I’m just trying to prove everyone wrong and keep moving forward. It’s all about winning, I could care less about my stats, it’s all about winning,” said Lynch.