By Charlie Adams

NEFJ Staff

WARWICK — Razor-thin finishes are no stranger to Johnston and Pilgrim.

Two weeks ago, Pilgrim beat Johnston in a 52-50 double-overtime thriller. This Friday’s rematch in the Division III quarterfinals delivered another exciting back-and-forth, ultimately decided by one point.

No. 2 Pilgrim squeaked past No. 7 Johnston in a 28-27 victory. The Panthers finish their season 2-7, while the Patriots (6-3) will face No. 3 Ponaganset in the D-III semifinals next week.

“They battled the whole time,” Pilgrim head coach Blake Simpson said. “We had a ton of mistakes but we were able to overcome those, get the ball back, and put up 28 points.”

Johnston opened the game on offense, quickly marching to the goal line. The Panthers’ leading rusher, Dean Paris, was injured on the drive and was sidelined for the rest of the game.

In his absence, Giovanni Celani punched in a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Jayden Ponte converted the extra point, putting the Panthers up 7-0.

After a snap on a punt attempt from Johnston got away, Pilgrim had a chance to tie. The Panthers turned the ball over on their own 1-yard line. Luka Ruscio took a handoff in for the score. Penalties left Santiago Holgado with a long PAT, his attempt had the distance but doinked off the left upright and kept Johnston ahead.

The Panthers extended their lead as Matthew Clements found Lyalo Harrison-Perez for a 10-yard touchdown, Ponte’s PAT made it a 14-6 game.

Pilgrim tied the game before halftime with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Jacob Soulliere. After the missed extra point, the Patriots went for two and converted as Carter Clifton found a wide-open Dylan Rodrigues.

A muffed squib kickoff allowed Johnston to steal possession to open the second half. Johnston took advantage as Clements connected with Michael Abbruzzi on a fourth and long before Celani scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard rush.

Clifton responded early in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Schobel.

“Hunter is a great athlete, all-state track and he just burns down the field,” Clifton said.

Trailing by one, Pilgrim planned to take the lead with another two-point conversion. Again, it was a wide-open Rodrigues catching the pass to convert the two-point try.

“He flows with me when I’m scrambling out of the pocket, and he has good ball presence,” Clifton said. “He’s always around the ball so it’s nice to see him just wide open.”

Pilgrim returned to the scoring column with a 2-yard rushing touchdown on a keeper by Clifton. Johnston’s defense stopped the Patriots on their third straight two-point attempt, leaving the score at 28-21.

In a last gasp, Clements sent a 34-yard touchdown pass to Harrison-Perez. Johnston came out to go for the PAT before calling a timeout and going for the win. Clements’ pass on the two-point chance fell short, ending the Panthers’ playoff hopes.

“Our defense came up big at the end of the game,” Clifton said. “That’s what they need to do always, keep doing that and we’ll be good.”

Pilgrim advances to face Ponaganset, a team that defeated the Patriots 40-14 in the final regular season game.

“It definitely helps that we played them recently,” Simpson said. “We have a good idea of what they’re going to do offensively and defensively, and we know the mistakes that we made.”

With a Super Bowl bid on the line, Clifton is also looking forward to Pilgrim’s chance at redemption.

“Since that quiet bus ride home we just wanted to play them again,” Clifton said. “We know we were better than what we played.”