By Charlie Adams
NEFJ Correspondent
PROVIDENCE — “I feel great for the kids. They’re a great group,” said BC High coach Paul Zukauskas following a 13-0 victory over La Salle Academy.
In his first year as head coach, the Eagles are 1-0 to start the young season. BC High is clicking on the field, and off the field you can see a team that is buying in to the same goal and reaping the rewards. The energy is palpable, and a lot of that is a credit to the senior leadership who received praise from Zukauskas postgame.
In the first half neither team could find their way on to the scoreboard. For BC High, it came down to missed opportunities.
La Salle’s Timoy Stitchell fumbled the football early in the first quarter, with Josh LaPointe recovering the loose football for the Eagles. Starting in La Salle territory, BC High stalled out just seven yards away. A fourth down attempt from Carter Carroll fell just out of reach of the diving Tommy O’Donnell in the end zone.
BC High missed another scoring opportunity at the beginning of the second quarter after another drive stalled in the red zone. On fourth down the Eagles decided to try a 27-yard field goal, kicker Tommy Coleman left it short and kept it scoreless.
The Eagles offense faltered twice more in the first half. Carroll had a short pass that was intercepted by Donald Young, followed up by a turnover on downs in the red zone to close the half.
The second half brought scoring, but not before the Rams would fumble for the second time. Quarterback Samuel Perry had it knocked out of his hands as he reared back to pass, BC High’s Matt Halloran was there to scoop it up and take away one of La Salle’s best scoring chances of the day.
After the second fumble recovery, the Eagles marched down the field and scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown with an inside handoff to Jackson Richard. Coleman bounced back from his earlier miss to knock in the extra point and give BC High a 7-0 lead.
La Salle’s struggling offense looked to quickly respond with a deep try down the sideline from Perry. Their attempt to get back into the game backfired as BC High’s Ke’Moni Antenor-Elston made a spectacular leaping catch to intercept the pass.
After the game Antenor-Elston said, “I think it had a big part in the momentum.”
“It’s something that I work on in practice and I have been working on my whole life. So it’s something that I knew could do, and I saw the ball in the air and knew I had to make a play on it.”
From that point on it certainly felt like the momentum was with the Eagles. Carroll found Conrad Babka, who stiff-armed his way into the end zone, tacking on another touchdown in the fourth to solidify the win. The PAT attempt by Coleman was blocked, leaving the game 13-0.
With time dwindling for the Rams, one final turnover sealed La Salle’s fate. Charles Sayegh lost control of the football, and BC High’s Brendan Ryan scooped up the fumble. The Eagles would kneel out the final seconds and take home the win in the out-of-state matchup.
La Salle struggled, suffering their first loss of the year in shutout fashion. Some bright spots showed defensively, with many red zone defensive stops in the first half. This defeat should give the Rams a good idea on what to build on as they gear up for a new-look RIIL Division-I.
BC High had a sluggish start offensively, but in the second half they showed they were the more level-headed team that could fight through the tough moments and outwork their opponents.
Coach Zukauskas credited his offense for sticking to the game plan.
“I’m just really proud of the offense, especially the offensive line, for sticking with it.”
La Salle returns home next week to take on another out of state prep school in St. John’s of Shrewsbury.
BC High will go on the road next week to face Fairhaven.