Mariners Win Battle of Lines, Defensive Struggle vs. Islanders

NARRAGANSETT – Although they took their sweet time in doing it, the Mariners used a lockdown defense and a pounding running game to wear down the Middletown Islanders 7-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Narragansett (2-1, 2-0 Division III) had chances in the first half to take the lead, but fumbled multiple times, once less than a yard from the goal line. 

However, senior running back Francis Castrovillari regained his composure in the fourth quarter, and formed a good one-two punch with fellow senior Willie Perkins in the backfield. The Mariners finally broke a 0-0 deadlock with 1:22 remaining.

Perkins set up the play with his running on the drive. He had first down carries for 28, 11 and 15 yards, setting up a first-and-goal from the six-yard line. Castrovillari then got the call, pounding the ball up the middle before bouncing a bit outside for the touchdown.

Freshman Christian Humulock kicked the extra point for the Mariners. The drive ate up 7:17 on the game clock, and on Middletown’s final drive, Narragansett’s Jimmy Kershaw broke up a pass in the end zone to regain possession.

Perkins finished with 172 yards on 23 carries, and had six carries of at least 10 yards. Castrovillari churned out 70 yards on 15 carries. The Mariners mostly kept the ball on the ground, finishing with 269 yards on 46 carries.

Narragansett head coach Dick Fossa said that while he was happy with the defense’s effort, it was going to be a week in the classroom for his team.

“We’re going to have classroom, 45 minutes in the classroom,” he said, referring to the lack of basic football knowledge of his team. “They don’t understand the game. They play Madden 2012, but don’t know the fundamentals.”

Specifically, Fossa criticized his team’s handling of the football. Although he had a touchdown on the final drive, Castrovillari fumbled three times in the first three quarters, and Perkins also dropped a pitch from quarterback Mark Griffith. The four miscues led to three turnovers.

However, the Islanders (2-1, 1-1 Division III) couldn’t capitalize on the Narragansett mistakes. Despite starting in a variety of field positions, Middletown never got past the 25-yard line, and that came on the final drive of the game.

The Islanders managed just seven first downs the entire game, one of which came on a fake punt. Quarterback Justin Sellar struggled in particular, only completing one pass in seven attempts and throwing a pick. The Islanders only had 126 yards on offense.

Middletown also had a costly turnover of its own. With time winding down in the second quarter, the Islanders forced a Castrovillari fumble at the goal line and recovered in the end zone.

On the very next play from the 20-yard line, Sellar threw an interception to Kershaw, killing any momentum the Islanders had going into the half.

Middletown head coach Arthur Bell said he expected to see these sort of mistakes from his team though. He singled out a third down play on the final drive – Sellar was tackled while trying to scramble, instead of throwing a fade to the corner or throwing the ball away.

“There are times when you have to make that decision [whether to run or pass], and it’ll come with experience,” Bell said, noting that he was relying on several younger players because of graduated players.

“I ask them to give 110 percent and they did,” he said. “We took some chances, and we have to because they’re [Narragansett] bigger upfront … I’m proud of my kids.”

Narragansett hosts Moses Brown (1-1, 0-1 Division III) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Middletown plays at East Greenwich (2-1, 2-0 Division III) 7 p.m. Friday. The Avengers lost 20-0 against Lincoln last week. However, Lincoln used an ineligible player, and the game was awarded to East Greenwich this week.

NARRAGANSETT STATISTICS

MIDDLETOWN STATISTICS

The Providence Journal was also at yesterday’s game. For their photos of the event, click here.