Exeter-W. Greenwich/Prout Football Advances In 19-3 Upset

WEST GREENWICH, RI — The Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout football team were underdogs on the road in their first playoff game. But that didn't stop the sixth seed Knights from have a dominating defensive performance, defeating third seed Smithfield to advance to the quarterfinals.

The game started with the Sentinels making some gains on the ground in the first few plays, but the Knights' defense didn't let that intimidate them. They rolled up their sleeves, dug in and forced a punt.

And nine plays after getting the ball, the Knights took the lead and never looked back. Todd Schofield took a carry 45 yards for a touchdown, and freshman kicker Harris Krupp converted the extra point, giving the Knights a 7-0 lead.

Smithfield couldn't get anything going offensively in the first quarter thanks to big plays by Austin Hawes. His first of two sacks was crucial in ending a Smithfield drive.

In the second quarter, the game stayed close, as Smithfield showed signs of life. The Knights had trouble moving the ball and had a costly turnover that gave the Sentinels good field position.

But the Knights defense stepped up. Tyler Coates had one of his two sacks in the quarter, and most of Smithfield's drives resulted in no points. The Sentinels would score their only points of the game on a field goal before the end of the half.

"We made too many mistakes, Knights coach Cliff Fortin said about his team's first half performance. "Our first drive was how you want to start the game off, but we didn’t do anything offensively after that. Our defense kept us in the game in the first half."

In the third quarter, the game stayed physical. The hits were noticeably louder, and the intensity was high. So the Knight's matched Smithfield's intensity with solid running by Hunter Mumford, Jared Zalcberg and Christian Dimery, along with physical offensive line play. Then, quarterback Chris Cardolino scored on a five-yard run, giving the Knights a 13-3 lead.

The fourth quarter was more of the same, with Cardolino getting another five-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Knights a 19-3 lead.

Smithfield went to the air game to try to catch up with time running out. But once again, the Knights defense wasn't having it. Dimery, Coates and Mumford all had sacks. Tyler Stanton, Zalcberg and Max Lafond all came up with big tackles, and John LaFond sealed the game with his pass break-ups.

The game wouldn’t be complete until Fortin's team snuck behind him and got him with the gallons of not water, but Gatorade.

"I didn't expect it. I didn't see it coming, but man did I feel it," Fortin said.

"This is a great feeling, we worked so hard all year," Fortin added. "We are young and very raw. To make it to the playoffs is great, but to win and keep playing is amazing. We put a good game plan in. We knew they wanted to run the ball, and we just weren't going to allow that."

The Knights next game will be at 6 p.m., Friday against Providence Country Day.