Turnovers Prove Costly In Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout 12-6 Loss

WEST GREENWICH, RI — Friday night lights? Not this time. The game between Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout and Davies High School was supposed to kick off Friday night, but light issues moved the game first to Fairlawn Memorial Park in Pawtucket and then to Pariseau Field Saturday, because of issues with the field.

Once the game got going, it just wasn't the Knights day, as turnovers proved costly in a 12-6 loss.

The first quarter, it was all defense. Exeter-West Greenwich forced two fumbles. Defensive end Christian Dimery and safety Conner Hawes knocked the balls loose, while safety John Lafond and linebacker Tyler Stanton came up with the recoveries.

But the Knights could not capitalize. Instead, the Knights had their own issues with turnovers. First was a perfect 40-yard pass by Chris Cardolino. Hawes caught the ball, but fumbled, erasing a touchdown opportunity.

Also in the first quarter, was a momentum drive killer, when Tyler Stanton fumbled the ball after picking up six yards on the ground.

"You can't turn the ball over like that," Coach Cliff Fortin said. "You can’t leave points on the field. When you have the opportunity to hit a big play and score, you have to make it happen. You can’t lose your focus and put the ball on the ground."

The second quarter was more of the same, as both teams made mistakes. Stanton put the ball on the ground again, and Todd Schofield also fumbled.

The Knights did manage to put an offensive drive together with some hard running by Hunter Mumford and Jarred Zalcberg, along with some good throws from Cardolino to Logan Hawes and Zalcberg. The drive finished with Mumford punching the ball into the end zone on a 3-yard run.

Despite the mistakes, Exeter-West Greenwich-Prout led at halftime 6-0.

"We played ugly football, we did not execute, we turned the ball over, we missed scoring opportunities, we missed assignments, we missed tackles, and we didn’t play Knights football," Fortin said. "What's worse is that it was only the first half."

Things didn't improve after halftime. The Knights had opportunities to score, but dropped passes killed the team's third quarter drives. Davies, on the other hand, turned it around, stopped their turnovers and put a touchdown on the board to tie the game.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. Both teams struggled to move the ball, until Davies used read-option plays and scored a touchdown late in the quarter.

With just over a minute left in the game, the Knights had one last drive to win or tie. Cardolino tried to bring his team back, completing a pass to wide receiver Jacob Roberts, who managed to break through a few defenders to pick up more yards. But ultimately, the Knights couldn't get it done and came up short 12-6.

"We didn’t play well at all, all three phases of the game were not good," Fortin said. "You can’t turn the ball over like that and expect win any game. We came out flat and finished flat. Great job by Davies, who fought harder than we did for the win. Sometimes games will be a dog fight, and this was a dog fight that we lost."

Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout's next game is on Saturday at home against Smithfield High School. Kickoff is at 11 a.m.