Classical's supporting cast proved to be the difference in Div. 2 Super Bowl
CRANSTON — It was always going to take more than one player for Classical to come out on top on Saturday.
Marquis Buchanan is a wonderful talent, but he alone wasn’t going to carry the Purple to an upset of St. Raphael in the Interscholastic League Division II Super Bowl. More was required to hand the Saints their first defeat of the season, and Classical received it when needed from several key contributors.
Buchanan wasn’t even the game’s Most Valuable Player. That honor went to fellow senior Elijah Nyahkoon, and he could have shared it with a handful of teammates. It was testimony to just how well the Purple meshed in this 28-14 surprise on a beautiful afternoon at Cranston Stadium.
“We have a bunch of guys who can step up and make plays,” Nyahkoon said. “When you get to the championship, that’s all it comes down to — who's going to make the best plays. We had the better side today.”
Nyahkoon rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns, as Classical pulled away after nursing just a 7-6 lead at the break. Edwin Domenech hauled in a 70-yard score from Jalen Dennis on the first play of the third quarter and St. Raphael (10-1) was stuck chasing the rest of the way.
“It’s ironman football,” Classical coach Kris McCall said. “We go about 14 deep. Everybody’s got to play.
“I was yelling at a couple of kids on the sideline because I heard them say the T word — tired. And I was like, ‘Dude, no time. It’s the state championship. You’re not tired.’ ”
Buchanan was a decoy on the play that ultimately allowed the Purple (9-2) to extend their momentum beyond the break. He went in motion to the left, inducing an adjustment from the Saints' linebackers and secondary. Domenech slipped up the right seam and was wide open when Dennis lofted his pass over the top.
“Coach called it,” Domenech said. “We were talking about it and he said, ‘We’re going to come out of half, we’re going straight to Edwin and it’s going to be a touchdown.’ He called it and that’s what happened.”
Buchanan forced a fumble later in the quarter, tracking down a St. Raphael runner on the fringe of the red zone and stripping him from behind. He then broke loose for his biggest gain of the game, a 59-yard sprint around left end to the Saints 15. Nyahkoon smashed home from inside the 5 and the Purple had a 21-6 cushion.
“Elijah’s great,” Buchanan said. “He’s like a little me — just not as big. But he’s a warrior. He can catch. He hits the hole hard. That’s what he did to win it.”
Classical’s defense came up with a pair of stops in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Jordan Duke’s quarterback pressure forced an incomplete pass on fourth down with less than four minutes to play. Tyler Lee’s interception along the right sideline allowed the Purple to take a knee and run the clock out.
“We just knew we had to play free,” Buchanan said. “We’re the underdogs — come out and shock the world like we did today. Everybody just played their hearts out.”
Classical dropped its final game of the regular season to St. Raphael, a 37-19 home defeat that left the Purple wanting more. They grinded past Coventry and Tolman in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, allowing a total of 14 points. This was the first title for the program since winning the Division IV crown in 2007, and it occurred roughly seven months after falling to Johnston in the Division III semifinals.
“We were missing about 10 kids today,” McCall said. “The numbers that we have, we struggle to maintain. We’ve come a long way.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Classical defeats St. Raphael in Div. II high school Super Bowl
