It was a frantic final 2 minutes in the Burrillville-Mount Pleasant game; here's who won
BURRILLVILLE — There wasn’t enough time for another chance.
Logan Gelinas knew it. His best play of the afternoon at Alumni Field had to come soon.
Burrillville’s quarterback locked in on his most reliable target and floated a perfect pass toward the right corner of the end zone. Jack Dichiaro had a step on his man and was breaking free.
The Broncos went nearly 47 minutes without scoring an offensive point on this dreary Saturday. That lone touchdown with 1:18 left proved to be the difference in a Division II clash with Mount Pleasant.
Gelinas and Dichiaro hooked up for a 19-yard score and held on while the Kilties drove to the edge of the red zone. Gelinas clinched it with an interception in his own end zone and Burrillville escaped with a 13-8 victory.
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“It’s one thing to explain, preach and expect,” Burrillville coach Gennaro Ferraro said. “But then when they do it when it matters the most, that’s what makes me the most proud of them.”
The Broncos took over at their own 24 with 6:16 to play and little momentum. Mount Pleasant made a goal-line stand early in the second quarter and didn’t allow Burrillville to reach the red zone again until the dying seconds. Gelinas scrambled 3 yards on fourth down to the Kilties' 19, left for one play after absorbing a big hit from Jaheim Robertson and returned to set up a twins formation on the right side.
“It was man coverage on the outside,” Gelinas said. “[Dichiaro] is one of our best wide receivers. Give him the ball — a jump ball or in open space.”
Dichiaro took one jab step to the post before darting out toward the pylon. Gelinas dropped the ball over his right shoulder two steps from the sideline. Dichiaro made the last of his six catches and it handed the Broncos a second straight win in Division II-A.
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“I knew once he called the play, the ball was coming straight to me,” Dichiaro said. “During practice, that’s all we worked on. We knew this game was going to be a dogfight.”
Mount Pleasant moved quickly across midfield thanks to two catches by David Rodriguez. The in-demand wide receiver recruit made a beautiful contested grab down the right sideline that gave the Kilties a first down at the Burrillville 18. Mount Pleasant had the go-ahead touchdown called back due to an illegal formation and Adonai Lopez was intercepted looking for Rodriguez again in the right corner.
“We were scrambling,” Ferraro said. “They’ve got a ton of guys who can make similar plays in those situations.”
The Broncos (2-1, 2-0 in II-A) got off to a quick start thanks to their defense. The Kilties set up a bubble screen for Rodriguez to the right and Norm Soullier read it perfectly, carrying an interception 50 yards to the end zone. Burrillville enjoyed a 7-0 lead in the opening four minutes.
“He watches film every day,” Dichiaro said. “That’s how he read it easily. We knew [Rodriguez] was their guy.”
Mount Pleasant (2-1, 0-1) pivoted to the ground game while building a halftime lead. The Kilties put together a seven-minute drive that chewed up most of the second quarter, and Benji Soe capped it with a 1-yard touchdown smash up the middle. Soe added the 2-point conversion as well, staking the visitors to an 8-7 edge.
“There’s really nothing you can adjust,” Ferraro said. “That’s a mismatch issue that we have. We were just telling them to gang tackle and tackle the legs and go for the ball. It’s a mentality at that point.”
Soe totaled 86 of his game-high 93 rushing yards in the opening half. The Broncos lacked a similar threat — starting running back Leland Kelleher didn’t dress because of an undisclosed injury. Burrillville will need to tweak its game plan a bit next week for a regional battle with Cumberland — they're the only 2-0 teams remaining in Division II-A after just two weeks.
“It was a great fight,” Ferraro said. “Now we’re 2-0 — that sets us up. Our league, there’s no week off.”
Mount Pleasant 0 8 0 0 — 8
Burrillville 7 0 0 6 — 13
B — Norm Soullier 50 interception return (Daniel DelMonaco kick)
MP — Benji Soe 1 run (Soe rush)
B — Jack Dichiaro 19 pass from Logan Gelinas (pass failed)
Individual totals
Passing: MP, 5-15-2 52 (Adonai Lopez 5-14-2 52, David Rodriguez 0-1-0 0); B, 7-14-1 96 (Logan Gelinas 7-14-1 96).
Rushing: MP, 31-148 (Benji Soe 14-93, Lopez 9-35, Thomas West 7-18, Jamel Ruiz 1-2); B, 24-88 (Gelinas 16-70, Brendan Deem 7-18, Norm Soullier 1-0).
Receiving: MP, 5-52 (David Rodriguez 3-42, Nahzia Gadson 1-12, Soe 1-(-2)); B, 8-96 (Jack Dichiaro 6-68, Riley Hebert 1-22, Daniel DelMonaco 1-6).
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Logan Gelinas' pass to Jack Dichiaro wins it for the Broncos
