Packed stands, the game down to the last seconds: How North Kingstown football won

NORTH KINGSTOWN — The Division I football postseason won’t start for two weeks, but there was an unmistakable playoff feel to Friday’s regular-season finale.

A packed house at North Kingstown High School witnessed a game that came down to the gritty moments that so often define postseason matchups — defensive stops, big plays in key spots and the kicking game. In the end, Liam Kennett’s 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter made the difference in a 10-7 win for the Skippers. Central drove deep into North Kingstown territory in the final minutes but missed a field-goal try that would have tied the game.

“The effort was amazing. We bent but we didn’t break,” North Kingstown senior Trent Sterner said. “They were driving it but we did a great job coming through and never giving up.”

The victory clinches the No. 3 seed for North Kingstown in the Division I playoffs. The Skippers will match up against No. 2 La Salle in the semifinals. Central is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 1 Bishop Hendricken.

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Here’s what stood out from the thriller.

A stop gets NK started

On the heels of a deflating loss to Cumberland last week, North Kingstown found the spark it needed in the form of a goal-line stand in the second quarter.

Central had a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line in a scoreless game. It was a tug-of-war from there, with the Knights eventually facing fourth down at the 2-yard line. Alone in the backfield, quarterback Avani Rodrigues took a shotgun snap and bolted for the end zone, stretching the ball up when defensive lineman Kohen Camberg met him. He kept reaching the ball out as he fought to stay up and it appeared that he briefly got it over the goal line as he hit the ground. After a long discussion, the officials ruled the ball down just shy of the end zone, giving North Kingstown the ball on a turnover on downs.

“Controversial call,” North Kingstown’s Brayden Rogers said. “One ref had it as a touchdown, one had it as not. We were confident that we had them short.”

“It was definitely over the line, but we’re not in college,” Central head coach Mike Washington said. “You can’t replay it. It is what it is — what can you do?”

Disagreements aside, North Kingstown was off and running. Victor Encarnacion immediately broke the Skippers out with a 24-yard run. Rogers and Sterner connected for a 53-yard catch-and-run soon after, which put the ball into the red zone. Rogers then found Sterner in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown and the 7-0 lead.

“That was the best drive we’ve had all year,” North Kingstown head coach Dave Giorgi said. “We ran the ball, we threw the ball, we made some big plays. That’s the drive we’ve been waiting for all year. I think that’s a nice, positive boost for the playoffs.”

Defense and special teams come up clutch

The touchdown that came after the goal-line stand would be North’s only trip to the end zone all night, but defense and special teams took care of everything else.

Central delivered a statement drive coming out of halftime, churning up 63 yards by way of nine running plays. Michael Toure powered in from 4 yards out, and Mark Santos’ PAT tied the score.

Central had the ball in North territory on its next possession but the Skippers forced a turnover on downs, stuffing Rodrigues on a fourth-and-6 after a bobbled snap. The Skippers then reclaimed the lead. A long pass from Rogers to Cooper Berthelot set them up in the red zone. Eventually faced with fourth-and-inches at the 3-yard line, they went for the first down and got it, but were pushed back on a penalty for aiding the runner.

“We went for the fourth down and did pick it up, but we had the penalty,” Rogers said. “At that point, 7-7 game, defense was playing great. Just take the points and try to grind it out.”

Now in a fourth-and-6, the Skippers sent out Kennett and he drilled the go-ahead field goal with 8:32 left in the fourth quarter.

“He’s automatic,” Giorgi said. “Anything inside 35, sometimes 40, he’ll hit it. To me, he’s a Division I kicker. I always ask him, ‘Do you feel good?’ And he just always says, ‘Coach, I got you.’ In my eyes, he’s the best kicker in the state.”

The North Kingstown defense followed with another stop but still needed one more. Pinned at its own 3-yard line with five minutes left, Central stormed down the field on the backs of Toure and Damarion Kyne. Toure broke a 25-yard run and Kyne busted loose for 36 yards.

With the ball at the 20-yard line, the North defense muscled up, limiting three straight running plays to two yards each. On fourth down, the Knights initially lined up to go for it, but after timeouts by each side, they reversed course. Santos lined up for a 31-yard field-goal attempt with 51 seconds left and missed it wide left.

“I went back and forth with it a few times,” Washington said. “It’s one of those things where if you go for it and you don’t get it, you say you should have kicked it. And if you kick and you miss it, you say you should have gone for it. It’s a double-edged sword. Our kicker is really good — I trust him. High-pressure situation for sure. At the end of the day, I trust my kids. I’d do it again.”

Skippers respond after disappointment

Last week’s 28-3 loss to Cumberland was North Kingstown’s first defeat against a fellow public school since 2021. It was the stunning culmination of a tough stretch for the Skippers, who dropped games to Hendricken and La Salle and dealt with some significant injuries, including a season-ender for star wide receiver Noah Gincastro.

The loss and the surrounding challenges could have been enough to knock the Skippers off course, but they didn’t let it happen.

“We really turned the page and locked in, had a great week of practice,” Sterner said. “That game, it was tough, but we learned from it and we got better.”

The Skippers will have their hands full with La Salle in the playoffs, but they’ll be up for it. If there were any doubts about their mettle, this week’s bounce back puts those to rest.

“We’ve got a special group,” Giorgi said. “The kids believe. We had a tough loss last week. They could have quit. They came in the next day and worked twice as hard.”

A season of near-misses for the Knights

One point. Three points. Seven points.

Those are the margins of defeat for Central in its Division I league games. You can also add a 2-0 loss to Woonsocket and a 19-15 defeat to Westerly to the list.

The Knights are clearly one of the best teams in the state. They just don’t have as much to show for it as they deserve thanks to all the heartbreakers.

“That’s been the whole season for us,” Washington said. “One possession, one play — almost, almost, almost. We’ve got two weeks to clean it up. It is what it is.”

The team’s powerful run game was on full display against North Kingstown, with Kyne racking up 145 yards. The defense was strong, as well.

If confidence matters and if the frustration can be channeled into that much more drive, there’s still time for the Knights to do what they’re capable of.

“The message is we’ve got to do the impossible,” Washington said. “We’ve got to steal two games — one from Hendricken and one from whoever advances from the other side. We’ve got a week to get healthy. We usually play our best football against Hendricken. It’s just going to be about executing and finishing.”

Skippers and Knights won’t be easy outs

This year’s playoff matchups are the same as last year. Hendricken and La Salle are the favorites to meet in the finals again.

But Central and North Kingstown will have their say. As predictable as the outcomes were in D-I games during the regular season, most of the matchups were close. La Salle’s 42-24 win over North Kingstown was the largest margin. All the other games were decided by 10 points or less.

“The last however many years, you’ve had Hendricken and La Salle in the finals, and rightfully so,” Giorgi said. “They’re two very good programs and they’re well-coached. Us and Central, we’re trying to get our teams to that level. Both of us have played those two teams tough. We’re going to give them a couple of days off and then we’ll focus in on it. We’ll fix a lot of our mistakes and figure out where we can get better. Maybe we’ll surprise some people.”

NORTH KINGSTOWN 10, CENTRAL 7

Second quarter

N - Brayden Rogers 18 pass to Trent Sterner (Liam Kennett kick), :58

Third quarter

C - Michael Toure 4 run (Mark Santos kick), 6:31

Fourth quarter

N - Kennet 25 field goal, 8:32

TEAM STATISTICS

RUSHING - North Kingstown 49, Central 256. PASSING - North Kingstown 9-16-164, Central 4-7-47. TOTAL OFFENSE - North Kingstown 213, Central 303. FIRST DOWNS - North Kingstown 7, Central 13. FUMBLES-LOST - North Kingstown 2-1, Central 1-0. TOTAL TURNOVERS - North Kingstown 1, Central 0.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - North Kingstown - Victor Encarnacion 10-57; Rogers 9-(-9). Central - Damarion Kyne 20-145; Toure 7-56, TD; Richard Bridges 9-33; Avani Rodrigues 6-18; Ramel Richards 2-4.

PASSING: North Kingstown - Rogers 9-16-164, TD; Central - Rodrigues 4-5-47; Kyne 0-2.

RECEIVING: North Kingstown - Sterner 3-78, TD; Cooper Berthelot 1-49; Gian Iacuele 3-21; Chris Ciarniello 1-11; Encarnacion 1-5. Central - Kyne 1-20; Richards 2-16; Demetrius Outland 1-11.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: North Kingstown football beats Central, clinches No. 3 playoff seed