Archive - 2012 - Sports Article
November 14th
Some Friar hoop musings as Providence College gets set for a serious workout down in Puerto Rico âŠ
Standing in the hallway outside Joe Mullaney Gym late last week, Vincent Council touched upon the close-knit nature of this yearâs PC basketball team.
Itâs become a yearly occurrence for the programâs senior leader to begin his âState of the Friarsâ address by remarking that thereâs no friction in place and how everyone gets along just swimmingly. Donnie McGrath uttered something similar prior to the start of his final season in 2005. Ditto Sharaud Curry in the fall of 2009.
LINCOLN â Three Lincoln High School student-athletes sat at a table inside the schoolâs library Wednesday afternoon, tending to some pretty important business.
For months all of them took comfort in knowing that they selected the right college, the place of higher learning where they felt most comfortable upon completing their high school requirements. With the clock reading 4:17 p.m., the Lincoln seniors picked up a pen and with family, coaches and school administrators present, carefully signed the document before them.
WOONSOCKET â When Carissa Gould packs her bags and drives off to college sometime in August, she wonât have to worry about racking up heavy mileage on her Honda Odyssey.
Thatâs because Gould will only need to drive 10 minutes from her Woonsocket home to nearby Bryant University, a decision that she made official on Wednesday afternoon at Mount St. Charles Academy.
November 13th
CENTRAL FALLS â It was only appropriate that Central Falls High head coach Mo Jackson, who had strolled these sidelines for the past 13 years, would leave with a wildly-entertaining, 8-7 upset triumph over Division IV foe North Smithfield on Tuesday night.
His Warriors, who trailed 7-0 after just 2:31 had elapsed in the contest, fought tooth-and-nail in the muck that was â and is â Macomber Stadium, and Jackson reveled in the moment.
This, after all, would be his final home tilt ever at the decades-old ballyard.
November 12th
PROVIDENCE â Deep down, Ed Cooley knows that itâs probably not the best time to take his Providence Friars on a two-games-in-three-days junket in Puerto Rico.
Still, this is no time to convey weakness, which the second-year PC head coach clearly understands.
As Cooley emphatically stated following PCâs surprisingly easy 81-49 throttling of Bryant on Monday night, the show must go on â even if itâs without the services of senior point guard Vincent Council (hamstring).
November 11th
PROVIDENCE â As expected, the Providence College menâs basketball team will play Mondayâs intrastate contest against Bryant minus the services of senior catalyst Vincent Council.
Council sustained a hamstring injury in the early minutes of Saturdayâs season opener against NJIT, the result of the point guard slipping on The Dunk hardwood before falling awkwardly. His departure left head coach Ed Cooley with a razor-thin rotation featuring just six scholarship players and one walk-on.
PAWTUCKET â As is the standard after a football game, Woonsocket High head coach Carnell Henderson walked to the midfield stripe behind his troops and shook hands with opposing players and coaches alike.
He congratulated all for a job well done, then hugged a few St. Raphael Academy assistants before speaking briefly with long-time Saints' mentor Mike Sassi.
Maybe four milliseconds later, he bolted to his squad and leaped into a few of his heftier players' arms, then â after a few choice words, naturally all positive â he led his kids in a classic Villa Novans' chant.
CRANSTON â Head coach Jeremy Sherer didnât have to dig deep to find the reason why his North Smithfield team lost to two-time defending champion Exeter/West Greenwich in their Division II semifinal-round affair on Saturday afternoon at Cranston Stadium.
âI thought for the most part, we got muscled off the ball too much,â the second-year coach said after his Northmen suffered a 5-1 loss to the unbeaten Scarlet Knights. âTheyâre a strong team, theyâre physical, and they did a nice job of beating us to the ball. It really came down to the 50-50s. They won them and we didnât.â
November 9th
CUMBERLAND â How do you spell dominance? Try C-U-M-B-E-R-L-A-N-D on for size.
Cumberland kicked off its Division II playoff mission in emphatic fashion Friday evening, the Clippersâ 41-6 conquest of Westerly made possible by the usual cast of stellar performers. Erik Travers rushed for 112 yards and one touchdown while quarterback Brendan Guerin passed for two scores. Not to be outdone, Mitchell Baxter recorded two interceptions while teammates Joe Fine and Dan Stock also found the end zone.
PROVIDENCE â Ed Cooley came to Providence College armed with the reputation of being a defensive, get-after-it coach. The five years he spent at Fairfieldâs helm suggested that after a seemingly endless run of witnessing the Friars languish in the bottom tier in Big East team defense, more than lip service would finally be paid to an area that statistically speaking has been a major deficiency.
