By TERRY NAU

Sports editor

FOSTER – Ponaganset High’s quest for a perfect season could be put to a serious test on Thursday morning when a revitalized Burrillville team comes to town.
The Broncos won their final three Division II games and should be full of enthusiasm when they attempt to knock off the Chieftains, who are 9-0 in Division III action and heading to the playoffs on Dec. 1 against Tiverton.
“Just looking at Burrillville on film, you can see they are a dramatically improved team from last year,” Ponaganset coach Tom Marcello admitted. “They are much more disciplined and seem to be stronger physically, although that is hard to tell from the tape. I can see that they are flying around the field and playing with aggression and enthusiasm. I think the film shows what having a steady coaching influence can do for a team. Gennaro (Ferraro) and his staff have done a great job, The kids are really responding to their coaches.”
The same could be said for Ponaganset, which is riding a great run of talented athletes. Marcello’s club won the Division III Super Bowl crown two years ago, and would have made the playoffs last year save for a forfeited game that cost the team dearly in the final standings. And this year, despite losing quarterback Jake Kravitz to injury early in the season, Ponaganset has achieved unbeaten status. So far.
“I think we have played very good football over the first nine weeks,” Marcello admitted. “We’re still trying to get better. We didn’t have good offensive games against Johnston and Narragansett but then we bounced back with a pretty solid game against a good Smithfield team.”
Johnston held the high-scoring Chieftains down in a 14-6 loss on Halloween Night. Narragansett then followed suit, losing by a 15-8 margin on Nov. 7. Ponaganset went on to beat Smithfield 28-0 last Sunday.
“I think it was more about what we didn’t do against Johnston and Narragansett, rather than what they took away from us,” Marcello said. “Not to take anything away from them. I think we got a little complacent on offense. We were relying too much on our athletes making great plays instead of doing the fundamental things, the little things we need to do on every play.”
Ponaganset certainly has its share of big-play performers. Halfback Nick Keeling, who is as good in the open field as any runner in the state, rushed for 1,161 yards on 163 carries this season, an average of 7.12 yards per carry. The shifty senior scored 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Josh Morgan, who took over at quarterback when Kravitz went down back in September, ran for 177 yards on 41 carries. Morgan has ranked with the most explosive wide receivers in the state over the past two seasons. When he switched to quarterback, his speed and good hands again came into play, allowing him to run the offense with assurance. The senior also showed a good arm, completing 37 of 70 passes, nine of them for touchdowns.
Adam Babcock is another big-play guy for Ponaganset. The wide receiver caught 22 passes for 407 yards and 6 TDs. Peter Mathieu checked in with 7 catches for an amazing 253 yards (36 yards per catch!) and 3 TDs. Keeling is also dangerous coming out of the backfield, catching 6 balls for 131 yards and 1 TD through the air.
Most of these offensive stars also shine on defense for Ponaganset. But the defense is anchored by linebacker Garrett Drainville, who averaged 11.3 tackles per game this season. Keeling is second in the team with 81 tackles.
Burrillville will counter with an offense led by quarterback Roger Blanchard and halfback Brendan Darigan. Blanchard completed 106 of 209 passes this year for 12 TDs. Darigan averaged 82.3 yards per game rushing the football, accumulating 741 yards on 140 totes.
Dylan Armstrong and Ed Malone are Blanchard’s two favorite receivers. Armstrong caught 35 passes for 552 yards and 4 TDs. Malone added 34 catches for 593 yards and 3 TDs.
Linebacker Jeff Hauser led the defense with 84 tackles.
Burrillville began the season with five losses in its first six games. The Broncos’ defense came up strong in a 14-0 loss to Woonsocket and then the offense started to kick into gear the following week against Tolman during a 21-7 Homecoming victory.
Burrillville gained some momentum with a 12-10 win at Chariho and then showed its full potential during a 35-12 romp over Toll Gate during the Division II consolation playoff round.
That game gives the Broncos a lot of confidence heading into Thursday morning’s game against Ponaganset.
“We haven’t looked past any team in the past 3 years,” Marcello said, “and we won’t be looking past Burrillville. Our kids never talk about next week, or even last week. Everything is about this week’s game. The next game. As coaches and players, we don’t feel any pressure being undefeated because nobody can put any more pressure on us than we put on ourselves. Our goal is to play every down as hard as we can and never let up for 48 minutes of each game.”
Marcello is completing his fifth season as head coach at Ponaganset. This year’s team has confirmed the feeling that Ponaganset is a good football school backed by strong community support.
“We’ve established a winning tradition,” Marcello admitted. “I give a lot of credit to the families of the players and the people who back Ponaganset football. This is a great place to play ball.”