EAST PROVIDENCE — At home, in front of a fired up crowd on homecoming and under the bright lights of local television cameras, the East Providence High School football team couldn't quite close the deal against visiting Cranston West in a Division II-A outing played Friday night, Sept. 28, at Townie Stadium.

The hosts steadied themselves after taking a few shots in the first half, rallying all the way back to grab a slim one-point late in the fourth quarter.

But the Falcons found an answer in the waning moments, notching the game-clinching touchdown with just 20 seconds remaining to secure the 27-22 victory.

The win was the first in three league games for Cranston West, which fell to both Burrillville (35-20) and St. Raphael (14-13) in its earlier II-A contest.

East Providence also dropped to 1-2 in the II-A standings, following a defeat of said St. Ray's three weeks ago and a loss to Cumberland the next week.

Last week, the Townies had little in the way of offense in the opening 24 minutes. In fact, the locals couldn't get on the board, trailing 14-0 at intermission.

The Falcons, with a bit of help from their hosts, used up nearly 10 minutes of the first quarter on the game's opening drive to score the  initial touchdown of the night and take a 7-0 lead.

West appeared to be looking at a three-and-out to end the series, but on the subsequent fourth-down punt East Providence was flagged with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. So instead of having to defend the Townies inside its own territory after what was a poor punt, West was back on offense with a first down at the EP 43.

The Falcons tacked on two more first downs courtesy of some superb running by back Ray Mahoney. West later faced another fourth down play, and this time it was the Falcons' own doing that was impactful.

Junior quarterback Kelan Cornell floated a pass to the left front pylon at the goal line, allowing mate Jack Majcher to outmaneuver his EP defender for the ball and the touchdown. Majcher then kicked for point, making the score 7-0.

The Townies then punted on their brief first possession, which just about closed the opening quarter.

Back with the ball, West needed 12 plays to score for a second time.

Majcher was a central figure in this drive as well, receiving and running for a 21-yard completion on another fourth down toss from Cornell to set up the Falcons first-and-goal at the EP.

On the next play, Cornell connected with his brother and sophomore receiver Charlie for the TD. Majcher's PAT made it 14-0 with just a few minutes left in the half.

The Townies got their offense going somewhat just before the break and appeared poised to possibly put some points on the board, but Majcher again made his presence felt to thwart the locals.

EP picked up a pair of first downs on two 16-yard plays to drive deep into West territory. Sophomore QB Jacob Duarte hit end Cam Evory on a pass completion for one while full back Steven Clark Jr. rushed for the other.

Set up with a first-and-10 at the Falcon 20, however, Duarte threw an ill-advised pass into coverage towards the endzone. At the goal line, Majcher tipped the throw then hauled it in for the interception.

Out of the break the third quarter saw some impressive, rapid fire action and answers by both teams.

To start the period, the hosts were able to match what their guests did to start the game and needed only two plays to do so.

Clarke ran the first play of the second half for six yards to the West 43. On the second, Duarte threw a short cross to Isaac Fox, who then took it the rest of the way for the 43-yard completion. The Townies' attempt for two failed, leaving the score 14-6 Falcons.

West, though, had an immediate response and also needed just a pair of snaps to cover 54 yards to reach the endzone.

The elder Cornell connected again with Majcher, this time the latter making a sensational, diving/juggling catch for 35 yards to give the Falcons a first down at the EP 19.

And as happened as well in the first half, the Cornell bros hooked up for a TD completion on the next play, a 19-yard fade to the back of the south endzone. Majcher's kick made it 21-6 Falcons with 7:45 to go in the third.

Once more, though, the Townies answered quickly. Two plays into its ensuing drive, Duarte hit Fox on a second pass-and-catch for six, this one on a roll out to the QB's right for 57 yards. Clark ran in the conversion making it 21-14 West with 6:40 left in the third.

The action settled from that point until late in the fourth when things picked up for the last time.

The Townies began what was their go-ahead scoring drive at their own 24 following a West punt mid-way through the final quarter.

Clarke had three nice runs during the possession, including a rush for seven on a fourth-and-six play. His last set up EP with a first-and-10 at the Falcons's 20.

On the second play of that series, Duarte hit Cam Evora for a 20-yard TD strike. Fox then ran in for two, giving the locals a 22-21 edge with 4:08 to go.

The Townies appeared to be on the precipice of a win, and actually came oh-so-close to picking off Cornell twice in West's game-winning drive but couldn't quite wrap their hands around the ball.

Cornell would run for a key first on a fourth-and-three from the EP 43 with about two minutes left. The Falcons picked up two more firsts before the Cornell-Majcher duo came up large for the last time.

With 20 seconds showing, Cornell rolled to his left, throwing against his body into coverage at the goal line where Majcher, near identical to what he did earlier, outdueled a pair of Townies to make the touchdown catch.

The Falcons' run attempt for two failed, but they still took a 27-22 lead they would hold to the end and after two more Townie plays.

East Providence is back in action for its second of two Thursday night games, this one at home against Mt. Pleasant. Kickoff on October 5 against the Kilties at Townie Stadium is set for 6 p.m.

Teams were asked by the Interscholastic League to play at least one Thursday night game to compensate for the dearth of referees. The Townies played Cumberland two weeks on a Thursday night.

Mt. Pleasant comes to the city with a 0-2 record in the II-A ranks. The Kilties lost to Cranston East, 20-6, in their league crossover agains the II-B Thunderbolts. They're coming off a 13-8 loss to Burrillville last week.

— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com contributing photographer Julie Furtado shot the accompanying gallery of photos.