Portsmouth downs West Warwick in Homecoming game, 30-22

Patriots host Cumberland Friday night

Posted 10/14/24

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Patriots football team held off a pesky Division II West Warwick squad in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, 30-22.

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Portsmouth downs West Warwick in Homecoming game, 30-22

Patriots host Cumberland Friday night

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Patriots football team held off a pesky Division II West Warwick squad in the annual Homecoming game on Saturday, 30-22.

The Wizards got on the board first, with a quarterback sneak by Nathan Corona inside the 1-yard line with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. The extra point was good, making it 7-0 West Warwick.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Wizards tried a surprise squib kick, but it was recovered by Portsmouth’s Joe Anderson on the 34-yard line.

With just under 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, the Patriots answered with a quarterback sneak of its own, as Adam Conheeny ran it in from the 1-yard line. Conheeny kept it again as he ran in the end zone for a successful 2-point conversion, making it 8-6 Portsmouth.

On the next possession, the Wizards were unsuccessful on a fourth-down pass attempt from the Patriots’ 6-yard line, where the home team took over. 

On second down from their own 10-yard line, Conheeny took the snap and ran 90 yards untouched down the left sideline into the end zone. Joseph Sanderson ran to the right for another successful 2-point conversion, making it 16-7 Patriots with just over two minutes left in the half.

The Wizards came right back in the second half, however, scoring on a short run play and then a 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 16-15 Portsmouth with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

The Patriots didn’t blink, though. Following a 19-yard keeper by Conheeny for a first down to their own 48, Sanderson took the handoff from Conheeny and dodged a few tacklers on the left side before finding the end zone. His 52-yard touchdown run — a 2-point conversion was no good — made it 22-15 Portsmouth with a minute and a half left in the third quarter.

The Wizards scored again on the next drive, however, with a pass completed inside the 10-yard line and a successful point-after kick, tying the game at 22 with less than 10 minutes left in the final period.

The Patriots kept cool, even when they were faced with a fourth-and-8 on the Wizards’ 34. Conheeny took the snap and spun to the left before finding Sanderson on the right side. The short pass and 30-plus-yard run into the end zone, followed by a successful 2-point conversion, made it 30-22 Portsmouth with five minutes to play. The Patriots’ defense stopped the Wizards on their next possession and then the offense drove down to the visitors’ 10-yard line before running out the clock for the win.

The Patriots are now 3-2 in Division I after winning three games in a row. They next host Cumberland at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18. They’ll travel to Charity High for a game at noon on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Portsmouth High School, PHS football

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.