A special win for Barrington football team on Senior Night

Eagles rally in second half to defeat Cranston West, 28-21

By Josh Bickford
Posted 10/19/24

It may have been the longest touchdown drive in the history of Barrington High School football that powered the Eagles to an exciting 28-21 victory over Cranston West on Friday night, Oct. 18.

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A special win for Barrington football team on Senior Night

Eagles rally in second half to defeat Cranston West, 28-21

Posted

It may have been the longest touchdown drive in the history of Barrington High School football that powered the Eagles to an exciting 28-21 victory over Cranston West on Friday night, Oct. 18.

The Eagles opened the second half with the ball and trailing 21-14. After moving to midfield, the Eagles fumbled the ball and a Falcons defender scooped it up and started barreling toward the end zone. 

What appeared like a sure-fire Cranston West touchdown and a two-score advantage shifted dramatically, however, when Barrington’s Will DiGiacomo chased down the Cranston player, punched the ball out of his hands and then recovered the ball in the end zone. 

The touchback gave the Eagles the ball at their own 20 yard line, and Barrington then used the rest of the third quarter to march straight down the field for the tying score. 

“I think we went 150 yards for that touchdown,” said Barrington High School Coach Sandy Gorham following the game. “He hustled down, recovered it and then we go 80 yards (for the touchdown). It was a 150-yard touchdown drive. The longest one we’ve ever had in our lives. It was great to see.”

Barrington High School quarterback Blake Dolan said that play completely shifted the momentum of the game.

“That was the play of the game. Easily the play of the game,” Dolan said, following the win. “This kid (Charly Potter) had four touchdowns, but that’s the play of the game. I love our team, we didn’t give up after that.”

Potter’s third touchdown of the night tied the score at 21-21 and his fourth TD, midway through the fourth quarter, gave the Eagles a 28-21 lead. 

“Going into this game I had to switch my mind-set and play for my team, not for individual stats, but play for each other,” Potter said. “Find the reason that we’re out here. It’s our last game on this field I just had to work for my brothers.”

The win was especially important for the Eagles. Barrington celebrated Senior Night on Friday, and the team also recognized that it may be the last time any Barrington High School football team plays on the grass surface at Victory Field. School officials are planning to renovate the Victory Field athletic complex, replacing the grass surface with a multi-sport synthetic turf field and constructing a new track.

“It’s the last game that’s going to be here on Victory Field, and also it is potentially going to be the last game on grass ever here (at Victory Field),” said Gorham, who has been coaching high school football for nearly 50 years. 

The coach reminded his team of the significance before the start of Friday night’s game.

“I said ‘You’re never again wearing the blue uniforms.’ I said ‘It’s 48 minutes for a lifetime of memories. You’re going to remember this game. Just go out and play with heart and spirit,’” Gorham said. 

Friday night’s win improved the Eagles’ record to 1-4 and dropped Cranston West to 3-3. Barrington has been competitive all season, but struggled to close out victories.

“We had a great two weeks to prepare, focus on ourselves rather than the other team,” Dolan said. “I just want to thank all the other guys who really don’t get as much credit, like that O-line did a great job. They did a great job. Same with the underclassmen, they came up huge today. Huge shoes to fill and they just showed what they could do today. I was so happy for them.”

Dolan impressed Gorham with his determined performance on Friday night. Gorham said Dolan has done a great job learning what many consider a complicated offense. Dolan, who also started at safety on defense, made a number of key runs while running the option-oriented offense.

“It’s not an easy offense to learn. He’s been thrown in a difficult spot,” Gorham said. 

Quick 7-0 lead

Barrington got off to a quick start against the Falcons on Friday night. The Eagles kicked off and then ripped the ball away from the Cranston West return-man. Barrington recovered the fumble at the 12 yard line. Dolan handed the ball to Potter three straight plays — the final carry of the drive going for a one-yard touchdown run. Ben Aree kicked the extra point and the Eagles led 7-0 with 10:26 remaining in the first quarter.

Cranston West tied the score a few minutes later. The Eagles run defense was stellar, but the Falcons converted on a long pass that placed the ball inside the Eagles’ five. 

Barrington’s offense went back to work on the next drive. Dolan and Potter each had long runs, and on fourth down and two inside the Falcons’ 10 yard line, Potter sprinted around the right side of the line for his second touchdown of the game. 

In the second quarter, Cranston West used its passing attack to tie the score 14-14. Barrington’s offense tried to respond, but a fumble gave the Falcons the ball at midfield. Less than three minutes later, Cranston West scored and took a 21-14 lead into the half. 

The third quarter, highlighted by DiGiacomo’s touchdown-saving play, was all-Barrington. Potter and Dolan took turns gashing the Falcons’ defense for big gains. Gianni DiGioia also had a nice run and saved the drive by catching a tipped pass that would have otherwise been intercepted. 

When Barrington got inside the Falcons’ 10-yard line, Potter went to work. The senior running back capped the drive with a two-yard scoring run. 

Barrington’s defense came up big in the fourth quarter. Matt Zimmerman sacked the Falcons’ quarterback twice and the Eagles’ pass-rush forced an incompletion on a key fourth down. When the Eagles’ offense took over, they looked to Potter again. On third down and two from the BHS 40-yard line, Potter took a hand-off, found a gap in the defense and sprinted 60 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. 

“He kinda took over,” Dolan said of Potter. “I didn’t do that much compared to him. This kid is the backbone of the offense, I think. Everything gets put on me, but this kid, he’s great.”

Gorham added: “Charly glides. He’s patient and then all of a sudden…”

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