There was a jovial feeling in the air. Fans were cheering loudly and the stands were packed for as for the Tiverton football team's first home game of the season under the lights on Friday night. Football was back for Tiverton despite the Tigers taking one on the chin in a 45-14 loss to Smithfield in their first game of the season. 

 

“It was fun,” said Tigers’ head coach Andy Gacioch. “People were excited. It’s football on Friday night. We didn’t put a W on the board. But the team played hard.” 

 

There were some bright spots for the young Tigers that had difficulty with their depth after some of the starters got banged up in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Jonathan Rybak was injured while tackling Smithfield defensive end Nate Rielly, who intercepted a mid-field screen pass attempt and landed on the quarterback during the tackle.

In came sophomore back-up quarterback Mason Cavaco, who executed the plays admirably with the help of offensive coordinator Matt Gacioch, who was in his ear on the sideline after every play. The sophomore threw a pair of interceptions, but led the team on several decent drives and completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Tigers first-year wide receiver Isaiah McGowan on their final play of the game.

Cavaco zipped a pass to the tall slender McGowan playing in his first regular season game. McGowan hauled in the pass while running a post pattern and ran into the end zone untouched. The team and crowd erupted in cheers and the play gave all a good feeling of hope as they left the field. 

 

“I ran a poster in as hard as I could and I caught the ball. It felt great,” said McGowan after the game. He said that he joined the team to get tougher and stronger and get in better condition.

 

Cavaco also threw a strike to Adrien Pereira to convert a two-point conversion after senior defensive back Tyler Reindeau ran in a two-yard defensive touchdown in the third quarter. Reindeau, the Tigers lionhearted competitor, who plays wide receiver, running back, defense and special teams, stole the ball from a Smithfield running back while he was being tackled by sophomore linebacker Aaron Devoy when the Tigers had the Sentinels backed up near their own end zone. Reindeau fell to the ground holding is cramped up hamstring after the play. He had trouble with it, but finished the game just the same.

“Tyler’s a beast,” said Coach Gacioch as his eyes lit up at the opportunity to talk of his senior. “The kid's a machine. He was bitterly disappointed to lose and the feeling I got from that is that if this is one of the guys leading the team, they're not going to be losing for very long. Everything we do, he takes it to heart. He is a captain that you can lean on. I ask it and he gets it done.”

Standing outside the locker room after the game, Coach Gacioch was excited about the season and the future of his young team.

“I told them that their energy was great,” he said. “We got tired and didn’t take advantage of early opportunities and we didn’t keep them out of the end zone. But we weren’t frustrated with what we saw completely. We know we need to improve. The younger kids will have an opportunity to help with depth and that’s how they are going to help this team right now.”