Undermanned Portsmouth football squad comes up just short against South Kingstown
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — It doesn’t get more basic than the final play on Friday night at Curtis Corner Middle School.
South Kingstown’s defense had to stop the player in front of it. Portsmouth had to find an opening to score the tying touchdown with no time left on the clock.
Adam Conheeny rolled to the right and tossed up a pass that fell incomplete. The Rebels blanketed the Patriots in the end zone and prevented what would have been a thrilling Division II road upset.
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Phoenix Sward’s pair of touchdown runs were ultimately enough. His second from two yards out with 5:30 to play made the difference in a 20-14 classic.
“This is just how we are,” Sward said. “It looked like we could have blown them out at the start, but we bring every game to the wire.”
Portsmouth picked up a first down at the South Kingstown 11 thanks to a pass interference penalty and had less than a minute on the clock. The Patriots handed to Dylan Brandariz twice and couldn’t get out of bounds on a Conheeny scramble to the right. Sward raced down the line and grabbed Conheeny from behind, setting up a final play.
“The ball’s close to the sideline, but it’s not out,” South Kingstown coach Gerry Zannella said. “By the time they spot the ball, they lose 10 seconds.
“Now they have to line up — that's another two or three seconds. They’re lucky they got the play off to begin with.”
South Kingstown sent token pressure and dropped its linebackers into coverage. Liam Considine abandoned his pass rush and sprinted diagonally to his left, knocking the ball away from intended receiver Gabe Huguinim. Portsmouth was a batted pass and an extra point from erasing what was an early 14-0 deficit.
“It’s hard because you want to have that stuff cleaned up by this point in the season,” Portsmouth coach Dustin Almeida said. “The reality is we’re repping a lot of guys who haven’t had much experience.”
The Rebels (2-1 II-B) covered just 33 yards with their final two touchdown drives. The Patriots fumbled inside their own 30 to set up Sward’s 5-yard run midway through the opening quarter. A high punt snap in the fourth gave South Kingstown possession inside the 10 and Sward pounded it home two plays later.
“Coach knows it’s got to go to me,” Sward said. “I’m putting that in. I’m putting my head down and doing it for the team.”
The Patriots (1-1 II-B) used a 53-yard touchdown run up the middle by Shane Harvey to make it a 14-6 game at the break. They received the second-half kickoff and marched 17 plays, with Conheeny banging over the right side from 12 yards to finish a statement drive. Brandariz slipped over the goal line with the 2-point conversion and it was a 14-14 tie late in the third.
“Adam Conheeny has been good for us,” Almeida said. “We didn’t worry as much about that position. It was up front — could we stay on them? We’re not deep up front.
“Could we get the guys up front to do anything? They started to in the second half.”
Portsmouth has seen the state’s iron early. Losses to North Kingstown and Bishop Hendricken bracketed a 26-10 league victory over Westerly. Neal Tullson rushed for 238 yards and three scores in that one — he was one of seven starters and 17 players overall out of uniform due to injury on Friday.
“We have some guys who could come back at some point,” Almeida said. “But right now, the focus is really on developing the guys who are there.”
The Rebels enjoyed a rare breather last week in a 38-16 win over Cranston East. Their other two games were decided by a total of eight points — a 23-20 victory at Narragansett and a 19-14 defeat against Woonsocket. This was more of the familiar.
“The South Kingstown kid keeps fighting,” Zannella said. “He keeps pushing. I’m really, really proud of these guys.”
Portsmouth 0 6 8 0 — 14
South Kingstown 14 0 0 6 — 20
SK — Amani Boamah 26 pass from Rian O’Rourke (rush failed)
SK — Phoenix Sward 5 run (Isiah Carter rush)
P — Shane Harvey 53 run (rush failed)
P — Adam Conheeny 12 run (Dylan Brandariz rush)
SK — Sward 2 run (kick failed)
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The Rebels prevent a Patriots comeback as the clock clicks to zero
