The Rams defeat in-state rival 49-26 —
KINGSTON – It was the Semi-Final for the in-state title as the Rams swiftly moved onto the next round after beating the Bryant Bulldogs 49-26.
The tone for the Rams was set from the moment they stepped on the field. After winning the coin toss the Rams opted to receive and set the pace of the game. The trio of running back Gabriel Sloat and wide receivers Kahtero Summers and Marquis Buchanan made for a quick opening drive for the Rams resulting in a touchdown just two minutes into the game.
“Coach Flem put his faith in us and we went there and executed. We were excited when we heard the kick return was going out there first, the whole offense got a little bit more juice from that.. everybody’s behind us and we had to set the tone, and we did that,” said quarterback Kasim hill.
The Bulldogs however were able to respond well to the early touchdown from the Rams with two scores in the first quarter. The first with just around 10 minutes to go, a 14-yard reception by senior Tight End Konor Lathrop and the other to end the first quarter, a 2-yard rush by running back Ryan Clark.
“I was proud of the way we answered and eventually took the lead but Rhode Island is a really good football team, top 20 for a reason.” said Bryant Head Coach Chris Merritt.
But the Bulldogs didn’t have the momentum for long and the Rams can thank the Erby and Hill connection for that. To start the drive at 10:20, John Erby got 41 yards down the field but got cut short after an unnecessary roughness call. Erby then finished the job himself with a 57-yard completion and touchdown to give the Rams the first lead of the day.
Erby didn’t do it alone though, just one drive before the Rams defense shut down the Bulldogs on a 4th&1 in their own redzone.
“That’s a big stop,” said Rhode Island head coach Jim Fleming, “Anytime you make a fourth down stop it’s a big momentum particularly in red areas… we had some big plays after that so that was hugely beneficial.”
These two drives set the pace for the remainder of the game with the Rams defense forcing a Bulldogs three and out in the following play. And from that point on, Rhode Island dominated the field with additional touchdowns from Kasim Hill, Darius Savage, Ja'Den McKenzie, Kahtero summers and Jig Williams.
The Rams can now wear the Rhode Island crown but not for long.
The Governor's Cup, the face off between the Rhode Island Rams and Brown Bears will take place next Saturday and both the Bears and the Rams are now heading into next week with dominant wins under their belts and the similarities between these two teams' seasons are hard to ignore. Rhode Island had a dominant start against Stony Brook, lost on the road to Villanova and returned this week to dominate the Bulldogs. On the other side the Bears, starting their season off with a Bryant Bulldog win, going on the road and losing to Harvard and then opening at home with a dominant, 42-20 win against Central Connecticut State. Both teams will surely be hungry for the Governors Cup trophy to bring back to campus but for now the Rams will celebrate there first in-state win of the season.
