Underdogs rule the day in an exciting Saturday of Rhode Island high school football

Division I

No. 12 South Kingstown 21, No. 9 Burrillville 20

After the offense put up the go-ahead touchdown with just over three minutes left, the Rebels’ defense came up with a stop when they needed it most, keeping the Broncos out of the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt to come away with the 21-20 road win Saturday.

In a game with major playoff implications, SK closed strong. Declan Wholey’s 20-yard touchdown catch from Rian O’Rourke got the Rebels within one earl in the fourth quarter.

Then it was Ryan Hazard’s turn. The senior running back pounded one in from the 4-yard line, then blasted in the two-point conversion to put SK up 21-14.

More:Underdogs rule the day in an exciting Saturday of Rhode Island high school football

Burrillville wasn’t about to call it quits. The Broncos put together a 55-yard drive, ending with a Carlo Acquisto 5-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds left. Burrillville went to Acquisto again, but the South Kingstown defensive line stepped up and stopped the play short of the goal line.

The Rebels jumped out early, going on a 13-play first-quarter drive that ended with a 4-yard rush by Hazard to make it a 7-0 game. Acquisto got Burrillville on the board in a hurry, popping off a 62-yard TD run on the Broncos’ next drive and the score stood 7-6 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Burrillville took the lead when Wes Cournoyer found Matt Gibeau for an 18-yard touchdown and Cournoyer connected with Eli Diallo for the conversion to make it 14-7, setting up the dramatic fourth quarter.

Other D-I scores

No. 2 La Salle 36, No. 7 Cumberland 7 (no La Salle stats reported)

Woonsocket 14, Cranston East 9 

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Division II

Moses Brown 20, No. 18 Classical 13

Myles Craddock scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left in the game, giving the Quakers the 20-13 upset over the Purple.

Classical came out early, but Moses Brown stepped up and responded in a big way. The Purple opened with a 7-0 lead after All-State wide receiver Marquis Buchanan caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Dennis in the first quarter, but Moses Brown sent the teams to the locker room tied when David Farber connected with Logan Ziegler on a 56-yard score.

Farber got the second half off to a strong start, capping a drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Elias Bilal. Classical came right back, getting a 20-yard touchdown run from freshman Jordan Dude to tie things at 13.

Both defenses stepped up in the fourth quarter, but the Quakers took advantage of their final drive with Craddock’s score giving them the lead before the MB D closed things out to seal the victory.

Other D-II scores

No. 8 Barrington 30, Tolman 12

More:DiOrio breathes life into Eagles' offense, helps them fly ... err, run ... past Tolman

Division IV

Davies 14, Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout 6

The Patriots’ defense played strong from start to finish and Matt Patenaude came through in the fourth quarter in a 14-6 win over the Scarlet Knights.

Davies held strong against a solid EWG run attack, but the Knights took a 6-0 lead at halftime when Hunter Mumford scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter.

Patenaude got the Patriots on the board in the third quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run and in the fourth, scored from six yards out to give them the lead for good.

It was the second straight win for Davies, the first time in program history the team won back-to-back games. The Patriots will go for the program’s first win streak Friday when they play Scituate.

Independent School League

Noble & Greenough 7, St. George's 6

After scoring a late touchdown, the Dragons went for the win on the road but their 2-point conversion was stopped short in a 7-6 loss to Noble & Greenough.

St. George's defense dominated after giving up a touchdown on the Bulldogs' first drive of the game. The Dragons' offense had two shots in the red zone to score - once at the close of the first half, the other out of the gates in the third quarter set up by a 65-yard kickoff return by Alpha Barry - but couldn't convert either.

In the fourth St. George's got on the board as Louis David Pouliot connected with Garrett Gray on a 42-yard touchdown with 1:36 left. The Dragons - who had a kick blocked in the second quarter - elected to go for the win on the road, but the Bulldogs' came up with the stop and recovered the onside kick to close the game.