Sports Update

EPHS girls soccer seniors

The Townies Dorian DaSilva having a great senior year for boys soccer.

Sophmore Alyssa Karalekas scores first for the Townies at Townie Pride soccer game. File photo.

Steven Clark of EPHS running the ball in Homecoming exciting game. Tania Phillips photo.

Townie football fought back from behind but fell short vs. Cranston West.

Big student turnout for homecoming game on September 29th.

Cheering on the Townies during homecoming 2023 at EPHS.

Senior Cameron Evora of the Townies football team. Nicini photo.

Senior Steven Clark having a great year for Townie football. Nicini photo.

Posted Thursday, October 5, 2023 10:14 am

by Bob Rodericks

EPHS Girls Tennis Still Undefeated
The talented East Providence High girls tennis team won a decisive match late last month in a clash of unbeaten squads. The Townies took individual wins and swept the doubles as they defeated Scituate 5-2. Both East Providence and Scituate are considered top contenders for the Division title and lots of tennis is ahead. Tennis has been building in popularity and numbers with the leadership of coach Slade Sharma and the team hopes to build on its 13-1 season last year. The Townies eventually lost the title last year to neighboring St. Mary’s Bay View in a close match. “We have depth, and everyone works very hard to do their best,” said coach Sharma. “We will show up for every match and expect to do well.” The Townies earlier in the season defeated Tolman High in a 7-0 shutout, PCD 5-2, and a couple of 7-0 wins over Woonsocket and Johnston, to remain undefeated to date. “Caroline Haggerty and Lena Shanty have been named our senior captains and the team looks to return to the championship this season,” said coach Sharma. “We know we're going to have to work for it and the team seems ready,” he added.

The team has the following matches scheduled for October:

10/03/23 4:30 PM @ Toll Gate High School
10/05/23 3:30 PM St. Mary Academy Bay View @ EPHS
10/06/23 3:30 PM Cranston East @ EPHS
10/10/23 3:45 PM Central High School @ Classical High
10/11/23 3:30 PM Coventry High School @ EPHS
10/16/23 4:45 PM Hope High School @ EPHS
10/19/23 3:30 PM @ Exeter West Greenwich

EPHS Girls Volleyball Undefeated Early On
The Townies girls volleyball squad remains unbeaten with an 8-0 record to date. East Providence bested a strong Bay View team on September 26^th 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 26-24) in yet another impressive performance. To date the Townies have shut out each opponent 3-0. EP wins have been over Scituate, Cranston West, Barrington, Rogers, Mt. Hope, St. Ray’s, Johnston and Bay View. Playing strong games in the Bay View win were Keira Mullen and Daniella Escudero each with multiple kills, blocks at the net, ace serves and overall contributing to a balanced team win to keep East Providence in the unbeaten column.

EPHS Football

Townies suffer frustrating Homecoming loss 27-22
East Providence played its 2023 homecoming game on September 29^th before a packed EPHS stadium against Cranston West. A steady rain all day which lightened up to a mist at game time, didn’t keep the homecoming students, alumni and fans away. The ever-growing student support group called the HERD, came out in large numbers and kept the damp stands rocking and rolling for the entire game. The homecoming weekend ended with the annual homecoming dance at the school on Saturday September 30 th. The Townie King, queen and court were announced at halftime during the game.

The game proved to be a thriller right down to the game’s last second. Cranston West jumped out to a 14-0 lead by the half after a passing game which the Townies couldn’t stop. Falcon quarterback Kelan Cornell hit Jack Major on a 4^th and 16 from the Townie 21-yard line for the Falcon touchdown. East Providence came out strong in the third quarter as the Townies defense held the Falcons and with 9:52 left in the third quarter, the Townies Issac Fox ripped off a 43 yard touchdown run to bring the score to 14-6. An attempted two-point conversion was no good. West quarterback Cornell hit Major again on a 40 yard pass and the Falcons quick set offense followed with a touchdown pass from Cornell to Charlie Cornell for a 21-6 lead late in the third quarter.

With the third quarter closing fast, EP’s Jacob Duarte tossed a short pass to Issac Fox who scored his second touchdown on a nifty 57-yard play. Steven Clark ran in for the two-point conversion and EP trailed 21-14 as the crowd came alive. As the Townies defense held, some gutsy calls by Coach Stringfellow led to the Townies taking the lead for the first time as the game closed in on the final minutes. On a 4^th and 6, EP didn’t punt and got the first down on a Clark strong run. Duarte then tossed a touchdown pass to Evora and Fox ran in the two-point conversion as the Townies took their first lead of the night, 22-21.

However, Cranston West with their own stunning comeback scored with under two minutes to play on a Cornell to Major pass play to take a 27-22 lead. The Townies almost had stopped the Falcons, but the Cornell pass was a frustrating development for the team and large crowd. Ep had a slight chance with under 10 seconds to play but fell just short.

East Providence had a strong 19-0 win over last year’s Division champion Saint Raphael Academy in a Thursday night game in September. Some high school football games are now played on Thursday nights because there are not enough league referees to cover all of the Friday night and Saturday games. There is a nation-wide shortage of interscholastic league officials for many reasons. Abusive behavior from fans, players and coaches is one reason given. Some internal politics within some officials’ organizations is also a factor. The bottom line is that games are now doubled up or played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays due to the shortage of officials.

The Townies came out strong as they dominated a strong St. Ray’s football club. EP took an early lead based on two rushing touchdowns from Steven Clark and never looked back. East Providence defense was relentless and prevented the Saints from crossing the goal line in the shutout win. EP forced at least 3 Saint’s turnovers including an interception.

St. Ray’s was on their way to scoring as a Saints player took a pass and was about to cross the goal line, when the Townies Steve Estrella caught up and stripped the ball loose for a touchback, preventing the score. The Saints never threatened again. East Providence’s Lucas Santa-Cruz ran for a late game touchdown icing the Townies impressive win.

from the beginning. Lucas Santa Cruz put the finishing touches on the win with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Townies new quarterback this year is Sophomore Jacob Duarte. Duarte is improving with each ball snap and looked good against the Saints.

In a game of two undefeated teams six days later, the Townies travelled to Cumberland and didn’t show that well. EP was easily defeated by the Clippers squad. Unlike their previous impressive win over Saint Raphael, the Townies were never in the Cumberland game. The Townies lost in a 33-6 drubbing. The Clippers scored on their first possession and scored at least one touchdown in each quarter. East Providence only scored when quarterback Jacob Duarte ran the ball in from the three-yard line, although the point after attempt was no good.

The Townies have the following games in October:

10/05/23 6:00 PM Mt. Pleasant High @EPHS
10/13/23 6:00 PM East Greenwich High @ EPHS
10/21/23 12:00 PM @ Burrillville
10/27/23 6:00 PM Bishop Hendricken @ EPHS
11/23/23 10:00 AM @ La Salle Thanksgiving Day

EPHS Boys Soccer
The Townies boys soccer team is 3-1-1 with wins over Central, Classical and Central Falls. The team lost to LaSalle and tied with Lincoln High.

Games in October:

10/03/23 6:45 PM @ North Kingstown High School
10/06/23 6:00 PM @ Mt. Hope High School
10/11/23 6:30 PM Portsmouth @ EPHS
10/14/23 10:00 AM South Kingstown @ EPHS
10/17/23 7:00 PM @ Tolman High School
10/21/23 10:45 AM @ Bishop Hendricken High School
10/25/23 6:30 PM Barrington @ EPHS

EPHS Girls Soccer
The Townie girls soccer team is struggling so far but showing signs of improvement. After an 0-4 start, the team played before a large crowd at Pierce Stadium at the city’s annual Townie Pride Parade. The team played well against PCD and after being down 1-0, came back to take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Alyssa Karalekas scored the team’s first goal on a nifty shot on goal with the large crowd urging the team on. Things looked good for the Townies first win after East Providence scored again and held a 3-1 lead. However PCD scored twice and the game ended in a 3-3 tie. The team is looking for their first win and plays the following in October:

10/02/23 6:30 PM Portsmouth @ EPHS
10/04/23 6:30 PM @ Coventry High School
10/06/23 3:45 PM @ Scituate High School
10/10/23 6:30 PM Burrillville @ EPHS
10/12/23 4:00 PM @ Mount Saint Charles Academy
10/16/23 6:30 PM North Providence @ EPHS
10/18/23 4:00 PM @ St. Mary Bay View
10/24/23 6:30 PM North Smithfield @ EPHS
10/26/23 6:00 PM @ Lincoln High School