Townies lose Cliffhanger Homecoming Game 27-22

East Providence played its 2023 homecoming game on September 29th 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 ends with the annual homecoming dance at the school on Saturday September 30th. 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 Majcher on a 4th 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 Majcher 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 Isaac 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 4th 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 Majcher 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.