PROVIDENCE – A Super Bowl rematch with their rival was looming, but it was the last thing on the La Salle football team’s mind.
Friday was about business and the Rams certainly didn’t waste any time taking care of it.
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Up against North Kingstown – a team it dismantled in Week 1 – La Salle kept it simple and put the ball in the hands of the players that were open. In the first half Jabari Jackson caught three touchdown passes from Sam Perry and left little doubt about where the game was going. It ended with a 40-22 win and only after the game was official on the clock did the Rams start thinking about what’s next.
“We knew NK was a great team,” Perry said. “Obviously they didn’t lose to a Rhode Island team except us this year. We knew what challenges they would bring.
“… It was an awesome team effort.”
It was more than that. It was a championship effort – and here’s what stood out.
Jabari Jackson, La Salle Football
Sonic Boom
The La Salle receiver room is the best in the state and North Kingstown’s game plan was simple – do whatever possible to prevent Brendan Cardoso, Jabari Jackson and Jalen Moseley from taking over the game. The Skippers wanted to force the Rams to run and on the first drive, it worked.
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But then the Rams opened the playbook.
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La Salle went five wide and wasted little time in using what it had – speed – to decimate the Skippers. On the Rams’ second possession, Perry found Jackson wide open over the middle and he turned the chunk play into a 50-yard touchdown.
NK didn’t help itself with a bad snap that set La Salle up in plus territory and two plays later, Perry and Jackson connected on a 30 yard score, 2:13 after the first touchdown.
“Throw it to Jabari always works,” Perry said. “We knew they would come out with a little wrinkle. We were going empty a little bit and they just weren’t guarding the middle of the field. It was over.
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Jackson got another chance on La Salle’s opening possession of the second quarter, pulling in another big catch that he turned into a 64-yard score.
“Any coverage, if I can just get the ball in my hands, any opportunity, I just want to score,” Jackson said. “I just want to get the ball and do what I do.”
There aren’t many players like Jackson. As fast as he is running in a straight line, he’s just as fast running in and out of cuts. He’s Sonic the Hedgehog in pads and it’s impossible to stay with him if you give him an inch of space.
NK did, out of necessity, and the Rams took advantage.
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“They were tripling Brendan and he knows that’s huge for our team, being able to attract so many guys,” Perry said. “And that’s crazy leaving Jabari open like that.”
Jabari Jackson, La Salle Football; Kobe Downing, La Salle Football; and Elijah Bento, La Salle Football
The nail in the coffin
Up 21-0 at halftime, the game wasn’t over but it certainly felt that way.
North Kingstown quarterback Matt Auclair was dinged up early in the first quarter, forcing All-Stater Nick Stafford to become a wildcat quarterback. While it made the Skippers predictable, Stafford still managed to get yards – but no points.
Auclair returned in the second quarter and tried to tough it out in the second half, but La Salle got a quick stop and then the offense went back to work. Elijah Bento closed out the drive with a short touchdown run and the 27-0 lead midway through the quarter made things official even if they weren’t.
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Two drives into the game, it looked like North Kingstown was going to force La Salle to take its game to another level. Two drives into the second half, the start of the game was the furthest thing from anyone’s mind.
“We knew there were going to be challenges. Like I said, they’re a great team,” Perry said. “There’s always going to be adversity and we welcome that. It was great to see how we responded and I’m really proud of the team.”
Nick Stafford, North Kingstown Football
The unstoppable force
As good as Jackson was, the best player on the field Friday was on the losing side.
La Salle’s goal on defense was to not let All-Stater Nick Stafford beat it. Even with the predictable offense, Stafford still went out and had a day.
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The senior wasn’t about to go out without putting on a show. Stafford had a 55-yard run at the end of the first half that flipped the field and had NK in scoring position before La Salle came up with the stop.
He got better as the game went on and scored three touchdowns in the second half – one on a screen pass he turned into a 69-yard score, one 2-yard run and a 55-yarder to end the night.
Stafford finished with over 200 yards rushing and nearly had 100 receiving in the loss.
Sam Perry, La Salle Football
Super Bowl rematch
For the third straight year, La Salle will meet Hendricken in the State Championship Super Bowl. The Rams have lost the last two and last won the title in 2022. La Salle lost to Hawks earlier this season, seeing a 13-0 first-quarter lead turn into a 24-13 defeat.
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Hendricken’s semifinal game wasn’t over when La Salle-NK ended, but the Hawks were comfortably ahead of Cranston West in a game they won 34-7.
The Rams weren’t surprised to find out how the Hendricken game was going.
“We knew we were going to play them,” Perry said. “They’re a great team, they’re really well coached, they always execute and they’re a huge challenge.
“We have to focus on ourselves. That’s all we’ve been preaching all week.”
It’ll be the fourth straight season Jackson is at the game, but the first in a La Salle uniform. He played his first three seasons of high school football at Hendricken, but isn’t concerned about the juice it adds to the game.
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“Just playing it like it’s another game,” Jackson said. “A lot of people got it like it’s Hendricken, it’s a big week, but I feel like if we just keep thinking it’s just another game we’ll be good.”
The game is set for Friday at Bryant University’s Beirne Stadium. The time of the game hasn’t been finalized, but it will be the hottest ticket in Rhode Island – even if La Salle isn’t thinking about it like that.
“It’s just another game,” Perry said. “When you treat it like it’s too big, it goes south. We just have to go out there and play hard.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: La Salle was about business Friday. It didn’t take long to see why.
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