Marcoccio's 294-Yard Night Powers Burrillville Past Woonsocket 41-18

Joey Marcoccio rushed for 294 yards and three touchdowns as Burrillville improved to 4-0 in Division II and handed Woonsocket its first loss of the season.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Burrillville stayed perfect and handed Woonsocket its first loss of the season, rolling to a 41-18 win at Dionne Track in a game billed beforehand as a Division II showdown. The Broncos moved to 4-0, while the Villa Novans slipped to 3-1. Clouds that threatened rain before kickoff produced little precipitation.

Senior Joey Marcoccio delivered the standout performance, carrying 20 times for 294 yards and three touchdowns. A converted wide receiver, he took over the primary ball-carrying duties with fellow senior Caden Hebert out because of an undisclosed injury, one of several Burrillville regulars who did not play. Marcoccio passed 100 yards before halftime and topped 200 by the time of his final score, a 90-yard touchdown run with 11:17 remaining. Eight of his attempts gained fewer than 10 yards, and none lost yardage.

Woonsocket opened the scoring on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Jalil Quinones Diaz to Carlos Valentin, though the kick failed. Burrillville then reeled off 20 straight points. The surge began with a gamble on the opening series, a fake punt from its own 36-yard line that Jack Belluzzi converted into a 24-yard first-down run. Chace Gavis connected with Brayden Bannon on a 4-yard touchdown five plays later, added a 2-yard scoring run of his own, and found Bannon again from 50 yards out with 13 seconds left in the second quarter for a 20-6 halftime lead.

The Broncos put the result out of reach after the break. Marcoccio finished a 10-play drive that consumed 7 minutes, 24 seconds with a 4-yard run for a 27-6 lead. On Woonsocket's next snap, Jackson Deschamps recovered a fumble, and Marcoccio went 29 yards around the left end on the following play to make it 34-6 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

Quinones Diaz answered with a 24-yard touchdown run with 11:39 to play, but Marcoccio needed only one snap to respond. He burst through the middle on first down, outran the secondary, angled toward the right sideline and held on for the 90-yard score that made it 41-12 with 11:17 remaining. Julius Naphosaysavath's 7-yard touchdown run accounted for the rest of the scoring.

Afterward, Marcoccio said he spent the week picturing his blocks in his mind and credited both the game plan and an offensive line that did its jobs. He admitted the long touchdown left him exhausted and cramping, but said that once he spotted the end zone he was not going to stop. He added that people have long told him he runs angry, and that his physical style came from studying previous Burrillville running backs.

Gavis said head coach Gennaro Ferraro predicted the performance during Monday's walkthrough, telling players it would be Marcoccio's week. The quarterback also recalled the reaction to the bold fourth-down call, with teammates questioning a fake punt that early in the game before Ferraro made clear the Broncos had not come to punt.

Woonsocket focused its defense on Belluzzi, matching Quinones Diaz against him in man-to-man coverage with a safety helping over the top. Belluzzi still caught three of the six passes thrown his way for 36 yards, and Gavis finished 8 of 13 through the air for 122 yards with no interceptions. Bannon led all receivers with three catches for 64 yards.

Burrillville piled up 333 rushing yards on 30 attempts while limiting Woonsocket to 162 on 26 carries, with Quinones Diaz accounting for 102 yards on 13 tries. He completed 5 of 10 passes for 72 yards with an interception, connecting with Valentin twice for 46 yards and Garrett Arnold twice for 17. Next up for the Broncos is a meeting of unbeatens against East Providence (4-0), a game Marcoccio said his team must prepare for and play better than it did in this one.