"We never give up": Tiverton crowned Div. 4 Super Bowl champs

CRANSTON — It was as dismal a start as any Tiverton football coach, player or fan could have imagined. But the faithful who stayed with the Tigers were rewarded as Tiverton rallied from a 22-point deficit to defeat the North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles co-operative team 43-29 in the Division IV Super Bowl on Sunday night at Cranston Stadium.

Super Bowl MVP Matt Gacioch tossed four touchdown passes to four receivers, threw for more than 300 yards and ran for a 17-yard score with under two minutes to play that iced the game.

“We talk about believing in yourself, and we talk about never quitting,” Tiverton coach Bob Murray said. “Three years ago, when they were a lot younger, we were being mauled. Then it was about not giving up and not quitting. It’s that resilience that gets you there.

“We made a couple of plays and then North Smithfield took a couple steps back. Then they came down and scored the go-ahead touchdown. And then Nate [Upchurch] made the interception, which I think swung everything. Then Matthew finished it off with the things he does.”

It took a quarter and a half for the Tigers to show up. The Tigers’ first five offensive series went as follows: punt, blocked punt, interception, punt, punt. Tiverton trailed 22-0 with six minutes left in the first half and had one first down at that point. Then, in a blink of an eye, everything changed.

In a span of 3 minutes, 7 seconds, the Tigers racked up 22 points to tie the game. Gacioch threw touchdown passes to Logan Beattie, Adam Amaral and Upchurch. After the first Tiverton touchdown, the Tigers’ Will Kiser forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that teammate Antonio DeJesus recovered.

“This group of boys, we never give up,” Beattie said. “And when we work together like we did this game, nobody can stop us. When we’re all firing on all cylinders, nobody can stop us.”

Tiverton punted to start the second half and the Northmen scored in just two plays to make it a 29-22 game. Jason Merriwether caught a pass 13 yards downfield at his own 40, raced across the field and outran the defense to the end zone to complete a 73-yard catch and run play.

The Tigers got the ball back and Gacioch found Beattie for a 42-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal play at the 7-yard line. After a three-yard gain, the Tigers turned to trickery and it backfired.

Gacioch took the snap and tossed the ball to wide receiver Daniel Garde. He in turn rolled out and threw to Gacioch in the end zone, but Jordan Allard stepped in front of him and intercepted it and ran it out to the 25-yard line.

The Northmen moved 20 yards upfield, and Puccetti tossed a pass that Upchurch intercepted. He ran it back 54 yards for a touchdown. Matt Potvin’s kick tied the score 29-29.

The Tiverton defense stopped North Smithfield the next series and, after the punt, Tiverton got the ball at the North Smithfield 45. On third and 9, Gacioch stayed in the pocket and lofted a perfectly thrown ball that Daniel Garde caught in stride at the 10-yard line. He ran into the end zone to give Tiverton its first lead of the game, 36-29, on Gacioch’s fourth touchdown pass.

“Once we got down, we knew we needed to throw the ball to get ourselves back in. We just kept going,” Gacioch said.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Beattie said of Gacioch. “He’s an excellent quarterback and it’s been an honor playing for him.”

The Tigers forced a North Smithfield fumble on the ensuing series and took over when Lance Nelson recovered it at the Northmen 48. Tiverton took five minutes off the clock and Gacioch cemented the victory when he raced 17 yards into the end zone for a 43-29 advantage. It was Tiverton’s first Super Bowl title since 2000.

“This is every senior’s dream,” Beattie said. “We all wanted to go out with a bang.”