North Providence shuts out Johnston in Fire Bowl III

Fire Bowl III, the unique flag football game between the Johnston and North Providence Fire Fighters, had all the earmarks of a big-time gridiron contest.

There were fans of all ages at Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Stadium who were decked out in NFL jerseys with the names of their favorite players on the back of those Patriot jerseys.

There was a rather nifty and informative play-by-play account given over the crystal-clear public address system by David Pingitore, a Johnston Fire Fighter, who was ably assisted by clock operator and fellow JFD member Jon Pistacchio, who doubles as Local 1950’s Vice President.

Even Keith Calci, President of the Johnston Association of Fire Fighters, IAFF, helped out inside the spacious press box during Saturday’s third-annual tug-of-war tussle that wound up being a defensive struggle and North Providence eking out a 7-0 victory.

It marked the third time in as many years that the Johnston Fire Fighters were shutout, although during the waning moments of Saturday’s fun-filled contest Johnston came just inches from scoring only to have a huge pass play whistled dead at the goal line.

With 17:06 left in the first half, North Providence struck pay dirt when Brad Russo hauled in a Mike Nadiger pass and Dave Bouley scored the extra point that wound up being the visitors’ margin of victory.

However, Saturday’s Game of Goodwill – as many people who came to Polisena Stadium noted – was much, much more than just two neighboring fire department’s enjoying some spirited competition on the artificial surface at Johnston’s state of the art football facility.

“This is about helping our neighbors,” Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena noted. “There’s an old saying … it doesn’t matter who wins, but it’s how you play the game. In this case, every fire fighter that stepped onto the field is a hero; they all helped in this year’s food collection.”

In keeping with tradition, there was no monetary tag for a ticket to Fire Bowl III. All Polisena and his North Providence counterpart Charles Lombardi – as well as the local unions from both towns – requested that people make a canned goods donation when they arrived in Johnston.

And those non-perishable foods, which were put into the Johnston Fire Department’s Rescue No. 4 by Fire Fighter Paul Muscatelli who manned the post for the third time in as many years, helped add to the valuable stock of food at the Tri-Town Community Food Bank.

To show their support and just how important the work that the Tri-Town non-profit continues to do for those in need, Mayors Polisena and Lombardi each presented the agencies CEO Joseph R. DeSantis with a check for $200.

Moreover, although the final tally of just how many pounds of food that was collected at Saturday’s game was not available, all the canned goods that even came from youngsters like Brophy and Brody Brennan, will help stock the Tri-Town Community Food Bank shelves.

“This is without question a critical time of year,” Polisena observed while talking with Ed Medeiros, Paul Marshall and Rich Hazelwood, who volunteered their services as the annual game’s referees. “We need more of these events to bring more attention to just how much there’s always a need for food at places like Tri-Town.”

Lombardi, meanwhile, mused about his team winning the game and that means “Joe (Polisena) will have to wash my car again.” He thanked both fire fighters and locals while wishing people good health and happiness at Thanksgiving and also expressing the need to keep supporting groups like the Tri-Town Community Action Agency Food Cupboard.

“I can’t tell you how much this means for our agency,” DeSantis said, his voice cracking with emotions of joy. “We thank everyone for their continued support of our mission and may God bless the families of everyone who gave up his or her time to make today a special success.”

The Johnston Fire Fighters roster included: David Calabro, Brandon Woolley, David Karbowski, John Woolley, Adam Barros, Scott Mooney, Gene Coutu, Chris DelFino, Josh Bloschichak, Mike Letoille, Ryan Jamiel, Dominic aRusso, Cody Pezzullo, Jim Jacavone and John Jasparro.

North Providence’s roster included: Will Davis, Anthony Rampone, David Broccoli, Sarkis Parseghian, Algot Abrahamson, Phil Kennedy, Winston Cobb, Dave Bouley, Kevin Coupe, Steve Checrallah, Brad Russo, Guiseppe Ruggieri, Chris Pistacchio, Mike Digulio, Darren Gallagher, Mike Nadiger, Bill Charello, Bill Calabro, Tom Guilbault, Jay Sousa, Sean McNulty, David Giammarco, Craig Levesque, Ben Wright and Louise Charello.