'Gansett remains on hot streak; Carrying 6-win roll into playoffs.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Jay Gearan

BALDWINVILLE- From a 1-4 start in early October to the December playoffs. That's been the great comeback story of the 2009 Narragansett Warriors, who shut out Murdock, 35-0, yesterday at Stuart Field to clinch the Division 3B title.

With their sixth straight victory, the Warriors finished the regular season 7-4, 5-0 in the league.

Narragansett, the fifth or sixth seed in Division 3, will face No. 3 Littleton or No. 4 Groton-Dunstable on Tuesday.

Murdock, too, entered the game with playoff hopes and finished with a solid winning record of 7-4. Narragansett leads the Turkey Day series, 28-10.

"We had some adversity, but we turned it around," Narragansett coach John Beary said, thinking back on his team's dismal start. "We just kept talking about winning the league and getting to the playoffs. I'm very proud of these kids."

"We get to keep playing, and that's great," Narragansett senior Dylan Haughton said. "This isn't my last game. Early on, even when we were down, we knew we still had a chance."

The Warriors had seven players post points. Senior running back Jake Parker scored two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Steve Ciaramitaro tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to senior end Ryan Laraba and rushed for another.

Simply put, the Warriors dominated with old-fashioned, ball-control football, devouring the clock and keeping the Blue Devils' offense watching from the sideline.

In the first quarter, Murdock ran just three plays and punted. Before that, Narragansett drove 96 yards in a steady march.

In 16 plays using nearly seven minutes, the Warriors pushed ahead, eventually scoring on Parker's 1-yard plunge. Along the way, Nate Battalas and Keith Eaton led the ground game behind solid blocking.

"That first drive set the tone for the game," Beary said. "We were able to grind out yards, make some third-down conversions and control the line of...