EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence High School football team embarks on its 2019 Division I journey beginning this week with a road game against St. Raphael Saturday, Sept. 21, at Pariseau Field, seeking a path to a consecutive appearances in the state championship playoffs.

The Townies finished the regular season a year ago in third place on the I-A side of the ledger with a 4-3 record, then fell to Central, 15-7, in the quarterfinals.

In 2019, East Providence’s road to a postseason bid likely is one that will be played close to the turf and physically. The Townies feature a mixture of returning contributors from last fall and newcomers to significant varsity action, but is already minus a few important players due to injury.

“We lost a lot from last year, so we’re still trying to find the pieces to put in place,” said EPHS head coach Jay Monteiro.

Among the key returnees is senior quarterback Justin Pena, a three-year starter under center.

“Justin has started since he was a sophomore. He’s a pretty good general. Sometimes he freelances a little too much and I have to pull him back, but he’s a calming influence on the field. He keeps me calm. He has good composure and he’s a good leader,” said Monteiro.

Stout senior Juan Diaz leads what the coach said is his most skilled set of players at running back. He’s joined there by senior fullback Manny Santiago, emerging junior Elijah Owens and impressive freshman Jahad Davis Pinto.

“We have three real good running backs and Manny is a very good blocker. He should get some touches there as well. That’s the strength of our team,” Monteiro said. “I think we’re going to be more of a pound and grind team, old school running the ball kind of team.”

The Townies will run behind an offensive line including junior Jonah Grilo (5-11, 225) at left tackle, senior Carew Gomes (6-4, 250) at left guard, senior Evan Soares (5-9, 180) at center, senior William Mugoodwin (5-10, 240) at right guard and sophomore Joshua O’Leary (6-2, 270) at right tackle. Senior Kaleb Almeida is the tight end.

Also in the mix for time on the offensive line are junior Isaiah Smith (5-11, 175), senior Jaz Crowle (6-2, 210), sophomore Isaiah Andino (6, 240) and junior Diandre Monteiro (6, 230).

Two important potential regulars are injured at the moment and their returns are unknown. Senior starter at left tackle Evan Charron, whose absence Monteiro said was “huge,” and sophomore Donavin Ivy are out with knee ailments.

When E.P. is in its spread passing formations it will utilize four receivers: senior Alex Rodriguez, senior William Ferro, junior Santi Nocella and Davis Pinto.

“I get on them to run full speed and we have to make people miss. They have to run really good routes, be possession type guys,” Monteiro said of his receiving corps.

In its base 4-3 defense, East Providence opens with senior Richard Maciel and Gomes on the ends with Crowle and O’Leary at the tackles. Andino, Mugoodwin, Monteiro and Ivy, when able, will see time on the line as well.

Santiago, senior Adam Martins-Carroll and Almeida, an All-Stater at the position last year, are the linebackers.

Smith, sophomore CJ Hess and Davis Pinto are the backups.

In the defensive backfield, Santi and Ferro are the likely starters at the corners with Pena and senior Ismael Frias at safety. Davis Pinto, sophomore Denzy Suazo and junior Xavier Simpson are also in the mix.

“Kaleb and Carew have the most experience. We’ve got to get to the football better. I always stress we need to stop the run, which is most important, and defend the pass,” Monteiro said. “But we have to be more aggressive, we have to tackle better and be more physical. We have to play faster and be fearless, defensively and offensively.”

Last fall, the Townies defeated St. Rays, Shea, Cranston West and Cranston East while losing to unbeaten, first-place and eventual state champ Hendricken, North Kingstown and Cumberland during I-A regular season action.

The Townies play seven league games under the current Division I 14-team, two subgroup format, including six against the other sides in I-A. Cranston West is once again East Providence’s single crossover game against teams from I-B, which also includes LaSalle, South Kingstown, Moses Brown, Barrington, Portsmouth and Central.

The Townies are away from home for four of their league contests. They remain on the road for their second I-A outing next week at Cumberland before returning to Pierce Stadium Friday night, Oct. 4, to face North Kingstown. E.P. makes its first of two trips to Cranston Stadium to play East on October 11. The Townies then have back-to-back games at Pierce, October 18 against Shea and October 25 vs. Hendricken, before heading back to Cranston for a date against West, November 1, at the stadium.

The state championship playoffs take place over the weekends of November 8, 15 and 22.

“I don’t know how good we are right now,” said Monteiro. “We definitely have the potential to be a playoff team. I really, really do think we could be a good football team if they listen to what the coaches are telling them and they don’t freelance on their own.

“We’ve got some size to us. We should be able to run the ball pretty well. If they listen, play fast and physical, we could be a playoff team. But we can’t make mistakes. We can’t make mental mistakes. If they understand what we’re trying to teach them, just concentrate and pay attention to the details, we could be a very good team. And injuries are a big factor as well. We really can’t afford too many because we don’t really have a lot of depth.”

One last note, East Providence’s traditional Thanksgiving Day game against LaSalle, now long since a non-league affair, returns to Pierce Stadium Thursday morning, Nov. 28.