KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — Devin Farrell hit Shawn Harris Jr. for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds remaining and Rhode Island survived a wild fourth quarter to defeat Holy Cross 20-17 on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

Rhode Island led 13-3 entering the fourth quarter but Holy Cross rallied with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Joe Pesansky to Charly Mullaly and a 4-yard TD run by Jordan Fuller.

Fuller’s touchdown capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 7 1/2 minutes. After the kickoff, Rhode Island took possession at its own 25 with 1:47 remaining.

After three incomplete passes, Farrell ran for a first down and the Rams converted twice more on third down in their winning drive. On second down from the Holy Cross 31-yard line, Farrell connected with Harris for the go-ahead score. Harris caught the pass near the 20 and weaved his way through several defenders on the way to the end zone. The drive covered 75 yards in 12 plays.

Farrell completed 20 of 33 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns and was Rhode Island’s leading rusher with 55 yards. Marquis Buchanan caught four passes for 88 yards.

Pesansky was 10-for-18 passing for 101 yards with one touchdown for Holy Cross. Fuller had 139 yards on 28 carries.

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Originally Published: August 31, 2024 at 11:13 p.m.

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of Aug. 25, supported by your subscriptions.

Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:

WESTERLY – Rhode Island’s most famous part-time resident spent time this week at her Watch Hill home, along with her football star boyfriend, at least according to People magazine and TMZ.

Both outlets report that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce – along with pals Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper – were in Rhode Island this week, as the singer takes a break from her Eras tour, which resumes in October, and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end prepares for his Sept. 5 season opener against the Ravens.

Read on for more details on the celebrity sightings around Swift’s Watch Hill mansion, dubbed the “Holiday House.”

Entertainment: Taylor Swift is in Rhode Island this weekend (and she brought some famous friends with her)

PROVIDENCE − The owner of the Atlantic Mills in Olneyville has put the giant mill building up for sale after backing out of a deal with the city and the Providence Redevelopment Agency to buy the sprawling property.

Those who work in the building say they are worried about being kicked out of one of the cheapest manufacturing, warehouse and office spaces in the city, which could mean the end of business for some of them. 

Unlike downtown Providence, where offices have remained empty since the pandemic, the Atlantic Mills is almost full, with an estimated 88% of its occupiable space leased. Tenant businesses say that alternative spaces elsewhere in the city are far too expensive and lack the sense of community they prize at their current location.

“We call this a hidden gem,” said tenant Mike McNulty, who runs a woodshop there.

Real estate: ‘Hidden gem’: Pending sale of Atlantic Mills leaves tenants worried about their future

All summer long, American Mussel Harvesters’ 8-acre oyster farm south of the Jamestown Bridge sat idle.

The problem wasn’t the oysters. It was the 90-minute voyage to get there. And Adam Silkes, who oversees the operation, just couldn’t justify burning all that time and fuel.

Until a few years ago, American Mussel Harvesters kept its boats at a marina near the company’s Quonset headquarters, so shellfish only had a five-minute trip from dock to cooler. Then, according to Silkes, the cost of dock space more than doubled.

“It’s reaching crisis proportions, honestly,” said Bob Rheault, executive director of both the Ocean State Aquaculture Association and East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. If you can’t access your farm, he said, “it’s a death knell.”

Read the full story to learn what’s causing the shortage of affordable dock space, and what solutions are being proposed to protect the state’s aquaculture industry.

Local news: Rising prices leave oyster farmers, quahoggers searching for places to dock their boats

“It just makes sense to be a Republican in Rhode Island!” proclaims a whiteboard in the unassuming headquarters of the Rhode Island GOP.

GOP chairman Joe Powers, who came up with the slogan, argues that people are “sick and tired” after almost 90 years of Democratic rule. But when asked about the main obstacles that he faces when trying to enlist candidates, he answers bluntly: “Being a Republican in Rhode Island.”

Rhode Island voters have gone nearly two decades without electing a Republican to any of the state’s top offices or to Congress. And GOP members are shut out of many of the positions that typically serve as a pipeline to political advancement.

Political Scene explores how Powers and the state GOP’s new executive director, 22-year-old Aidan Carey, are trying to build the party’s bench and chip away at Democrats’ supermajority.

Political Scene: Is there a path for Republicans in RI? Inside the party’s effort to build its bench.

Journal columnist Mark Patinkin was scrolling through Instagram one day when he came across a post with stunning aerial nighttime footage of Providence, backed by classical music.

Curious about the person behind the page captured.by.marc, he tracked down Marc Bontemps, a Montreal native now living in Providence who wanted to show off the beauty of his adopted city. Bontemps became a licensed drone pilot, capturing images ranging from WaterFire to tugboats on Narragansett Bay, and he displayed his craft while being interviewed on Providence’s pedestrian bridge.

Mark Patinkin: Drone pilot’s videos hold Providence in the highest regard. How he works his aerial magic

To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here.