PORTSMOUTH — Marc DeSisto provided the spark, then Mike Read and the Barrington defense finished the job as the Eagles earned their second Division I Super Bowl berth in four years with a 27-3 victory over Portsmouth in a semifinal round playoff game before a standing-room-only crowd last night.

DeSisto, the Barrington junior punt and kickoff returner, turned what everyone thought would be a slim, four-point Barrington halftime lead into a much more substantial advantage when he returned a kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown with 31 seconds to play in the first half.

In the second half, Read, Barrington’s star junior running back, settled the issue by scoring his second and third touchdowns of the game.

And throughout the night, the Barrington defense continually came up with the big plays. It shut down a Portsmouth offense that had scored 202 points in eight Division I regular-season games this season.

“Our defense came up strong tonight,” said Barrington coach Bill McCagney. “Defense and special teams, that’s what wins championships,” McCagney added about the Eagles defensive play and DeSisto’s running on punt and kickoffs.

The victory moved Barrington into the Division I Super Bowl where the Eagles will play La Salle on Sunday at noon at Cranston Stadium.

The Eagles won the 2005 Division I state title in their first year of Division I play. Until DeSisto brought the crowd to its feet with his sensational kickoff return, defensive play, especially by Barrington, had been the highlight of the opening session.

The Barrington defense relinquished a total of 13 yards in the first quarter. It forced Portsmouth to settle for a field goal late in the second quarter by holding the Patriots to five yards on three plays from the Barrington 9-yard line.

Barrington had taken a 7-0 lead on its second possession of the game. Read broke loose on a 16-yard touchdown run followed by Brandon Lewis’s conversion boot.

Read’s touchdown dash came five plays after DeSisto, with a 27-yard punt return, had given the Eagles good field position at the Portsmouth 25.

The Barrington defense kept the Patriots from picking up a first-down until the first play of the second quarter. It ended a potential Portsmouth scoring drive by stopping the Patriots without a yard on four plays from the Eagles 30. After forcing Barrington to punt on three plays on the ensuing series, Portsmouth started another drive midway through the second quarter that eventually produced a first down on the Barrington 10, with 2:30 to play in the half.

The Eagles defense, however, held the Patriots to five yards on three runs, forcing Portsmouth to settle for Chris Gavin’s 23-yard field goal with 41 seconds to play. But that was more than enough time for DeSisto to add six more points to the Barrington total.

The Eagles speedster, who returned two kickoffs for TDs during the regular season, took the kickoff on a bounce about 10 yards inside the left sideline. He then somehow worked his way around a few Portsmouth defenders, giving him a chance to outrace the rest of the Patriots along the sideline.

The Barrington defense even set up an Eagles touchdown early in the second half. After being held to a total of three yards on its first possession of the second half, Portsmouth took a chance on its second possession and tried to convert a pass play on a fourth and four from its own 36. But a big hit by a Barrington defender knocked the ball out of the hands of the Portsmouth receiver to give Barrington a first down on the Patriots 36.

Two plays later quarterback Steve Crawford tossed a pass to Read in the flat and Read raced 36 yards for a touchdown.

Read took any remaining suspense out of the contest when he followed a 35-yard run by Steve Goniprow with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Barrington

7 7 6 7 — 27

Portsmouth

0 3 0 0 —  3

 Barrington scoring: touchdowns –– Mike Read 3 (5 run, 25 run, 37 pass from Steve Crawford), Mark DeSisto (74 kickoff return); conversions –– Brandon Lewis 3 (kicks).

 Portsmouth scoring: field goal –– Chris Gavin (26 yards).

jgillool@projo.com