Doug Reilly
Sports Editor
After last week’s heartbreaking loss to St. Joseph’s, the Rams not only moved down in the FCIAC standings, but their spirits were down, too. They knew they couldn’t get revenge on St. Joe’s, so instead they took their anger out on the Wilton Warriors. Dominating them in almost every facet of the game, the Rams stormed to a 43-7 victory on Saturday afternoon at Dunning Stadium.
Junior quarterback Matt Milano led the way for the Rams, throwing for 334 yards and five touchdowns, two of which were for more than 50 yards. With those 334 yards, Matt jumped past John Marinelli and moved into 10th place on the NCHS all-time career passing yards list.
However, Matt wasn’t the only one who moved up in the NCHS record books. Senior captain and wide receiver Kevin Macari caught his 15th, 16th, and 17th career touchdown passes, ranking fourth on the all-time list in that category. Kevin accounted for five catches, three of which were for touchdowns, and 121 yards on the day.
Unlike last week, the Rams got going early, forcing a three and out on Wilton’s opening drive. “We were fired up,” junior wide receiver Patrick Newton, who caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, said. “We came out flat against St. Joe’s and we knew we needed to start strong.”
The offense then drove 46 yards and Matt capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. After Wilton was penalized for being offside on the PAT, the Rams went for two points, and Matt hit junior wide receiver Connor Kilbane, putting the Rams up 8-0 just over four minutes into the game. Later in the first quarter, Matt hit Kevin for a 31-yard touchdown pass, and junior kicker Colin Shapiro added the extra point, giving the Rams a 15-0 lead.
But, Wilton responded by driving 74 yards down the field on 11 plays and getting on the scoreboard on a three yard run by running back Ned Hemmerle. It was back to a one-possession game, with a score of 15-7 New Canaan.
The Rams offense came right back with a 68-yard drive, capped off by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Matt to senior receiver Willie Gould just before the half. The Rams went into the break with a comfortable 22-7 lead.
The game was broken open early in the third quarter when Matt found Kevin in the endzone, set up by a 26-yard run by senior running back Conor Goodwin. After an interception near midfield by junior linebacker Kevin McDonough, Matt found Patrick on a slip-screen, and Patrick did the rest, running 52 yards through the Warrior defense for a touchdown. All of a sudden, the Rams were up 36-7 and Wilton showed no signs of life.
While the offense will get most of the spotlight, the Ram defense played a tremendous game, suffocating Wilton’s difficult triple-option. Although Ned rushed for 102 yards, the defense only surrendered one touchdown. Defensive linemen Jimmy Joe Granito, Ryan Shullman, Dylan Leeming and Thomas Rochlin kept the Warrior offense in check.
“I think we played a great game on both sides of the ball,” Patrick said. “Scoring on our first two offensive possessions was huge for us. We put up 43 points and held Wilton’s explosive offense to only seven.”
To close out the scoring, Matt connected with Kevin again, this time on a 58-yard strike over the middle for a touchdown. The 43-7 win gave the Rams their second consecutive victory over the Warriors, and they improved to 6-1 on the season. However, things don’t get any easier for the Rams. Home games the next two Fridays against Greenwich and Bridgeport Central, both 5-2, prelude a Turkey Bowl matchup with undefeated Darien on Thanksgiving Day.
“I believe that if we play to our full potential, there is not a team in the state that can beat us,” Patrick said. “If we play like we did against Wilton, we have a great chance at being very successful for the rest of the season.”
Photos by Sara McCloskey
