Doug Reilly
Senior Editor
For the second time this week, 27 points proved just to be just enough for the Rams to advance, this time upsetting the top-seeded Windsor Warriors, 27-24, thanks to senior Collin Shapiro’s game-winning field goal with just 4 seconds remaining. The Rams, down 24-7 in the second quarter, overcame an uncharacteristic five turnovers and scored 20 unanswered points en route to a dramatic comeback victory at East Haven High School, last Saturday December 3rd. The win gives the Rams a spot in the CIAC Class L Championship game next Saturday, December 10th, at 2pm, against second-seeded Daniel Hand at UConn’s Rentschler Field.
The story of the afternoon was the outstanding performance from New Canaan’s defense; shutting out and holding the high-powered Windsor attack to negative yards and no first-downs in the second half. Though the Warriors put 24 points on the board, 14 of those were defensive touchdowns off turnovers three came on a field goal when they started with a short field.
On the offensive side of the ball, however, the Rams were not nearly as dominant. Senior quarterback, captain Matt Milano had his second consecutive off-game, completing 17-33 passes for 176 yards, no touchdowns, and a whopping four interceptions. Senior Connor Kilbane led the receivers with eight catches for 76 yards, and senior Patrick Newton had four catches with 63 yards.
Just like in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory over New London, the running game was key for the Rams, with senior co-captains Bobby Distler and Kevin McDonough leading the way. Bobby ran for 70 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown and Kevin also found the end zone, carrying the ball 11 times for 61 yards.
The Rams got on the scoreboard first on this day, with Kevin pounding his way into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown, capping a 72 yard drive to open the game. The defense did its job on the ensuing Windsor possession, forcing the Warriors to punt.
The Rams too were forced to punt, giving the Warriors the ball with good field position, setting up a 24-yard field goal with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter. Three plays later, Milano was intercepted by Windsor’s Brendan Gale near midfield, and the defensive back returned it to the New Canaan three yard-line. The Rams’ defense stepped up though, and after a sack from senior Hunter Budd, Windsor was faced a fourth-and-goal from the 11. Warrior quarterback Quinn Fleeting raced into the end zone, but the touchdown was called back because of a holding call, and the Rams stopped the Windsor offense on the next play for no gain.
After regaining possession, Milano hit sophomore receiver Teddy Bossidy on third-down, but Windsor safety Aaron Berardino stripped the ball and returned the fumble 18 yards for a touchdown, giving the top-seeded Warriors a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. Two minutes later, after another New Canaan punt, Fleeting found receiver Ryheime Moore in the flat, and after breaking a tackle, he outran all Ram defenders for an 82-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
It got worse for the Rams on their next possession when Windsor’s Gale picked off Milano for the second time just two plays into the drive. This time, Gale took it all the way back to the house, 40 yards and a touchdown. With 8:15 left in the first half, Windsor held a comfortable 24-7 lead after sucking the life out of not only the Rams, but the packed New Canaan fan section.
On the next drive, Milano and the offense protected the ball and put together a nice 68-yard drive. On fourth-and-inches, Matt called his own number and pushed his way through the defensive line for a touchdown. Shapiro’s extra point attempt was blocked, and the Windsor lead was cut to 24-13 with just under six minutes remaining in the half.
With an opportunity to add on to their lead, Windsor drove down the field, but ran out of time in the final seconds of the half after a sack from Senior John Brainard. At halftime, the Rams trailed the Warriors by 11, 24-13.
Just a few plays into Windsor’s drive to open the second half, All-State linebacker Kevin McDonough intercepted Fleeting, giving the Rams some life, and the ball on the Windsor 32. Distler did the rest for the Rams’ offense, carrying the ball six times for all 32 yards, hitting pay dirt after a three-yard scamper with 8:22 left in the third quarter. New Canaan went for two in an attempt to make it just a three-point game, and converted when Milano hit Kilbane for two points. All of a sudden the scoreboard read 24-21, and the Rams regained momentum.
For the next 15 minutes, neither offense could put much together. The Rams’ defensive front led by Distler, McDonough and Brainard, along with senior co-captain Thomas Rochlin and senior Dylan Leeming gave the Windsor offense fits, holding them to negative yardage in the second half. In the secondary, Newton, juniors Grady Lynch and Casey Ouellette, and sophomore Michael Root made big plays to hold the Warriors.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the turning point of the game came on special teams. Shapiro punted the ball after a New Canaan three-and-out, and Windsor’s Berardino couldn’t haul it in. The ball tipped Berardino’s fingers, and the ball was live. Newton raced back to retrieve the loose ball, but the it squirted out, only to be recovered by aforementioned Michael Root on the Warriors’ 25-yard line.
The turnover set up a 34-yard field goal from Shapiro, tying the score with 3:50 left on the clock, 24-24. Windsor lost 16 yards on their next possession and was forced to punt the ball back to New Canaan with 1:34 left. Newton made a fair catch, and the drive began in Warriors’ territory on the 46-yard line.
A pass-interference penalty on Windsor moved the ball into the red zone, and with eight seconds remaining, Shapiro got set for a potential game-winning field goal. In an effort to ice the kicker, Windsor called a timeout. Shapiro’s kick was partially blocked at the line of scrimmage by a Windsor defender, but had enough mustard on it to float through the uprights for a 27-24 lead with just 4.2 seconds left on the clock.
Shapiro squibbed the ensuing kickoff to the Warriors and the Rams recovered the loose ball to end the game, sending the Rams’ faithful into euphoria as students stormed the field in celebration. Shapiro’s field goal capped a remarkable 20 unanswered point comeback, and the Rams upset the number one seed in CIAC Class L playoffs. The win puts Lou Marinelli’s squad in the State Championship game for the sixth consecutive year. This time, New Canaan will clash with second-seeded Daniel Hand, next Saturday at UConn’s Rentschler Field, at 2 o’clock. Hand, coming off a convincing 35-14 victory over defending Champion Masuk, looks to avenge last year’s semi-final loss to the Rams, 39-21.
Photos by Annie Horstmeyer and Kelly Saiz
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