October 3, 2005Stephens has big second half as Trinity beats Westhillfrom The Stamford Advocate STAMFORD -- Eric Stephens entered the Trinity Catholic huddle 30 times in the second half yesterday and 16 times emerged knowing he would be handed the ball. On each occasion Stephens' legs churned, a wall of purple jerseys was pushed backward and a huge cheer reverberated from the Crusaders' sideline. "I just wanted to get the ball," the junior fullback said. "I didn't have a lot of carries or a lot of yards coming in." That all changed by the end of the day, as did an assortment of Trinity's numbers. Stephens finished with 131 yards on 23 carries and a pair of second-half touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to a 28-19 win at Westhill. Trinity improved to 2-1, its first winning record since the final day of the 2002 season, which was also the last time it defeated the Vikings. After trailing at halftime, 19-13, the Crusaders dominated, led by Stephens, who had 94 yards in the second half and a quarterback pressure on the game's biggest play. "We knew we were moving the ball but our defense was not clicking that well at first," Stephens said. "It felt good today. I'm tired, but whatever it takes to win." Westhill (0-3), which opened with 40-point road losses to Greenwich and Staples, the state's No. 1 and 2 teams, respectively, was hoping to rebound in its home opener. After a strong offensive showing in the first half, the Vikings managed just 49 yards the rest of the way. "They were more physical than us," Westhill coach Chris Wagner said. "They wore us down with their play-calling in the second half and just fed the fullback." Westhill was able to stay close because of three Trinity mistakes but was unable to capitalize on any of them. After holding the Vikings at the start of the second half, the Crusaders were penalized for running into punter Tahmell Griffin. Trinity held again and after a 20-yard punt took over on its own 37. The Crusaders ran the ball six straight times to move to the Vikings' 23. A.J. Nelson, after an 8-yard run, fumbled and Carl Bocicault recovered for Westhill. But the Vikings managed just two yards on three plays and, after a short punt, Trinity took over again on the Westhill 34. Quarterback Anas Koummal rolled out and hit Kyle Foti in the flat for 17 yards. Six plays later Stephens went off tackle from two yards out, added a two-point conversion and Trinity had a 21-19 lead. "He's going to be a good fullback," Trinity coach Bryan Fox said. "He's big and tough and he's going to have a lot of games like this." The Vikings were hampered by the loss of Roland Carrington, their best player, to leg cramps for much of the second half. After rushing for 136 yards and two scores in the first half, he had just three carries for six yards until leaving the game late in the third quarter. His absence as a run-stopper at linebacker created a bigger void. "It was hard watching and not being out there," Carrington said. "I feel we have a team where when one player goes down others can step up. (Trinity) worked harder, they wanted it more and they got it." Trinity started the fourth quarter with a 14-play drive that ate up over eight minutes. But on fourth-and-five from the Westhill 19, a wide-open Foti dropped a pass from Koummal. Stephens then answered on the other side of the ball. He came in untouched and hit Westhill quarterback T.J. Hickey on a fourth-down pass, forcing him to throw the ball away. Two plays later Stephens followed a great block from Gene DeVito for a 27-yard touchdown run with 2:12 remaining. "The kids are starting to learn how to come back," Fox said. "That's something I didn't know they had in them. I think our defense came to play in the second half." The first half was an offensive display. After forcing Trinity to punt after its first possession, the Vikings' Keith Rosedom muffed a punt, picked it up and followed a block from Tom Flynn for a 73-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead. The Crusaders came right back, with Koummal's 23-yard pass to DeVito setting up Nelson's game-tying 5-yard run. Carrington scored on a 14-yard run to make it 13-7 and, after Koummal's 6-yard keeper tied the game at 13-13 on the second to last play of the quarter, broke a 65-yard run with 3:44 left in the half for a 19-13 lead. "We might have gotten into a comfort zone," Carrington said. Asked how he expected to keep his players' confidence up, Wagner said, "That's why they hired me. We have to pull together, we have to condition better. We've got to come back Monday with a fresh start." Fox is taking the other extreme with his players. Asked how 2-1 sounded, he smiled. "It sounds better than 0-2 or 1-3," he said. "We're happy with what we've done so far, but we're not satisfied."
 Big senior defensive tackle Vladimir Joseph swims by an offensive lineman in a 28-20 home victory over Fairfield Ludlowe on October 29, 2005. (CrusaderNation.net / Dana Maul)
 Junior defensive tackle Santiago "Teggy" Steele wraps up a Darien
rusher as his
 Junior center Cory Johnson prepares to snap the ball to fellow classmate
 The Crusader offensive line pushes Bassick around in the mud. The
Crusaders
 Senior wideout Rob Hawthorn races downfield to block as junior fullback
Eric Stephens
 2005 All-FCIAC East Offense Row 1, Left to Right: Eric Wells, Bassick; Willie Epps, McMahon;
Pete Raymond,
 2005 All-FCIAC East Defense Row 1, Left to Right: Joe Luchesi, Danbury; Greg Sabo, Danbury; James
Taylor, Danbury;
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