October 14, 2006Trinity sends Bassick to 49th straight football lossfrom The Stamford Advocate BRIDGEPORT -- You might assume that the greatest challenge Trinity Catholic faced entering last night's game with Bassick was how to keep the victory margin below 50 points, thus avoiding a CIAC suspension for coach Bryan Fox. It's a problem a lot of teams share when they face the Lions, losers of 49 straight games. But Catholic never even flirted with the 50-point rule, thanks to liberal substitution and a feisty Bassick team that would not quit. The Lions may have only registered two first downs, but they broke off dazzling touchdown runs of 80 and 72 yards while losing 39-12 at Kennedy Stadium. Those highlight-reel runs by William Davis-Joyner and Jordan Smith were a moral victory for Bassick, which had been shut out in three of its four previous games. However, by that time Catholic held a comfortable 26-0 lead and Fox was running jayvee players in and out. "I put our starters back in for a while in the third quarter," noted Fox. "You can't fall asleep out there on anyone. Their (Bassick's) won-loss record is not that great, but they're going to play hard and they're not going to give up." Catholic (3-2) could be excused for being less that excited about the game, played at an odd time (6 p.m.) in an empty stadium. The Crusaders, who entered the season with high expectations, face a key game next week against non-league power Bunnell in Stratford. "We will learn a lot about ourselves next Friday night," Fox said. "They have a very good quarterback. If we lose that game our (state) playoff hopes are over." In preparation for unbeaten Bunnell, Fox took the liberty of resting some of his banged-up starters against Bassick. Senior quarterback Anas Koummal played no more than a quarter and threw only one pass. But that pass, on Catholic's fourth play from scrimmage, went for a 19-yard touchdown as John O'Leary made a finger tip grab in the end zone. After recovering the ensuing kickoff, Koummal struck again on a 13-yard run. With 3:51 left in the first quarter Eric Stephens barreled through the Bassick defense on a 25-yard touchdown run to make it 19-0. O'Leary moved from receiver to quarterback, and Trinity pushed the lead to 26-0 when Carlos Romero plunged in from a yard out, capping a 73-yard drive with just 37 seconds left in the half. Bassick's offense had been silent all half, but just when it looked like the Lions would be shut out again, Davis-Joyner woke up the sidelines with an 80-yard touchdown run, reaching paydirt with 15 seconds left on the clock. Jordan added another burst of excitement for the beleagured Lions by breaking loose on a 72-yard scoring run with 9:16 left in the game, but two minutes earlier Catholic inflated the lead to 33-6. Taking advantage of an 11-yard punt and a facemask penalty, the Crusaders marched down to the Bassick 10, where Stephens ran in for his second touchdown. The closing seconds provided one more highlight for Catholic. After a Hail Mary pass from Bassick quarterback Dexter Hill to Smith brought the Lions to the Crusaders' 6-yard-line, Matt Restivo made a play that he'll never forget. In fact, Fox can't remember his team ever making the play before. Restivo, a sophomore defensive back, scooped up a fumble and raced 84 yards as time expired. The extra point wasn't even attempted as both teams exited the stadium. "It's a little hard for them to get emotionally ready for a game like this," admitted Fox, "but I think our seniors came out and were ready to play. Our offense was able to go down the field early and score, so we got some subs in." Alex Santos came up with an interception for Trinity in the second half. Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
 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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