September 16, 2007Joy leads Blue Wave over Crusaders 35-14from The Stamford Advocate DARIEN -- Kevin Joy wobbled through the postgame handshake line, appearing to need the push of teammates to propel him to the end. Joy's words to the Trinity Catholic High School players were barely audible, his handshakes weak. It was about the only time the Crusaders got good touches on the Darien running back all day. With the score tied at 7-7 midway through the second quarter and both teams looking for a lift, Joy provided it with a spectacular 29-yard run in which he broke six tackles and then dragged two defenders down to the Crusaders' 6. The Blue Wave scored four plays later, then struck for three unanswered touchdowns in the second half, pulling away to a 35-14 season-opening home win yesterday. "That play certainly changed the tide a little bit," said Rob Trifone, clutching the game ball his players awarded him after a successful debut as the Darien head coach. "Fortunately he's a great football player and probably more importantly he's a kid with a huge heart." Trifone stepped down two years ago after 18 seasons as the head coach at Brien McMahon. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Blue Wave in the interim. The Blue Wave graduated 16 starters and 19 seniors, but one of the returning players they are counting on is Joy, the coach's stepson. And Joy turned in a tour de force performance. He gained 110 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown. A 43-yard scoring run was nullified by a holding penalty. Joy also had a one catch, a sack and a 40-yard punt return that led to Darien's final touchdown. "I'm very tired," Joy said. "But you have to fight through it. This is a good win for us. We have a young team but we came through." Matt Wheelock, the Blue Wave's new quarterback, completed just seven of 18 passes, but three went for touchdowns. The Crusaders, coming off a 7-3 finish, have just one starter back, John O'Leary. Moving from wide receiver to quarterback, O'Leary was 12-of-21 for 144 yards, threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Trinity got off to a strong start, with the aid of a calculated gamble by coach Bryan Fox. Alex Santos returned the opening kickoff 39 yards, and three plays later the Crusaders were faced with fourth-and-2 from the Blue Wave's 42. "Let's set a tone," came a cry from the Trinity sideline. Fox went for it, Santos got outside for a 14-yard gain, and O'Leary completed the 11-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Santos. But as the game developed the Crusaders seemed to wear down, hurt by their inability to run the ball, sloppy tackling and a lack of composure. They were hit with three penalties for personal fouls, which seemed to bother Fox more than anything else. "Those kind of mistakes really hurt us," Fox said. "The penalties put you in second- and third-and-long situations. We also had a few busted plays on early downs in a couple of series." Darien tied the game at 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter. It came right after Joy's score was called back and John Schule sacked Wheelock for a 12-yard loss. On third down and needing 21 yards, the Blue Wave took advantage of the Crusaders' aggressiveness. Wheelock dumped a screen to Brian Kosnik, who burst through a large hole for a 57-yard score. The same combination put the Blue Wave in front with 4:30 left in the half. Set up by Joy's pinball run, Wheelock, on fourth down from the Trinity 2, found Kosnik in the back corner of the end zone on a fade pattern. O'Leary brought the Crusaders right back, set up by a 38-yard screen pass to Santos. He later hit Santos for a 10-yard gain on fourth down before scoring on a bootleg from one-yard out. Wheelock put the Blue Wave back in front on a 26-yard pass play over the middle to Nick Dysenchuk, who was alone over the middle. Darien secured the win by scoring twice in a 3 1/2 minute span in the fourth quarter. Joy, after leapfrogging a defender for a 14-yard gain, broke a couple of tackles for a 16-yard touchdown. Robert Nolan then scored from one yard out. "We came out slow and then in the second half took it to them," Joy said. "Once we started to put the ball in the end zone we got more confidence." Trinity, which won its first city title since 2002 last year, plays at Westhill on Friday afternoon. "We don't have a whole lot of time to make the changes we need, I hope it takes less than five days," Fox said. "It's something I'll have to see on film. I don't know if we missed blocks but I know we missed tackles." Copyright © 2007, 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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