September 22, 2007Wild Win for Westhill 35-34from The Stamford Advocate STAMFORD - If this was a movie, the pass T.J. Hickey flung toward the end zone in the final seconds would have hung in the air for about 30 seconds and we would have seen slo-mo facial expressions of coaches, fans, cheerleaders and probably even the injured player listening on the radio in a hospital bed. But, even though yesterday's game between Westhill and Trinity Catholic did build to a Hollywood-like finish, it wasn't a movie. Hickey's incredible 42-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Adler Florian with 5.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter was real. The dramatic score tied the game and Owen Sandoval's fifth PAT gave the host Vikings a 35-34 victory, capping what was perhaps the most memorable day of football in Westhill's 35-year varsity history. To Hickey, though, the miracle finish, which included a combined five touchdows by the two teams in the final 8:36, did indeed feel a bit fanciful. "On that last pass it seemed the ball was in the air for a lifetime," said Hickey, who earlier tossed a 40-yard scoring bomb to Jordan Grasty-amos with 3:40 remaining as the Vikings overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. "It was kind of Flutie-ish," Hickey added, referring to Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie's memorable last-second Hail Mary pass that beat Miami in 1984. "I still have chills from it. It was just ridiculous." Trinity head coach Bryan Fox might also use such an adjective for the way the game ended, as well as the physical state of his team during their fourth-quarter collapse. "We had a triage on the sideline," he said. Trinity quarterback John O'Leary, who was spectacular with 148 yards passing in the first half and two interceptions on defense, played the second half with a possible broken bone in his hand, as well as a possible separated shoulder. That led to just two pass attempts in the second half, which made it easier for Westhill to rally as it stacked the line against Crusaders fullback Nick Cortese (116 yards rushing on 30 carries) to end TC's time-of-possession dominance. The Crusaders (0-2) also were without defensive back Vince Carter (possible concussion) and receiver/defensive back Alex Santos, who went down with an ankle injury in the first half after catching a 29-yard scoring pass from O'Leary to open the scoring. "With all those injuries, what we were left with?" Fox said. The Vikings (2-0) took advantage of the Crusaders' wounded state to win their sixth straight game dating back to last October. It was an emotional roller coaster ride for Hickey who was being fitted for goat horns earlier in the fourth quarter. Hickey threw three interceptions in the span of 12 minutes, including one at the Trinity 3 with 1:30 remaining that looked to be the final death knell for the Vikings. "T.J. was terrible in the second half," Vikings head coach Dick Cerone said. "But when push came to shove and we needed him to make a play, he put the ball where he needed to." Hickey finished 15 for 22 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He was 9-for-13 in the final eight minutes for 165 yards. But it was those last 42 yards that were the most memorable. "Johnnie (O'Leary) and I are good friends and he had two picks against me," Hickey said. "We're pretty competitive and after the second one I said to myself I owe him one." The Vikings led 14-13 thanks to a 52-yard touchdown pass from Hickey to Pat Muller and a 16-yard run by Danny Berisha in the first quarter before a rash of mistakes in the second half seemingly killed them. There was a fumbled punt on their own 10 that led to O'Leary's 6-yard touchdown run and a 21-13 TC lead. There was a critical roughing-the-quarterback penalty that kept a Trinity drive alive and set up a 10-yard scoring run by Cortese that made it 28-14 with 8:36 remaining. And, of course, there were Hickey's three interceptions. The second one came after Hickey had scooted in from the 2 to complete a five-play, 50-yard drive with 6:46 remaining that cut Westhill's deficit to 28-21. O'Leary stepped in front of a Viking receiver and raced 25 yards for the score that made it 34-21 and seemingly wrapped this one up with 4:17 left to play. Two plays later, though, the Vikings were back in business as Hickey was rushed out of the pocket and hurled the ball toward the end zone and hoped for the best. Jordan Grasty-amos outleaped a Trinity defender on the goal line and hauled in the 40-yard bomb that made it 34-28. "I saw the ball in the air and it looked like the defender might intercept it," Grasty-amos said. "But he waited for it instead of going and getting it and when I saw him waiting for it, I went and got it." "With our injuries, we had guys in the secondary who weren't defensive backs," Fox added. With O'Leary unable to lift his arm, the Crusaders also struggled on offense and could no longer play keepaway (Trinity ran 65 plays compared to 41 for Westhill). "With O'Leary hurt it was blatantly obvious we were going to run the ball," Fox said. "When there is no chance of a pass, you can't run the ball." Even though the Vikings were finding it easier to stop the Crusaders, Cerone opted for an onsides kick after Graty-amos' TD, and the Vikings' Berisha recovered at the Trinity 49 with 3:34 remaining. "I had it at first and then it was loose so I just went in (to the pile) like a torpedo," Berisha said. "That ball was mine." Hickey, however, was intercepted at the Trinity 3 by O'Leary with 1:30 remaining later on that possession. But the Vikings did have two timeouts left and with 11 guys focusing on stopping Cortese, the Crusaders failed to get the first down and were forced to punt. The Vikings took over at the Trinity 42 with 27 seconds remaining. After two incompletions, it was third-and-10 with 14.9 seconds left. Hickey dropped back, was rushed out of the pocket, caught a glimpse of Florian getting position on the defender and let it fly. "All I was thinking was to get between (the defender and the ball), jump and catch the ball," Florian said. "And that's what I did. T.J. made a great throw." The celebration that followed, and the one that was repeated five seconds later after the Vikings snuffed out the Crusaders' last hope on the kickoff, was something that hasn't been seen at the J. Walter Kennedy Sports Complex in decades, possibly ever . . . something right out of Hollywood. 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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