September 29, 2007Warde Nips Trinity With Late Score 25-22from The Stamford Advocate FAIRFIELD - Small schools in the rugged Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference get a limited number of opportunities to play teams they feel they should beat. As they lined up for the kickoff here last night, both Trinity Catholic and Fairfield Warde were optimistic that they could notch their first victory. The two teams fought hard all night, but in the end Warde shook off the winless yoke with a 25-22 triumph on Kyle Walsh's nine-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds remaining. Walsh's run capped a comeback from 14-0 in the first half. It also left Trinity, which grabbed a 22-19 lead with 5:38 remaining, to ponder another late-game collapse. The Crusaders (0-3) were edged by Westhill 35-34 in the final seconds last week. They allowed Westhill to score twice in the final four minutes. Behind the running of Nick Cortese, who gained 84 of his 101 yards in the second half, Trinity appeared to have the game under control. The junior fullback was plowing through the Warde defense, and his one-yard plunge capped a 14-play, 71-yard drive that allowed the Crusaders to regain the lead with 5:38 showing. Stephen Scalero, starting his first game at quarterback, hit Alex Santos with a two-point conversion pass. Warde took the ensuing kickoff and drove deep into Catholic territory, but the Crusaders got a huge break when the Mustangs fumbled the snap and noseguard Dejan Korac recovered for at the Trinity 4. Warde could have easily packed it in after that, but the Mustang defense suddenly rose up and held Cortese to just four total yards on three straight carries. Following a 37-yard punt by Trinity's Nick Ballone, Warde started a final drive from the Trinity 45 with 1:27 remaining. A key pass interference call, a 12-yard pass from Ralph Fidaleo to Chike Madu, and a nine-yard run by Madu set the stage for Walsh's touchdown run on a fullback trap play. Warde (1-2) trailed 14-7 at the half but came out fired up and forced a turnover on the kickoff, recovering at the Trinity 29. Two penalties pushed the Mustangs back before Fidaleo found Arthur Preston on a 31-yard aerial, setting up Madu's second touchdown, a four-yard burst. The next time the Mustangs had the ball they scored again on Fidaleo's six-yard toss to Preston in the end zone. Trinity seized control early, scoring on its first two possessions, and it looked like the Crusaders might be the team ready to notch its first FCIAC victory. Alex Santos ripped off touchdown runs of nine and 17 yards, picking up 56 first-half yards on five carries. Scalero ran the offense while injured starter John O'Leary shouted encouragement from the sidelines. "He took control of the huddle well. He did a real good job of managing things," said Catholic coach Bryan Fox about Scalero, a 5-9, 140-pound junior. Still, it's clear that the Crusaders need O'Leary, who has a separated shoulder, back in the lineup. Next week's home game against St. Joseph offers another chance to get into the win column. "He may be back next week, but it's painful. The doctor didn't clear him to throw," Fox said. At least one coach came away smiling last night. "These are the kind of games you have to win if you're going to build a program," Warde's Tony Catapano said. "You can't build a program getting beat 50-0 every week. The kids just won't show up." 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;
|
|
|
|
|
Trinity
Catholic High School Football |
Site design by spinn
creations |
