October 27, 2007Fake Punt Spurs Senators Over Crusaders 43-30from The Stamford Advocate NORWALK - Because their punter, Mike Graham, is a fleet-footed running back/track man, the Brien McMahon Senators love to try fake punts. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Trinity Catholic was staging a furious fourth-quarter comeback last night at Jack Casagrande Field when the Senators gambled with the fake punt, and this time all ended well for the Senators as Graham raced 63 yards for a touchdown with 2:09 remaining to preserve a 43-30 victory on homecoming weekend. It was a risky call that had many spectators shaking their heads. Trinity, which once trailed 30-8, had just closed to 37-30 when nose guard Dejan Korac broke through the McMahon line, forced a fumble, and returned the ball 46 yards for a touchdown with 3:41 remaining. John O'Leary's conversion pass to Alex Santos pulled the Crusaders to within a touchdown and gave them hope for a miracle finish. On its next possession, McMahon faced a fourth-and-one on its own 37 and looked ready to punt the ball away. But McMahon coach Joe SantaLucia made the fake punt call from the sidelines even before he saw that Trinity had everyone tight at the line of scrimmage, going for a blocked kick, with no return man. "I said, 'Look Mike, they're probably going to be coming. Hesitate for a second and then run it outside.' I felt he could get the yards," SantaLucia said. Graham only needed one yard for a first down that would have effectively iced the game, but he got around the right corner and outraced the Crusaders down the sideline for the touchdown. Of course, Trinity still made it interesting when Vince Carter returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield before fumbling. Trinity lost three fumbles on the rainy night and had a punt blocked out of the end zone for a safety. Kylem Champagne's block gave McMahon a seemingly comfortable 30-8 lead with 3:38 left in the third quarter. But Trinity (2-5), which had won two straight, didn't surrender. The Crusaders scored on their next two possessions with Nick Cortese plunging in from a yard out and O'Leary hitting Alex Santos with a 29-yard touchdown pass. O'Leary completed 16 of 29 throws for 220 yards, with favorite target Santos grabbing nine of those aerials for 130 yards. One of the deciding factors in the game was speed. McMahon was able to get outside for several long runs, including a 34-yard scamper by Graham. "Our speed helped but we were able to get outside partly because we ran inside earlier and they began packing it in (on defense). You can't cover everything on defense," SantaLucia said. The Senators, now 4-3 in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, rushed for 258 yards to 96 for Trinity, but the Crusaders led 8-6 with 11:14 left in the second quarter following Cortese's 9-yard touchdown run. The 225-pound junior fullback rushed for 87 yards on 17 carries. "Forty-four kind of beat us up," SantaLucia said. "He was a little tougher than some of our guys." However, big plays were the order of the night for McMahon. James Shaw caught a 69-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Nick Blosio, who went 3-for-3 for 106 yards in the first half as the Senators took a 21-8 lead into halftime. 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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