September27, 2008Crusaders Nip Ludlowe in Double OTfrom The Stamford Advocate FAIRFIELD - The front point of the football was 18 inches away from the goal stripe at Fairfield Ludlowe High School's Taft Field. It was fourth down for Trinity Catholic during the second series of the new Kansas overtime format, just moments after Sean Anderson kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the host Falcons a 31-28 lead when they had the ball first in the second series of OT. Trinity Catholic coach Bryan Fox would not opt for trying a potential tying field goal that could set up a third overtime series. Fox had No. 44 on his team. Fox had the option of senior fullback Nick Cortese, all 5-feet-10 inches and 220 rugged pounds of him. Fox liked this option in this situation. Sure enough, in a run that was so similar to so many Nick Cortese runs on this evening, Cortese kept his legs churning, fought through a stout Ludlowe defense and landed with the ball just inches beyond the goal stripe on his 50th carry of the night to give the Crusaders an exhilarating 34-31 victory. "I know I'm getting that because I know my line's going to be blocking for me," Cortese said. ""I saw about six (Ludlowe) guys coming at me, I saw my guard John Schule take on two guys, I saw my tackle Eddie Gonzalez take on two guys and they got some push on them. And even my quarterback's blocking for me. Steve Scalero gave me a little push to get me into the end zone. I was just praying to God that I got in. Thank God I got in." It was Cortese's fifth touchdown of the night, including all three regulation that ended in a 21-21 tie. He also bulled through for a two-point conversion to pull Trinity Catholic into a 14-14 tie at the end of t hree quarters. Cortese rushed for 77 yards on 16 carries in the first half and he controlled ball possession with 114 yards on 27 carries in the second half for 191 yards on 43 carries after four quarters. Then he ran for 23 more yards on seven carries in the two OT series to finish with 216 yards on his 50 rushes. After his 49th rush of 2 yards brought the Crusaders 18 inches from the goal stripe, although Fox technically had the option of the potential game-tying field goal, really, there was no option at all other than the obvious. "Anybody can make that decision," Fox said. "For any coach that has No. 44, it's an easy call." Both teams were 1-1 going into the game. The Crusaders will take a two-game winning streak into next Saturday's game at St. Joseph. "What can you say?" Fox said. "This game was as good as you can get - two overtimes. I've never been in one of those." Ludlowe's fine junior quarterback Rob Ferrara fired two touchdown passes to tight end Teddy Mason. On fourth-and-3 from Trinity Catholic's 5-yard line with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Falcons ran a play-action pass, Mason ran into the end zone from the left side and made a nice grab in traffic to cut their deficit to 21-20. Ludlowe's new coach Matt McCloskey made the wise decision to have Anderson kick the extra point because he knew he had a viable option in this new Kansas OT. Arana attempted of a 42-yard field goal with :18 left in the fourth quarter that had plenty of distance and was only about a yard wide of the left upright. The Crusaders got the ball first in the first OT series. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Cortese initially got hit and stood up back at the 2. But he kept those legs churning and barreled in, and Arana added the kick. Ferrara scored on a 6-yard TD run and Anderson tied it with his extra point. Then it was the Falcons' turn to have the first offensive series in the second OT series for both teams. Copyright © 2008, 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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