Furious Brookfield Comeback Comes Up 1-Point Short In CIAC Football
EAST HARTFORD, CT — St. Joseph High School in Trumbull hung on just enough Saturday to win the CIAC Class M football title, defeating Brookfield High School in a tense 21-20 tussle.
The Cadets jumped out to a 21-0 lead and appeared to be heading toward a blowout.
But Brookfield junior quarterback Francis “Thad” Balzi channeled his inner John Elway and, nearly, led a miraculous comeback with his own version of “The Drive.”
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In the end, however, St. Joseph ground out enough clock with a strong running game and avoided key errors to hold on for the program’s 16th state championship, handing the Bobcats their first loss of the season in the process.
The game was played amid freezing temperatures at Pratt & Whitney Stadium (aka Rentschler Field), the University of Connecticut Huskies’ home stadium.
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The second-seed Bobcats, led by coach Bryan Muller, enjoyed a 10-0 regular season as they sought their fifth state championship.
Meanwhile, fourth-seed St. Joseph out of Trumbull, coached by Joe DellaVecchia, was 7-3 heading into the playoffs in search of their 16th state title.
St. Joseph got on the board first when sophomore Jake Rios recovered a fumble on Brookfield’s opening drive and rumbled into the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Cadets up 7- 0 after the extra point.
Then Brookfield drove deep into Cadet territory, but the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs in the red zone.
St. Joseph then drove the length of the field with a mix of passes and rushes,
The drive ended with Cadet sophomore quarterback Harry Jones hitting Lameik Black for a 29-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
With 2:07 to go in the half, Brookfield junior Matt Ackerly intercepted sophomore St. Joseph quarterback Harry Jones’ pass at the Cadet 45-yard line, giving the Bobcats a chance to close in.
Balzi used his arm and legs to drive further into St. Joseph’s territory as the first half wound down, but a hail mary hit the turf in the end zone, keeping St. Joseph’s lead at 14-0 at halftime.
The Cadets received the opening kickoff to start the second half looking to build on their lead.
That’s exactly what they did as St. Joseph went up 21-0 on a miraculous 18-yard catch of a Jones pass by senior T.J. Wright Jr. in the end zone with less than 10 minutes to go in the third.
But Brookfield was not demoralized and they took the subsequent kickoff and drove deep into Cadet territory, starting a furious rally that nearly produced a miracle in the end.
The Bobcats scored for the first time on a 35-yeard touchdown pass from Balzi to junior Tyler Buttendorf, cutting the deficit to 21-7 with 6:40 to go in the third quarter.
After a Cadet punt, Brookfield drove downfield again.
And when Brookfield senior Nyzir Torres rushed 34 yards into the end zone with 2:14 left in the third quarter, it was officially game on, with the score 21-14, St. Joseph.
The Bobcat defense tightened up and forced St. Joseph to punt yet again on the next possession, possibly giving Brookfield the ball with a chance to even the game.
But a critical error by a Brookfield punt returner breathed new life for St. Joseph, as the Cadets recovered a muffed punt at the Brookfield 26.
St. Joseph nearly took advantage of their break, but early in the fourth quarter, they turned the ball over on downs on the Brookfield 1-yard line after a Jones pass sailed through the end zone with more than 11 minutes left in the game.
With 99 yards to go, Brookfield muscled down the field churning yards on the ground but grinding down the clock in the process.
The Bobcats eventually were forced to punt with 6:25 to go and the Cadets got the ball on their 42-yard line.
From there, the Cadets kept the ball on the ground and forged forward, eating up more and more clock.
But with 3:21 left, St. Joseph was forced to punt, giving Brookfield one more chance to even the game or, perhaps, take the lead.
A nice Rios punt pinned Brookfield to its own 11 with 3:10 to go, putting the Cadets in a situation requiring a John Elway-like drive.
Staring at 89 yards of grass, Balzi took Brookfield down the field methodically as the game entered the final minutes, moving from his own 11 to midfield.
On fourth and 3 with 1:43 to go, Brookfield’s Balzi completed a tough pass to a well-covered Daniel Ciriello to earn a critical first down, keeping the Bobcats alive at the St. Joseph 27.
Brookfield burned their final timeout with 1:24 to go on third and 10 at the Cadet 27, setting the stage for a sequence of events that would ultimately determine the championship.
A first down run to St. Joseph’s 15-yard line continued the drive after the timeout with a quick pass bringing the ball to the 5.
Then the Bobcats struck pay dirt with a 5-yard touchdown run by senior Michael Walters with 1:02 left, forcing a big decision.
Opting to go for two points and the win instead of kicking a game-tying extra point, Walters was stopped just short of the end zone, preserving St. Joseph’s lead and championship, 21-20.
St. Joseph sophomore Finn Kilmartin grabbed a tough onside kick, giving the ball to the Cadets and allowing them to run out the clock, ending the game.
For game statistics and a game roundup, click on this link.
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