Turnovers cost Wreckers in 28-21 Class LL finals loss

eschickler@bcnnew.com

Turnovers stopped the Staples football team from winning the Class LL title on Sunday. Top-seeded Staples committed three turnovers, two which led to two touchdowns for third-seeded Cheshire in the second quarter and the third miscue ended a drive in overtime to give Cheshire a 28-21 win in the Class LL championship game at West Haven High.

"We said we could not turn it over and but we had two in the second quarter and they were killers," said Wreckers coach Marce Petroccio.

Cheshire finished its season at 11-1. Staples capped its campaign at 12-1 and unlike previous games in which the over-achieving Wreckers came back against Bridgeport Central in the FCIAC championship game and against Greenwich on Thanksgiving morning, they weren't able to pull off a third miracle.

"I love my kids but we fell short in the end," said Petroccio. "It's tough."

In the first quarter, it looked like Staples wasn't going to need any miracles as it opened the game with a 15-play, 66-yard scoring drive, converting on two third down and two fourth down plays in the process. Senior quarterback Keith Gelman (16-19, 245 yards) was 4-4 for 40 yards on the opening drive and converted a third-and-nine with a 19-yard pass to senior Matt Kelly (three catches for 76 yards) to the Ram 46, a third-and-one with an eight-yard pass to Brendan Rankowitz (eight catches for 119 yards) to the 29 and a fourth-and-four to Rankowitz to the 14. Kelly (21 carries for 49 yards) converted a fourth-and-two with a two-yard run to the 4 and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Santiago Cuartas kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

That changed on Staples' next possession when Cheshire senior Craig Thorne sacked Gelman for a five-yard loss and forced a fumble, which Thorne recovered on the Wrecker 15. Five plays later, Rams senior lefty quarterback Greg Palmer (9-14, 88 yards) threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to classmate Brian Havilcek (grand nephew of Boston Celtics great John Havilcek) with 5:06 left in the half. Sophomore Kyle Pulek's kick tied it 7-7.

Cheshire forced Staples to punt and partially blocked junior Tyler Jacobs' kick, limiting it to a 17-yard punt and giving the Rams a first down on their 45. They only needed three plays to score with Palmer (23 rushes for 70 yards) opening the drive with a 37-yard run and concluding it with a 10-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds to go to make it 14-7.

On the Wreckers' next drive, Havilcek intercepted Gelman's pass to the sideline and returned it 30 yards to give the Rams a first down on Staples' 6. Palmer needed only one play and gave Cheshire a 21-7 halftime lead with a 6-yard touchdown run.

The Rams had the ball to start the second half and had a chance to break the game open, but the Wreckers remained stout on defense. Senior captain Jake Santora (15 tackles) led the way and stopped Palmer for no gain on a play that it looked like he could break open for a long gain.

"We just played great team defense like we did all year and we stuck together," said Santora. "Unfortunately, when they had a short field, they scored."

Complementing Santora on defense were senior captain Devin Graber (five tackles), classmate Jack Ambrose (seven tackles) and junior Chris Coyne (four tackles, one pass batted down). Junior Rob Gau batted down one pass and tipped another one. Kelly and junior Matt Yeager each broke up a pass and Yeager (four tackles) had some big hits, especially on special teams.

After starting its drive at Staples' 37 late in the third quarter off an 18-yard punt, Cheshire moved the ball to the 14 on Palmer's 13-yard scramble on a third-and-12. On a third-and-eight from the 12, Palmer threw a pass to sophomore Sebastian Little (three catches for 39 yards), which deflected off his hands and Jacobs intercepted it in the zone to give the Wreckers a reprieve.

"We missed an opportunity with the interception and that play was big," said Rams coach Mark Ecke.

Ecke would have gone for the field goal if it was an incomplete pass and was confident Pulek would have drilled it for three points.

Following an exchange of punts, Gelman led Staples on a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive, starting with 35-yard pass to Kelly. On a third-and-17 from the Ram 40, he hit junior Pat Murray (five catches for 50 yards) for a 29-yard gain. Although Cheshire senior Luke Scinto sacked Gelman for a nine-yard loss, he bounced back and hit Rankowitz for four yards and for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 left in regulation to make it 21-14.

The Wreckers forced another punt and Gelman engineered a five-play, 66-yard scoring drive and was 3-3 for 64 yards on the drive. He began the drive with passes of 22 and 24 yards to Kelly and Rankowitz, respectively and after an 18-yard hookup with Rankowitz, the team's MVP for the game, he scored from one yard out to tie it 21-21 with 1:43 to go.

"Basically, I tried to run the plays to the best of my ability," said Gelman. "You have to keep playing until time runs out, keep your cool and stay smart. We ran plays we didn't run in the first half and once we executed, we got them on their heels."

Staples clearly had the momentum and forced a punt, but Pulek kicked it 53 yards and had a friendly hop, giving the Wreckers a first down on their 25 with 28 seconds remaining. Considering the time left, the field was too long and the game went into overtime.

"We were lucky to get a great kick from Pulek," said Ecke. "With all the momentum they had, it wouldn't have surprised me if they popped one in there at the end of regulation."

Overtimes are settled through the Kansas tiebreaker with each team having one possession from the opponent's 10-yard line. Staples won the toss and elected to play defense first and Santora gave the team a good start by tackling Palmer for a two-yard loss. Palmer, Cheshire's MVP for the game, came back with a 10-yard pass to senior Dan Sweeney and junior Mike Skibicki capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 28-21.

It was now the Wreckers' turn and Kelly opened with a five-yard run. On the next play, Kelly Havilcek stripped the ball from him and Scinto recovered it on the 3 to seal the game for the Rams.

"I saw someone wrap him up and I went for the ball," said Scinto.

Ironically, if Cheshire won the toss, it would have chosen to play defense first and who knows how the game would have gone if Ecke got his wish.

"The kids believed in each other," said Ecke. "It was nerve wracking for them to drive for two touchdowns in the fourth in the fourth quarter. I told them if they don't score, they don't win and if we force one turnover, the game is over. I tell my kids we got to play defense and playing defense won us the game."

For Staples, who was hoping for a third miracle comeback in its last four games (the Wreckers never trailed in their 31-28 Class LL semifinals win over Xavier Dec. 1) but it wasn't meant to be.

"Honestly, I felt we were coming and coming and if we stopped them in overtime, it would be a happy ending, but it didn't happen," said Petroccio.

Santora said, "It's one of the worst feelings I ever felt."