Big congratulations to the Naugatuck Greyhounds and coach Rob Plasky for winning the Naugatuck Valley League championship and clinching a home quarterfinal in the Class L playoffs by beating Ansonia, 38-20, at Jarvis Stadium.
The coaching job by Naugatuck was nothing short of stupendous as the debut of the Wild Hound (yes, that's what I'll call it) and the consistent use of the spread offense made the Greyhounds' attack look great.
Huge credit has to go to Naugy's defense for holding Montrell Dobbs in check all day and sacking Elliot Chudwick eight times in the second half alone. The Hounds' offense committed four turnovers in the second half but their defense stood tall time after time and did the best job against Dobbs any of us have ever seen. Dobbs finished with 25 carries for 102 yards (and 24 carries for 54 yards if you take away his 48-yard run).
Erich Broadrick made his case to be called the best quarterback in the NVL and he has my vote after his incredible performance today. He was the game's MVP, going 14-of-20 for 301 yards and three TD while rushing for two more.
Now, onto the playoffs:
Naugy earned the No. 3 seed in Class L via the victory, bonus points, and Darien's loss to New Canaan. The Hounds will host No. 6 New Canaan Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Ansonia fell from the top spot in Class S but will still have a home game when the No. 3 Chargers host No. 6 Hyde Leadership Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Woodland fell a few points short of St. Joseph in Class S and the teams will face each other Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. The No. 5 Hawks will travel to meet the No. 4 Cadets in a game preliminarily scheduled to be played at Fairfield Ludlowe High.
Sacred Heart managed to back into the No. 8 spot in Class S with just enough bonus and tiebreak points to beat Coginchaug for the spot. The Hearts will travel to meet No. 1 Valley Regional/Old Lyme Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Let the talk begin. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
