Woodland headlined the night by pulling off the upset and dominating Naugatuck, 25-6. I haven't seen as good a defensive performance as the one the Hawks put forth Friday night in a long while. Naugy's offense had scored 308 points (second most in the state) and were limited to six points and less than 200 yards. Its only score came thanks to a bad snap on a Woodland punt attempt.
It was 6-0, Woodland at the half. The Hawks ran for 235 yards in the game and were really behind the eight-ball in terms of field position most of the first half, being pinned inside its 15-yard line three times. But the defense didn't let Naugatuck capitalize on a couple of opportunities, including one on the first drive when Jack DeBiase fumbled to give Naugy the ball in Woodland territory.
Woodland forced four punts and three turnovers on downs on eight full Naugatuck possessions. It was just pure domination, which neither I nor most people around here were expecting. Woodland stayed in 5th place in the Class S standings while winning the NVL Copper title. Naugatuck miraculously stayed in 5th place in Class L and may even be able to afford another loss in its last two games and make the playoffs.
Here's a link to my Rep-Am story on the game.
In other news, Ansonia blasted St. Paul, 54-25. Montrell Dobbs rushed 22 times for 340 yards and five TDs until he was removed early in the third quarter. Yikes. The Chargers have one more tune-up until the NVL championship Nov. 18 against Woodland. They probably also clinched a playoff berth with the win--I'll be running my point scenarios this week to make sure.
Holy Cross kept its playoff hopes alive with a 29-28 win over Kennedy. Looks like the Crusaders had to hang on for dear life in the fourth quarter and managed to squeak out the win.
Derby coasted to a 42-20 win over Wilby while Watertown breezed by Crosby, 43-21. Wolcott pulled away from Seymour, 25-13, to stop the Eagles' three-game losing streak.
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