Miracle in the rain

Written by Bill Bloxsom, Sports Editor
Wednesday, 28 October 2009 13:33

There was no other choice.

To start its FCIAC football game with Trinity Catholic, Fairfield Warde had the option of getting first crack on offense or choosing to play the first quarter with the wind sweeping Tetreau-Davis Field at its back.

With 1:20 remaining in regulation, coach Duncan DellaVolpe’s Mustangs had to march 64 yards into a driving wind-aided rain if they wanted to defeat the Crusaders.

A 14-6 halftime lead for Warde had turned into a 14-14 tie with 6:55 remaining.

A pair of empty possessions gave Warde the ball on its 36-yard line.

“We decided to play 48-minute games this season. We stayed calm and executed the plays,” DellaVolpe said of the unlikely turn of events that played out before a soaked but loyal fan base.

Alex Delaney carried the ball twice for a first down at the 49...but the clock read 45 seconds.

Eric Burns took the snap from center John McKeown and looked down field through a sheeting downpour.

The Trinity Catholic secondary locked on Warde receivers as seconds ticked off.

Neil Ehlers, Jordan Irizarry, Dylan Thomas and Mike Money dug their heels in and wouldn’t allow the Crusaders front five a shot at Burns.

With time, the Mustang quarterback found Mike Burns breaking clear over the middle for an 11-yard gain.

An incomplete pass stopped the clock before a procedure penalty moved Warde back to the Trinity Catholic 45-yard line.

Burns took the shotgun snap and rolled to his left.

Warde’s Cameron Brown ran a deep corner route and Burns threw the ball high toward the hash marks inside the 20 on the Crusader side of the field.

Brown jumped to corral the ball while the Trinity Catholic defender tried to tip it away — catch to Brown.

With nothing but open space in front of him, the senior raced the final 18 yards to give Warde a 20-14 lead with 17 seconds left.

Joe Muratori recovered the loose ball on the ensuing squibbed kickoff and Burns took a knee to run out the clock on Warde’s 20-14 victory.

“In year’s past we don’t win this kind of game,” Burns said. “Coach kept pushing us and there was no doubt we’d find a way to get the ball in the end zone.

“I rolled out and saw Cameron sit down in an open spot and got the ball out to him. It was a great catch.”

The victory improved Warde’s record to 4-2 going into Friday’s 7 p.m. showdown with St. Joseph (5-1) at Tetreau-Davis Field.

The Mustang defense got the ball back for Burns and company in the final minutes and it took a pair of strong singular performances to make it happen.

After tying the game and regaining possession, Trinity Catholic faced a third-and-eight near midfield.

Brian O’Neill, the Crusader’s stellar quarterback, took a quick drop and looked to connect with Tre Crumbley on a bubble screen to the left side.

Chidi Madu, Warde’s lanky defensive end, read the play at the snap and slid out to cover the Crusader receiver.

With his first option closed, O’Neill never had a chance to check down and find another receiver, as Marco Ventura sacked him for a four-yard loss.

Trinity Catholic had to punt and never got the ball back.

“We really needed this win,” said Jacobs, a team quad captain. “The last two weeks we fell a little short and this type of effort can carry us forward.”

Crumbley returned the opening kickoff 58 yards to the Warde 32-yard line and Trinity kept the ball on the ground to take a 6-0 lead.

Burns, with a wind gusting to 20 miles per hour at his back, looked to pass Warde downfield, but a pair of dropped passes gave the ball back to the Crusaders.

David Wolff provided Warde with an edge, as the sophomore punter had a booming kick to pin Trinity back on its 15.J

Jon Bowers, Madu, Delaney and Joe Marx helped force a three-and-out.

The field position game gave Warde possession near midfield, where Tommy McNamara bowled over a pair of defenders to move the ball inside Trinity territory.

Delaney hit the hole on the next snap and took it to the outside for a 43-yard touchdown jaunt.

Luke Allen’s conversion kick out of a hold by Will Halliday gave Warde a 7-6 lead with 22 seconds remaining in the period.

McNamara led the Warde defense throughout.

Ehlers, Craig Lowery, David Cespedes and Thomas joined in with their mates to keep Trinity bottled up the next two quarters.

Warde extended its lead to 14-6 when Delaney went off right tackle for a two-yard score and Allen tucked the PAT inside the left upright with 51 seconds left in the first half.

The nine-play, 57-yard drive featured strong running by McNamara, Delaney and Jacobs, with Burns completing a 13-yard pass to Jacobs to move the chains on a third-and-11 play from the 28.