Never say die Rams beat Greenwich in final minute, 35-34

Written by Dave Stewart
Saturday, 07 November 2009 00:14

The situation was certainly dire for the New Canaan Rams as they faced a 13-point deficit to Greenwich, on the road, in a hostile environment at Cardinal Stadium and with fewer than nine minutes remaining on the clock.

But while the hometown crowd was celebrating what looked like a sure victory, the Rams’ bench was surprisingly confident.

“If you came up and down our sidelines, all you heard was ‘We will win this football game. We are going to win this football game.’” quarterback Turner Baty said. “I don’t think there was any doubt in our minds. We were praying a lot, but we knew we could do it. It was just unbelievable.”

The confidence proved to be well-founded.

New Canaan scored twice in the final 8:29 to overcome a 13-point deficit and defeated Greenwich, 35-34, in a classic battle between two titans of the FCIAC Friday night.

The game-winning points came on a 2-point conversion pass from Baty to Kevin Macari with a minute remaining. Baty pitched the ball to senior co-captain Willie Ouellette on the right, and Ouellette cut back to the left. Ouellette handed the ball back to Baty, who went right and hit a wide open Macari in the end zone for the 35-34 lead.

“That was exactly the way it’s supposed to work,” Ouellette said. “They put me in the backfield for the threat that I might throw. Then they toss it to me, I hand it back to Turner and they’re all clogged in the middle and we have two routes breaking out.”

“It’s obviously gutsy, but we know the play and we have confidence in the play,” junior receiver Kevin Macari said. “We just executed when we needed to. When Willie’s in the backfield, they don’t know who’s going to throw the ball or what’s going to happen. It really opens everything up for (Peter) Gronseth, Cody (Newton) and I.”

The win was among the most dramatic of Head Coach Lou Marinelli’s career, ranking alongside the 2007 Class MM championship game, when the Rams scored three TDs in the fourth quarter to defeat Daniel Hand, and the 1999 FCIAC title game, when the Rams upset heavily-favored Greenwich, 14-9.

New Canaan, which improved to 8-0, kept its winning streak alive at 24 games and took a huge step towards securing berths in the FCIAC title game and the Class MM tournament.

Greenwich, meanwhile, fell to 6-2 with the heartbreaking defeat and fell out of the running for a conference final bid. The Cardinals also saw their chances at qualifying for the Class LL tournament take a huge hit. Both of Greenwich’s losses this season have been by one point.

Greenwich had the upper hand for much of the night.

The Rams built a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter, but the Cardinals came back with 22 unanswered points and led, 28-14 and 34-21 in the second half before the Rams began their comeback.

Needing two scores with 8:29 remaining, New Canaan got a big lift when Baty threw a deep ball to senior co-captain Cody Newton, who made a difficult catch in double coverage and went 46 yards for a touchdown with 8:19 to play. Greenwich blocked the point after and the Rams trailed, 34-27.

The Cards picked up one first down on their next drive, but were stopped on downs at the New Canaan 24-yard line with 5:32 to play.

Baty and the Rams then picked apart the Greenwich defense during a methodical, 10-play drive that covered 73 yards in 4:32.

The Rams reached the end zone when senior running back Peter Park ran seven yards for the score with a minute remaining.

Down 34-33, Marinelli opted to go for the 2-point conversion and the win.

“We worked on that play a few times during the week and (Coach Marinelli) said if we ever get into a spot where we need a two-point conversion, that’s the play we’re using,” Ouellette said. “I’ll tell you what, when we scored that touchdown, we all came over to the sideline at the same time and said we’re not going for the tie against Greenwich, we’re running that play.”

After the Rams took the lead, Greenwich got the ball back and worked it into New Canaan territory and inside the 35 with 20 seconds remaining. But two 15-yard penalties, one for throwing an elbow at a Ram defender, and another an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Cards’ sideline, cost 30 yards and left then well out of striking distance.

Two long passes by quarterback Mike Lefflbine fell incomplete, and Chris White then sacked the QB as the clock ran out and a wild Ram celebration began.

Baty finished the game with 329 yards on 22-of-35 passing, with three touchdowns and one interception.

Macari caught seven passes for 166 yards and two TDs, while Newton had six catches for 84 yards and a TD. Park had five catches for 44 yards and rushed six times for 42 yards and a TD, while Tim Robustelli had seven rushes for 41 yards and a TD.

New Canaan had taken the lead early in the game. Robustelli scored on a 1-yard run 2:12 into the first quarter and Colin Shapiro’s extra point made it 7-0.

An interception by Colin Dunster stopped New Canaan’s next drive, and a 61-yard catch and run from Lefflbine to Camryn Ferrara set up Greenwich at the Rams’ 5-yard line.

Two plays later, Michael Dunster scored on a 2-yard run. After the PAT was wide, the Cards trailed, 7-6.

Baty connected with Macari on a 16-yard scoring strike to start the second quarter, giving the Rams a 14-6 lead.

Greenwich responded with a 13-play, 56-yard drive which took 7:42 and resulted in a 1-yard run by Michael Dunster with 3:18 remaining in the half. Lefflbine then hit Ferrara for the 2-point conversion to tie the score, 14-14.

A turnover gave the Cardinals the ball again at the New Canaan 47-yard line, and they eventually scored on a reverse to Ferrara, who went 34 yards for the TD. Oliver Ostrowski’s PAT gave Greenwich a 21-14 lead, as the Rams trailed at halftime for the first time in two years.

Greenwich opened up the second half with a 24-yard TD pass from Lefflbine to Jack Zimmermann to make it 28-14.

Down two scores, New Canaan struck back with a 46-yard TD pass from Baty to Macari to close to within seven at 28-21.

Greenwich answered with a 7-yard touchdown run by Lefflbine, to make it 34-21 with 11:51 remaining in the game.

The Rams, however, weren’t quite finished, and turned the tide in the final nine minutes to get the win as the players and their fans rushed the field in celebration.