(Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
In a game between two run-first football teams, it was the right arm of quarterback Kevin Ashworth that helped St. Paul beat Kennedy on Sunday afternoon at Ray Snyder Sr. Field in Waterbury.
Facing a fourth down, Ashworth faked a handoff, then threw down the middle to Christian Peterson. Peterson, who got in behind the defense, caught the pass and completed the 27-yard touchdown connection with 3:24 to go in the third quarter. The score put St. Paul ahead 26-16 after a clock-eating drive that claimed most of the third quarter. The Falcons held on to beat the Eagles 32-24. Both teams are 3-5 on the season with two games left.
This game was supposed to be Homecoming and Senior Day at home for St. Paul on Saturday, but McPhee Field was flooded, forcing a change of venue. Kennedy athletic director Dave Rossi and the Waterbury Parks Department got Snyder Field ready to go and the game was held on Sunday.
Ashworth connected on the big pass to Peterson, but he also hurt Kennedy with his legs. Ashworth scored two touchdowns, including a long one from near midfield with 11:34 left in the fourth quarter that increased the St. Paul lead to 32-16.
Kennedy, as always, was tough to knock out. The Eagles used some terrific trickery to get the deficit back to eight points at 32-24. Matt Torres, who used to play for WCA, found Nytoni Jones, who pitched the ball to a streaking Angel Cruz. In all, the hook-and-ladder tallied 27 yards and a Kennedy touchdown. A Torres two-point pass to Jones made the score 32-24 with 7:07 left in the fourth quarter.
Kennedy got the ball back after an Ashworth punt and mounted one final drive. The Eagles moved deep into Falcon territory, with some help from penalties, but Ashworth intercepted a Torres pass inside the five-yard line with 1:21 to play. Ashworth picked up first down on the ground, then St. Paul lined up the victory formation and took a knee.
(Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
Kennedy got off to a great start with a long drive on its opening series. Torres capped the march with a five-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion pass to Marquis Blagmon to put the Eagles on top 8-0 with 7:46 left in the first quarter. An Ashworth sneak with 2:51 left in the first quarter got St. Paul on the board. Rudy Otero added the conversion run on an option pitch from Ashworth and the game was tied at 8-8.
Rhakeem Henry, who St. Paul had trouble stopping for a good portion of the game, ran in a 12-yard touchdown and a two-point conversion to put the Eagles back ahead 16-8 with 9:58 left in the first half. Quentin Conner answered for the Falcons just 27 seconds later with a five-yard touchdown following a long Connor Bogdanski run. The two-point attempt failed, but the score was 16-14.
St. Paul came up with a key fourth down stop in a short yardage situation. Kennedy tried to go outside on a sweep, but the Falcons were having none of it and took over on downs. On the ensuing possession, Bogdanski took an option pitch from Ashworth and ran 20 yards for a touchdown. The conversion attempt was again unsuccessful, but St. Paul had the lead for good at 20-16 with 4:44 left in the first half. The score remained 20-16 when the first half ended.
Both teams hope to finish the season with a .500 record. St. Paul has games remaining against Torrington and Oxford while Kennedy takes on Derby and Crosby.
Gallery
Here are my photos from Sunday’s game.
