The month of December is a time where Connecticut crowns high school football state champions. Well, except for 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic made sure no champions were crowned this year. That doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate past Decembers.
Local teams have claimed four football state championships in the month of December since the finals started being contested in 1976. It began in 1988, when Bristol Eastern topped South Windsor, 22-19, in the Class MM final. Two years later, Sacred Heart rallied for a 32-26 overtime victory over The Morgan School of Clinton in the Class SS final. In 2006, Holy Cross blasted Stratford, 40-0, in the Class SS final. Five years later, the Crusaders outlasted Cromwell, 34-27, in the Class S final.
Here’s a little bit about each championship:
1988: Bristol Eastern 22, South Windsor 19 (Class MM)
Hall High School, West Hartford
The Lancers capped a 10-1 season with a comeback victory over the Bobcats.
Eastern trailed South Windsor, 19-14, in the fourth quarter. It was the third deficit the Lancers faced, but they overcame it when Craig Ciquera scored on a four-yard run. Steve Mills hit Jeff Hosaflook for a two-point conversion and a 22-19 lead, and Eastern hung on for the win and the state championship.
1990: Sacred Heart 32, Morgan 26, OT (Class SS)
West Haven High School
Glen Knight’s 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Kansas overtime tiebreaker gave the Hearts the lead and helped them win their first state championship.
Sacred Heart trailed Morgan, 26-14, after three quarters. P.J. Buonocore tossed a touchdown pass to Bill D’Occhio to cut the deficit to six points, 26-20. Another Buonocore touchdown pass, this one to Steve Pogodzienski, tied the game, 26-26, with 1:40 left in regulation. That brought overtime, where each team got four plays from the 10-yard line. The Hearts scored and won the title.
2006: Holy Cross 40, Stratford 0 (Class SS)
West Haven High School
The first three title game appearances didn’t go well for the Crusaders, but the fourth time was the charm.
Holy Cross standout Dan Mulrooney ran for 353 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. He scored on runs of 72, 76, 49 and 29. Mike Croce threw touchdown passes of 30 and 86 yards to Jerome Mitchell and Anthony Chance. The Holy Cross defense held Stratford to 114 total yards and grabbed four interceptions, two by Kyle Lagasse and one apiece from Andrew Fazo and Matt Fazo. The Crusaders finished the season 12-1.
2011: Holy Cross 34, Cromwell 27 (Class S)
Rentschler Field, East Hartford
Five years after Mulrooney’s explosion, Dave DiGiorgi ran 30 times for 314 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to their second state championship.
DiGiorgi set the tone early for Holy Cross with a long run deep into Cromwell territory. He finished that drive with a three-yard touchdown run. DiGiorgi also scored on runs of 33, 21 and 5 yards.
Holy Cross hurt itself with turnovers, and Cromwell was able to use its passing game to stay in the contest. The Crusaders led, 20-14, at halftime.
With 7:16 left in the fourth quarter, the game was tied, 27-27. The fifth Crusader touchdown run came not from DiGiorgi, but from quarterback Zach Brown. Brown went 23 yards for the score, and the extra point gave Holy Cross a 34-27 lead with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter.
On the next Cromwell possession, Rourke Phalon recovered a fumble for Holy Cross. The Crusaders pushed the ball inside the Panther five and looked to put the game away, but a fumble gave the ball back with 1:56 left.
With less than 30 seconds left, Cromwell was inside the Holy Cross 25. Future NFL player Isaiah Wright, who had an interception earlier in the game, pressured a Panther receiver, and the ball hit off the receiver’s hands. The ball went into the air and Crusader defensive back Ryan Byrne was there to catch it. Byrne’s interception finally clinched the victory.
Holy Cross finished the season 12-2.
