The Crosby football team got back to .500 (2-2) following a 14-8 overtime win at St. Paul in a rare Sunday afternoon high school football game in Bristol. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
Crosby ran for 239 yards in Sunday afternoon’s rescheduled NVL football game against St. Paul at McPhee Field, but it was the final six that mattered the most.
Junior Jaedon Cobb scored from six yards out on the opening possession of the Kansas overtime, where teams get the ball from the 10-yard and have four plays to either score a touchdown or kick a field goal. The Bulldogs held the Falcons on their possession and claimed a 14-8 win. Crosby improved to 2-2 while St. Paul fell to 0-3.
In a game that was moved from Friday night due to heavy rains, both teams took a bit to get on the scoreboard. After a scoreless first half, Jason Mathews found Charlie Aponte for a St. Paul touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversion gave the Falcons an 8-0 lead in the third quarter.
The Crosby response was swift. Senior Steve Dunbar took the kickoff and ran it back 82 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion from senior captain Jeremiah Febus tied the game, 8-8.
The score was still knotted, 8-8, after regulation, which meant overtime would be necessary to settle the game once and for all. Crosby got the ball first, and Cobb, who had two carries for 13 yards to that point, got a pitch from Febus out of a double wing formation. Cobb got a block from Febus, but still needed to shed some St. Paul tacklers. Cobb managed to fight his way into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. The Bulldogs’ two-point conversion run was stuffed at the goal line by the Falcons, but they still led, 14-8.
Crosby still needed to stuff St. Paul, and it did to preserve the win. Besides the game-winning touchdown, Cobb had nine total tackles, including two for loss. Febus had an outstanding defensive game with 21 totals, including 2.5 for loss and a sack. Sophomore Kalib Shaw tallied 12 tackles, including one for loss. Junior Mevlan Ismaili totaled seven tackles, including one for loss.
On offense, sophomore Will Rogers led the way with 66 yards on nine carries. Senior Ricky Nieves was right behind him with 65 yards on seven attempts. Dunbar totaled 56 yards on four rushes, including a 35-yard run that was Crosby’s longest of the game. The Bulldogs host Watertown on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Jimmy Lee Stadium.
The Falcons take oh Wilby (0-4) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Municipal Stadium’s Ray Snyder Sr. Field.
