Football Gains First Win Against Sacred Heart

History would not be made for the third consecutive week as the Woodland Hawks football team held off a fourth quarter rally by the Sacred Heart Hearts for their first win of the season on a damp Friday afternoon by the score of 22-18. The win came in the perfect situation, as the Hawks got off to a 1-0 start in the NVL Copper Division.

            Woodland came through with an all-around solid game, with a season-low two turnovers as well as three interceptions, two coming from junior defensive back Brandon Fowler. The Hawks were certainly given a boost by the return of two senior captains; running back Jon Murren carried 20 times for 163 yards and a touchdown, and linebacker Kile Coty returned to lead the Hawks’ defense to two stops inside the red zone.

            Things could not have gotten off to a better start for Woodland in the late afternoon of a game that was pushed ahead three hours due to the forecast of heavy rain. Fowler immediately ended the first Sacred Heart drive of the day with an interception at the Woodland 44-yard line. He returned the pick into Heart territory where the Hawks would begin a six play, 41-yard drive ending in a 1-yard scoring plunge by Murren. Junior quarterback Steve Petracca dove in for the two-point conversion to put Woodland up, 8-0, with 8:17 left in the first quarter.

            After the Hawks’ defense forced a Sacred Heart punt, the Woodland offense was able to mount another scoring drive. This one was an eight play, 54-yarder ending with senior wingback Josh Fitzpatrick’s 6-yard touchdown run, making it 14-0 at the end of the first period. “What really made us successful tonight was that we were able to establish the running game early,” said Coty. “It always helps an offense to be able to do that, especially in the first quarter.”

            The Woodland defense began to be tested in earnest during the second quarter. The Hearts mounted a drive inside the Hawks’ 5-yard line, but Woodland was able to force a turnover on downs with a stop of quarterback Rohan Ifill at their own 3-yard line. After having to punt, Sacred Heart advanced to the red zone again, but once again the Hawks defense stepped up to force another turnover on downs, as Fowler knocked away an Ifill pass in the end zone.

            “We were able to get those two big stops inside the red zone,” noted Coty. “That was a big boost to our defense.” But the Woodland offense was starting to sputter, as junior Colin Grommisch fumbled a punt attempt, giving Sacred Heart excellent field position again. This time they capitalized, as Ifill scrambled into the end zone from a yard out to make it 14-6, the score at halftime.

            After the Hawks punted to open the second half, the Hearts kept their offensive momentum as they scored on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ifill to Denzel Washington, to make it 14-12 with 1:58 remaining in the third. But the Woodland offense countered with its third rushing touchdown of the night. This time it was an 11-yard run by junior wingback Tyler Slapikas, followed by a conversion run by Fitzpatrick to make the score 22-12 at the end of the third.

            The Hearts opened the final period by scoring for the third-straight possession on a 28-yard trick play-like screen pass from Ruben Berger to Washington to close the Woodland lead to 22-18 with 10:09 to go. After a lost fumble by Petracca, the door was left open for the Hearts, but Ifill made two mistakes on his team’s final two drives--bad interceptions to sophomore Jack DeBiase at midfield with four minutes left and the nail in the coffin to Fowler with 1:34 remaining.

            The win puts the Hawks at 1-2 overall, but perhaps more importantly 1-0 in the NVL Copper Division. “I definitely give us a shot at the Copper,” said Coty. “If we can just play together like we did tonight, we can definitely win the division.” Of course, before division play resumes, Woodland will face the unenviable task of squaring off with Ansonia (3-0) on Friday in Beacon Falls.