Greyhounds run past Woodland
NAUGATUCK — There was rivalry, even though Woodland and Naugatuck hadn’t met on a football field in four years, and there was a coach — a couple of them — looking across the field at their former team.
With playoff implications on top of that, Naugatuck scored early and tacked on coming out of halftime, eventually finishing off a 35-13 win at Veterans Field on Friday night.
“We knew there would be times that we would have a hard time stopping them,” said Naugatuck coach Chris Anderson, the former Woodland coach. “We hoped we could do enough on offense, and that’s kind of the way the game played out.”
The Greyhounds ran for 306 yards on 47 carries and didn’t complete any of their four passes. Mike Deitlebaum, a force on both sides of the ball, ran for 158 of that and scored his third touchdown on his 30th and final rush.
He was in the Hawks’ backfield plenty, too, with a couple of sacks and a couple of hurries.
“(Woodland quarterback Darren Gasparri) can move, get out of the pocket, had an accurate arm,” Deitlebaum said. “We knew we had to get pressure to him. We sent the house sometimes. We got to him and we did our job, played solid defense.”
Naugatuck (7-1), winner of six in a row, remains in position for a Class L playoff berth but has Crosby (4-4) on Thursday at home before it wraps up as usual at Ansonia on Thanksgiving morning. No NVL team has defeated the Chargers in over 100 tries since Naugatuck did it on Thanksgiving 2010.
“We really got something going here,” Deitlebaum said. “We’ve got to pull through, have a good two weeks and win out from here and hopefully get in that Class L playoffs.”
Woodland (5-4) was on the outside of the Class S playoff race coming in, and this loss all but seals its fate. It hosts its annual Thanksgiving-eve game against Seymour to finish the season.
“We knew (Anderson) was going to get it rolling here, but our kids, they fight hard,” first-year Woodland coach Joe Lato said. “We don’t got a lot, but they fight their tails off. I’m proud of that.”
The winner receives the George Pinho Trophy, named for a Naugatuck graduate and former Woodland assistant coach. The Greyhounds have won it four out of the past five times they’ve played for it, though Woodland won the previous eight.
“There’s a lot of Beacon Falls and Prospect connections in this game. It’s definitely a unique game,” said Joe Lato, coaching Woodland for the first time and really just learning what the rivalry meant.
Anderson said it was an odd feeling to watch his old team walk into his home field.
“But we’ve got a job to do. Over the course of the last couple of months, we’ve come to love — and these kids have busted their butts for us every single day. And that’s why I wanted to tell those Woodland kids that I loved them. I’ve been coaching a lot of those kids since fourth grade.”
Cayden Martin’s long kickoff return to start the second half set up Deitlebaum’s second touchdown. Woodland responded with a good drive to close the third quarter, capped by Ben Brooks’ 1-yard touchdown, and the Hawks stopped Naugatuck deep in Woodland territory on the next drive.
But the Hawks had to punt, and Martin’s 37-yard score was a dagger with 4:54 to go.
“It’s all about the kids. The kids worked really hard,” Anderson said. “To beat a team like Woodland is something special. They’re a great team. We know how much heart they have and pride over there. I think it’s a big win for our program.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Naugatuck senior Mike Deitlebaum had his fingerprints all over this one on defense and offense, the workhorse of the Greyhounds’ run game.
“We’ve really emphasized controlling the clock,” Deitlebaum said, “pounding the ball, getting yards, creating first downs and big plays.”
Does he like running the ball that much? He laughed. “Love it.”
QUOTABLE
“It’s not about me. It’s about Naugatuck and Woodland getting back after it, celebrating each other with the trophy one way or the other. It’s great to have football back, Valley football back.” —Naugatuck coach, and former Woodland coach, Chris Anderson