Cadets keep rolling
No. 2 St. Joseph tops Trumbull to clinch top seed in Class L
TRUMBIULL — On the first play of the fourth quarter Trumbull finally got in the end zone.
The energy at McDougall Stadium was back in the home stands with the Golden Eagles trailing by two touchdowns with a whole quarter left to play.
The high was short lived, however, as St. Joseph’s Maxwell Warren took the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown, silencing the Trumbull side of the field.
“That’s a big game changer, anytime you can score on special team and especially when you answer right away, that break your heart a little bit on the other side and it picks one team up and gave us confidence the rest of the way,” St. Joseph coach Joe DellaVecchia
said.
St. Joseph, ranked second in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, scored one more time in the quarter, beating Trumbull 35-7 in the Rumble in Trumbull, capturing the Jerry McDougall trophy for the fourth straight matchup.
The win clinches the top seed in the Class L playoffs for the Cadets (9-1) and the loss knocked Trumbull (7-3) out of the state playoffs in Class LL.
“Today is disappointing, I love these kids,” Trumbull coach Marce Petroccio said. “I did not want to stop coaching these kids after today, but it looks like I am going to have to. It’s a great group of kids that we to say bye to and that’s the hardest thing.”
St. Joseph scored the first three touchdowns of the game. Touchdown catches from Riley Jordan and Warren gave the Hogs a 14-0 lead at halftime and quarterback Matt Morrissey ran one in from 32 yards in the third.
Trumbull’s offense moved the ball well and spent time on St. Joseph’s side of the field, but almost every time the Golden Eagles went for the big play, St. Joseph’s Ethan Long was right there.
The sophomore made three interceptions on the day.
“Ethan Long, I say it
every day he is insane,” Warren said. “He’s going places if he keeps doing what he is doing. He is very special, he will be a leader very soon.”
Long also limited Trumbull’s all-world athlete Corbin Smith, keeping him out of the end zone for the first game this season.
“He’s a great player but I knew what he was going to run and I jumped it and I read it right,” Long said of his interception for a touchdown.
St. Joseph's Long and Warren were named co MVPs for St. Joseph and
Cooper Dayton was named Trumbull's MVP. PLAYER OF THE GAME Ethan Long, St. Joseph:
“He not only intercepted three, but he knocked down four or five other passes,” St. Joseph coach Joe DellaVecchia said.
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“You know what I’m doing, going to be feasting baby, come on,” — St. Joseph’s Maxwell Warren on how he was spending the rest of his Thanksgiving.