The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
King rallies late to edge Hamden Hall
STAMFORD — They have become the Cardiac Kids.
The King School football team has grown to love the fourth quarter this season.
The Vikings finally put together a late rally pay Saturday, scoring 15 points in the final six minutes to conquer archrival Hamden Hall, 21-20 before a breathless but appreciative home crowd.
It was the first time that King had beaten Hamden Hall since 2014.
“I wish we didn’t have to pull out victories at the very end,” King coach Dan Gouin said. “But we did some dumb things and missed some chances in the first half.”
PLENTY TO OVERCOME
Both King and Hamden Hall won NEPSAC (New England Prep School Athletic Council) titles in 2016 and 2017. The Vikings and Hornets each graduated a significant core from those squads.
As young teams in 2018, opponents have been looking to get even for past losses. Capital Prep Harbor of Bridgeport has topped both schools this year.
The starting quarterbacks for each team recently sustained injuries. King sophomore Chris Gaine and Hamden Hall senior quarterback/punter Nick Bailey both watched Saturday’s game in street clothes with uniform tops.
With King senior Chris Della Jacono and Hamden Hall sophomore Jordan Revels stepping in, both offenses faced huge overhauls.
GROUND AND POUND
Hamden Hall (1-3) elected to go to a fullhouse backfield with no wide receivers split out. The Hornets had 55 running plays from scrimmage and threw just one pass in each half. The offense had no fumbles.
“Both our quarterbacks are out hurt. So we put in this rushing offense in a day and a half,” Hamden Hall assistant coach Jim Sansone said. “In fact, we only played 12 kids total on both sides of the ball. We played with what we had.”
Sansone was filling in for Hamden Hall head coach Joe Linta, who missed the contest due to a committment.
Running back Jordan Benoit was Saturday’s workhorse for the Hornets. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior had 40 carries for 263 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
“Jordan has the heart of a lion,” Sansone said. “And he played great on defense as well.”
Hamden Hall did its best to wear down the smaller King defense. The Hornets went 77 yards in seven runs on their opening drive for an 8-0 lead.
Hamden Hall marched 76 yards in 12 plays (one pass for 10 yards) for a 14-0 edge with 34 seconds left before halftime.
The Hornets had an 11-play, 51-yard march that bridged the third and fourth quarters to take a 20-6 lead with 9:37 to go.
QUICK STRIKES
King (3-2) scored 20 points in the fourth quarter last week before losing in overtime 27-26 at Pennington (N.J.).
The Vikings did their damage through the air this week.
King made it 14-6 at halftime as Della Jacono connected with Levaughn Lewis on a 63-yard slant and run connection with just 21 seconds left before intermission.
Passes for first downs to Lewis and Jack Meizels set the stage for Della Jacono’s 6-yard TD pass to Kenny Dyson with 5:57 left to play. A pair of penalties for pass interference in the end zone on Hamden Hall preceeded Della Jacono bulling into the end zone for two points to cut the deficit to 20-14.
King’s defense forced a punt and the Vikings had their last chance with 2:23 to go from their own 30.
On fourth-and-5 with 1:15 to go, Della Jacono found Justin Torres-West down the left sideline for a 65yard catch and run TD.
“We used that play where Justin circles out of the backfield in last year’s NEPSAC final. Kelly Gouin (since graduated but on hand Saturday) scored a touchdown on it,” Dan Gouin said. “We tried it a few times this season, but today was the first time the timing went right.”
“It was so surreal. I caught the ball and just kept going,” Torres-West said. “It’s been so long that I knew we had to beat Hamden Hall today.”
That left it to sophomore Alex Millerchip, who had missed the extra point on King’s first touchdown. The second kick was the charm for 21-20.
“It was a great touchdown by Justin (Torres-West). It was a great team effort all day,” Millerchip said. “I knew I had to do my part. The first kick I didn’t look at the tee. The second kick I did and the ball went through the uprights.”
QUOTEABLE
“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort on our side,” Sansone said. “It came down to the two touchdowns at the end of each half. King had the opportunities and they executed. Give credit to King. They didn’t fold.”