In front of a large Thanksgiving Day crowd, the Morgan football squad traveled to Old Saybrook for its annual game against the division rival Rams and prevailed 49-22 on Nov. 26 to capture the Shoreline Cup trophy and clinch a spot in the Class S State Playoffs.
Led by some big runs from senior Gabe Eriksen, Morgan jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and withstood a second-half rally by Old Saybrook-Westbrook to conclude the regular season at 9-1 overall and 5-0 in the Pequot Conference South Division. The Rams finished at 6-4 with a mark of 2-3 in the division. The Huskies are the No. 5 seed in the Class S Playoffs and will play at No. 4 Trinity Catholic in the quarterfinals at Boyle Stadium in Stamford at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1. With a victory, Head Coach Peter Nye’s squad would face the winner of Ansonia and Capital/Achievement in the semis on Monday, Dec. 7. The title game takes place on Saturday, Dec. 12.
“First, I’d like to say Old Saybrook-Westbrook should be so proud. The coaches and the players really turned around that program and they really showed up and played well,” said Nye, who’s in his first year at Morgan. “We’re headed to the playoffs now and it was one of our goals for the year and these kids haven’t surprised themselves. They expected to be here and the first game of the year against North Branford [a 40-37 victory] was a watershed moment for us. To come back and win down 10 with under five minutes to play and now we’re here with a win in our last game of the season and now have a chance to play again, which is great for these kids and how hard they worked.”
The Huskies opened the scoring in the first quarter when quarterback Chucky Kostek hit Eriksen in the flat for a 10-yard touchdown and 6-0 lead. OS-W took possession following the kickoff and drove down the field. The Rams converted four third downs that included a 25-yard pass from Victor Pascoe to senior receiver Clay Duffy on 3rd-and-10. OS-W worked the ball inside the Huskies’ 5-yard line, although Morgan’s defense stiffened and stuffed the Rams on four runs to take back the ball early in the second quarter.
After a false start penalty, Morgan had the ball at its own 2. On the next play, Kostek handed the ball up the middle to Eriksen, who sprinted through a gaping hole untouched and then did his best Usain Bolt impression as he outraced the OS-W defenders for a 98-yard score.
“I just saw right away there was a huge hole and all I saw was grass, so I ran and angled to the end zone to make sure I didn’t get caught,” said Eriksen. “I’m so excited to be in the playoffs. We have to rest up, ice up, and get mentally prepared for Trinity. We know the physical part, but we need to get mentally ready. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we’ll be ready to play.”
The Huskies went for two after the long run and converted when Kostek found Will Fritz off a roll out in the right corner for a 14-0 advantage. OS-W turned to the air to get back into the game, but a diving interception by Harry White gave the Huskies the ball back on their own 46. After two plays that went nowhere, Kostek took over the drive with his legs. On 3rd-and-10, the Huskies’ quarterback rolled to his left and found Morgan’s receivers blanketed by OS-W defenders, so he tucked it and ran 15 yards for the first down. With Eriksen on the sidelines nursing a leg injury, the drive appeared to stall at the Rams’ 24 when Morgan ran three unsuccessful plays and faced a 4th-and-10. Kostek looked downfield again and, when he found no one open, he ran up the middle, then broke left for 23 yards to 1-yard line. The Rams’ defense wouldn’t quit and forced Morgan into a 4th-and-goal at the 3. Kostek rolled to his right and threw a fade that was knocked down in the corner of the end zone by OS-W’s Duffy to thwart the scoring opportunity. On the next play, the Rams looked for a spark and went deep down the right sideline for Duffy, but the Huskies’ Mateo Zumpano made a terrific play on the ball and came down with the interception. Set up on OS-W’s 40-yard line, Eriksen broke free for a 31-yard run to the 9 and then Kostek found Fritz for the score through the air. Russell Green’s point after touchdown gave the Huskies a 21-0 that they took into the break.
In the second half, the Rams did what they always do, which is score on their first possession. After a long kickoff return by Vincent Dyer set up OS-W with good field position, captain Carl Anderson took the ball up the middle and scampered for a 50-yard run to the Huskies’ 11. On the next play, Chase Cook dragged some Huskies’ defenders into the end zone to cut the Morgan lead to 21-6. Cook then boomed the kickoff into the end zone for the touchback, yet the Huskies looked to strike right back after a long Eriksen reception put the ball near midfield. On the following play, Rams’ defensive back Austin Smith read the ball and jumped the Morgan receiver’s out route for an interception that he took back 52 yards for the touchdown. OS-W went for two out of the wildcat formation and Dondre Swain took the direct snap and scored to cut Morgan’s lead to 21-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, OS-W caught the Huskies off guard as Cook hit a perfect onside kick up the middle that he recovered after waiting for the ball to travel 10 yards. Whistles blew, although no flags were thrown. After the referees huddled, they determined that the Rams were offside on the play.
“That was the turning point in the game right there,” OS-W Head Coach Mike Marone said. “I’ll have to look at the tape, but they never identified who was offside. I’m not sure what happened, but it was a big play that sort of killed the momentum we’d built. Morgan has a great team and are a playoff team, but who knows what could’ve happened. As far as how are season went, I couldn’t have been more proud of how these kids fought. They left it all on the field every play of the season.”
With the surprise now off the table, OS-W sent the ball deep and Morgan started on its own 25. Kostek hit Fritz on two separate passes for a first down and then Eriksen went on a long run to set up his third TD of the game and second on the ground with a 4-yard scamper. After the extra point, Morgan was up 28-14. Down 14 midway through a wild third quarter, Rams’ quarterback Pascoe rolled out and fired a pass that was snagged by White for his second interception and he brought it home for the pick-six and a 35-14 lead. Still, the Rams continued to fight back and used another nice kickoff return by Dyer to set them up at midfield. OS-W went to the ground game, while alternating carries between Cook and Dyer, and Cook eventually scored on a 4-yard run. On the 2-point attempt, Pascoe took the snap rolled to his left and, with nobody to go to, sprinted for the pylon to cut the Morgan lead to 35-22. On the kickoff, Dyer ignited the crowd with a huge hit and later stopped Eriksen in the backfield for a 5-yard loss. OS-W forced a punt after an incomplete pass and Rams’ captain Will Babbich sold out on the rush to cause a short kick and give the Rams great field position. Looking to cut the lead even further, Cook took a handoff and bulled his way down the field, but the ball was ripped free and recovered by Morgan’s Dan Green. The Huskies would convert the turnover into a touchdown when senior Robert Consiglio scored on a 1-yard run to put them up 42-22.
In the fourth quarter, Consiglio tacked on a 5-yard TD run for the final score of 49-22.
“We played are hearts out. Gabe had three touchdowns and Rob had two. The receiving core is a bunch of studs and everyone was playing really hard,” said Kostek, a senior. “We have a tough week of practice ahead of us to get ready and we can’t let up. We have a great coaching staff that will put us in a position to succeed and I think both the offense and defense will be ready for the playoffs.”
From the Sidelines
Morgan (9-1) is the No. 5 seed in the Class S State Playoffs and will face No. 4 Trinity Catholic (8-1). If the Huskies prevail, they’ll take on the victory of No. 1 Ansonia (10-0) and No. 8 Capital/Achievement (7-2). On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Bloomfield (10-0) faces No. 7 East Catholic (8-2) and No. 3 Granby (10-0) plays No. 6 Seymour (9-1).
Under first-year Coach Head Mike Marone, plus assistants Rob Marone and Dan Spots, Old Saybrook-Westbrook improved upon last year’s mark of 0-11 by finishing the 2015 campaign at 6-4.
