Rout Day: New Canaan Football Tops Central 53-8 for Homecoming Win

Homecoming Week has never been one of Lou Marinelli’s favorites. With the pep rally, the homecoming bonfire and dance and Spirit Week-themed Clone Day, High Society Day, Turn Back the Clock Day and Red and Black Day, Marinelli has been around long enough to know the distractions that come along with the fun can sometimes negatively affect his football team’s focus on the actual homecoming game itself.

With all of that said, Saturday could have been called Rout Day.

Led by senior quarterback Michael Collins’ five touchdown passes—all in just one half of play—the Rams obliterated the Bridgeport Central Hilltoppers 53-8 in front of a packed house at Dunning Field. With the win New Canaan improved to 2-0 on the season while the Hilltoppers fell to 1-2.

“We were just focused on the game today, even with all the distractions,” Collins told NewCanaanite.com. “We had a great game plan coming in, and everything seemed to work for us today.”

That game plan centered around Collins himself, who was nearly perfect in his brief stint on the field, completing 10 of 11 passes for 179 yards before being lifted for a sub after halftime. Three of Collins’ five touchdown passes went to wide receiver Peter Swindell who has emerged as New Canaan’s go-to receiver early on this season.

“He’s getting better,” Marinelli said of Collins, who now has 11 touchdowns in two games this season. “We just have to all keep getting better and not concentrate on what we’ve just done.”

New Canaan set the tone of the game from the first defensive series, as senior linebacker Sam Larson recovered a Central fumble at the Hilltoppers 24-yard line. Five players later, the Rams were on the board as Collins hit Swindell for a 15-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter.

After New Canaan’s defense forced a Central punt, the Rams—playing with a short field—would strike again. A three-play, 29-yard drive was capped off by another Collins-to-Swindell hookup, this time for two yards and a 13-0 New Canaan lead with 6:58 to go in the first.

New Canaan scored its third touchdown after yet another Central punt, as Collins and Swindell connected again for a 9-yard touchdown pass and a 19-0 lead.

The Rams would score again on their next offensive series as senior running back Matt Cognetta had a 28-yard touchdown run to make it 26-0 Rams just before the end of the first quarter.

New Canaan extended its lead to 33-0 on its offensive first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, as Collins found junior receiver Ryan O’Connell wide open along the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown with 9:23 to go in the half.

The Rams defense, which completely shut down Central throughout the game, holding the Hilltoppers to just 81 yards of total offense, would get New Canaan the ball back on the ensuing possession. Junior defensive back Austin Bell picked off Central quarterback Mauricio Woods at the Hilltoppers’ 29-yard line. Four plays later, Cognetta—who finished the day with 102 yards rushing on just nine carries—scored his second touchdown of the game with a 13-yard run, giving the Rams a 39-0 lead with 7:18 to go in the second quarter.

On the ensuing Central drive, New Canaan’s defense would strike again as senior defensive back Sean Jensen picked off a pass to give the Rams possession at their 39-yard line.

After a New Canaan delay of game penalty backed the Rams up to the 34, Collins hit senior wideout Andrew Jahns for a 66-yard score and a 46-0 lead that New Canaan would take into the half.

Central would finally get on the board with 3:34 to go in the third quarter as Markens Raphael scored on a two-yard plunge to make it 46-8 New Canaan. The Rams answered right back as a seven-yard Graham Braden run capped off an eight-play, 54-yard drive, giving the Rams a 53-8 lead that would hold up as the game’s final score.

After the game, a gracious Marinelli addressed the Central team, which was severely outmanned—a fact underscored by New Canaan’s fast-paced, quick strike offense that had the Hilltoppers gassed by the end of the first quarter.

“I think they deserve a lot of credit for the fight they put up,” Marinelli said. “The score is no indication of what they’ve done. We outmanned them a little bit today.”

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Central	0	0	8	0	8
New Canaan	26	20	7	0	53

Scoring:

*NC – Peter Swindell 15-yd. reception from Michael Collins (Swindell kick)
*NC – Swindell 2-yd. reception from Collins (kick failed)
*NC – Swindell 9-yd. reception from Collins (kick failed)
*NC – Matt Cognetta 28-yd. run (Swindell kick)
*NC – Ryan O'Connell 40-yd. reception from Collins (Swindell kick)
*NC – Cognetta 13-yd. run (kick failed)
*NC – Andrew Jahns 66-yd. reception from Collins (Swindell kick)
*C – Markens Raphael 2-yd. run (2-pt. conversion good)
*NC – Graham Braden 7-yd. run (Grant Morse kick good)

Key Stats:

*Michael Collins: 10-11, 179 yds., 5 TD's
*Matt Cognetta: 9-102, 2 TD's rushing
*Peter Swindell: 3-26, 3 TD's receiving
*Ryan O'Connell: 3-74, TD receiving
*Total Offense: NC - 331; Central - 81
*Turnovers: NC - 1; Central - 5