‘There’s No Better Ending’: New Canaan Football Overcomes Darien to Win Class L-Large State Title

 

On Thanksgiving Day, the Darien Blue Wave stunned the New Canaan Rams, turning a two-score halftime deficit into a 28-21 win to steal the FCIAC Championship. Two and a half weeks later it was the Rams who turned the tables on Darien.

Trailing Darien 20-7 at halftime on Saturday morning, New Canaan scored 14 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 21-20 win to capture the Class L-Large state championship at West Haven High School’s Ken Strong Stadium. The win marked the second consecutive state title for the Rams, and the 10^th for head coach Lou Marinelli, who handed the previously unbeaten Blue Wave (12-1) their first loss of the season.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com on a windswept field packed with jubilant New Canaanites, moments after the big win. “Darien is a very good football team, and it’s too bad we have to knock each other off. But if you like high school football—or football in general—just come and watch these two teams play. It’s always exciting.”

New Canaan junior quarterback Mike Collins completed 25 of 48 passes for 259 yards and three touchdown passes, including the game-winner—a 24-yard strike to senior co-captain Alex LaPolice with 6:59 left in the 4^th quarter that capped off a remarkable second half comeback by the Rams. For most of the first half, New Canaan (11-1) was unable to do anything against a rock-solid Darien defense that held the Rams to just 53 yards of total offense—and minus-22 yards rushing—before the intermission. An adjustment was called for by the eventual hero of the game.

“I took (offensive coordinator) Johnny Marinelli aside and said, ‘If we are going to lose this game, let me be the guy to lose it,’ ” LaPolice said. “If we were going down, we were going down with a fight. We just battled and battled and battled.”

The Rams drew first blood in the game after junior linebacker Cass Knox recovered a Darien fumble at the Wave 15-yard line. Two plays later, Collins found Michael Kraus wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 8:41 left in the 1^st.

The Rams defense gave New Canaan multiple opportunities to add to the lead, but a second fumble recovery by Knox and an interception by senior safety Sterling O’Hara were mitigated by the strong Darien defense, which showed why it was considered one of the best in the state. Led by junior defensive end Mark Evanchick, the Blue Wave sacked Collins six times in the first half and dominated the line of scrimmage, helping the offense work with a short field.

On the first play of the second quarter—and with a strong wind at his back—Darien QB Timmy Graham capped off a quick three-play, 53-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Will Hamernick, knotting the score at 7-7 with 11:53 left in the half.

Darien took the lead later in the second, as the Wave moved 44 yards on four plays. Helped out by a New Canaan personal foul for unnecessary roughness, Hudson Hammill took a direct snap 3 yards on a keeper for a Darien touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 7:34 to go in the half.

The Blue Wave added another score before halftime, driving 52 yards in 12 plays. New Canaan was hurt by yet another personal foul penalty, as what looked like a Rams sack of Graham turned into a 15-yard late hit call. On third-and-7, Graham found Griffin Ross open just over the goal line for an 11-yard TD and a 20-7 lead. Despite missing the extra point due to a muffed snap—a seemingly minor gaffe that would loom large later on—the teams went into the locker room at halftime. Darien was pumped up, and the Rams were dejected.

Then they received a pep talk from an old, familiar face—last year’s co-captain and the team’s emotional leader, Cole Harris.

“Cole Harris got up and said, ‘Where’s the emotion from Thanksgiving when you guys were bawling your eyes out?’ ” LaPolice said. “ ‘Where’s the emotion from last night when you guys cried as we burned the shoe and talked about our last days of New Canaan football?’ I think everyone took that to heart.”

After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, a series of short, quick passes to senior co-captain Frank Cognetta, LaPolice and junior receiver Kyle Smith finally gave the Rams some offensive momentum as they moved into Blue Wave territory. Faced with a fourth-and-9 at the Darien 17, the Rams made the decision to go for it.

The decision paid off. Big time.

Collins lofted a pass to the back of the end zone for Smith who out-jumped Hudson Hammill, hauling in the ball for a game-changing touchdown and cutting the Darien lead to 20-14 with 7:57 left in the 3^rd quarter. The 14-play, 80-yard drive was the first sustained one of the game for the Rams, and the New Canaan contingent that packed the vistitor’s side of Ken Strong Stadium could feel the momentum starting to shift—especially after junior Mike Cognetta recovered a Blue Wave fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

To its credit, the Blue Wave defense stepped up, turning back the Rams by forcing two New Canaan punts and one interception. Even so, the Rams defense proved its mettle as well as an interception by Cognetta and a huge punt into the wind by junior Peter Swindell stymied the Darien offense and prevented any major swings in field position as the game moved into the 4^th quarter.

With 11:04 left in the game, New Canaan took over on offense at its own 30 yard-line. What seemed to be another three-and-out was negated by a Darien illegal substitution penalty. Given new life, the Rams made the most of the opportunity, moving across midfield with short screens to Matt and Frank Cognetta out of the backfield and into Darien territory with slants and screens to LaPolice and Kraus.

On third-and-six, LaPolice found some separation with a double move, breaking to the outside then back to the middle. Collins saw him and threw a perfect pass down the seam, hitting LaPolice in stride for a 24-yard touchdown strike. Swindell knocked the extra point home and the Rams had an improbable 21-20 lead with 6:59 left in the game.

On the ensuing drive, New Canaan seemed to have Darien stopped twice, only to have personal fouls called on consecutive third down plays. The Wave moved into Rams territory, dangerously close to field goal range for All-FCIAC kicker Stephen Walker. With 3:45 left in the game, Graham appeared to complete a pass to Hamerick that would have given Darien a first down at the New Canaan 37.

Mike Cognetta had other ideas.

The junior defensive back had a quietly effective 2014 season, content to let brothers Matt and Frank get most of the headlines in the family. That said…today belonged to Mike Cognetta.

Tipping the ball before Hamernick could get a full grasp on it, Cognetta hauled it in for his second interception and third takeaway of the half. The pick clinched the game for the Rams, who were able to run out the clock the rest of the way to win the state title.

“I knew right there we had the game,” Cognetta said. “It felt great, especially in the state championship against Darien.”

“I can’t describe it, there are no words for it,” older brother and senior co-captain Frank Cognetta said. “He works so hard behind the scenes and doesn’t get any of the credit he deserves. We were actually making fun of him because (defensive lineman) Malaki Holan had more interceptions that he did coming into this game.”

Not any more. Like fellow juniors Michael Collins, Kyle Smith, Cass Knox and Peter Swindell, Cognetta had a coming-of-age game. And for the seniors, led by captains LaPolice, Cognetta, Jim Keneally and Zach Allen, it was a game that cemented their legacy as the 2014 Rams were able to write their own piece of New Canaan football history.

“This senior class, they did it,” Marinelli said. “They put their own stamp on it today. Had we lost today, they would have been a good team. I think they are a great team.”

“This is all you can ask for,” Allen told NewCanaanite.com. “To do it with these guys in this situation against Darien … It’s just been fantastic.”

“I’ll be talking about this forever,” Keneally said. “We won a state championship my senior year as captain. It’s just about the guys. We’re a brotherhood. To come out here and do this…there’s no better ending.”

New Canaan vs. Darien - CIAC Class L-Large State Championship, Dec. 13, 2014 at Ken Strong Stadium—West Haven, CT

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
New Canaan	7	0	7	7	21
Darien	0	20	0	0	20

Scoring:

*NC—15-yard pass, Mike Collins to Michael Kraus (Peter Swindell kick)
*Darien—30-yard pass, Tim Graham to Will Hamernick (Stephen Walker kick)
*Darien—3-yard run, Hudson Hamill (Walker kick)
*Darien—11-yard pass, Graham to Griffin Ross (2-point conversion no good)
*NC—17-yard pass, Collins to Kyle Smith (Swindell kick)
*NC—24-yard pass, Collins to Alex LaPolice (Swindell kick)

Key stats:

*Mike Collins—25-48, 259 yards, 3 TDs
*Alex LaPolice—8 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD
*Kyle Smith—6 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD (zero receptions in FCIAC Championship)
*Mike Cognetta—9 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
*Zach Allen—9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss
*Cass Knox—5 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries
*Chris Keeffe—13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss
*Teddy Dumbauld—12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss
*David Strupp—10 tackles
*Peter Swindell—2 punts inside Darien's 20-yard line, 3-3 PAT
*Total offense - NC - 223, D - 235
*Penalties: NC 11-115, D - 3-25
*Turnovers: NC - 2, D - 6
*Sacks: NC - 2, D - 8 (2 in second half)