DARIEN, Conn. The Darien 5th-grade Blue (2-1) got back to its winning ways with a 20-6 victory versus visiting Ridgefield Black on Saturday in a Fairfield County Football League game.
Darien linemen led by Jack Cronin, Griffin Martens, Ryan Sullivan, Scott Roney and Jay Schoudel controlled the line of scrimmage from the opening whistle. Their superiority immediately led to a quick touchdown run by Jack Bogdan.
Blue's defense then set the tone of what was to be a dominant effort all game. Darien gave only up one first down in the first half. It was led by ferocious play of outside linebacker Alex Von Jena (winner of the coveted 'Pancake Award' after the game) and aggressive defensive back play by Sean Seiler, Quenten Ehlers, Alex Barlow and Henry Piedra.
On its second possession, Blue's offense shook off some miscues and again began opening big holes. One led to another touchdown for Bogdan. The strong defense continued, with Justin Laughlin and Dakia Hemphill both making solo tackles from the interior line. Jack Maley, who was a workhorse all day at halfback, helped put the game out of reach with Darien's final touchdown with a long run.
Late in the fourth quarter, Ridgefield put together its only drive of the game that led to a score. It got another chance to mount a scoring drive with 2:32 left in the game, but Cooper Hancock iced the outcome with an acrobatic interception.
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