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New Canaan 4 Black Football fell short Saturday against next-door rival Wilton White, 14-6.
Quarterback Luke Morton and running back Zach LaPolice led the New Canaan offense. Key plays included a 14-yard gain by LaPolice on fine blocking by Jack Finnigan and a quarterback sneak for a first down to keep the drive alive.
The New Canaan defense put together some fine play from Tyler Saitta and Brandon Sechan, as well as a terrific, yard-losing sack by Gus Larson. Scoring was quiet until the very end of the first quarter, when Wilton completed a tough drive for a touchdown and 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. During the second quarter, New Canaan and Wilton exchanged fumble recoveries. After a heads-up play by New Canaan's Nick Brown to pounce on a fumble by Wilton, Brown sparked the New Canaan offense with an amazing fingertip catch off a long throw from Morton to complete a first down. After marching inside Wilton territory, New Canaan turned the ball over on the Wilton 10-yard line, just falling short on a scoring drive. A long run from scrimmage then led to another touchdown by Wilton. However, New Canaan Black stopped the extra point and the first half ended, 14-0. In the second half, the New Canaan defensive effort was led by strong line play from Matthew Rigione, Michael McDonnell, Brown and Larson, a shoestring tackle by Saitta, and a key stop from Morton. LaPolice then stole the ball from Wilton's quarterback to start the fourth quarter, and New Canaan regained possession. With good blocking at the line, New Canaan's offense came alive and Morton pulled off an exciting 40-yard touchdown run. After a missed extra point attempt, the score was 14-6. New Canaan's defense held Wilton scoreless in the second half and included nice tackles from Dean Ciancio and Bailey Williams. Late in the game, New Canaan started a comeback with strong blocking from the offensive line, including by Charlie Knight and Thomas Doster, but fell short.
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