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DARIEN, Conn. New Canaan 8 Black traveled to Darien High School on Sunday morning and defeated host Darien Blue in an exciting game, 24-18.
The New Canaan defense forced a punt on the first series of the game and immediately scored on a 38-yard pass from quarterback Emerson Logie to Shannon Smith. Peter Swindell kicked the extra point to give New Canaan a 7-0 lead. Darien answered with a scoring drive, but the missed extra point kept New Canaan in front 7-6 as the first quarter ended.
In the second quarter, the New Canaan defense returned to form. Hard hitting by Andrew Jahns, Luke Salvati, Lucas Niang, Logan Ritch, William Arliss, Charlie Wood and Thomas Williams was capped by a Swindell interception. But New Canaan could not cash in the turnover and punted back to Darien. The relentless defensive pressure continued and tight pass coverage by Anthony Pirrone and Aidan Buck led to another interception, this time by Drew Monroe, who returned it 30 yards. The Black immediately took advantage as Monroe hauled in a 25-yard scoring pass from Logie. Swindell's extra point made the score 14-6 at the half.
Offensive linemen William Hooks, Nick Thorkilsen, Ryan Radecki, Casey Herzog, Matt Hall, Niang and Salvati controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the third quarter. A long, time-consuming drive was highlighted by the power runs of Jahns and Monroe, and a key pass play to Clayton Burt. Logie finished the drive, sneaking in from the 1-yard line. A third Swindell extra point made it 21-6. Still, Darien fought back on an interception return that closed the score to 21-12 as the quarter ended.
New Canaan regained the momentum at the start of the fourth quarter with a 46-yard completion to Swindell and strong runs by Jahns, Logie and Monroe. With time running down, Swindell kicked a 23-yard field goal to put the game out of reach at 24-12. A last-minute score by Darien produced the 24-18 final. The win moved New Canaan Black's record to 4-0 on the season.
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