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STAMFORD, Conn. With many of Trinity Catholic Highs football players working both on offense and defense, the Crusaders have shown a tendency to run out of gas. It happened again Friday when Norwalk scored 19 unanswered points in the final 24 minutes to beat Trinity, 26-7, at Alumni Field.
I wish these games were only a half, Trinity coach Pete Stokes said. Wed be ranked in the state.
The Crusaders (2-2) gave Norwalk (4-0) all it wanted in the first half. Trinity scored first with 4:17 left in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Jeff Cortese. Trinity was the better team in the first half, no question about it, Norwalk coach Sean Ireland said. We felt good that we were tied with them. We saw that they ran out of gas in the second half against Westhill. We tried to take advantage of that.
The Crusaders missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead in the first half. After a strong defensive series, Trinity took over on the Norwalk 28 with 5:34 left in the first half and moved inside the Norwalk 15. An unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball back to the 27, and the drive stalled. It provided especially critical when Norwalk scored on its next drive on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Delshawn Wilson to Derek Edwards.
Absolutely ridiculous, Stokes said. We talk all the time about playing for the guy on the left of you, and the guy on right of you. On that play one guy decided to play for himself. If we go up 14-0 its a different game.
Trinitys defense started to wear down in the third quarter when the Bears marched 61 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, a 3-yard run by Tomar Joseph. The burly Norwalk fullback was a handful in the second half for Trinity, rushing for two touchdowns. The Crusaders also had trouble containing Wilson (106 yards rushing and one touchdown, 158 yards passing and one TD).
Trinity showed promise moving the ball with Cortese (13 rushes for 72 yards) and Michael Davis (16 carries for 69 yards). The Crusaders couldnt sustain it, however, for four quarters. We gave ourselves a chance to make plays and we didnt do it, Stokes said.
Trinity meets Stamford on Friday night at Boyle Stadium as it seeks to retain the city championship. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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