Top-seeded Whalers lose stunner in Class M

New London - The New London High School football team turned a Bethel fumble into a first-and-goal at the 3-yard line midway through the first quarter of Tuesday's state Class M semifinal.

Moments later, Bethel's Brett Parsell intercepted a pass at his team's 2-yard line and returned it to the New London 39.

It was the first of many New London mistakes. Bethel forced four turnovers and stunned the top-seeded and unbeaten Whalers, 34-12, at Cannamela Field.

"We didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had, especially down there," New London coach Jeff Larson said.

"(We had) a chance to go in and score and we didn't execute. I take full responsibility for it."

The Whalers (10-1), ranked fourth in The Day's Top 10 state coaches' poll, were also penalized nine times.

"We just didn't make the key plays when we needed to," Larson said. "You can't shoot yourself in the foot. Penalties hurt us again, and that's something that's got to fall back on me as a coach."

Fourth-seeded Bethel (9-2) led 20-0 late in the second quarter.

"I thought we came out and took them lightly," New London junior Stephan Dance said. "And then we found out, 'Yeah, we've got a game.'"

The Wildcats turned three turnovers into touchdowns, too.

Bethel also dominated the point of attack. Peter Gallagher ran 31 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

"They were fast," Gallagher said of the Whalers' defense. "I was very impressed with their speed. They're probably one of the fastest teams we've played, and so it took some little adjustments.

"We just stuck to our routes. We're a tough, physical team that smacks people in the mouth. And for all four quarters, we gave 100 percent and wore them down."

The Wildcats finished with 255 yards rushing on 46 carries and attempted just four passes.

Bethel's defense held the Whalers to 18 net yards on 21 carries. It also had four sacks.

"We had a lot of flags and we had a lot of interceptions," Dance said. "The line was blocking. The defense wasn't executing like we should have.

"It was a bad day for us."

The game started off well for New London. It recovered a fumble at the Bethel 32. But 10 plays later, Parsell intercepted Josh Clements' pass and took it to the Whalers 39.

The Wildcats ran seven straight times with Gallagher getting six carries. He finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.

Brandon Schmidt found himself uncovered early in the second quarter and caught a 28-yard touchdown from William Ramirez. It was the only pass Ramirez completed.

Gallagher added a 1-yard touch run with 3:10 left in the first half to push Bethel ahead, 20-0.

Senior Nick Singleton caught a 76-yard touchdown from Clements before the half. Singleton had five catches for 147 yards.

Senior Craig Dysart turned a short pass over the middle into a 48-yard touchdown with more than three minutes left in the third quarter to cut the Whalers' deficit to 20-12. Dysart had five catches for 95 yards.

Clements, who was 14 of 34 for 321 yards, threw two of his three interceptions in the fourth quarter. Bethel turned both interceptions into touchdowns.

"Give credit to Bethel," Larson said. "They came out and they executed. They were the better team tonight. I'm proud of my team. They played hard and never stopped playing.

"We'll come back. We'll be back here again. I'm not worried about the Whalers. The Whalers are always going to come out and compete to win."