It's easy being green: Notre Dame-West Haven, Class L champion, finishes as state’s No. 1

It was back on Oct. 9 when Notre Dame of West Haven's David Rose scored on a 9-yard run with seconds left to give the Green Knights a 40-36 win over Cheshire.

It became one of the state's most talked about games of the 2009 season, but no one could have ever imagined back then just how important it would turn out to be.

Notre Dame, the CIAC Class L champion, was voted No. 1 in The Day's final Top 10 high school football state coaches' poll Monday, beating out Class LL champion Cheshire for that honor.

Both teams play in Division I East of the Southern Connecticut Conference.

"Who knew back when we beat Cheshire that that's what it would come down to," Notre Dame coach Tom Marcucci said Monday. "I think there were a lot of outstanding teams. You could tell that during the playoffs.

"I think there were outstanding teams that didn't even get to the playoffs. The ball bounced our way."

Notre Dame (11-1) received 10 of 13 first-place votes. It beat previously undefeated Pomperaug of Southbury, the South-West Conference champion, in Saturday's Class L final (28-21). The Green Knights also routed another unbeaten team, Conard of West Hartford 42-14 in the semifinals.

Cheshire (11-1), which knocked off Staples of Westport in overtime Sunday 28-21, received the other three first-place votes. Staples came into the playoffs unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the final regular-season poll.

Cheshire coach Mark Ecke stated his case for No. 1 after beating the Wreckers.

"Here's our logic - we just beat No. 1 on the field right here," he said. "We beat (defending champion Glastonbury) Tuesday night. You look at the total work, we are 11-1. We lost to the Class L champion in Week 4. That was a long time ago. We feel we deserved to be No. 1."

Told that Notre Dame had a strong case, too, Ecke smiled and said, "Absolutely, I see their argument as well, but you know what, I have to sell it for my team."

Staples finished third in the final poll, followed by Class MM champion New Canaan, Pomperaug, Bridgeport Central (which beat New Canaan, 42-7, in Week 9), Class SS champion St. Joseph of Trumbull, Xavier of Middletown (which beat Notre Dame in Week 2, 29-28), Class S champion Hyde of New Haven and Class M champion Berlin.

Notre Dame's ascent to No. 1 was a testament to how 2009 was as wacky as any season in recent memory.

For starters, the state didn't finish with an unbeaten team. It's just the third time that has happened since the CIAC instituted its playoff system in 1976.

The Green Knights also overcame a brutal early-season loss to Xavier. They led 21-0 during the first half only to have the Falcons tie the game 21-21 with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in regulation.

Notre Dame returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and had the ball with under two minutes left, but fumbled deep in its own territory. Xavier scored with 1:37 left and successfully ran for a two-point conversion.

The Green Knights, on their next play, had a 62-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty. On the final play, Conor Keniry caught a 55-yard pass air in the end zone, but the ball popped loose when he hit the ground.

"That (loss) could've been devastating," Marcucci said. "I think the kids, at that point, were put really in a losers' bracket situation."

Notre Dame ripped through its final 10 games and won by an average margin of 24 points.

The Green Knights caught a break just making the playoffs. Had Masuk of Monroe not lost the night before Thanksgiving, there was a chance they would have been squeezed out of the playoffs.

"Everything seemed to work in our favor," Marcucci said. "Even Cheshire winning (against Staples). That's the way that opportunity works sometimes. Good teams don't move on to the playoffs. I'm sure that good teams like Pomperaug and Xavier and Hamden are saying, 'if that happened, if this happened, it could've been us that's No. 1.' No question about it."