Berlin’s Kevin Dunn threw a touchdown against Valley Regional/Old Lyme with less than two minutes remaining in last Tuesday’s CIAC Class M football playoff quarterfinal.

It was the first passing touchdown thrown against the Wildcats this season.

Valley/Old Lyme’s secondary has been arguably its greatest strength, led by senior Garrett Burdick (safety), juniors Jacob Kruszewski (cornerback) and Ernest Jean-Pierre (safety) and sophomore Jason O’Brien (cornerback). They’ve taken great pride in their work.

St. Joseph has averaged 221.9 passing yards a game this season, sixth among schools reporting statistics to MaxPreps.com. It’s 30 passing touchdowns ranks fifth. The Cadets have earned their reputation over the last several years of running one of the state’s premier passing offenses.

There’s more to Monday's Class M semifinal (6:30 p.m.) than St. Joseph’s passing game versus the Warriors’ pass defense, however. It just so happens those two strengths are butting heads with one another at Valley Regional.

“St. Joseph has been one of the top programs year-in and year-out,” Valley/Old Lyme head coach Tim King said. “(Head coach) Joe (DellaVecchia) does a great job. They’ve got some weapons. They’re big, they’re strong. They’re everything that a St. Joseph team normally does.”

The fifth-seeded Cadets (9-2) have won four of their 12 state championships since 2009. They’ve passed more than they’ve run in six of those years using a spread offense sold online by current Middle Tennessee offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, used by hundreds of high schools nationally as well as some college.

“In 2006, we ran Wing-T and we had a really good team that just had trouble scoring,” DellaVecchia said. “New Canaan had run (the spread) in 2006 and it was a nightmare. I ended up getting something in the mail and just decided to give it a shot

“I don’t know our exact record since then, but we’ve won close to 90 games in the last 10 years since we’ve been in it. The smashmouth-style of the FCIAC was taking its toll on us. When we went into this, it opened up the whole field for us. We could get (defenses) tired. It changed the whole program.”

Senior Cory Babineau is a three-year starter at quarterback for the Cadets. He’s completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 2,369 yards with 29 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

Junior receiver Jared Mallozzi has been ridiculous this season. He has 88 catches for 1,299 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sophomore Paul Pesmeg has 41 catches for 640 yards and eight touchdowns.

If all that wasn’t enough, freshman Jaden Shirden has emerged as the feature back. He’s run 188 times for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“It’s going to be a challenge to cover those guys because they’re very fast and athletic,” Jean-Pierre said. “They run trips to the boundary, which we’re not really used to.”

The top-ranked Warriors (10-1) have used their speed to compensate for their lack of bulk this season, and they are one of the most athletic teams King has had.

Burdick has 12 a school record interceptions, tying him for fifth for the most in a single season, according to the Connecticut High School Football Record Book. Jean-Pierre and Kruszewski each have three.

Senior Dan Stecher (128 tackles) and junior Roan Sullivan (114) are Valley/Old Lyme’s leading tacklers at linebacker.

“We have some pretty good athletes that help us in the secondary,” King said. “It’s going to be a challenge what we do up front. Their right tackle (senior Nick Crocco) is 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. His first step on the kickslide is like two for my kids coming off the edge.

“It’s going to be a challenge (defending the pass), but I think we match up pretty well.”

n.griffen@theday.com