Brookfield - New London's first two offensive plays Saturday were botched snaps that gave Brookfield a safety.

It never got better for the Whalers as the Bobcats rolled to a 46-14 victory in a CIAC Class M Large semifinal playoff game.

"We just didn't get a rhythm offensively in the first half," Whalers coach Duane Maranda said. "We needed to get the defense off the field and keep them off because we were having trouble stopping them. They run the ball so well and efficiently, chewing up the yardage."

Second-seeded Brookfield (11-2) used the double wing offense for the majority of the game and ran 50 times for 344 yards and six touchdowns. All four of its running backs scored.

Injuries compounded matters for the No. 3 Whalers (7-4), in particular a knuckle injury suffered by senior linebacker Rob Thomas on Wednesday.

"We really played today personnel-wise a 5-0-6 (formation) with no linebackers," Maranda said. "We had to move safeties in the box because literally we had none left. Those guys played hard.

"Brookfield just played a lot better than us today."

The Bobcats will play top-seeded Berlin (11-1) for the state title on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. The Redcoats beat Cheney Tech, 49-6.

New London senior receiver Jelani Lucas ended his career being his usual spectacular self. He had nine catches for 116 yards, including diving for a tipped ball in the end zone for a 27-yard score.

"He made an outstanding play," Brookfield coach Rick Angarano said. "He's a good player. Number 48 (Whalers' senior J. Hunter Roman) is an excellent player,"

Danny Maranda completed 15 of 31 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Whalers. D. Major Roman added a late 19-yard touchdown catch.

"All we could ask for was a chance to be playing in December," Duane Maranda said. "These guys fought hard and these guys persevered.

"I was really proud about our guys today. It didn't matter what the score was. ... Nobody will ever question our effort. They went out hard playing Whaler football."

New London got the ball first and went 20 yards backwards on back-to-back errant snaps. The second was for a safety 41 seconds into the game.

Bobby Drysdale ran for a 9-yard touchdown on the Bobcats' first possession. He finished with 19 carries for 108 yards and two scores.

The Whalers' next drive ended with a punt, and another bad snap forced Lucas to race back towards the end zone. He got the kick off, but Brookfield took over at the New London 34.

Fullback Austin Reich bowled through for a 34-yard touchdown two plays later as the Bobcats went ahead 16-0 with over four minutes left in the quarter.

Reich ran 14 times for 151 yards and two scores.

Brookfield led 32-0 at halftime.

New London had just one first down at the half and negative 19 yards, including lost yardage on four bad snaps.

"By no means has the season been the easiest," Roman said. "It's been rough since that beginning of the summer. We had guys transfer who were here the last three years. We had guys get kicked off the team early. We had guys flunking out of school; getting injured.

"The core group of guys that stuck through it the last four years, especially this season, I thank God that I've been able to make some amazing memories with those guys."

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED