Mistakes cost Valley Regional/Old Lyme in 28-7 loss to St. Joseph
Deep River — Valley Regional/Old Lyme had just seized momentum in Monday’s CIAC Class M football semifinal by scoring on the second play of the second half to take a 7-0 lead against St. Joseph.
St. Joseph, from the mighty Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference.
St. Joseph, winners of 12 state championships.
And then everything caved in on the Warriors.
St. Joseph used a blocked punt and a turnover to score 28 unanswered points and beat top-seeded Valley/Old Lyme, 28-7, at Richard B. Blythe Field.
Jason O’Brien got behind the Cadets’ defense and caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Matt Sapere to give the Warriors the lead two plays into the second half.
“We had the momentum after that score, but something just kicked in with (the Cadets) and they turned it on,” Warriors senior co-captain Mitch Conrad said. “I thought after the first half it was going to be a 3-0, 7-0 game. We held them in the first half and we just got worn down.
“It just fell apart for us.”
Valley/Old Lyme finished 10-2.
Fifth-seeded St. Joseph will play second-seeded Hillhouse for the Class M championship on Saturday at West Haven High (10:30 p.m.).
Hillhouse beat No. 3 Killingly 49-28 in the other semifinal.
Cory Babineau completed 18 of 29 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns for the Cadets. Jared Mallozzi caught both touchdowns as he had five catches for 115 yards.
Sapere completed 12 of 36 passes for 226 yards for the Warriors. Garrett Burdick had five catches for 92 yards and O’Brien added three catches for 90 yards. O’Brien also had an interception.
“We were equal with them in the first half,” Conrad said. “We fought with them. I’m proud to go out like that against a program like St. Joseph. They send people to the NFL.
“I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. (Former Cadet) Tyler Matakevich plays for the Steelers. Looking at that, going against a team that has that much talent, I’m proud to play against them. It was an honor to play against the best. I don’t want to play against a poor team that scrapes in (to the playoffs). I wanted to play the best and we played the best. I played my heart out. The rest of our team played their hearts out. We all fought.”
The Cadets responded after Valley/Old Lyme went ahead. Babineau threw a 21-yard touchdown to Mallozzi to tie the game at 7 with seven minutes, 17 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Warriors were forced to punt on their next possession. St. Joseph’s Mike DiIorio raced in to block it and give his team the ball at the Warriors’ 5-yard line.
Jaden Shirden scored on a 4-yard run two plays later to put the Cadets ahead 14-7 with 3:38 left in the third quarter. Shirden had 24 carries for 83 yards.
“That blocked punt really hurt because if you make them drive, who knows, maybe they make another mistake,” Valley/Old Lyme head coach Tim King said. “You’ve given them the ball at the 5-yard line plus momentum.
“That really came back to bite us.”
The Warriors were facing third-and-26 from their own 34-yard line on their next drive when Alex Pelletier and Joe Kucky sacked Sapere and forced a fumble.
Jude Andrzejewski returned it to the Valley/Old Lyme 13. He later scored on a 3-yard run to push the Cadets ahead, 21-7, with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We’re an intensity team,” Pelletier said. “Once we get rolling, it’s hard to stop. But I have to give credit to (Valley/OL). They played their hearts out. They’re a hell of a team.”
Mallozzi caught a tipped pass for a 27-yard touchdown with over five minutes left in the game to push St. Joseph ahead, 28-7.
“Coming into the season, I knew we were going to have some pretty good specialty players,” King said. “It came down to the offensive line (developing). The kids really stepped up. They played their hearts out all year long.
“I was kind of hoping (to finish) 7-3, 8-2, and maybe sneak in (to states). To go 10-2 on the season, anytime you get into the 10-win mark, that’s kind of a pretty darn good season.”
n.griffen@theday.com
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