Ledyard - The good news for Wolcott football coach Jason Pace is that Ledyard running back JoJo Shumaker actually looked the same in person as he did on film. He wasn't any bigger, faster, stronger, or any better in person. What Pace saw on film is what his Eagles saw on the field.

The bad news though is that on film, Shumaker is very, very good.

"He is exactly what we thought he was going to be," Pace said late Saturday afternoon following the top-seeded Colonels' 54-7 win in a Class M-Small state semifinal. "There was no difference. He is so talented. He can get to the edge. He can cut it back up in the middle. He's their go-to guy.

"I don't know what his numbers were. And I'm pretty sure I don't want to know."

The numbers - 17 carries, 343 yards, 5 touchdowns - will look just as good on the highlight reel. And they will have to give pause to next week's opponent, St. Joseph, which was a 55-6 winner over Ellington/Somers in the other semi.

The title game, to be played next Saturday at Willow Brook Park in New Britain at 2 p.m., is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal game, won by St. Joseph 84-49.

"I put so much work into this game," said an emotional Shumaker. "To end my high school career with my family around me, and all these guys, to end it headed to the state championship, it means the world to me."

Said coach Jim Buonocore: "JoJo is a terrific young man who has come a long way as a person, a student. His ability on the football field speaks for itself. To come out and play the way he did in the big game, on the big stage, speaks volumes about him as a player.

"The emotion that he showed after speaks volumes about him as a person and what this football program means to him. I think people outside of this program don't realize how close-knit of a team this really is."

Shumaker scored on runs of 7, 75, 54, 49 and 75 (again) yards, and more than doubled No. 4 Wolcott's total offensive output. He also laid out along the left sideline for a diving catch of 29 yards that set up Leo Clinton's 4-yard touchdown run. But it was perhaps River Thomas' big play, an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, that swung the momentum for the Colonels (12-0).

The Eagles (9-3) responded to Shumaker's first touchdown by putting together 63-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7-7, and quieting the Ledyard sideline. The silence was shortlived though as Thomas picked up the wet ball at the 14-yard line, made a couple of moves and was gone, taking Wolcott's momentum with him.

"I saw the ball going out of bounds and the kickoff team started slowing down, so I just picked up the ball and started running," Thomas said. "Coach preaches as soon as they get momentum, we have to shut it down because then we can't get ours back. It was a long squib and I was going to let it go out (of bounds) but I just figured, why not?"

From there, the domination was on. Wolcott had six more possessions before the half and registered just two first downs before punting four times and turning it over on downs twice.

"I thought we played our best defense today, no question, from front to back," Buonocore said. "The kids were focused. They were locked in, dialed in to what (Wolcott) were trying to do and how they were trying to attack us. It was just terrific. You can't really say who played better. I thought all 11 guys on the field played great."

And now comes a shot at redemption, the date with St. Joseph.

"We have a legitimate opportunity to call ourselves a state champion," Buonocore said. "We certainly have a big task in front of us. St. Joseph's is a terrific team. But we like where we stand.

"These guys that are in the locker room right now, they were there last year. They experienced it. They don't forget. I certainly haven't forgotten. We're a year older, bigger, faster, stronger. We're more experienced. I think things will be a little bit different this time in terms of the competitiveness and being able to stay with them for four quarters."