WATERBURY — Ansonia took a double-digit lead into the half of yet another game on Thursday night.
Drew Caouette and Holy Cross made the score feel a little closer, though.
Caouette, the Crusaders’ senior quarterback, kept evading the Chargers’ pass rush and either scampered away for several yards at a time or threw for a first down.
The Chargers’ defense had enough of it and shut him and Holy Cross down in the second half. They allowed just two first downs and pulled away for a 48-13 win in a Naugatuck Valley League Copper Division game at Ray Snyder Sr. Field.
“They’re a passing team so we (had) to get the pass rush going, get the secondary ready and box (in) their quarterback, too,” Ansonia senior two-way lineman Curtis Cenatus said. “Box him in. Don’t give him a chance to scramble.”
The Chargers (6-0, 5-0) led at the half, 27-13.
Holy Cross (4-2, 2-2), however, racked up 236 total yards in that first half. Caouette accounted for much of that as he threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, both to sophomore Dae’Sean Graves. He also ran for 46 yards.
“Wherever we went, he went someplace else,” Chargers head coach Tom Brockett said. “He was just dipping and dodging. I thought we got great pressure all night, but he was fantastic.
“He’s a pain. I’m very glad to see him graduate (next year).”
The Chargers held Holy Cross to 34 yards and two first downs in the second half.
“(It) wasn’t really a lot of adjustments,” Ansonia senior running back-linebacker Quintez Whittle said. “We knew we weren’t playing as hard as we could.
“Everyone knew what they had to fix, and we came out and fixed it. And then you saw what happened when we fixed it.”
Ansonia has won 14 straight games against Holy Cross, which last defeated the Chargers in 2009.
Cenatus had three sacks, all in the second half. Junior Crishon Fogle returned an interception for a 26-yard touchdown for the game’s final points.
Junior Tayvon Long added a sack for Ansonia and seniors Chase Antrum and Matteo Sorrentino each had a first-quarter interception. The latter picked off a pass in his team’s end zone to keep Holy Cross from tying the game at 7.
Ansonia went ahead 14-0 in just five plays. Whittle scored on a 9-yard run and, right after Sorrentino’s interception, ran for an 80-yard touchdown on his team’s first play of their next possession.
Whittle finished with 21 carries for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Sorrentino on a flea flicker that pushed the Chargers’ lead to 20-6 with 2:57 left in the first quarter.
Sorrentino (9 yards) and Fogle (26 yards) both ran for touchdowns, too.
Caouette completed 16-of-31 passes for 223 yards for Holy Cross.
Player of the Game
Curtis Cenatus, Ansonia — The senior had three second-half sacks to help the Chargers put the brakes on Holy Cross’ offense in the second half.
Quotable
“(Holy Cross is) a good football team. I thought our kids played hard and it was a battle. I thought we hit a little lull there in the second quarter and I wanted to see how we were going to respond in the third quarter. I was very happy with the way the kids responded.” — Tom Brockett, Ansonia head coach.
(At Ray Snyder Sr. Field, Waterbury)
ANSONIA 20 7 14 7 — 48 HOLY CROSS 6 7 0 0 — 13
A—Quintez Whittle 39 run (Daniel Ayala kick) A—Whittle 80 run (Ayala kick) H—Dae’Sean Graves 13 pass from Drew Caouette (kick blocked) A—Whittle 66 pass from Matteo Sorrentino (kick failed) A—Sorrentino 9 run (Ayala kick) H—Graves 6 pass from Sorrentino (Brayden Doherty kick) A—Crishon Fogle 26 run (Ayala kick) A—Whittle 2 run (Ayala kick) A—Fogle 26 interception return (Ayala kick) Team records: Ansonia 6-0 (5-0 NVL Copper); Holy Cross 4-2 (2-2).