SEYMOUR — Ansonia High football players had the first encounter with Seymour on their minds entering Wednesday night’s CIAC Class S state quarterfinal game at John T. DeBarber Memorial Field.
On Sept. 18, the Wildcats beat the Chargers for the first time in 21 years. Seventh-seeded Ansonia used the first 6:11 of the playoff game to show that there would be no repeat performance by second-seeded Seymour.
Ansonia scored the game’s first 18 points in the opening half of the first quarter, taking advantage of two fumbles and great field position, to quickly establish control and defeat Seymour 34-14 at John T. DeBarber Memorial Field.
The Chargers (8-3) will play sixth-seeded Northwest Catholic, a 31-21 winner over third-seeded Cromwell-Portland, in a Class S semifinal game on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at a location to be determined. Northwest Catholic’s field in West Hartford does not have lights.
The Wildcats ended their season at 9-2.
“This game, you could tell with the way we were stretching, we came out there with energy. We knew we had it, 18-0 in the first quarter,” Ansonia senior captain and lineman Jayden Whittle said. “We just knew we had it from the jump. Everybody stepped up. Players that played badly last time watched film, got right. Everybody was focused in practice, and we knew we had this one.”
In the regular-season meeting between the teams, Ansonia was ahead 14-0 in the second quarter, but Seymour scored the last three touchdowns to win 21-14 and send the Chargers to the first of three regular-season losses.
“Earlier in the year, Seymour came back and got us,” Ansonia coach John Mihalko said. “I think that game weighed heavy on a lot of guys, and the chance to come back and try to, I’ll say, right that wrong. It was a big opportunity, and they did a good job today.”
The Chargers got two rushing touchdowns from Tymir Taylor (14 and 8 yards) and one apiece from Crishon Fogle (53 yards) and Jahzari Lawson (41 yards). Lawson and Ethan Blackwell came in to run the ball when Fogle left with an injury in the fourth quarter. Taylor also left the game late in the first half with an injury.
Ansonia ran many of its offensive plays as direct snaps to a running back, be it Taylor or Fogle. Other times, it was a double wing with Javier Figueroa at quarterback.
No matter the formation, the Chargers controlled the game at the line of scrimmage.
“We just have a whole bunch of backs. It doesn’t matter who’s running the ball. The guys up front won us that game,” Whittle said. “We had a new guy who just came in, Josh (Callard, on the offensive line). He came into this job, just played next man up. We have depth, and we’re going to show (our backs) the way to a state championship.”
Whittle line up as a blocking back at times, and he also got to run in a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
On defense, Ansonia’s King Gant returned a fourth-quarter interception 20 yards for a touchdown to finish the game’s scoring. Antino Pinto recovered two fumbles and Jaylan Anderson also had a fumble recovery.
For Seymour, Anthony Cortello threw touchdown passes of 12 yards to Connor Shea and 8 yards to Jack Moir. Both scores came in the fourth quarter. Shea also had an interception for the Wildcats.
Seymour had the ball first, but fumbled on its second play from scrimmage. Pinto recovered the fumble for Ansonia, which set the Chargers up at the Wildcat 33. Taylor ran for all 33 yards on the opening Ansonia drive, including a 14-yard touchdown, to give his team a 6-0 lead 1:35 into the game.
Seymour fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Jaylan Anderson at the Wildcat 27. Three plays later, Taylor scored from 8 yards out to give the Chargers a 12-0 lead at the 9:29 mark of the first quarter.
After forcing a Seymour punt, Ansonia took over at its own 49.
With the Chargers facing a third-and-12 at their own 47, Crishon Fogle broke free for a 53-yard touchdown and an 18-0 lead with 5:49 left in the opening quarter.
The Chargers held that lead until early in the fourth quarter, when Cortello hit Shea for the first Wildcat points of the game.
Ansonia responded when Lawson darted through the Seymour defense for a 41-yard touchdown.
The Wildcats again got a touchdown pass, this time from Cortello to Moir, and the defense forced a Charger fumble inside the 10-yard line with 3:10 remaining in the game. A Cortello pass hit off his receiver’s hands and landed in the waiting hands of Gant, who ran it back for the score.
Player of the Game
Ansonia’s front lines: On offense and defense, the Chargers controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing them to run the ball and stop the run.
Quotable
“I did it last year. Anything that’ll help my team win. Knowing what I do out there helps my team win makes me happy, and I come off with a smile every time.”
— Ansonia lineman Jayden Whittle talking about being an extra blocking back in heavy running formations.
CIAC CLASS S QUARTERFINAL
Ansonia 34, Seymour 14
ANSONIA 18 0 0 16—34SEYMOUR 0 0 0 14—14A—Tymir Taylor 14 run (conversion failed)A—Taylor 8 run (conversion failed)A—Crishon Fogle 53 run (conversion failed)S—Connor Shea 12 pass from Anthony Cortello (conversion failed)A—Jahzari Lawson 41 run (Antino Pinto run)S—Jack Moir 8 pass from Cortello (Ronan Carboni pass from Cortello)A—King Gant 20 interception return (Jayden Whittle run) Records: Ansonia 8-3, Seymour 9-2.