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GREENWICH, Conn. The following are recaps of this weekend's Greenwich Youth Football League games.
SENIORS:
Generals 30, Mavericks 14. The Generals got their scoring going in the first quarter behind some fine blocking from Nick Mosher and Jackson Caputo that helped Will Christensen find the end zone. Brother Kyle Christensen added the point after to give the Generals an eight-point lead. After the Mavericks answered with a touchdown of their own, the Generals squeezed in a score before the end of the first half on a Kyle Christensen touchdown.
Fine defensive play from Cole Hartley and Reed Aaron and a big tackle by Danny Lopez sparked the second half for the Generals. Their offense in the second half was provided by the Christensen brothers, who each scored a touchdown, as well as strong running from Holden Tiedy. The Mavericks finished with a great drive for a touchdown and the final score of the game.
Gators 18, Bulldogs 14. The Gators scored in the second quarter when running back Michael Gianesello sprinted 48 yards behind the key blocks of Seaton Crossman and Peyton Larkin for a touchdown. The Gators got the ball back quickly when Sean Doherty intercepted a Bulldog pass. Doherty also recovered a Bulldog fumble.
Gators quarterback Nic Smoller quickly moved the offense down field and finished the drive on a Luke Bienstock 44-yard touchdown pass. Paul Williams, who had seven tackles for the day, led by the Gator defense. Nils Heidenreich and Kazo Yammatto made many key tackles, too. Luke Bienstock put the Gators ahead with a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Marco Pastore sealed the game when he broke off a 34-yard run to give the Gators another first down to run out the clock.
The Bulldogs won the toss and rushed for a first down before the drive stalled. Robert Clark hustled downfield on the ensuing punt and pounced on a bobbled ball for a Bulldog recovery. Thomas Uhl caught a long pass. After excellent blocking from center Lucas DellAbate, Parker Kelly and CJ Ginsberg, the Bulldogs drove downfield and Jack Montesi punched it in for a touchdown. Kevin Iobbi ran in the extra point for an 8-0 Bulldog lead. Good plays by Adam Pate and Michael McGrath to deflect Gator passes helped the Bulldog effort. The Bulldogs responded in the third quarter as Montesi again bulled into the end zone for a 14-12 Bulldog lead. Late in the fourth, the Bulldogs elected to punt from the Gator 41-yard line. Corey Bancroft kicked it long and high, but a Gator steamed up the sidelines for a long touchdown run.
Raiders 28, Crushers 12. Parker Grayson and Bernard Threadgill each rushed for two scores in the Raiders win over the Cos Cob Crushers. Both also had excellent performances on defense, with Grayson intercepting a Crusher pass to solidify the victory. Offensive stars for BANC included Bryce Anderson, Jack Doyle, James Day and Jesus Salcedo. Daykwon Solomon led an improved defense with solid play from Harrison Popp, James Day, Thomas Lattarulo and J.J. Hartwell.
Key receptions by Charlie Knight sparked a near comeback by the undersize Cos Cob Crushers. Quarterback Frank Alfano, getting ample time to throw from Chase Piro, Christian Novakowski and the rest of the offensive line, threw touchdown passes to Nick Durvasula and Bailey Ballone. Captains Ian Bannon and Ethan Ross led the hard-hitting Crusher defense. Pat Clisham and Bryce Klair made tackles for losses to keep the game close.
JUNIORS
Mavericks 14, Generals 12. On the games first play, Owen Matthews caught a pass and raced 70 yards down the sideline to give the Mavericks an early 7-0 lead. Tyler Blizzard helped to spring the touchdown with a great downfield block. The Mavericks offense executed the two-minute drill well at the end of the first half but fell short with the ball on the Generals 3-yard line as time expired. The drive featured the strong running of Jack Warren and was highlighted by a long pass catch and run by Lance Large. After driving the ball for much of the second half, the Mavericks scored in the fourth quarter on a 60-yard touchdown run by Nicky Henkel with Joe Kraninger providing the key blocking. Walter Stratton and Joe Caridi led the defensive line. In the third quarter with the Generals driving, Owen Matthews picked off a pass and ran it back 40 yards for a touchdown. Lance Johnson also intercepted a pass in the 4th quarter to end the Generals last possession and preserve the win.
When trailing by a touchdown, the Generals responded by mounting an impressive 80-yard, 19-play drive behind the cut-back running of Chris Burdick and strong blocking by Brendan Whiteley and Bodie Groen. Greyson Wolfram followed blocks by Ben Frey and Callum Abernethy for the touchdown to complete the drive, making the score 7-6. The PAT attempt failed. The Generals stopped the Mavericks' drive at the end of the first half behind impressive defensive play by Jack Gibson, Sam Jenkins, Noni Lopez and Jackson Rubich. After the interception, the Generals went back to the air and struck quickly. Wolfram connected with Matt Restieri streaking down the sideline for a 78-yard touchdown pass to close the gap, 14-12. The PAT failed.
Gators 33, Bulldogs 0. Three plays after winning the toss, Brandon Chow broke for a 55-yard touchdown. Cory Johnson made the two-point conversion. With the Gator defense led by Kevin Wright, the Bulldogs were forced to punt. Johnson went 60 yards for the games second score on the return. Garrett Murphy pushed three yards for the extra point. With the Gator defense holding strong, the Bulldogs punted and Chow went another 55 yards to score. In the second half, the Bulldogs moved the ball deep into Gator territory but turned it over on downs. Strong blocking by Matthew Bonaparte, Jack Carey and Jessica Spitzer, Patrick McTiernan sprung for 62 yards and six points. Late in the fourth quarter, Aaron Peterson and Thomas Waurishuk cleared the way for McTiernan to sprint 78 yards for the final score.
With the score 22-0 in favor of the Gators, the Bulldogs showed some resolve by denying the extra point. The Bulldogs defense denied the Gators on its last possession of the half with a fourth-down stop. During the first half, Finbar Doyle and Nick Fata had some strong tackling for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs started the second half with a promising drive behind excellent running from Trey Scotti who ripped off several strong runs behind fine blocking by Doyle, Andrew Daur, Tyler Rozmus and Thomas Benda. On the Gators next possession, the Bulldog defense forced a quick three-and-out as Cameron Delcristo ended any threat with a tackle for a 5-yard loss on third down. After the next two Gator touchdowns, the Bulldogs stopped both extra point attempts. Other positives for the Bulldogs included hard-nose running by Nate Allen, Ryan Gruenstrass, Hayden Witmer and Patrick Condon.
Crushers 25, Raiders 14. Using a nice mix of running and passing plays, the Cos Cob Crushers earned a well-fought victory over the Banc Raiders. The Crushers got on the board first when running back Nick Gianuzzi took a pass from quarterback Jackson Fretty 30 yards for a touchdown. Crusher RB Andrew Hollander had a big day, scoring three touchdowns. One was on a 22-yard reverse, another a 50-yard pass and the third on an 11-yard run. Spectacular blocking was done by the offensive line of Cameron Dalton, Mitchell Grimes, William Gregory, Nolan Connerty and Eli Fowler. Matt Kelly had a strong game on the defensive line to help stall several Raider drives.
The BANC team kept the game within reach with excellent effort on the line by Luiz Estrada, Romano Orlando, Jack Lemone and Devin Mojica. This excellent line protection was instrumental in allowing Michael Reilly to break free for two rushing touchdowns. Jason Otis broke free for a big gain but was brought down just short of a touchdown. Gavin Muir pounded the ball to aid in the ball control offense for BANC throughout. Robert Sledge, Charles Courtney, Jack Caruso and Max Kaicher kept the game close with excellent defensive effort.
BANTAMS
Generals 18, Mavericks 12. The Putnam Generals held on for an 18-12 win over a determined Mavericks team. The Generals marched down the field on the games opening drive before Spencer Hartley scored from 18 yards out. After a fumble killed the Generals next possession, their defense on the next play forced a Maverick fumble that was recovered by Cristobal Isaacs. Alex Burdick scored on a weaving 10-yard run on the next play to put the Generals up 12-0 at the half. After the Mavericks scored on the first play of the second half, the Generals moved down the field and Colin Mulshine capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown. After the Mavericks scored on a fumble return, the Generals defense led by John Callahan, Jack Ludington, Drew Athan, Calvin Breier, Carsten Weis and Wilson Evans came to the rescue to preserve the win.
The Mavericks scoring all came in the second half, starting with a 60-yard run by Peter Santana on the first play of the third quarter behind stellar blocking by Tyler Sudell and Alexander Clarke. Near the end of the third quarter, Clayton Ostover made a defensive recovery and ran it 30 yards for a touchdown.
Gators 15, Bulldogs 0. The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred. After a Gator three-and-out, Alex Hanna recovered a Bulldog fumble. On the Gators second possession, Evan Weigold ran 20 yards for a touchdown behind the blocking of Hanna, Alvaro Borrego and Hunter Cusimano. Weigold then ran up the middle for the two-point conversion. In the second quarter, Colin Miles recovered a Bulldog fumble. Jason Tautel ran for a key first down behind the blocking of Joseph McCurdy and Tucker Slattery. Hunter Clark took the ball 37 yards for the score. Again Weigold took the ball in for the extra point. Nicolas Wright made two nice tackles behind the line of scrimmage to stifle the Bulldogs final attempt to close the gap. Ethan Todd ran 30 yards for a first down to run down the clock.
The Bulldogs came out strong in the first series with Jack O'Gorman and Quinn Fox holding the first plays to no yardage. Jacob Mondschein caught the punt to set up the Bulldogs first series. Valiant work by Will Montesi, Jonothan Price, and Matt Bologna highlighted a strong team effort as the Bulldogs went down fighting. TJ Abbazia had a game-saving tackle, and Casey Rozmus and Connor Sobbieri showed deep defensive penetration.
Crushers 25, Raiders 19. The Cos Cob Crushers got their second win in a row with great blocking from the offense and a defense that recovered four fumbles to keep the Raiders running game in check. The Crusher defense got hot early when Miles Recchia forced a fumble that was recovered by Brent Wolfsohn. Cos Cob took advantage as running back Vincent Ceci scored a quick touchdown and Wyatt Kane caught a pass for the extra point. But the Raiders came roaring back with two touchdowns. Crusher running back Michael Grabel ripped a 45-yard run down the left sideline to take the lead. Grabel scored two more times as the Crusher offensive blocking of Angus Manion, Jacopo Marin and Bobby Grudzinski and wide receivers Wil Forshner and Charlie Kreppein controlled the game. Great play from Ben Weinstein, Christian Mignione and Alex Kral were the highlight on defense.
The Banc Raiders Eddie Doyle made some terrific stops on defense and got help with some hard hitting by Daniel Estrella, Teddy Rosenbaum, Matthew Tamis, Michael Hoha and Eric Meyers. William Reilly busted several long gains behind the powerful blocking of Christian Cockerill and Sander Cosia. Aiden Clark fueled the Raiders offensive attack with flawless snaps and punishing blocks.
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