Centaur News

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H.S. Football: Windham hold off furious Woodstock rally

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By BOB BOGERT
sports@norwichbulletin.com
Posted Nov 07, 2009 @ 09:22 PM
Last update Nov 07, 2009 @ 09:24 PM

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WOODSTOCK —
The Woodstock Academy football team nearly made the phrase “its not over until its is over” its own Saturday.

With Windham up 26 points late in the third quarter, the Centaurs rallied for 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter only to fall short at the Bentley Athletic Complex, as the Whippets hung on for a 33-29 victory on Senior Day.

After Windham’s (4-3) Bryon Moore returned a fumble recovery for a 43-yard touchdown to give Windham a 33-7 lead with 2 minutes, 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Woodstock (2-6) started to mount its comeback.

The Centaurs’ offense put together a 13-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by senior Mike Green, who would also run in the two-point conversion to cut the Windham lead to 33-15 with 8:15 left.

Then, after Green recovered an onside kick — only to have Woodstock turn it right back over —the Centaurs’ Craig Dunn intercepted a pass to give his team the ball at the Windham 31-yard line. Five plays later, Green scored his second touchdown in the period with a two-yard run, slicing the deficit to 12.

Another onside kick resulted in a Dunn recovery at the Windham 45-yard line, and again it was the Green Show, as the senior carried the ball five times for 26 yards and a one-yard touchdown run — plus another two-point conversion — to cut it to 33-29 with 2:15 remaining.

After forcing a Whippets punt, Woodstock had one last chance to take the lead. Starting from his own 4-yard line with 35 seconds remaining, quarterback Nate Ploughman completed passes of 13, 25 and 15 yards to move the ball to the Windham 43-yard line. But his last pass fell incomplete as time ran out.

In total, Green carried the ball 14 times for 74 yards in the fourth quarter alone, finishing the game with 196 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.

“I challenged my team at halftime,” Woodstock coach Gary Brine said. “I was not happy with how we played in the first half. We never stopped Windham’s offense in the first half. We did come out, and play a much better half.”

The Whippets’ offense racked up 214 yards rushing on 32 carries in the first half to open up a 21-7 lead at the intermission. In that span, Shane Doughty had touchdown runs of 12 and one yard, while Alex Crotty added a 3-yard touchdown run.

Windham finished the game with 301 rushing yards on 45 carries, as Doughty racked up 108 yards on 20 carries, fullback Denzelle Mitchell had 87 on 10 and Tim Doyle had 79 on nine carries.

“Our offensive execution in the first half was as good as it has been all season,” Windham coach Brian Crudden said. “Our speed gave them problems all day.”

Just before halftime, the Centaurs had a chance to cut into the deficit, but ended up losing their quarterback in the process. A big halfback option play from Dunn to Tim Fogarty gained 45 yards to put Woodstock on the Windham 9-yard line.

But three straight incomplete passes set up a fourth-and-goal situation with three seconds left until the half, and quarterback Nick Thibodeau’s scramble left him short of the goal and injured. He didn’t return.

 

 

Nice account of past Saturday’s 1st ECC Large Division win at NFA- by Ron Coderre – from this week’s edition of the Putnam Town Crier


Woodstock Tames 'Cats in Historic Large Division Win
By Doc Cody

Woodstock Academy football, barely five years old, has had some big victories since its inception.  Wins over once powerful Putnam; a Thanksgiving victory over Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech; and last year’s victory over Killingly all standout.

But on Halloween 2009 the Centaurs recorded what has to be the biggest victory in its brief history, a come from behind 21-18 win over Norwich Free Academy in a game played in the Rose City.  The icing on the cake is that the victory was Woodstock’s first ever in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division.  And the candle in the center of the cake is, it came at the expense of the Centaurs first Coach Jamal Davis, who is now the head coach of the NFA Wildcats.
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The victory created more of a New Year ’s Eve celebration atmosphere for Woodstock rooters than a Halloween “trick or treat” event.  Needless to say it certainly was ghoulish.
The dagger in the heart of the Wildcats was administered by the Centaurs defense and the determination of hard running Mike Green.  Trailing 18-13 late in the game the defense and NFA penalties forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over to Woodstock with 3:10 remaining in the contest.

This is where Mr. Green came into play.  He ran a return punt down to the Wildcats 21-yard line, setting up the drive for the winning score.  The key to the drive came four plays later when quarterback Nick Thibodeau hit Derrick Renaud for a 17-yard completion on a fourth-and-12 situation, keeping the drive and the hope for victory alive.  Nick Darras followed with a 5-yard gain to the 1-yard line.  Green capped the drive with a 1-yard game winning plunge.

“We’ve been trying to rely on the seniors to make some big plays.  That’s what the program needs, for them to step up and make some plays.  And to get the win against Norwich, in Norwich, is a big accomplishment for our kids,” Woodstock coach Gary Brine told the Norwich Bulletin.

If there was any doubt that the Centaurs could play with NFA, those doubts were dispelled in the first half.  Following a scoreless first period the Centaurs broke the scoring deadlock when Tim Fogarty, who had a stellar day rushing the football, broke through from six yards out to put Woodstock on top.  Fogarty carried the football 17 times for 90 yards to go with his touchdown.  Eric Wendel’s point after kick gave the visiting Centaurs a 7-0 advantage and a boost in confidence.  This confidence builder would be the ingredient that would carry them to the momentous victory.

Before the half Norwich responded with 12 unanswered points on a pair of Anthony Facchini touchdown runs of 58 and 72 yards.  Both Wildcat point-after attempts failed, giving NFA a 12-7 lead at intermission.
Woodstock’s Green and Norwich’s Facchini exchanged third period touchdowns.  Green’s coming on a 39-yard run and Facchini’s on a 1-yard blast, setting the stage for Woodstock’s fourth period dramatics.

It was a banner day for Woodstock all around.  In addition to Fogarty’s big day, Green had another gargantuan effort, rushing the pigskin 28 times for 133 yards.  Thibodeau, who doesn’t throw much in Coach Brine’s offensive scheme, was a respectable 5-for-12 for 52 yards, including the big fourth down toss to Renaud.  Craig Dunn was on the receiving end of Thibodeau’s other four completions for 35 yards in receptions.

The victory, the biggest in the young history of the Woodstock program, not only lifts the spirits of the entire Academy football family but it raises their record to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the ECC Large Division.
Buoyed by the win, the Centaurs prepare for a Saturday home game at 2 p.m. at the Bentley Athletic Complex against the visiting Windham Whippets

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New London Day:
Saturday
Woodstock at NFA
Time: 1 p.m.
Records: Woodstock 1-5 (0-2 ECC Large); NFA 2-4 (0-2).
Last week: Woodstock was beaten by Bacon, 48-16; NFA beat Killingly, 10-2.
Outlook: Michael Green ran for 124 yards last week for Woodstock. ... NFA got a big boost from its defense last weekend. Killingly had a first-and-goal from the Wildcats 1-yard line on its second drive of the game, but NFA stuffed it for a turnover on downs. ... Anthony Facchini has been one of the Wildcats' best offensive threats. He ran 22 times for 127 yards and a touchdown against Killingly
 
 
Norwich Bulletin:
 
WOODSTOCK AT NFA
1 p.m.
Records: Woodstock 1-5, 0-2 ECC Large; NFA 2-4, 0-2.
Last week: Woodstock lost to Bacon, 48-16; NFA beat Killingly, 10-2.
Last year: Did not play.
Outlook: The two teams scrimmaged last year, but did not meet on the field, meaning it will be the first time NFA coach Jemal Davis will face the club he helped build into a varsity program.
Both teams have struggled putting points on the board, and that means this could come down to a battle of which running back is better — Woodstock’s Mike Green or NFA’s Anthony Facchini.
The Centaurs made strides offensively last week by going to a spread offense for more than half the game. The results: More than 100 yards passing and 150 rushing.

 

Below is the nice write-up by Ron Coderre that appears in this week’s edition of the Putnam Town Crier re: last Saturday’s tough game with Killingly. The game was another in a growing history of great games with what is becoming a spirited local rivalry:
 
 
 
By Doc Cody
It’s been said that the true test of a man is how he handles himself in defeat.
Following a hard-to-swallow 6-0 last minute loss to Killingly, a school he coached at for many years, Woodstock Academy Coach Gary Brine demonstrated that there’s more to life than winning and losing a football game.  As three reporters waited in the wings for quotes from Coach Brine following his postmortem game talk with his dejected players, Brine slowly walked toward the trio, but noticed three people approaching from his left.
Politely excusing himself from the press, something that many other coaches wouldn’t have done after such a tough loss, Brine stepped over to the trio for hugs.  He later explained it was his daughter, her husband and his little granddaughter, who was so proud to show her grandpa her dinosaur book.
After saying his thank you and goodbyes to his family and embracing his granddaughter, the congenial Brine returned to the press for a postgame wrap-up, something that wasn’t easy following a game that easily could have gone down in the record books as a Woodstock victory.
“This is a tough loss to swallow.  The kids put their heart and soul into this game.  We made a defensive mistake but I told them, one play on our side doesn’t win or lose a game,” explained Coach Brine.
But for Killingly, one play apparently did make the difference.
The outcome of the game developed on a 45-yard pass-run play on a first and 10-situation in Woodstock territory with less than a minute remaining in the contest.  At that point Killingly Coach Chad Neal called for quarterback D.J. Grimes to lay up a pass for sophomore receiver JR Richeeds to run under.  The pair executed the play to perfection and a Richeeds fake to the outside left him wide open for the winning touchdown hookup.
“D.J. and I have developed a special chemistry. When I faked the defender with the out move I left him in the dust.  DJ did the rest,” said Richeeds.
Like a pair of heavyweight boxers, standing toe-to-toe for 15 rounds, Woodstock and Killingly battled for 47 minutes and 13 seconds on a cloudy day that resembled the day that the legendary Grantland Rice coined the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. Each time it looked as if one team had an advantage over the other, the tide of the game would change and the pendulum would swing to the other team’s advantage.
It was that type of game.  Good old fashioned football.  The scoreless first half was highlighted by great defense and excellent punting under blustery conditions by both teams.  The half ended when a Killingly drive that had penetrated to the Woodstock 34-yard line was halted on a spectacular one-hand interception by the Academy’s Tim Fogarty.
The second half was much like a replica of the first.  Early in the third stanza, key fumble recoveries by both sides appeared to be what might swing the tide in favor of the visiting Redmen.  When a Woodstock punt returner was unable to handle a kick, it was recovered by Richeeds, giving Killingly the ball on the Centaurs 25 yard line.  Woodstock rose to the occasion, pushing the Redmen back to the 47-yard line and forcing them to punt.
At the start of the final period, still knotted at zero, a Woodstock fumble was recovered by Killingly lineman Collin Beloin.  No sooner had Killingly taken offensive possession and Grimes handed the pigskin to running back Anthoney Tetreault (22 - 80) than he coughed it up, where the ball was recovered by the Centaurs defensive lineman Eric Wendel.  The Acads were unable to capitalize on their good fortune.
Following Richeeds game-winning touchdown the Centaurs had one more possession.  In the final 47 seconds Woodstock drove from its 16-yard line into Killingly territory only to see it’s hopes of a miracle win fade when TJ Stucke intercepted a Nick Tibodeau downfield heave as the final whistle sounded.
In addition to his heroic touchdown toss, Grimes was 12 – 18 in the air for 94 yards.  Woodstock quarterback Thibodeau was 3 – 11 for 28 yards.  The Acads workhorse running back Mike Green carried the football 24 times for 84 rugged yards.  In the defensive battle both teams were held under 200 yards of total offense.  Woodstock had 167 yards, while the Redmen amassed 181.  Richeed was the game’s top receiver with four catches for 56 yards, while Josh Fortin had five receptions for 36 yards.
On Saturday Killingly sporting a 3-2 log travels to Norwich Free Academy for a noon time encounter with the Wildcats in the Rose City. Woodstock (1-4) will attempt to bounce back on its Homecoming Weekend with a 2 p.m. Saturday encounter against the visiting Bacon Academy Bobcats at the Bentley Athletic Complex..

 

Following Note from the Coaching Staff:
 
As part of our commitment to the Woodstock community, the WA Football Centaurs will be supporting the Wounded Warrior Road Race, this coming Saturday, October 3, 2009.

The team has been asked to raise money, sponsoring our Freshman Coach Vangel and his wife Lisa, who will be running in the event.

The freshman team will help with set-up and tear-down, as upper classmen prepare for our first Varsity home game later in the day against East Lyme. Set-up starts at 6:15AM, in front of the American Legion Building at the corner of Roseland and Stonebridge roads. The team will be broken into two groups (Set up and Teardown groups) to minimize planning issues and ease with ride coordination.

All players received a sponsorship form to complete, which should be handed in with all collected monies. Our goal is to raise at least $20/ player. Money can be in any form (Check,Cash)

All collected money and forms will be handed in on Friday to a coach. Team members were also asked to contribute a specific foodstuff to support the community food program. These items should be delivered to Ms. Welch or the School nurse by Friday as well.