Glastonbury holds off Staples in Connecticut LL football quarterfinals

Down 7-6 to Glastonbury after his team scored for the first time with 1:09 left in the game, Staples (Westport) head coach Marce Petroccio didn't hesitate. The Wreckers were going for 2 and the win in their CIAC Class LL football quarterfinal Tuesday night.

After a Glastonbury timeout, Staples lined up in the Wildcat with Tyler Jacobs the lone back. Jacobs took the snap and ran outside to the left. Just as he approached the goal line, Glastonbury defensive back Malcolm Crosson took Jacobs down and stopped him inches short of the goal.

The game was in effect over. Staples' onside kick was recovered by the Tomahawks, who took four knees to end it 7-6.

"One thing we said at halftime was, we're going to go down fighting here," Petroccio said. "That was the decision we decided to make. That's what the seniors did and I agreed with it and we went for it and we came up short. That's football. That's the way we wanted to go out, and it didn't work out but, hey, that's life."

For Glastonbury (10-1), which is headed to a semifinal Saturday against consensus No. 1 Xavier (Middletown), it was a season-saving play.

"It was a hard play," Crosson said. "I thought they were going with a pass over the top or something like that, but then I saw them come my way, tried to hold contain, took out the guy's knees and flipped him."

Glastonbury head coach Peter Pfeffer expected Staples (9-2) to go for 2 but was a little surprised by the play choice.

"We scouted them pretty good, we knew what they would probably do," Pfeffer said. "The formation wasn't anything new to us. I was surprised they went way outside with that. We had good speed in the secondary and our guys came up and made a big play. That's all it was, a great play by (Crosson)."

Glastonbury held Staples' offense in check for the first half, 69 yards total offense, and most of the second. Staples freshman quarterback Jack Massie (7-for-19, 76 yards), who replaced starter Chet Pajolek in Week 7 after the senior went down with an ACL injury, was harassed most of the night, sacked four times and pressured continually.

In the second half, Staples went three-and-out on two of its first four possessions and made two first downs on the other two. Then after taking over at its 40 with 3:35 left — on a turnover on downs with a grounding penalty tacked on — things started to click.

Massie hit Robby Herman for 13 yards on a curl in to the right to move into Glastonbury territory at the 48. A defensive interference call on Crosson put the ball at the T-Hawks' 34. Massie then connected with Nick Kelly on consecutive slants on the right side for 13 and 12 yards.

With third-and-goal from the 10, Massie found Jason Mawicke on a turnaround in the end zone and Wreckers were finally on the board.

"It was a great job," Petroccio said. "We finally got (Massie) some protection. Jason Mawicke and the receivers, they did a great job. I think Jack is going to get better and better. We missed some opportunities for a variety of reasons, but I'm proud of what our kids did."

Glastonbury controlled the ball in the first half, gaining 112 yards on the ground, 60 from quarterback Cory Santor and 76 through the air with Robert Solecki taking in two for 41 yards.

The T-Hawks rattled off a 10-play drive on their first possession but were stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Staples 15. On their second possession following a Staples three-and-out, the T-Hawks went 57 yards in eight plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Crosson (62 yards, 10 carries). Two keepers by Santor (84 yards, 12 carries) for 19 and 11 yards highlighted the drive.

Santor finished 14-for-23 passing for 123 yards on mostly short passes, only one more than 14 yards.

"We knew that Staples likes to give up the short stuff, so we were going to nickel and dime them," Pfeffer said. "Some of our kids made some big catches at big times, but we've done that all year. When they do that we're very hard to defend.. We're not necessarily a throwing team, but we like to throw."

Looking forward, Pfeffer knows the semis present another big challenge.

"Xavier's a big physical team," Pfeffer said. "Again, another team that plays great defense. So, we have to make sure we can execute. Take what they give us."

Click here to view MaxPreps' Connecticut football playoff brackets.

PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS
* In Class LL, Trumbull quarterback Ian Milne threw for 203 yards, including three completions of more than 40, in a 27-9 victory over Conard (West Hartford).

* In Class L, Colin Markus rushed for 266 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns to lead Masuk (Monroe) past Bristol Eastern 49-23.

* In Class M, Brookfield's Brian Kelly scored 38 of his team's points, including five touchdowns and a field goal, in a 50-21 victory over Lyman Hall (Wallingford).

* In Class S, St. Joseph (Trumbull) quarterback Joe Della Vecchia threw for 312 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-12 victory over Woodland (Beacon Falls).

* In Class S, Ansonia's Montrell Dobbs gained 337 yards on 23 carries and scored six touchdowns in a 47-26 victory over Hyde (New Haven).

* In Class S, Tyler Girard-Floyd of Montville (Oakdale) gained 319 yards on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns in the Indians' 55-28 victory over Cromwell.

SATURDAY'S SEMIFINALS
CLASS LL
No. 1 Xavier (11-0) vs. No. 4 Glastonbury (10-1) at SCSU, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Norwich Free Academy (11-0) vs. No. 3 Trumbull (10-2) at West Haven, 2 p.m.
CLASS L
No. 1 Masuk (11-0) vs. No. 5 Darien (11-1) at Shelton, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Hand (Madison) (10-1) vs. No. 6 New Canaan (10-1) at West Haven, 7 p.m.
CLASS M
No. 8 Hillhouse (New Haven) (8-3) vs. Gilbert-Northwestern Regional (Winsted) (9-2) at Municipal Stadium, Waterbury, 2 p.m.
No. 2 New London (9-2) vs. No. 3 Brookfield (9-2) at Bunnell, 2 p.m.
CLASS S
No. 1 Valley Regional/Old Lyme (Deep River) (11-0) vs. No. 4 St. Joseph (Trumbull) (8-3) at Municipal Stadium, Waterbury, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Montville (Oakdale) (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ansonia (10-1) at Middletown, 2 p.m.

Paul Rosano, the former assistant sports editor of The Hartford Courant and sports editor of The New Haven Register, covers Connecticut for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at pjrosano@cox.net.