By Ron Ragozzino, Special to the
Harbor News:
Feast definitely
ruled over famine on Thanksgiving morning as the Old Saybrook/Westbrook
football team came out hungry, winning 35-0 over Morgan.
Old Saybrook got on
the scoreboard early and often. After Morgan fumbled on its first possession, the
Rams took over at the Huskies 30-yard line and quarterback Cam Dunlap took
control. Dunlap capped an eight-play, 69-yard drive connecting with Ian
Santagata on a 21-yard slant touchdown pass for an early 7-0 lead at 8:46 in
the first quarter.
The Rams kept the
pressure on by scoring on their next possession after a Huskies 3-and-out.
Senior running back Alex Dyer then finished a seven-play, 44-yard drive by
punching it in from 11 yards out to make the score 14-0. Dyer finished the
game—the last of his football gear—with 153 total offensive yards and three
touchdowns.
“Alex likes to
punish people,” Old Saybrook Coach Mark McCray said. “The more times you give
him the ball, the more he will wear down the defense.”
The Huskies had
trouble getting anything going offensively as the Rams’ defense held them to
less than 200 total yards and forced eight turnovers.
Morgan’s only real
opportunity to score came right before halftime. Quarterback Eric Berzinskas and
running back Jeremy Finkeldey took the offense on their shoulders as they led
an 11-play, 62-yard drive all the way to the one-yard line. Old Saybrook’s
defense then came up big three times to make it 4th-and-goal from the one-yard
line and the Huskies’ fourth-down pass was intercepted by Cameron Shea in the
end zone.
“We gave up too many
big plays and made too many mistakes,” Morgan Coach Tom Maffuid said. “Old
Saybrook/Westbrook played a great and physical game.”
The Rams controlled
the rest of the game. On the second play of the second half, Dyer took a
handoff and broke to the outside and went 70 yards for the touchdown to make it
21-0. Two possessions later, Jason Cane punched it in from two yards to make it
28-0. Dyer finished off another touchdown drive two possessions later by
scoring his third of the day to make it 35-0.
“I’m happy and very pleased
with the team’s performance in the game,” McCray said. “Outside the Valley
Regional game, this was the most passionate this team has played this season. Ball
security for them [Morgan] was a problem and I was very pleased on how the
defense took advantage.”
Maffuid stressed
that the team gave up too many big plays to the Rams’ and said the team is
young and he hopes they get better. Before the game, Morgan seniors Chris
Alfano, Kevin Smith, and Jon Mizger were honored for Senior Day.
“We have to get
better,” he said. “We are young and we only had three seniors this year and two
of them played in this game. These younger kids got a lot of game experience
and I hope that experience translates over for next year.”
Game at a Glance
Nov 27: Old
Saybrook/Westbrook 35, Morgan 0
Key Performances
• Alex Dyer (OS/W):
153 total yards, 3 touchdowns, 7 tackles, interception
• Jason Cane (OS/W):
11 carries, 66 yards, touchdown, 5 tackles, interception
• Harlan Toussaint
(OS/W): 6 tackles, 2 interceptions, forced fumble, fumble recovery
• Eric Berzinskas
(M): 101 total yards, 6 tackles
• Jeremy Finkeldey
(M): 148 total yards, 7 tackles
• Dan Lee (M): 6
tackles, sack
Pictured: The
Old Saybrook-Westbrook football team, led by quarterback Alex Dyer, beat Morgan
35-8 on Thanksgiving Day at Morgan.
Photo by Ray Hryb