Ansonia’s 700th win in their storied football history was one of their most exciting.
The Chargers beat Crosby of Waterbury 16 – 13 on a last-second 22-yard field goal by Michael Palmquist, avenging their only league defeat from last season.
Two penalties aided the final Ansonia drive with just under a minute to go in the game. One was a late hit call on the Bulldogs and the other an illegal substitution call which some observers questioned, based on an Ansonia time out.
The Chargers lined up for the field goal on the Crosby four-yard line with just two seconds left on the clock. Palmquist, just a sophomore, calmly stepped into the ball and split the uprights, giving Ansonia its second win of the young season.
“I wasn’t nervous,” said Palmquist after the game. “I just did my job.”
What a difference a week made for both the Chargers and Bulldogs. Ansonia was coming off a one-sided win over Hillhouse, while Crosby had been beaten badly by St. Joseph’s of Trumbull in their season opener. Many around the league figured Ansonia would have an easy time. But such was not the case.
“We came in here ready to play,” said Crosby coach Jason Martinez. “We had a good week of practice and we were at full strength tonight.”
Martinez was alluding to several starters sitting out the game against St. Joseph’s for disciplinary reasons. The Bulldogs suffered a tough loss and some were saying their season was over.
Early on it looked like another tough night for Crosby.
The Chargers took a 13 – 0 first quarter lead on touchdowns by Robert Kinnebrew on a 15-yard run and Tim Troy on a 40-yard screen pass from Nick O’Connor. It appeared that a rout was in the works. Ansonia had taken advantage of two Crosby turnovers, including the first of two interceptions by Michael Hough, who continues to play well on defense in his first year as a starter.
But Crosby refused to roll over.
Following a botched fake punt by Ansonia, the Bulldogs drove 48-yards, scoring just before the half on a pass from Derrick Cox to Matt Costa. The extra-point was good and the fans knew they were in for a barn-burner.
“Crosby came out fired-up,” said Ansonia coach Tom Brockett. “We expected a tough game and they gave us one.”
The usually explosive Chargers offense was held to just one first down in the opening half of the game. Both teams played tough defense and came up with big plays at key times throughout the game.
One of the biggest came in the third period when a questionable interference call on Ansonia gave Crosby the ball first and goal on the Ansonia two yard line. But the Chargers defense held on downs as the third quarter came to an end.
Crosby also came up with a big one of their own, recovering an Ansonia fumble deep in their territory. They proceeded on a long touchdown drive, culminating with a three-yard quarterback keeper by Cox to tie up the game. The snap on the ensuing extra point try was bobbled and the game was knotted up at 13 – 13 with just three minutes left in the game.
While many on hand were expecting the game to go into overtime, the Chargers had different plans, and moved quickly downfield to set up the winning score.
Ansonia’s 700 wins in football represent the second-highest total in the state, behind only New Britain in state annals.
“We have a great tradition here,” said Brockett. “We’re just trying to keep it going.”
Ansonia will try to add to the win total next week when they travel to Waterbury to meet up with the Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Read analysis of every NVL week two game at the NVL Football Blogosphere.
