Shelton High Head Coach Jeff Roy said he worried about being able to contain the Cheshire running attack.
His fears were realized on Friday night as Rams quarterback Greg Palmer ran roughshod all over the Gaels.
Palmer keyed a potent Rams ground attack, scoring five running touchdowns in Cheshire’s 49 – 31 win over the Gaels at Finn Field.
From his first score, a 29-yard rush to cap a 96-yard drive on the Rams’ first possession of the game, to his last, a 27-yard scramble in the fourth quarter on the first play after a Shelton turnover, the Rams’ quarterback was the problem for the Gaels.
Roy said he was more worried about the Rams’ rushing attack than their passing game after seeing Cheshire score 41 points last week against Amity.
Still, the Gaels were unable to hold them back.
“Exactly what we were worried about came true tonight,” Roy said.
Palmer staked the Rams to a 14 – 0 lead, following up his 27-yard score with a 28-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to cap a 7‑play drive.
Shelton’s offense, keyed by senior quarterback Raymond Pendagast and senior wide receiver Paul Piccirillo, could only manage a field goal after that, reaching the Rams’ 5‑yard line before a poor pass play on a 2nd and 5 lost them ten yards and a third down pass fell incomplete.
Shelton drew closer toward the end of the half. A Pendagast screen pass to junior running back Ryan Deangelis came up golden for the Gaels as Deangelis got great blocking and ran 66 yards to pull Shelton to a 14 – 10 deficit with 1:50 remaining.
Although the Rams responded with a 47-yard rushing touchdown by Max Slade, the Gaels struck back even faster.
Piccirillo picked up the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 98 yards to bring the Gaels’ deficit back to four at 21 – 17 with 1:16 remaining in the half. The teams scored a combined 21 points in just 34 seconds.
Shelton senior defensive back Tim Scalzi prevented Cheshire from scoring again in the first half, intercepting a Slade pass at Shelton’s 2‑yard line with seconds remaining.
But Cheshire would not lack for scoring the second half, rushing the ball successfully on the Gaels on nearly every rushing play.
“We had trouble stopping them. Every time we got back into the game and we cut it to one score, we needed a big stop and we couldn’t come up with it,” Roy said after the game. “As a defense, we had trouble stopping them.”
Palmer’s dream night continued early in the third as he took a fourth down and short handoff at midfield through the Shelton defense, transforming what should have been a first down into a 50-yard touchdown run and a 28 – 17 lead.
Shelton pulled to within three on its next possession, moving 35 yards in just four plays. Pendagast connected with junior wideout Michael Georgalis on a 5‑yard touchdown pass. A successful 2‑point conversion put the score at 28 – 25 at the 2:34 mark of the third.
With more than a quarter of football remaining and only a field goal separating the teams, the Gaels and the crowd at Finn Field had high hopes of overtaking the visitors.
Cheshire would have none of it.
Seven plays after a 39-yard pass play from Palmer to Brian Havlicek, Palmer reached paydirt for a fourth time with a 1‑yard touchdown run, giving Cheshire an 11-point lead with 11:24 left in the game.
The Rams’ defense came up big in the final quarter. After forcing a punt, Shelton could only move the ball 24 yards when Cheshire forced a fumble at Shelton’s 27-yard line. Harper made the turnover hurt quickly, needing just one play to record that fifth rushing touchdown, giving Cheshire a 42 – 25 advantage with 7:40 remaining.
The 17-point spread just about snuffed out any chance for a comeback.
“They just executed and they were able to block us up front,” Roy said. “Their backs are very good and they just executed the offense and blocked us and we didn’t get off blocks and tackles.”
Cheshire’s secondary sealed the game. Ryan Connolly picked off Pendagast’s bid for a 23-yard touchdown pass at the Rams’ 5‑yard line and weaved through traffic to register a 95-yard touchdown.
Shelton reached the end zone for the final time on 33-yard Pendagast-to-Piccirillo connection with 4:23 remaining. Shelton failed to score on a 2‑point try and was unable to recover an onside kick.
Roy thought the Gaels’ offense was solid.
“I thought (Pendagast) played well and thought offensively we did what we had to do. It was the defense that kind of let us down tonight,” he said.
Cheshire Head Coach Mark Ecke was effusive in his praise for his quarterback.
Palmer “did a tremendous job tonight. Throwing, running, leading. He did everything right,” Ecke. “We were figuring it would be a 28 – 21 game either way. That was our expectation coming in. I’m pleasantly surprised the fact that we scored that many points.”
The Gaels (1 – 1) will host Xavier at 7 p.m. next Friday.
