The Ansonia Chargers hadn’t won three consecutive games all season until Thursday’s 51 – 21 trouncing of the Seymour Wildcats, a Naugatuck Valley League rival.
The Chargers came into this game behind the combination of junior running back Montrell Dobbs and a stout offensive line play. But what happens when Dobbs has an off night?
Answer: Bobby Kinnebrew, who rushed for 281 yards and scored six touchdowns.
Dobbs fumbled an exchange from QB Nick O’Connor on Ansonia’s first drive and never got going. His one-handed catch for an interception was negated by a 5‑yard facemask penalty by the Chargers.
Ansonia Head Coach Tom Brockett said the Seymour defense did a great job containing Montrell Dobbs.
“Right now, between Sobin, and Montrell, and Bobby, it’s kind of been a different guy every week,” Brockett said.
On defense, Kinnebrew came out on fire, bull-rushing through the Seymour line and pressuring Seymour quarterback Connor Shugrue.
Kinnebrew took a handoff 58 yards for a score late in the first quarter to give Ansonia a 7 – 0 lead at the 2:31 mark (click the top video to watch one of Kinnebrew’s TDs).
Seymour tried to establish its passing game but could never get it rolling.
Ansonia defensive backs Tim Troy, Montrell Dobbs, and Christian Sobin played a very stingy defense and did not allow for any big plays through the air.
The Ansonia linebackers, led by Danny Larkin, also made it hard on the Seymour offense to get going with their strength near the line of scrimmage.
The Chargers managed to post another score very quickly. This time, a 30-yard burst by Kinnebrew through the heart of the Seymour defense.
The touchdown made it 14 – 0 about a minute into the second quarter.
No. 40 wasn’t even close to finished yet.
Following a safety, due to a high snap by the Seymour center, Kinnebrew hit pay-dirt for his third touchdown of the first half — a 49-yard scamper on Ansonia’s second play of the drive.
The Wildcats then went three-and-out on their next possession, which gave Ansonia the ball and a chance to pad their lead.
That’s when senior Christian Sobin busted through the Seymour defense — 69-yards later, Ansonia was sitting on a 30 – 0 lead heading into halftime.
After witnessing Kinnebrew rush for 162 yards on 6 carries and three touchdowns in the first half, fans from both squads made an early exit.
The Wildcats’ defense had been seeing taillights all night long up to this point. There was more to come.
Despite the lop-sided first half, Seymour managed to score on some very tough running by senior Jacob Drozd.
Drozd took a handoff from Shugrue for 7 yards and put Seymour on the board midway through the third. The two-point try was good, as Drozd scored from two yards out to make it a 30 – 8 game.
That didn’t seem to phase Kinnebrew, who took the handoff on Ansonia’s next play from scrimmage 53 yards for his fourth touchdown of the evening up to that point.
Ansonia led 37 – 8 after sophomore Mike Palmquist’s PAT split the uprights.
On Seymour’s ensuing possession, Drozd answered with a very nifty 71-yard run down the Seymour sideline which resulted in a touchdown for the Wildcats.
The Seymour crowd was back into it despite Ansonia’s 37 – 14 lead. The effort from the Wildcats was still very much present.
The Cats held Ansonia at midfield and the Chargers were forced to punt on their next possession. Palmquist mishandled the wobbly snap at midfield, escaped from a Seymour defender, and rugby-kicked the ball down to the Seymour 6‑yard line late in the third quarter.
This ended any chance of a comeback for the struggling Cats.
Palmquist was also 7 for 7 on PATs for Ansonia.
Following a Seymour punt, early in the fourth quarter, Kinnebrew struck again with a 25-yard dagger, making it a 44 – 14 contest to that point.
After a nice sack by Ansonia sophomore linebacker Tyler Wood, Shugrue, in his third game back for Seymour, connected through the air with junior wide receiver Mike Fraser for the 20-yard score.
Seymour managed to get within 23 points, as the score was 44 – 21 with 6 minutes remaining in the contest.
Little did we know, the night wasn’t over for Mr. Kinnebrew.
Two plays later, Ansonia went over the 50-point mark with Kinnebrew’s sixth, yes SIXTH, touchdown of the night – a 39-yard run.
He was one touchdown shy of tying Ansonia great Alex Thomas’ 7 touchdown performance versus Woodland Regional of Beacon Falls back in 2007.
“I never imagined scoring six touchdowns today”, Kinnebrew said.
Led by senior center Chris Jeanette, Ansonia’s offensive line played an outstanding game. Despite being slightly under-sized, they managed to control the line of scrimmage and create running room for their backs.
Brockett mentioned, “They’re [the offensive line] not real big, but they’ve been real physical and we’re real happy with the way they’re coming along”.
Ansonia (7 – 2) travels to Naugatuck on Thanksgiving Day to play their yearly rivalry game against the Greyhounds at 10:30 a.m.
It also keeps its playoff hopes alive with another win.
The loss drops Seymour to 1 – 8 on the season.
The Wildcats hope to end their season on a high note when they play host to Woodland Regional of Beacon Falls on Nov. 25 at 6 p.m.
More videos from Thursday’s game can be found here.
Photo gallery from the game here.
This was our live chat from the game
