Naugatuck Upsets Seymour, 27-13

The Naugatuck Greyhounds turned the Naugatuck Valley League upside down with their shocking 27 – 13 win over the Seymour Wildcats last night before 1,000 fans in the season opener for both teams.

Many observers had given the Wildcats the edge coming into the game. Indeed, they were ranked in the Top Ten in several statewide polls and some had picked them to win the Naugatuck Valley League outright.

Click the video to watch the Naugy fans react.

But Coach Rob Plasky’s Greyhounds would have none of it, utilizing the running of Dashawn Wingate, the passing of Erich Broadrick, and an opportunistic defense led by Dan Mariano and Tyler Conklin, in scoring the big win.

This win is a turning point for our program,” Plasky said after the game. No one gave us much of a chance coming in. We proved the skeptics wrong.”

The game was a seesaw affair throughout the first three quarters, with Seymour clinging to a 13 – 12 lead going into the final quarter.

But as the fourth period began, the Greyhounds embarked on a 14-play, 70 yard drive, culminated by a five-yard touchdown scamper by Wingate, who also scored the two-point conversion to give Naugatuck a 20 – 13 lead with 6:51 left in the game (story continued below live blog).

Click the button to watch last night’s live blog of the game.

It looked as if Seymour might have a chance to score the tying touchdown, as quarterback Connor Shugrue hooked up with favorite target Taylor Searles on passes of 14- and 15- yards.

But then disaster struck, in the form of a tipped pass which was picked off by Naugatuck’s Conklin, who ran the ball all the way back to the Seymour two yard line.

Three plays later Martin DeJesus sealed the win for Naugatuck with a two-yard touchdown plunge. The extra point was good, putting Naugatuck ahead to stay at 27 – 13.

The win was a sweet one for Plasky, who nearly lost his job last year when his contract was not renewed by the Naugatuck athletic director. But he fought for the position and was ultimately reinstated to the post.

Naugatuck was coming off an 3 – 8 season, one in which they lost to Seymour by a score of 48 – 20. Two years prior they had also lost to the Wildcats, that time by a margin of 62 – 19. No doubt this big win erased the sting of these defeats.

The Hounds got off to a quick start after recovering a Seymour fumble at their own 20 yard line. Broadrick was connecting on his passes with Conklin, including a 34-yard scoring strike to put Naugatuck ahead 6 – 0 in the early going.

Seymour came right back with a scoring march of their own, culminating a 65-yard drive on a 16-yard pass from Shugrue to Searles. The extra point try went wide right and the game was knotted up at 6 – 6.

Naugatuck answered the Seymour score with one of their own, on a one-yard dive by Wingate. The Greyhounds tried a two-point conversion on a fake kick, but it fell short of the mark.

That loomed as a key play in the game after Seymour came back to take the lead 13 – 12 late the third quarter on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Shugrue.

But the Hounds had different ideas, and took over the game in the final stanza, giving their fans a big road win at DeBarber Field, their first triumph over Seymour since a 27 – 20 win in 2006.

For Seymour coach Tom Lennon, it was a tough start to his coaching career.

We made some big mistakes at key times,” he said. But we have to tip our caps to Naugatuck, they played a big game here tonight.”

Steve Fainer, a former Evening Sentinel sports writer, publishes NVL Football Blogosphere.

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