Plagued by three second-half turnovers, the Ansonia Chargers dropped a heart-breaking 35 – 30 decision to the Watertown Indians Friday night.
This was the first win by Watertown over Ansonia since 2005.
The loss drops Ansonia’s record to 4 – 2 in the Naugatuck Valley League and 3 – 1 in the Copper Division.
The defeat dealt a blow to both the Chargers’ playoff and divisional championship hopes, with tough games ahead versus Derby, St. Paul’s of Bristol and Naugatuck.
“Watertown outplayed us tonight,” said Ansonia’s Coach Tom Brockett. “It’s very hard to overcome the turnovers and penalties we comitted against a very good team.”
Two of the turnovers came on a couple of Ansonia’s patented “trick plays,” which for one game at least, backfired.
The first came on a would-be option pass from Montrel Dobbs which was intercepted by Dan Koerber, who had two picks on the night. The other was a fumble on the old “hook and ladder” play which the Chargers have been running successfully for years. Instead of pitching the ball back to a trailing runner, the Ansonia player pitched it forward into the waiting arms of a Watertown defender.
“The kid just panicked,” said Brockett about the latter play. “We’ve run that one forever and it’s the first time something like that happened.”
But the biggest mistake of all came on an errant pass from Ansonia quarterback Nick O’Connor, which Koerber intercepted for a 65-yard “Pick Six,” one of three unanswered touchdowns by the Indians, who are also 4 – 2 in the league.
“That play was huge,” said Watertown Coach Roger Oulette. “Our defense made big plays all night, but that one changed the momentum of the game in our favor.”
The game started out looking like it might be a typical one-sided Ansonia victory. The Chargers scored on two straight possessions, first on a 23-yard field goal by Michael Palmquist, followed by a five-yard quarterback sneak by O’Connor to give Ansonia a 9 – 0 lead.
But the Indians were able to exploit some holes in the Ansonia secondary, completing an 18-yard touchdown pass from Matt Quatrano to Will Ernst. In all Quatrano completed 10-of-19 passes good for 108 yards and a touchdown.
The game see-sawed back and forth, but the Indians established themselves in the third quarter, with a three-yard run by Anton Galaganov (leading rusher for the Indians with 103 yards on 14 carries) and the big interception by Koerber.
Robert Kinnebrew did what he could to keep Ansonia in the game, with a stylish 60-yard kickoff return and an 11-yard run up the middle, both good for touchdowns. He was the game’s leading rusher with 102 yards on just nine carries.
But Watertown answered his first score with a 29-yard gallop by Galaganov to seal the big win for the Indians, who now stand atop the NVL’s Brass Division with a 3 – 0 record and a showdown for first-place next week with the Wolcott Eagles, which along with Ansonia share second place in divisional play.
Ansonia’s star running back, Dobbs, appeared to be hampered by the injury which has hobbled him over the past couple weeks. He ran for just 70 yards on 24 carries, well below his usual production. He seemed be unable to make the cut on running plays that he ordinarily does and a step or two slower than his customary speed.
Ansonia must now regroup going into their huge rivalry game next week against the Derby Red Raiders. The Ansonia cheerleaders were already selling tee-shirts commemorating the return of the game after a six-year absence. The contest has a lot of implications both for league and divisional play as well as the Chargers’ playoff aspirations.
Derby has hit a snag with two straight losses following their early success in which they stamped themselves among the teams to beat in the league. They are 3 – 3 overall and 1 – 2 in the Brass Division.
For Ansonia, it will be a must-win game if they hope to get a chance to defend their league title and make yet another trip to the state playoffs. The loss to Watertown droppred the Chargers into seventh place in the Class S standings. They cannot afford any more losses if they are to make into the post season.
Derby’s outside shot at a playoff berth in Class M was just about vanquished with their loss to Wolcott. At this point they are playing mostly for pride, and a win over Ansonia would virtually make their season.
The two Valley rivals square off on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Lou DeFillipo Stadium in Derby.
