NEW CANAAN, Conn. – New Canaan’s football team has been down this path before. Three games in 10 days is a difficult stretch in any sport, but especially so in a physically demanding sport such as football.
The fifth-seeded Rams play No. 1 Windsor in the semifinals of the Class L playoffs Saturday at 2 pm in East Haven. After its Thanksgiving win over Darien, the Rams had four days to prepare for No. 4 New London, where they squeaked out a 27-26 win.
Now comes Windsor (11-0), which beat Notre Dame of West Haven, 14-7, in the semifinals. One huge difference is Windsor had 11 days off before its first playoff game. Many teams in the northern section of the state do not play on Thanksgiving.
“We’ve been through this before, and you just have to be very careful,” New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said. “It’s not soccer. You have to be able to manage the kids. We had two tough, physical games and now we have an equally physical team. We’re just glad to be here and hopefully we have the chance to compete for a state championship.”
The Rams faced a similar road last year, and they won all three games. That propelled them to the state championship game, where they fell to Masuk, 50-20. The Rams could get a rematch if they win on Saturday and No. 3 Masuk gets past No. 2 Daniel Hand.
The Rams’ explosive offensewill clash with Windsors tough defense, which surrendered just 86 points all season. Bristol Central lost this season to Windsor, 47-20, and no other team has scored more than 14 points.
The Rams counter with an offense led by quarterback Matt Milano, who has thrown 31 touchdowns. His top targets include Patrick Newton (49 receptions, nine touchdowns), Peter Kraus (39 receptions, 10 touchdowns) and Connor Kilbane (51 catches, seven touchdowns). Kevin McDonough (428 yards, 6.9 yards per carry) leads the rushing attack.
The Rams’ defense is led by Dylan Leeming, who stopped a two-point conversion attempt by New London to preserve Tuesday’s victory. McDonough (94 tackles) is also one of the Rams’ defensive stalwarts. Newton, Casey Oullette and Jared Meichner each have three interceptions.
Windsor’s attack is led by quarterback Robert Fleeting (29 touchdowns) and running back Kymm Gordon, who has rushed for 733 yards and four touchdowns.
New Canaan is seeking its 19th state championship. The Rams have won six titles since 2001, including four straight from 2006-2009.