Shelton defense holds off Guilford
Written by Christian Meagher, Correspondent
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 16:27
The Shelton High football team’s 17-12 win over visiting Guilford High Friday night was far from pretty, but Gaels’ coach Jeff Roy wasn’t complaining.
Shelton (4-1) overcame injuries, turnovers, penalties and a scrappy Indians (2-3) squad to notch the hard-fought win.
“We came through under the gun,” Roy said. “We lost two starting linebackers and a starting defensive back, so we had to put some kids out there who were young kids and they stepped up and did the job when it counted.”
Senior captain Frank Camerino (10 rushes for 105 yards and a touchdown) electrified the Shelton attack, while junior quarterback Ed Groth (7-for-12 for 75 yards and a touchdown) supplied consistent play, but it was the Gaels’ defense that shined through the intermittent rain at Finn Stadium.
Clinging to a five-point lead, Shelton held off Guilford in a heart-pumping final drive.
Starting from its own 17-yard line with just under four minutes left, Guilford methodically moved the ball 75 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the eight-yard line with four second left on the clock.
Indians’ signal caller Joey Nault avoided pressure and rifled the ball to a receiver at the goal line. Shelton senior defensive backs Nick Coppola and Jeff Groth pounced on the ball and the receiver, forcing an incompletion that locked up the win.
The final play gave Shelton the closure it sought all night. The Gaels significantly outplayed the Indians, but costly turnovers kept the visitors in the game until the end.
Shelton came out of the gate fast. The Gaels defensive front of seniors Gary Thompson, Mike Dellolio, Tyler Wakeley and Robert Rose, junior Tom Gottschalk and sophomore Jason Thompson stalked Nault all night and stuffed him on third down and short on Guilford’s first possession.
On Shelton’s third play from scrimmage, Camerino ripped through the middle 60 yards for a score thanks to a sizable push from linemen Dellolio and Robert Rose and classmates Austin Rose, Joe Ortoli and John Nacovitch. Ed Groth split the uprights for the first of two successful point-after attempts to put Shelton up 7-0 four minutes into the game.
Shelton’s celebration was short-lived, as Nault slipped through the Gaels defense on the first play of the ensuing possession for a 73-yard touchdown run. The Guilford kicker missed the point-after attempt to help Shelton hang on to the slim 7-6 lead.
Shelton responded with a grinding 15-play, 63-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes.
Ed Groth, Camerino, senior Connor O’Brien and sophomore Connor Walton powered the slow and steady drive with respectable runs and Ed Groth came through on a critical third-and-four at midfield, hooking up with Jeff Groth for a nine-yard gain.
Shelton pushed the ball to the Indians’ 20-yard line, but a bobbled snap and a procedure penalty halted the drive at the 21. The Gaels salvaged three points from the impressive drive, thanks to a booming 38-yard field goal by Ed Groth less than two minutes into the quarter.
The locals held the 10-6 margin going into halftime with some sterling play from its defense.
Senior defensive back Ryan Brighindi posted the first of two sacks to make Guilford’s first possession of the second quarter a short three-and-out.
The visitors looked to gain momentum with a blocked punt that put the ball on the Shelton 37-yard line. Guilford pushed the ball to the 23, but was stymied by a poor snap and a sack by Shelton senior Scott Zebendon. On fourth down, the Shelton defensive back corps of Brighindi, Jeff Groth, senior Peter Cybart and sophomore Eddie Kochiss blanketed the Indians’ receivers to force an incompletion and turnover on downs.
In the second half, the defense helped improve Shelton’s advantage.
A well-placed punt by Jeff Groth pinned Guilford at its own two-yard line. After Guilford gained seven yards on first down, senior Mike Kanios stepped up to hold the Indians to no gain and Dellolio fell on a fumble at the 14-yard line on the next play.
On Shelton’s first play from scrimmage, a slick ball fake by Ed Groth helped get Jeff Groth open in the left corner of the end zone for the easy 13-yard scoring pass and a 17-6 Shelton lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
The Gaels defense again stumped Guilford, but a fumble on the ensuing punt put the Indians 30 yards from the end zone.
Three plays later, K.C. Horton powered the Indians into the end zone with a 12-yard rushing score. Shelton kept a strategic 17-12 advantage with 4:30 left in the quarter as senior Robert Rose stopped Nault on the two-point try.
Another Shelton fumble gave Guilford the ball near midfield and the visitors looked to take control with a personal foul that moved the ball to the Shelton 30-yard line. However, a bobbled snap and a crushing blind-side sack by Brighindi of fourth down squelched the Guilford drive.
Time-consuming drives by the Shelton offense didn’t yield points, but limited Guilford to just two possessions in the final stanza. Gottschalk ended Guilford’s first drive with a fumble recovery and the defense dug deep to hold off the Indians’ last-ditch attempt.
Though he wasn’t pleased with his team’s errors, Roy said he and team are ready to move on to undefeated SCC conference foe Xavier High next Friday, hoping that his players will be more focused against the top-tier opponent.
“I was a little frustrated early because this team seems to make too many mistakes,” he said. “We made a lot of mistakes with penalties, but we got the ‘W.’ I told them that we take it any way we can get it right now.”
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