BEACON FALLS — One way or another, there would not be a second overtime last Thursday afternoon at Woodland.
After Joe Poeta plunged into the end zone from 2 yards out to bring Woodland within 28-27 in the Kansas-style overtime, head coach Tim Phipps didn’t think twice about going for the two-point conversion and the win.
Poeta got the call once again. He took the toss, turned the corner and headed for the goal line where he was met by Torrington’s Tyler Marens and Stefan Laforge. The Red Raiders brought Poeta down a half-yard shy and Torrington escaped Beacon Falls with the 28-27 victory.
“I believe in Joey and I believe in our offensive linemen, and I’ll tell you if they gave it to me 10 times, asked me to make that decision 10 times, I’d make the same decision 10 times,” Phipps said about going for two.
Woodland (1-1) had its chance to come away with the win in regulation.
With 3 minutes left in the game quarterback Mike Kenney gave the Hawks their first lead of the day on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Sophomore placekicker Lauren Charette, the first female player in the NVL since Watertown’s Amelia Luciano played wide receiver on the varsity in 2005, booted the PAT to make it 21-14 Hawks.
However, Torrington (1-1) answered.
Connor Finn marched the Red Raiders down the field on the ensuing possession. Facing fourth and 7 from Woodland’s 18 with just 28.7 seconds left, Finn dropped back, couldn’t find an open receiver, scrambled to his left and took it in himself. P.J. Kilmartin knotted the game at 21-21 with the extra point.
Woodland won the coin toss heading into overtime and decided to play defense. Finn hit Favian Moya in the end zone on third down and Kilmartin’s PAT kick gave Torrington the 28-21 lead — setting up a dramatic climax that would end a half-yard short of a win for Woodland.
Woodland entered the game, which was originally scheduled for last Saturday in Torrington, down its top two running backs — Sean McAllen and Coby Vaccarelli — due to injuries. Phipps turned to Poeta, a wide receiver, and junior running back Dave Bobbie to carry the load.
Poeta ran for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Phipps said Poeta, who doesn’t have a lot of reps under his belt as a running back, really stepped up. One of the reasons Poeta was named captain, Phipps added, was for his leadership skills. The coaching staff was confident in putting Poeta into that position, he said.
“Joe came in and ran lights out,” Phipps said.
Bobbie, who has his share of varsity reps running the ball, rushed for 61 yards.
“We knew that Dave could get the job done that we needed him to get done,” Phipps said.
Both teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm early on last week. On the first play from scrimmage, Woodland’s Jon Scirpo intercepted a Finn pass and set the Hawks up at the Torrington 40. Woodland couldn’t take advantage of the field position.
Torrington broke through the gridlock late in the first quarter.
After a Poeta fumble, Torrington took over on the Hawks’ 22-yard line. Finn cashed in on the turnover with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Zak Mancini with 5:38 left in the first. Kilmartin added the extra point for a 7-0 Torrington lead.
Woodland responded in the second quarter.
Poeta capped an 80-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown at the 9:06 mark. The Hawks trailed 7-6 after the extra point failed.
With less than a minute to go in the half, Woodland was primed to take the lead until Torrington’s Nick Paniati plucked a deflected Kenney pass from the air — squashing the drive at the Raiders’ 4.
The offensive struggles for both teams continued in the second half, as the first three series ended in three-and-outs. The Red Raiders found their footing first.
Torrington pulled ahead 14-6 after a Tyler Marens 6-yard touchdown run and Kilmartin added the PAT with 2:42 left in the third.
That was when Kenney, who was 7-of-14 for 57 yards through the air and added another 36 yards on the ground, took matters into his own hands.
“I think Mike really took the team on his shoulders in the second half. He had confidence, he led, he did a great job of managing the game and making great decisions,” Phipps said.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Kenney put the finishing touches a 67-yard drive with his first touchdown run of the day from a yard out. Poeta added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 and set the stage for the game’s final act.
Phipps said the Hawks won’t let the loss define them moving forward.
“I want them to let this burn for the night and then get better tomorrow,” Phipps said. “There’s nothing we can do to take it back. It’s one on our record and if we let it define us then we’re going to get beat every week, and we’re not going to let it define us.”
Woodland will host Wolcott Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The Republican American contributed to this article.
