DERBY — Naugatuck needed to make a statement last Friday in Derby and the message they left was heard up and down the Valley
Led by quarterback Jason Bradley, (10-of-12, 221 yards, 5 touchdowns) the Greyhounds swarmed the Red Raiders in a 48-13 victory. The Greyhounds (7-1) found the end zone on all six of their first half possessions, while the defense held the typically high-flying Red Raiders (6-2) to just two touchdowns.
“We played extremely well on both sides of the ball,” Naugatuck head coach Craig Bruno said. “Our defense got the job done, that’s for sure. Derby has a good offense and a strong quarterback in Mike Kreiger. We had to be aggressive because he’s fast and he can throw the ball.
“But the offense took care of business putting it in the end zone the first six times we had the ball. We played hard and it was a good team win with the offense and defense getting it done.”
Both teams came in with identical 6-1 records and a state playoff hopes. Derby was averaging 37 points per game and just hung up 62 points the week before on Seymour. The Red Raiders defense did allow the Wildcats to score 44 points, but in their three previous wins only allowed three touchdowns.
Naugatuck came into the contest as the hottest offense in the league putting up 48 points per game while topping the 50-point mark three times.
The biggest question was the ‘Hounds defense that has allowed 23 points per game, but has surrendered points in large volumes with 30 to Torrington, 35 to Woodland and 45 to Wolcott.
If Naugatuck expects to get their ticket punched to the state playoffs the defense needs to open the door. Last Friday in Derby the defense took the door off the hinges with five tackles for loss, five sacks and an interception all in the first half.
The much-anticipated shootout never materialized as the ‘Hounds offense scored touchdowns on all six first half possessions for a 42-7 halftime lead.
On the first series of the game Ricky Bartone blasted his way to a 9-yard pickup and Derby appeared to be on its way. That was before Kreiger was introduced to the Naugatuck defensive front as Socrates Ilunga, Logan Bond and P.J. Murphy held a reunion in the Derby backfield resulting in a drive ending 12-yard sack.
The ‘Hounds muffed their opening snap for a 2-yard loss, but that was the last negative play for the remainder of the half.
Bradley moved the chains on back-to-back 8-yard carries as the Red Raider defense chased him out of the pocket.
Bradley capped the opening drive by firing a pass right over the shoulder of Jalen Datil, who raced down the sideline for a 32-yard touchdown to put Naugatuck on top 6-0 with 7:50 left in the first quarter.
Kreiger showed his running abilities out of the pocket picking up 15 and 20 yards on back-to-back carries. The ‘Hounds defense quickly made the adjustment as Kreiger was held to 16 total yards on 15 carries in the game.
Derby get on the board when Kreiger rifled a pass that ricocheted off the shoulder pads of Ben Slowik into the arms of Brian Eliasson for a 9-yard score. Andy Sanchez booted the extra point for a 7-6 Derby lead with 5:05 left in the first.
The shootout looked like it had began but that would be the last time Derby would get near the end zone for the remainder of the half thanks to a pair of Socrates Ilunga sacks.
The Naugatuck defensive, spearheaded by Kevin Robinson, Aaron Yourison and Etty Ilunga, forced three Derby punts and a loss on downs.
From there, the Greyhounds’ offense took over.
Antoine Sistrunk provided balance rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Will Paul, David Kloc and Jack Reardon won the war in the trenches giving Bradley plenty of time to find his receivers.
Datil hauled in three catches for 52 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Bryan Coney added five catches, 149 yards and two touchdowns, including taking a 4-yard pass 77 yards to the house.
By the time Derby found the end zone again there was only 1:13 left in the third quarter when Slowik pulled in a six-yard touchdown pass. Tyler Deitlebaum concluded the Naugatuck scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter for the 48-13 final margin.
Naugatuck will be back in action Friday at Watertown for a 7 p.m. contest.
