Wildcats overwhelm Hawks

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Woodland’s Matt Mills (22) pulls in a 32-yard reception in front of Seymour’s Ian Sadick (13) on Thanksgiving eve at Seymour High School. Seymour defeated the Hawks, 56-8. -JIM SHANNON/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

SEYMOUR — The Seymour High football team had a whole lot to play for in its annual Thanksgiving eve rivalry matchup against Woodland, and the Wildcats sure played like it.

Seymour quarterback Ian Sadick accounted for six touchdowns as the Wildcats routed Woodland, 56-8, in the most lopsided game of the series’ 15-year history.

“I didn’t expect it to be that lopsided, to be honest,” said Seymour senior linebacker Andrew Nimo-Sefah, who recorded a sack and a team-high six tackles. “We came out and did what we had to do.”

Seymour blew open the game early, scoring 21 points in the first quarter en route to a 43-0 halftime lead. Woodland had entered the game on a three-game winning streak and could have knocked the Wildcats out of playoff contention.

Seymour qualified for the final spot in the Class S playoffs but was eliminated by Ansonia on Tuesday in a 51-16 blowout.

Sadick threw three touchdown passes to Tyler Ganim (39, 13 and 35 yards), one to Ethan Szersen (43 yards) and one to Jon Dumas (54 yards). Sadick also ran for a 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter and accounted for 246 total yards.

The Wildcats held Woodland to 113 yards in the first half. Edit Krivca led the Hawks with 92 yards rushing, including a 10-yard score to end the third quarter. Nick Rousseau added 40 yards on eight carries, and Tyler Bulinski completed six of 11 passes for 85 yards.

Woodland’s Nicholas Rousseau (26) runs for a first down through the Seymour defense on Thanksgiving eve at Seymour High School. Seymour defeated the Hawks, 56-8. -JIM SHANNON/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Seymour has beaten Woodland three straight times to claim an 8-7 lead in holiday matchups. The Wildcats hold a 9-7 overall lead in the series, including a win in the 2007 Class SS semifinals, and have scored more than 50 points in each of those three straight victories.

The Hawks finished their season with a 5-5 record, a four-game improvement from a 1-9 mark in 2016. Three of those defeats came to playoff qualifiers (Seymour, Naugatuck and Watertown).

Woodland was led all season by senior linemen and captains Joe Kmetz, Jackson Henry and Justin Morrone, as well as senior running back Ben Nuss, senior defensive back Matt Mills, senior utility player Kyle Knobel and senior linemen Michael Benavides and Tom Faryniarz.

“The guys worked hard, showed up every day and got better each week,” Woodland coach Chris Moffo said. “The seniors are a good group — hard workers, says a lot about them. They are leaving big shoes to fill.”