Woodland dominates Torrington, 34-12

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Woodland's Jack DeBiase delivers a stiff arm to Torrington's Garrett Perusse during the Hawks' 34-12 win on Friday.
Woodland's Jack DeBiase delivers a stiff arm to Torrington's Garrett Perusse during the Hawks' 34-12 win on Friday.

BEACON FALLS – Some nights, everything clicks. Friday was one of those nights for Woodland. The Hawks dominated Torrington through and through, notching a 34-12 win over the Red Raiders to improve to 4-2 on the year and keep their Class SS state playoff hopes alive.

The Hawks’ money man, junior tailback Jack DeBiase, provided the bulk of the offense with four touchdowns, but the Woodland offense emerged from its mostly one-dimensional DeBiase attack and incorporated the arm of senior quarterback Steve Petracca and the legs of senior wingback Brandon Fowler to piece together one of its most impressive efforts of the season.

After falling behind, 6-0, on a 48-yard run by Torrington quarterback Chris DeBerry, Woodland reeled off three straight scores—a 4-yard run by DeBiase set up by a 42-yard pass play between he and Petracca, a 4-yard hookup between DeBiase and Petracca after an 11-play drive, and a 2-yard gallop by DeBiase set up by an 18-yard dash by Fowler—to take a 20-6 lead into the half.

DeBerry cut the Hawks’ lead to one score with a 1-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter, and it looked as though the Raiders were poised to pull even closer after an interception of Petracca. But DeBiase forced a fumble on the pick return, regaining possession for the Hawks, who capitalized two plays later on a 75-yard touchdown gallop by Fowler to stretch the lead to 27-12 with 1:34 left in the third.

The Woodland defense held firm throughout the fourth quarter, forcing a pair of turnovers on downs, a punt, and a fumble, the last of which the Hawks used to set up their final score, a 6-yard romp by DeBiase to seal a 34-12 victory.

The Hawks will now enjoy a long week, traveling to Bristol to take on St. Paul Catholic on Halloween afternoon. The Falcons are 5-1 and also jockeying for playoff positioning in Class MM. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.