TRUMBULL — Top-seeded Seymour held on despite a late scoring surge by second-seeded Tolland for a 44-34 victory Saturday night at Trumbull to capture the Class SS championship.

Rob Moir was all Seymour needed on the offensive side, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more. Moir capped his day with a 37-yard touchdown run to put Seymour up 10 with just over two minutes left to play.

"We knew we were in for a game, even though everyone was being down on Tolland," Moir said. "Everybody on that team played hard and I have a new level of respect for them."

Tolland drew within two points late in the fourth quarter with two scoring drives orchestrated by quarterback Matt Gavin. Chris Leonard added 198 yards rushing and one touchdown for Tolland.

The Seymour offense started off strong, failing to score on just one drive in the first half. Penalties held back the Seymour offense throughout the second half, leading to just one score for the Wildcats.

The Eagles' defense came out fired up and looking to shut down Moir in the second half. Tolland came away with three big fourth down stops to help the fourth quarter comeback attempt.

In the end, however, the Seymour offense was more than they could handle.

Rich Spader caught three touchdown passes from Moir, including a 53-yard reception in the first half. The Wildcats and Eagles traded blows early in the game, each responding to the other team's touchdowns with one of their own.

A big fourth down

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stop by Seymour gave the Wildcats all the momentum and a quick pass from Moir to Spader added a touchdown and put them ahead 34-18 going into the half.

Seymour remained aggressive throughout the game, going for it on fourth down and attempting a onsides kick, even with a big lead in the fourth quarter.

As the team got down on itself midway through the fourth quarter when a fake punt run on fourth and 10 for a touchdown got called back.

A pass from Matt Gavin to Matt Bair helped the Eagles draw within two late in the fourth quarter, but Moir's touchdown and a big defensive stop in the red zone by Seymour kept the game just out of reach.

Class SS championship

TOLLAND12 6 0 16 — 34
SEYMOUR14 22 0 8 — 44
S — Rob Moir 57 run (run failed)
T — Chris Leonard 51 run (pass failed)
T — Matt Gavin 23 run (pass failed)
S — Rich Spader 46 pass Moir (Moir run)
S — Joe Gumberwicz 24 run (Green pass Moir)
T — John Brow 5 pass Gavin (run failed)
S — Spader 53 pass Moir (Moir run)
S — Spader 20 pass Moir (run failed)
T — Gavin 1 run (Gavin run)
T — Matt Bair 7 pass Gavin (Gavin run)
S — Moir 37 run (Moir run)
Records: Tolland 9-3; Seymour 11-1.