Greenwich rallies to beat Shelton

NEW HAVEN — If Saturday night's Class LL final between state heavyweights Greenwich and Shelton was a boxing match, the early rounds would have went to the second-seeded Gaels, convincingly.

Yet, the defending champion Cardinals absorbed those early body blows and dominated the second half with a flurry of big plays from Jim Dunster that stunned the Gaels. When it was over, the Cardinals had piled up 28 unanswered points in a 28-14 victory in front of 4,434 at Jess Dow Field.

The title is the second in a row for Greenwich and seventh overall.

Dunster finished with three second-half touchdowns. "We weren't playing Cardinal football," Dunster said. "We got some good speeches at halftime and came back ready to go."

The game actually turned on a dime with 1:28 left in the first half. Trailing 14-0 and facing a fourth and 7 from the Shelton 44, Greenwich quarterback Tucker Stafford rolled right and aired it out for receiver Ricky Riscica, who out-jumped a pair of Gaels defenders for a spectacular touchdown grab.

"They had us befuddled on defense," said Greenwich coach Rich Albonizio, whose team finished 11-1. "I knew at that point, we needed to make a play."

The big plays continued when Dunster returned the opening kick of the second half with a darting 79-yard run to make it 14-14, leaving Shelton (10-2) stunned. Dunster might have topped himself 13 minutes later. After a false start penalty by Shelton turned a fourth-and-inches near midfield into a punting

situation, Greenwich marched 69 yards in 12 plays, mainly behind fullback Jonathan Meyers. On second and goal from the six, Dunster fumbled the pitch and appeared headed for at least a 10-yard loss. The senior recovered, reversed field and, aided by a crushing block by Stafford, raced around the left side to put the Cardinals ahead 21-14 with 2:17 left in the quarter. "I got lucky and broke it," said Dunster, who finished with 50 yards on nine carries. And if there was any doubt lingering just how far the momentum had swung, after pinning Greenwich on its own four, Meyers took a sweep up the left sideline for 68 yards on the next play. It set up a 3-yard touchdown scamper by Dunster with 8:12 left to make it 28-14. Greenwich ended with 11 second-half first downs to Shelton's 5. After being bottled up for only 39 yards in the first half, Meyers ended up rumbling for 161 yards on 19 carries.

Shelton started strong, echoing its 21-0 first-half lead over Southington before eventually hanging on for a 21-19 win in Tuesday's semifinal. "There were a couple times I thought we could have jumped on (Greenwich) and put them away," Shelton coach Jeff Roy said. "They're a good team and made the big plays."

Andre Henderson put the Gaels ahead 6-0 on a 1-yard touchdown plunge at the 7:20 mark, capping a crisp 11-play, 66-yard drive to start the game. Phil Konopka went 3-for-3 on the drive for 41 yards. The senior quarterback finished 16-of-32 for 190 yards. Midway through the second quarter, Geoff Schultz doubled the Gaels' lead on a 12-yard run off right tackle aided by a short field, thanks to a short Cardinals punt from their own end zone. Schultz caught Konopka's conversion pass to make it 14-0 with 8:09 left in the half. Aside from the long touchdown grab by Riscica, Shelton held Greenwich in check in the first half, limiting the Cardinals' powerful offense to 67 yards on six possessions.

Schultz, the Shelton workhorse, finished with 85 yards on 17 carries. He only managed 5 yards in the second half and lost a fumble. Henderson ended with 26 yards. Alex Benedito chipped in with eight catches for Shelton .

Class LL final at Southern Connecticut

SHELTON6 8 0 0 — 14
GREENWICH0 7 14 7 — 28
S — Andre Henderson 1 run (kick failed)
S — Geoff Schultz 12 run (Schultz pass Phil Konopka)
G — Ricky Riscica 44 pass Tucker Stafford (John Morelli kick)
G — Jim Dunster 79 kickoff return (Morelli kick)
G — Dunster 6 run (Morelli kick)\
G — Dunster 3 run (Morelli kick)
Records: Shelton 10-2; Greenwich 11-1