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Sports

End Of The Line For WHS Football [VIDEO]

Lancers Lose 26-0 To Ledyard, As Waterford Still Waits For Its First Playoff Victory

One team entered with four state titles and nine state final appearances. One entered with two playoff berths and no CIAC state post-season football wins in its history.

Though the squads appeared somewhat evenly matched, splitting two close games in the last two seasons, Ledyard entered its Class M quarterfinal game versus Waterford armed the confidence of pedigree on its side. So the last thing the Lancers needed was a disastrous opening to squash its psyche.

But that's exactly what happened, and Waterford-Ledyard rematch was nearly over before it started.

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Waterford fumbled the opening kickoff and Ledyard punched it in for a quick touchdown. It was all uphill for the Lancers after that. Capitalizing with the wind at its back, Ledyard jumped to a 20-0 lead after 14 minutes. The running of Alex Manwaring, excellent special teams play and Ledyard's underrated suffocating defense never gave the Lancers a scintilla of hope in a 26-0 victory Tuesday at Bill Mignault Field.

"We grabbed the momentum right from the get-go with the turnover and quick score," Manwaring said. "The wind was a factor having it at our back  and helped pin them at their side of the field and shortens the field for our offense. Our start was huge."

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Ledyard (10-1) advances to Saturday's M semifinals against Wolcott, an 8-3 team from the Naugatuck Valley League which beat Ellington/Somers co-op, 32-26, in overtime. Top-ranked Ansonia meets Berlin in the other semi. Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore didn't know who the Colonels would play right after the game when he addressed the team. And he didn't care.

"That was our first step and a big step that we took," Buonocore said. "Now we play on Saturday. I don't know who against but it doesn't matter. I know you're going to be running on to Rentschler Field (for the final, Dec. 10)."

The Colonels looked the part of a finalist. Late in the first quarter after a short Waterford punt into the wind put the ball at its 40, Manwaring's 25 yard run and John Rainey's 12-yard pass to Slade Baxley put the ball inside the 5. Two player later, Rainey snuck in from the 1 behind center Evan Stockmon. Andy Lee's kick made it 14-0 with 1:49 left.

Ledyard's defense, led by linebackers Matt Daggett (one interception) and Dallas Smith, and linemen Josh Lawrence, Bob Bozym and Cal Williams (two sacks) among others, stopped Waterford on the ensuing drive before Buonocore called a timeout with seconds left in the quarter. That forced Waterford to punt just 10 yards into the wind on the quarter's last play.

The Colonels needed to drive just 30 yards in four plays, scoring on Rainey's 12-yard TD pass to Smith, the tight end, just over a minute into the second quarter. John Palladino blocked the conversion kick to keep it at 20-0, which was probably the game's high point for Waterford.

It was not the performance Waterford coach Mike Ellis envisioned after giving Ledyard fits in a 15-7 loss in early November and beating NFA and East Lyme from the ECC Large down the regular season stretch.

"We just did not play as tough as we normally play," Ellis said. "They were pushing the ball, getting first downs and blowing our guys off the ball which usually doesn't happen to us. That gives you an idea, credit to them, their offensive line, and showed our mindset at that point."

The Lancers produced a couple of first downs late in the second quarter when quarterback Brian Gencarelli hit Chris Jones for 10 yards and Kobey Coburn for a 22-yard pass to cross midfield for the first time. Daggett ended the bid with an interception just before halftime.

Waterford (7-4) also showed some fire early in the third quarter, forcing Ledyard three and out and compiling its longest offensive gain, a Gencarelli 24-yard run, before stalling. Manwaring (25 carries for 163 yards) capped the scoring with a pretty 31-yard TD run, starting off left guard and cutting across the field to the right sideline.

"That was darn impressive," Buonocore said. "It's not easy beating a team for the second time."

The Lancers did not play a single game at Waterford High School all season, The homecoming game was played at the Coast Guard Academy.

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