Blue Wave Football Captures Third State Title in a Row

By Will Pegler

This past Saturday, December 9th at Boyle Stadium in the snow, the Blue Wave football team knocked off the undefeated Greenwich Cardinals in the Class LL state championship, beating them 31-22.

Jack Joyce celebrates his big touchdown run 

The wave's high powered offense struck early and often from all angles, the first score coming from a Jack Joyce pass caught with one hand by junior Tyler Herget that was later featured on ESPN's Top 10 plays.  The defensive unit made easy work of quarterback Gavin Muir and the rest of the Greenwich offense, quickly getting the ball back to the Wave. Senior quarterback Jack Joyce was soon able to take advantage of a huge hole created by the offensive line and went untouched for a 40 yard scamper to the end zone, putting Darien on top 14-0.

The Greenwich offense was finally able to gain some momentum and score a touchdown, but the score was soon countered when (guess who!) Jack Joyce threw a 25 yard lob pass to junior TJ Cornacchia on a beautifully run hitch-and-go route, right in front of the elated Darien student section.

Greenwich wide receiver Jael Negron made a leaping catch late in the second quarter to put the game back within one possession, but the Cardinals failed two point conversion left the score at 21-13 in Darien's favor.

The student section erupts after
TJ Cornacchia's big time
touchdown grab. (Courtesy DAF) 

With one second left in the first half, junior linebacker Connor Fay scooped up a dropped snap by the Greenwich punter and leapt into the end zone, that is, everyone thought so besides the referee. After this questionable call, the Wave went into the locker room leading 21-13.

The second half of this game can be described in one word, gritty. As the snow started to fall even harder both offenses started to struggle to hold onto the ball, as points came at a premium for both sides. Oddly enough, kicking became a huge part of the game, and senior kicker Austin Hagander came up huge for the Wave. Hagander knocked in all four of his extra points and was able to hit a huge 36 yard kick late in the game, looking like Adam Vinateri of the Indianapolis Colts.

The Cardinals scored nine points in the second half, coming from three big time boots by their kicker. Despite this, the Wave's defense was relentless. Seniors Alex Dehmel, Peter Guttusso, and Connor Tienken led the secondary and gave no room for Greenwich wide outs to make plays. The defensive line was also unbelievable, as seniors Mike Neary, Charlie Zuro, and Sean O'Malley were constantly getting into the backfield and putting pressure on Greenwich's quarterback Muir.

The Wave held the lead for the entirety of the game, but Greenwich was able to hang around for most of it. The finishing touches were finally made when Darien's fearsome d-line sacked Muir and forced the Cardinals to turn the ball over on downs, allowing senior running back Mitch Pryor to truck his way into the end zone for the final score.

There were obviously a lot of distractions for this team to deal with throughout the state playoff and in the weeks prior. But the Blue Wave were able to block out all the noise coming from all directions and just play ball. Credit goes out to the entire team, especially the seniors, for being able to come together and prove why they're still the number one team in the state.

Senior captain Mike Neary was extremely proud of the squad, he said; "We just believed in ourselves and kept each other in our hearts. We played for each other and made it happen."

Senior Mitch Pryor, also a captain, shared Neary's sentiments; "The team pulled together in an unimaginable way. I couldn't be more proud of how we played next man up so well. How we played with more motivation and heart than every single opponent."

In other state playoff news: as the Wave captured their third straight state title, the New Canaan Rams lost to Masuk 28-14 in the Class L state semifinals.