Eva Criscuolo
This year, for the 14th year in a row, the state football playoffs included Darien High School, and historic rival, New Canaan High School, in the annual, and legendary Turkey Bowl Thanksgiving morning game. This year the game took place in Stamford’s Boyle Stadium. Darien entered the game with an undefeated record of 9-0, while New Canaan entered with a respectable count of 7-2. The New Canaan Rams went into the game seeking a spot in the playoffs, while Darien Blue Wave desired a secure spot at hosting the quarterfinal playoff game at home. Darien desired payback for their shutdown by New Canaan in the previous year’s match up of 27-0. However, despite a valiant effort on the part of DHS, New Canaan bested us, 17-14. The team’s loss in the Turkey Bowl marked its first loss all season, leaving the team 46-2 over the past four seasons with only two defeats that both came in the last two Turkey Bowls. The issue that marked this year’s game was turnovers. The Wave lost the ball on three interceptions. Two were lost to new Canaan player, Charlie Cunney, and one was lost to New Canaan player, Drew Guida. Defense played a strong game on Darien’s part, but offense lacked the strength necessary to take down the Rams. The game reached a turning point on a pair of fumbles in the fourth quarter, both, unfortunately, went New Canaan’s way. With DHS leading 14-7, New Canaan running back J.R. Moore broke free for a 10 yard run, yet the ball had jarred loose, due in part, to a tackle by Darien linebacker Sam Wilson. Wave player, Will Bothwell, emerged out of the pile with the ball, however, after a conference, the referees rewarded possession to New Canaan. Darien’s defense managed to keep the Rams from entering the end zone, however, kicker Nicholas Radman booted a 28-yard field goal to close the gap to 14-10, with only 9:47 remaining. New Canaan's Harrison Skyrm sacked DHS quarterback Cooper Hancock, leading to a forced fumble. The fumble was quickly scooped up and returned by Kieran Buck to the Wave 20-yard line. Two plays passed, and Pyne discovered Wilson was wide open for the go-ahead touchdown with about seven minutes remaining. Darien’s next possession ended up going nowhere, however, on the team’s final drive, Hancock managed to hook up with receiver T.J. Cornacchia for a 50-yard pass to New Canaan’s 20-yard line. Hancock proceeded and hit Herget for 10 yards and a first down at New Canaan's 10 with only a minute left. New Canaan’s defense, unfortunately, greatly stepped up their efforts, and the game came to an end when Kirby’s field goal attempt went wide. Team member, Sofia Bender, said, “I feel like the Varsity team had a lot of pressure on their shoulders because they wanted to defeat their rival in the biggest game of the year. The team also wanted to meet the coaches expectations. Yet, at the same time, the team played really well, considering the amount of pressure they had on top of them. They played a tough opponent and the score was super close, which shows the huge amount of effort they put throughout the game”. The team has had a good season, and played a good game despite their loss. Hopefully, they will do well in with what is left of the season.
Darien’s Will Kirby goes head-to-head with New Canaan’s Dean Ciancio during the Turkey Bowl football game Thursday at Boyle Stadium in Stamford. — Scott Mullin photo
Credit: Darien Times
DAF coverage of the entire game
Next game : November 27th
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