TRUMBULL – The speculation began the minute New Canaan QB Nick Cascione was diagnosed with a concussion two weeks ago against Wilton.
Will he play? Will he be effective if he does play? Will he be able to take a hit?
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The senior signal caller wasted no time in answering all of the above with an emphatic, unequivocal “yes.”
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Led by Cascione’s MVP performance - 3 touchdowns (1 passing, 2 running), including a 76-yard TD bomb on his first play from scrimmage - the New Canaan Rams defeated the St. Joseph Cadets 31-20 at McDougall Stadium to win the 2013 FCIAC Championship.
“I just think that this is a great thing, and I can’t tell you how happy we are that we won this,” said New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli, who added his 8th FCIAC title in his 33 year career. “It’s nice to get back here again and be able to do it, especially with this senior class, who have been so special and done such a great job this year.”
Perhaps there was no performance more special in the championship game than Cascione’s, who was listed as doubtful right up until kickoff. The dual-threat QB completed 10 of 23 passes for 141 yards and 1 TD. He also gained 117 yards on the ground on 19 carries with 2 TD’s, and garnered game MVP honors.
“That’s storybook right there,” said Marinelli. “We weren’t sure if he was going to come back this week. And he’s the MVP. He always plays with a lot of heart, and it really showed tonight.”
In addition to Cascione’s impressive stats, RB Frank Cognetta gained 176 yards on 25 carries, including 1 TD as the Rams outgained the Cadets 337-200 on the ground.
“The MVP should really go to the entire offensive line,” said Cascione. “They gave me time all day, and they were opening holes for the running game.”
After stopping the Cadets on the opening drive of the game, New Canaan went for the jugular right out of the gate. Cascione hit Kyle Smith in stride on the first Rams play from scrimmage for a 76-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.
“It was just a little thing where we wanted to get the sophomore a touchdown right off the bat,” said Cascione. “It felt tremendous. I mean, coming back after two weeks off, throwing a touchdown immediately felt great. It gave me a little bit of confidence right away.”
Even so, the St. Joe’s defense was able to hold New Canaan in check for the rest of the 1st quarter. And after Cadet QB Jordan Vazzano hit Lars Pedesen on a 41-yard bomb to the New Canaan 10-yard line, they tied the score at 7-7 on an 8-yard Vazzano-Pederson hookup on the first play of the 2nd quarter.
After trading interceptions, New Canaan was able to regain the lead. Cognetta capped off a nine-play, 63-yard drive with an 8-yard run, giving the Rams a 14-7 advantage with 6:28 left in the half.
After holding St. Joe’s to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, New Canaan looked to be heading to the end zone again, as they drove 62 yards to the Cadets 2-yard line with time winding down in the half.
Disaster struck, however when St. Joe’s recovered a Rams fumble on first-and-goal. Four plays later Vazzano found Shane Miller, who slipped behind the Rams secondary for an 80-yard strike, setting up first-and-goal at the New Canaan 6. On the next play, Vazzano hit Mark Hirschbeck in the end zone to pull even at 14. For only the second time this season, New Canaan went into halftime tied.
The two teams came out of halftime and traded punts on the first two posessions. New Canaan would find some rythym on their second drive of the 3rd quarter, moving the length of the field from their own 5-yard line to the St. Joe’s 8. The Cadets defense stepped up and forced another New Canaan fumble. The momentum seemed to swing back to the Cadets.
At this exact moment…tied at 14, less than 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, season on the line, former New Canaan High QB Matt Ready said to me, “this is where real players make plays. Let’s see who steps up.”
Enter Mike DiCosmo.
The senior defensive back dropped back into coverage, and reading Vazzano perfectly picked off the pass and returned it to the St. Joe’s 7-yard line. Two plays later Cascione ran it in for a 1-yard TD and New Canaan had a 21-14 lead.
“Mike DiCosmo is one of the better backs in the league,” said Marinelli. “He had an interception in the last game against them, and we try to match him up with their best receivers. Big players make big plays at big times and that’s exactly what he did.”
The game remained 21-14 as both defenses stiffened through the end of the 3rd quarter. After New Canaan moved the ball to the Cadets 20-yard line, Peter Swindell drilled a 37-yard FG to give the Rams the all-important two-possession, 24-14 lead with 8:29 left in the game.
After Alex LaPolice set up New Canaan with great field position with his 26-yard punt return to the Cadets 32-yard line, Cascione would complete the hat trick. A 7-yard run would give New Canaan a 31-14 lead.
St. Joe’s had a glimmer of hope left after RB Mufasa Abdul-Basir reeled off a 50-yard TD run to pull the Cadets within 31-20 with 3:36 remaining in the game. That said, the combination of a missed extra point and Cole Turpin’s recovery of the ensuing onside kick sealed the Cadets fate.
New Canaan was able to run off more than a minute of time, and after stopping St. Joe’s on fourth-and-4 with 1:20 left, the Rams went into victory formation. The FCIAC championship belonged to New Canaan.
“It feels great,” said New Canaan captain Joao Rocha. “It was a hard battle, we knew that coming into this. They were ready for us, and it just feels great to win a close one.”
“I’m happy with the win,” said Marinelli. “It wasn’t one of our best games. We had some faux pas that we normally don’t have. But that’s OK. The bottom line is that we had more points than them.”
-Terry Dinan
1 2 3 4 TOT
ST. JOSEPH 0 14 0 6 20
NEW CANAAN 7 7 7 10 31
NC – Smith 76-yd. pass from Cascione (Swindell kick)
SJ – Pedersen 8-yd. pass from Vazzano (Bortnick kick)
NC – Cognetta 8-yd. run (Swindell kick)
SJ – Hirschbeck 6-yd. pass from Vazzano (Bortnick kick)
NC – Cascione 1-yd. run (Swindell kick)
NC – Swindell 37-yd. FG
NC – Cascione 7-yd. run (Swindell kick)
SJ – Abdul-Basir 50-yd. run (kick failed)
NC – 11-0
SJ – 9-2
New Canaan will next look to avenge last year’s loss to Darien in the Turkey Bowl. The game will be played at Dunning Field on Thanksgiving, kickoff is at 10:30.
