Four Touchdowns, Fourth Straight Championship

The New Canaan Rams won their fourth consecutive CIAC Championship at Bunnell High School on Saturday with an impressive 28-0 win over East Lyme. The state record for consecutive CIAC championships is five, set by St. Josephs' from 1980-1984.

With their last three wins coming in games where the outcomes could have gone either way, New Canaan left no doubt about this one. The Rams dominated both sides of the ball and were operating on all cylinders from wire-to-wire.

They scored two touchdowns in the first half, one early and the other late.

Rams quarterback, Turner Baty, who was selected the Rams' most valuable player in the game, connected with Cody Newton for the first of four touchdown passes to cap a 70-yard opening drive. Mixing the running and passing game, the Baty-Newton touchdown clicked on an out-pattern for the score. It was Baty's 28th touchdown pass of the season and the tenth touchdown reception by Newton.

The steady rain was interrupted for a while by a steady snow which made gripping the ball difficult. Baty adjusted well to the slippery ball by often "cradling" it instead of gripping it.

The first quarter ended with the Rams up 7-0 after Colin Shapiro kicked the extra point.

The Rams defense was shutting down the Vikings' running game, in particular keeping their top two running backs-Kevin Maio and Jordan McCoy-from making big plays. Defenders were consistently gang tackling with three and four players usually combining for the stop.

The Rams' lead was still 7-0 when New Canaan forced a punt and started a drive from their own 37-yard line. Peter Park, a tough-yardage runner all day, ran it up the gut on one of many successful counter plays to East Lyme's 45. On the next play Park caught a Baty rollout pass and took it to the 20-yard line. Park and Baty carried on successive plays to the nine-yard line and on a first and goal. With 18 seconds left, it was Baty to Newton, who made a nice grab on a low ball for a 14-0 lead at the break after Shapiro kicked the extra point.

In the third quarter, after a Vikings punt, the Rams started a drive from their own 21. After another Baty-Newton completion, Park ran for a first down to the 48-yard line. Then Baty completed a screen to Willie Oullette. On the next play, Baty threw a 24-yard pass that cut through the rain and snow to an open Newton in the end zone for a 21-0 lead. Newton had a hat trick and Baty had his 25th touchdown pass of the season.

The third quarter was winding down when Ron Balzano intercepted a tipped Vikings' quarterback Jacob Grills' pass near midfield. It was 21-0 after three quarters.

The one touchdown per quarter stretched into the fourth. Tim Robustelli broke a run to the East Lyme 25. A Baty-Oullette completion took the Rams to the nine. After a rare penalty (there were only three in the game) Baty hooked up with Oullette from the 18 to make it 28-0 with just under eight minutes remaining.

Head Coach Lou Marinelli cleared his bench.

"The game plan worked from the start and we stuck with it-like Park on the counter which always gained yardage. All the guys were terrific," said John Marinelli (the head coach's son) who manned the phones between press box and sideline.

Head Coach Marinelli said afterwards, "scoring on our first possession was big. It gave our guys a big lift."

The win was especially sweet for the seniors who played on state championship teams for each of their four years.

"We understood the sacrifices we had to make to get here. I love these guys, so the feeling of winning four state titles in four years is unbelievable," said Senior co-captain Willie Oullette.

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KEY STATS:

Rushing:

• New Canaan—Turner Baty 5-58; Peter Park 11-53; Tim Robustelli 11-45; Daryl Cummings 5-33; Conor Goodwin 2-2

• East Lyme—Kevin Maio 14-48; Jordan McCoy 10-46; Jacob Grills 3-14

Passing:

• New Canaan—Baty 19-31-254, 1 interception
• East Lyme—Grills 4-9-231, 2 interceptions

Top Receivers:

• New Canaan—Newton 9-83; Oullette 5-72
• East Lyme—Calkins 2-19

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