Nicolas Longo of Wolcott High gets taken down by #33 Michael Morrissey of St Joseph during 1st quarter football action of the CIAC Class M quarterfinal in Wolcott Tuesday.
Steven Valenti Republican-American
BY MARK JAFFEE
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WOLCOTT — The anticipated inclement weather never hit Wolcott Tuesday night. But the projected playmakers for the St Joseph High football team certainly made a severe impact and lasting impression.
That wasn’t good news for Wolcott as the visiting Cadets scored 20 fourth-quarter points to seal a 48-21 victory over the fourth-seeded Eagles in the Class M state quarterfinals.
Junior wide receiver Jared Mallozzi caught touchdown passes of 61 and 25 yards from quarterback Cory Babineau, recorded five receptions for 156 yards and also set up the Cadets’ first touchdown with a 76-yard return on the opening kickoff.
But Mallozzi wasn’t the only star. Babineau rushed for two scores and freshman tailback Jaden Shirden ran for 120 yards and three TDs, including two late in the fourth quarter.
The Cadets led, 28-21, entering the fourth quarter.
“I knew coming in that St. Joseph had a lot of quality playmakers and were able to score points fast,” said Wolcott coach Jason Pace. “And (Mallozzi) seemed to always make a big play when they needed one.”
So did the Cadets’ defense, which came up with two fourth-quarter interceptions, by Robbie Miller and Ace Luzietti. The defense also stopped two scoring drives in the red zone, once in the first half when safety Nick Osborne deflected a fourth-down pass in the end zone.
Osborne said the Cadets showed their resolve after decisively losing to Trumbull on Thanksgiving, costing them a home playoff game.
“We had to block the loss out of our minds. When we practiced the past four days, we had three solid hours each day where we were very focused,” said Osborne. “We realized that we couldn’t just click on the switch on game night and get good results. We had to be ready. I think we were.”
“Everyone contributed,” added Babineau.
In the first quarter, Shirden was stopped behind the line of scrimmage in the end zone by Wolcott’s Bobby Steckert for a safety that kept the Eagles in the game, 7-2.
“Jared is something special,” said Mallozzi. “He never gets down on himself. He just keeps playing hard.”
After the safety, Wolcott followed with a Ray Iorio touchdown run following the free kick and Dylan Prescott’s PAT kick gave the Eagles an 8-7 edge. Babineau had a 1-yard plunge and Luke Kirby’s PAT kick made it 14-8.
Wolcott senior Steven Urbanski then caught a 37-yard TD pass and Prescott’s PAT gave the 15-14 edge with 18.6 seconds left in the first quarter.
“When we got behind, we knew that we could come back,” said Babineau. “Our defense made some stops and the offensive line made some holes for Jaden, and Jared also made things happen.”
Urbanski caught his second TD on an 8-yard rollout by Michael Polzella, and Iorio ran for 196 yards on 38 carries in the game.
“We got back into the game after being down early and I was very proud of the effort we gave,” said Iorio. “We knew that St. Joseph was a very good team. We were still in the game in the fourth quarter, but we weren’t able to capitalize at the end. We still had a very good season.”
The Eagles, who graduated the core of their players from 2015 and had only 10 seniors this year, including Urbanski, Stoeckert and Justin Fernandes, ended their season at 8-3. This was the fourth playoff appearance in coach Jason Pace’s six-year tenure.
“The leaders and core of our team are our seniors,” said Pace. “They were our heart and soul. They did a great job of leading our underclassmen. I’m very proud of everyone’s effort tonight and throughout the season.”
Reach Mark Jaffee at mjaffee@rep-am.com or follow him on Twitter at the RealJaffman.