BY KYLE BRENNAN There was no way to sugarcoat the Seymour High football team’s 42-7 defeat to Rocky Hill in Monday’s Class S state semifinals, so Wildcats coach Tom Lennon didn’t try.
“Bottom line, they whooped us,” Lennon said after Seymour exited short of a state championship appearance for the second straight year. “That is a hell of a football team. We knew what they were going to throw at us, but they played their butts off.”
No. 4-seeded Rocky Hill (11-1) will square off against No. 2 Ansonia (12-0) in the Class S final Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. It will be the Terriers’ first appearance in a championship game.
The Terriers dominated from the first play from scrimmage, when Grant Nieves popped a 63-yard run to the Seymour 9. He punched it in on the next play to give Rocky Hill a 7-0 lead just 27 seconds into the game.
“That was not ideal,” Lennon said of the first play. “We did a good job at the point of attack, but on a run (to the) left, he bent it all the way to the back-side B-gap. He did a great job.”
That touchdown was all Rocky Hill’s speedy defense needed. In a first-half shutout, the Terriers forced five turnovers on downs, and Dante Baker recorded a strip-sack on Seymour’s Jaylen Kelley for their lone takeaway.
“As soon as we get the first score of the game, our defense gets a lot more confident,” said Rocky Hill linebacker Ricky Montalvo, who recorded a sack. “We get a lot more aggressive and a lot more energetic.”
Rocky Hill outgained Seymour on the ground, 312-83, in the first half to mount a 35-0 lead. By the end of the game, which was expedited by the running clock that began midway through the third quarter, that rushing-yardage lead had become 425-154.
“We knew that (Kelley and Bobby Melms) were their keys,” Montalvo said. “We just had to contain them and tackle them. Whoever was going to tackle better and block better was going to win the game.
Joe Catania carried 16 times for 216 yards and two touchdowns, while Nieves added 14 carries for 184 yards and three scores.
“Being in the backfield with Grant is a blessing,” Catania said. “Every single game, I learn something new from watching him run, and he learns something new from watching me run. Blocking for him is amazing, and running to see him in the end zone is even better.”
Rocky Hill physically beat up on Seymour’s defense with a tight double-wing offense.
“They’re just sending waves of bodies in there,” Lennon said. “They kind of hide behind it and you think you’ve got it bottled up. That offense is tough to stop. We’ve seemed to have success in the past against it, but they took it to us.”
Seymour faced its 35-0 halftime deficit despite being even in the turnover department and not punting in the first half. Five of its six first-half possessions ended in Rocky Hill territory.
But Kelley only managed 79 yards on 22 carries and 209 yards on 9-of-16 passing, and Melms was held to 75 yards on 21 attempts.
Seymour was seeking its first state championship berth since 2008. Its season ended in the state semifinals for the second straight year. The Wildcats lost to eventual champion Bloomfield last season.
“We have to keep our heads high,” Lennon said. “My senior class — not many people get to play in a semifinal game, and we’ve been here back-to-back years. I’m proud as hell of them. I would have loved to play Saturday, but it wasn’t in the cards for us.
“I think Coach (Tom) Brockett and the Chargers are going to have their hands full this weekend,” Lennon added. “It’s going to be a great game and tough football.”
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Rocky ending for Seymour in ‘S’ semis
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