Darien Blanks Trumbull 21-0 In FCIAC Title Game Rematch

It's too early, of course, to talk about a return trip to the FCIAC championship game, but the Darien football team boasts a 5-0 record at the midpoint of the season.

Henry Baldwin tossed three touchdown passes Saturday -- two to Matt Forelli - as the Blue Wave blanked Trumbull 21-0 on an emotional day at Darien High School.

Before the game, a moment of silence was observed in the memory of legendary former Trumbull coach Jerry McDougall, who passed away on Wednesday morning.

"Jerry was always a mentor to be," said Darien coach Rob Trifone, who played against McDougall when he was a student at the old Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield. "He was a classic character, just a great guy and so good to all of us FCIAC coaches. We're going to miss him a lot."

Saturday was especially emotional for Trumbull coach Bob Maffei, who served under McDougall for nearly 20 years before getting the head job.

"I'm sorry we disappointed him today," Maffei said, "but I know one thing, whenver coach McDougall was coaching and we lost a game, he had the right words to say, so I'm going to have to find the right words to say to my kids today."

Darien, which also beat Trumbull 17-7 in last year's FCIAC title game, prevailed Saturday despite committing four turnovers and numerous penalties. The difference was Baldwin being able to make a few plays.
 
"He's a wonderful kid," Trifone said. "Last year, we saw the potential in him. We felt he was still a year away, but he's so poised out there, runs the offensive flawlessly for the most part. He's comes over and tells me when he makes a mistake, which you don't get a lot of kids to do, so he's a pleasure to coach and a big reason why we're 5-0."

The first two TD passes came on the same play - deep routes in the corner of the end zone to Forelli, who made a diving grab for the first score with 7:01 left in the first half.

"We thought our receivers could handle their corners because all of our receivers are about 6-foot-3 and we thought we could go over the top on them," said Baldwin, who finished 10-of-17 for 131 yards. "That was a good matchup for us and we hit it twice."

The contest started out as a punting duel with each team also coming up with interceptions in its territory in the first quarter to turn back scoring opportunities (Trumbull committed three turnovers and turned the ball twice on downs inside the Blue Wave's 30.

But Baldwin got untracked on Darien's first scoring drive, completing 5-of-6 passes for 62 yards on an eight-play, 82-yard  march, including a 16-yard TD strike to Forelli on 2nd-and-1.

"It was 2nd-and-1 and I just wanted to take a shot," Baldwin said. "That's what the coaches told me - take a shot because we had third down if we missed it, so we just threw it up there and he went and got it."

After an exchange of punts, Andrew Maley's interception at the Eagles' 34 set up Baldwin's 19-yard TD pass to Forelli with 2:02 remaining in the second quarter that gave Darien a 14-0 halftime lead.

Unable to generate much offense, the Eagles tried a faked punt on 4th-and-11 from their 48 early in the fourth quarter, but  Michael Uus was stopped for a 3-yard line.

That play led to Baldwin's third TD pass, a 25-yard strike to Peter Gesualdi just
three plays later. Gesualdi led Darien on the ground with 84 yards on 12 carries.

The Blue Wave graduated 17 starters from last year's squad, but Baldwin is not the least bit surprised the Blue Wave are 5-0.

"We didn't get much press from anyone, no one thought we would be that good, but we worked really hard," he said. "Our team might be worker harder than the team last year and I think the sky is the limit for us. No one knew any of the kids on the team from lastyear. Barely any juniors or sophomores played, but this year everyone is stepping in and doing their job."

After not having much success through the air in the first half -- Nick Roberts and Uus were a combined 5-of-16 for 66 yards -  the Eagles tried to establish a ground game in the second half behind hard-nosed running back Don Cherry, who finished with 100 tough yards on 23 carries.

"(Cherry) got a few runs," Trifone said, "but for the most part, I think we were able to keep him caged up."

Still. Trumbull's deepest penetration came on its final possession when the Eagles reached Darien's 20-yard line after a pass interference penalty, and it's not every day you win a game with four turnovers, much less get a shutout.