Fairfield Giants Fall in Championship Game

Fairfield Giants Fall Short In SCPW Championship Game

PEE WEE (9-2)

FAIRFIELD 12 Trumbull 24

The Fairfield Pee Wee team came into the Southern Ct Championship as the No 1 seed vs Trumbull the No 2 seed. The two had faced off once during the regular season, with Fairfield coming out on top in a dominating 30-6 victory. Saturday’s battle played out to be just the opposite!

Fairfield drew first blood on their opening possession as QB Nick Morris hit RB Peter Strang on 55 yard TD pass (PAT blocked). taking a 6-0 lead 5 mins into the game. On the ensuing Trumbull possession, CB Tyler Hibberd intercepted a Ranger pass, streaking down the sideline before being taken down at the Trumbull 5 yd line. Fairfield would punch in another TD 2 plays later as RB Michael Innaimo took a counter off tackle and in for the score (PAT blocked), making the score 12-0 at the end of Q1.

Then things became interesting. Trumbull would fumble on their next possession, with Fairfield recovering on the Trumbull 25 yd line. The Head Referee signaled for a first down in Fairfields possession. Both teams switched units on the change of possession call. But, before the Giants could snap the ball, the sideline judge apparently overruled the Head Referee, signaling that the runners knee was down before the ball came out, allowing Trumbull to maintain offensive possession. This scandalous call was all the Rangers needed to gain momentum and deflate the high flying Giants team.

Two plays after the reversed call, Trumbull would score on a 60 yd pass (PAT blocked) making the score 12-6 mid-way thru Q2. The Rangers would then score two more times on long runs talking a 18-12 lead into halftime.
Q3 was a battle within the 40’s, neither team would give an inch. The Giants offense came close to tieing the game late in the quarter, but came up short on two key 4th down plays. Both plays required measurements, and both where spotted just shy of the first down marker. The lost opportunities emptied whatever gas the Giants had left in their tank.

Trumbull would score late in Q4 as time ran out, thus ending the Pee Wee’s quest for a repeat State Championship one game short of that opportunity.

”Overall, the 2015 season was great success”, coach Innaimo said. “This a very young team, with nine very talented 1st time football players. We never expected to be 9-2 and playing for a championship back in August. These kids worked very hard to get here, exceeding all imaginable expectation. The coaching staff is so proud of this team and are looking forward for a very successful 2016.”