Fairfield Ludlowe Routed By Bridgeport Central, 50-6, In Football Opener

As evidenced by the thrashing the Bridgeport Central football team administered to host Fairfield Ludlowe on Thursday night, speed kills. So does an upper-class-laden squad out for blood after last season's heart-wrenching loss to Staples in the FCIAC championship.  

Simply put, Central is on a mission, and its first obstacle of the 2010 campaign got sliced and diced early and often, as the Hilltoppers rolled to a 50-6 victory over the Falcons at Taft Field.

Central rushed for 200 yards in the first quarter alone.

Two quick-strike rushing touchdowns by Shabashe McIntosh and David Anderson, along with a pair of savvy touchdown tosses from Cental signal- caller Deon Wiggins, led the way for the Hilltoppers.  

The Falcons'  youthful defense was no match for Central's high-powered offense.

 "They (Central) run a very efficient and dangerous offense, and they're a great team on both sides of the ball,"  Ludlowe coach Matt McCloskey said. "We started strong on offense, but we couldn't sustain that early momentum, and their offense really started clicking before long.

"We're a young team and we have plenty of games left, so we'll focus on the positives that we showed early on and work hard to build on that."  

The early signs did indeed suggest that a possible upset could be in the cards, as Falcons tailback Nate Ryan followed a strong 30-yard kick off return by teammate George Voucas with an 11-yard scamper to pay dirt to pull Ludlowe within 8-6.

After McIntosh's  rushing score made it 15-6,  another promising drive by Ludlowe was cut short by Steven Tron's interception,  one of five pics for the Hilltoppers on a damp evening.

While the first drive would net the only Falcons' points all night, Ryan continued to run with a vengeance, eclipsing the century mark in the fourth quarter and finishing with 110 yards.

 "He is a very talented player, no question about it," Central coach Dave Cadelina. "They have some young talent over there and they really turned our defense into swiss cheese early in the game. We did some good things offensively, but they (Ludlowe) definitely have a good future over there."  

When the Hilltoppers weren't bursting off tackle or racing down the sidelines for six, their defense was equally fast to the ball.

Five interceptions spelled a world of trouble for the Falcons while mental miscues in poorly run patterns didn't help matters, either.

For Ryan and company, it's a painful defeat, but there is plenty of football yet to be played.

 "It's a shame how this game turned out after we started strong out there," Ryan said. "We beat ourselves a few different times with mental mistakes, so we'll have to clean some things up in practice. They're a great team, but I definitely thought we could have played a better all-around game then we did."