New Canaan Wins Fourth Straight Football Championship

NEW BRITAIN, CT — New Canaan scored a go-ahead touchdown in the waning moments of the first half and never looked back, knocking off undefeated and top-seeded Windsor, 35-20 to capture the Class L football championship for the fourth straight year.

The second-seeded Rams jumped to an early 14-0 lead, then watched the Warriors battle back to tie it before regaining control with 21 consecutive points.

Windsor received the opening kickoff and drove downfield to the Ram 12 yard line, but came away empty after failing to convert a fourth-and-7. New Canaan responded with a drive of its own, capped by a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Teddy Hood and an extra point kick by Grant Morse.

A bad snap on Windsor's next possession was recovered by New Canaan's Garrett Braden at the Warrior 8 yard line, and the Rams immediately capitalized on a pass from Drew Pyne to Braden, giving them 14 points in 47 seconds.

A 57-yard run by Tim Gardner put Windsor at the New Canaan 6, but another bad snap followed by a holding penalty put them in a third-and-31 situation. Tommy Root ended the threat by intercepting a Jakhari Grant pass at the 2.

A failed fake punt play by the Rams gave Windsor great field position at the New Canaan 33, and Grant made it pay dividends by scoring on a 12-yard scamper to cut the deficit in half. On their next possession, the Warriors converted a fourth-and-1 situation into a first down, and Gardner bulled over from a yard out. Eric Foster's extra point kick tied the game at 14-14 with 2:40 remaining before intermission.

Braden ripped off a 35-yard run to the Windsor 28, setting up a 26-yard scoring pass from Pyne to Ryan O'Connell to vault the Rams back into the lead at 21-14 with 92 seconds left in the half.

Morse kicked field goals of 31 and 21 yards in the third quarter, then O'Connell ran in from 11 yards just past the midpoint of the fourth quarter for a 35-14 advantage.

Gardner caught an 8-yard pass from Grant with 2:03 to play to close the scoring.

Braden rushed for 186 yards, while Pyne connected on 10 of 13 passes for 137 yards, with O'Connell accounting for 94. James Freyre led the defense with 11 tackles, while William Rechtermann recorded a pair of sacks.

Gardner had 105 yards on the ground for Windsor, while Grant passed for 185 yards. Jason Pinnock grabbed seven passes for 73 yards.

Both teams finished the season with 12-1 records.

Photo credits: Tim Jensen