Norwalk's Redd, Penn State to play in Ticket City Bowl

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Norwalk native Silas Redd and the Penn State football team wil be headed to Houston to face Houston in the Ticket City Bowl on Jan. 2.

Redd, who starred scholastically at the King School in Stamford, finished the season as the fourth-leading rusher in the Big Ten, which earned him a spot on the league's second team.

A sophomore, Redd rushed for 1,207 yards and seven touchdowns on 230 carries.  He had six 100-yard games, including a season-high 164 yards against Northwestern.

Penn State enters the game with a 9-3 record after a 45-7 loss at Wisconsin denied the Nittany Lions a berth in the inaugural Big Ten championship game.

Houston (12-1) is led by record-setting quarterback Case Keenum, who earlier this year passed Timmy Chang to become the NCAA's all-time leader in career passing yards.

However, the Cougars were upset by Southern Mississippi 49-28 in the Conference USA championship game, ending their hopes for a BCS berth and an undefeated season.

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Xavier showed Norwalk why it is the top-ranked team in the state and hasn't lost in two years.

Ryan Murphy scored two touchdowns for the Falcons, who built a big early lead and coasted to a 55-14 victory over the Bears in the Class LL semifinals Saturday afternoon at Ken Strong Stadium.

Winners of 25 straight games, Xavier (12-0) will face Staples in the state championship game next weekend at UConn's Rentschler Field. The Wreckers rallied from an early 14-point deficit to defeat Newtown 44-20 in Saturday's other semifinal.

Norwalk ended a banner first season under coach Sean Ireland at 9-2. The Bears qualified for the state playoffs for the first time since 1998 and Tuesday's 36-22 win over Hall was their first postseason victory in school history.

After Mike Mastroiani's 14-yard TD run put Xavier up 6-0, the Bears briefly took a 7-6 lead on Delshawn Wilson's 72-yard TD pass to Andy St. Fleur. Xavier responded with three straight scores to quickly take control.

Ryan Murphy scored on a 6-yard TD run and caught a 23-yard TD pass from Pat D'Amato, who then scored on a 17-yard keeper to make it 27-7.

Derick Edwards gave Norwalk some hope by returning an interception 11 yards for a TD, but Ryan Jacobucci's 10-yard burst gave the Falcons a 34-14 cushion at the half.

Xavier broke it open in the second half as DeAngelo Berry and Tim Boyle scored on TD runs of 17 and 8 yards. Boyle then capped the scoring with a 27-yard TD pass to Charlton Ortega.

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Norwalk's Karolyn Collins was named to the all-FCIAC girls soccer first team. The Bears finished the season with a 2-13 record.

Here is a scrimmage schedule for the Norwalk boys basketball team:

Thursday -- vs. New Milford, 5 p.m.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

No games scheduled

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Football

Xavier 55, Norwalk 14, Class LL semifinals

MONDAY'S SCHEDULE

No games scheduled

BOYS BASKETBALL

West Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

Central Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

East Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

0-0

GIRLS BASKETBALL

West Division

FCIAC Record

Overall Record

Central Division

East Division

0-0

BOYS HOCKEY