Sports
Northwest Catholic Escapes With 12-6 Overtime Win
The Indians held off a late comeback by host Fermi to improve to 2-1.
Jack Manzi fired an 18-yard touchdown strike to Dan Adebimpe in overtime, and the Northwest Catholic defense stopped Fermi at the 1-yard line in its last-ditch effort to tie, enabling the Indians to escape with a 12-6 victory in high school football action Saturday in Enfield.
The hungry Falcons, determined to put an end to a 46-game losing streak which extends back to 2010, held tough, managing a scoreless tie at intermission.
Northwest Catholic broke the deadlock on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Manzi to Michael Adebimpe late in the third quarter, but Fermi blocked the extra point kick.
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With about five minutes remaining, Fermi drove to the Indian 30-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs. The Falcon defense dug in and stopped Northwest cold, forcing a poor punt which gave the hosts possession at their opponents’ 39.
The Indians appeared to have stopped Fermi on a fourth-down incomplete pass, but Falcon quarterback Thomas Vella was roughed on the play, giving his team a first down. With 48 seconds remaining in regulaton time, Ian Grabowski bulled over from a yard out to tie it.
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A high snap caused an errant extra point kick, leaving the teams in a 6-6 tie approaching the end of regulation time. The Indians then mounted a furious drive downfield that culminated in an apparent touchdown pass at the buzzer. However, the officials ruled Michael Adebimpe did not have total possession when he hit the ground, prompting overtime.
The Indians won the coin toss and elected to take the ball first, starting at the 25 after a 15-yard personal foul penalty. On third down, Manzi connected with Dan Adebimpe, but a missed conversion kick left Northwest in front, 12-6.
Fermi took possession at the 10 with four downs to find the end zone. Three runs by Grabowski gave the Falcons the ball at the 2, but on a fourth-down flare pass, he was stopped at the 1 to leave the Falcons and their fans heartbroken.
Northwest Catholic (2-1) travels to Berlin Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Photo credits: Tim Jensen
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