Offense Missing For Wilton Football In 14-2 Loss to Darien

The offense was virtually non-existent for the Wilton football team Friday night at home against Darien.

The Warriors suffered a 14-2 loss to the Blue Wave as their only points came on a conceded safety in the fourth quarter.

It marks the second straight game in which Wilton (1-3) was held in single figures following last week's 16-9  overtime loss at New London.

The Warriors did well to limit unbeaten Darien (4-0) to 14 points and actually forced five fumbles, but recovered only two of them.

Wilton quarterback Sean Carroll, who was constantly pressured, completed only 7-of-23 passes for 68 yards.

"Their defense outplayed our offense," Wilton coach Bruce Cunningham said. "On top of that, we saw defenses tonight that we hadn't expected."

Co-captain Peter McDonough was a key player in a Darien defense that shut down the Warriors' running and passing game. McDonough made several hits that could be heard halfway up the stands.

During one sequence in the third quarter, there were interceptions on three straight plays, which sort of summed up Friday's game.

Wilton had the ball on its own 20 when a pass was deflected to Darien's Will Weinstock, who returned the pick to the Warriors'  21.

On the next play, Wilton's Ned Hemmerle intercepted Blue Wave quarterback Chris Allam in the end zone - only to have Carroll throw another interception on the very next play.

Darien dominated on defense and maintained an edge in time of possession.

The Blue Wave's first touchdown came after an 84-yard drive on its opening possession of the game. Allam completed passes to four different receivers during the long march.

The Blue Wave finally got on the board on Allam's 4-yard TD strike to Weinstock in the flat.

But Darien did not score again until the fourth quarter, when Allam  threw a 40-yard TD pass to Clay Barker.

The 6-3 junior out-jumped the defender who was in good position and came down with the ball for the score. The extra point gave Darien a 14-0 lead.

Wilton was awarded a safety late in the fourth quarter after Darien punter Chris Smith intentionally took a knee in the end zone following the snap.

"With the possibility of a bad snap or a fumble or a blocked kick , we decided to play it safe and give them the two points rather than a possible six," Darien defensive coordinator Idris Price said.

Wilton hosts Fairfield Warde (2-2) next week. Warde suffered a 34-13 loss to New Canaan on Friday.