Wilton 8 White vs. Darien Blue

Wilton 8 White vs. Darien (Blue), Sunday, September 11, 2016.

The setting was different, but the result was nearly identical on Sunday as the Wilton (White) 8th graders routed Darien (Blue), 30-7, at Fujitani Field. A week earlier, on the road against Aspetuck, the team rolled to a 30-8 victory.

Michael Coffey set the tone early with a thunderous tackle for a loss on the first play from scrimmage. Darien was helpless against the Warriors’ defense, with Coffey, Howie Long, Quinn O’Connor, Evan Kauh, Nolan Graham and E.J. Fasano helping stuff drive after drive.

While the defense held Darien to -7 yards in the first half, the Wilton offense stormed down the field repeatedly, taking full advantage of the openings created by Michael Burton, Matt Gulbin and the offensive line. Trevor Martines started the scoring by returning a punt 45 yards for a touchdown, and Sean Sullivan established the ground game on the Warriors’ first drive, scampering for runs of 17 and 10 yards before scoring from six yards out.

With a 16-0 lead, quarterback John Stanley – who rushed for 44 yards in all – broke through for a 15-yard keeper. Then Mack Kepner got loose for a 20-yard burst, setting up the Warriors’ next touchdown, a 15-yard catch by the sure-handed Jimmy McKiernan.

It was 23-0 at halftime, and a third-quarter interception by Ryan Van Heyst – who also converted four extra points as the kicker – stifled a Darien drive. Consistent pressure by Gulbin, Stanley, Will Rath and Max Greenberg kept Darien scoreless until late in the third quarter, when the Wave finally converted a long passing play for a touchdown. That ended a run of 53 unanswered points by the Warriors, going back to the opener last Sunday.

In Wilton’s fourth-quarter scoring drive, Martines rushed for 47 yards to set up an eight-yard touchdown rumble by Kepner. The swarming Wilton defense took care of the rest, giving the Warriors a 2-0 record as they hit the road to face the Darien (White) team at Royle School on Saturday morning. Article by Tyler Kepner. Photo Credit, Austin Kauh.