Wilton Scores and Standings, Oct. 3

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Wilton's Mary Dolan Zengo, 46, was the top female finisher in the 35th annual Ridgefield Pamby Motors Half Marathon on Sunday.

Zengo posted a time of 1:29.24, which was good for 26th overall. She finished nearly two minutes ahead of female runner-up Sharon Vos of Old Greenwich (1:31:33).

The win continued a strong season for Zengo, who also won three races in the Westport Summer Series.

New Fairfield's Geoff Nelson, 26, was the overall winner with a time of 1:12.05.

Nelson finished more than two minutes ahead of runnerup Bryan Kovalsky, 32, of Ridgefield, who crossed in a time of 1:14.25.

Nearly 500 runners competed in the race, which was a tuneup for next month's New York City Mar

Fourth grade football – Wilton White 22 Westport 6  

Playing from behind for the first time all year, the Wilton fourth grade White football team rallied to defeat Westport 22-6 on Sunday. Wilton erased a 6-0 deficit to improve to 5-0.

"They boys sure responded in a great way today," Wilton head coach Steve Phillips said. "They faced some adversity and pushed through to win the game."

Mixing the run and pass, Westport opened the game with a 15-play drive that tested the Warriors' defense. The Wreckers had some success on the ground, but the defensive line of Griffin Morris, Nick Sheehan, Jack Santomero, Trent Hollings, Dean Griffin and Patrick Coulter, along with linebackers Ben Leung, Drew Phillips and Cole Stephenson, eventually forced their opponent to take to the air.

On Westport’s first long pass, safety Niko Kouvaris delivered a crushing hit that forced the receiver to cough up the ball. Despite the Wreckers’ having 1st-and-goal at the Wilton 8, the Warriors held and took over on downs at the 2.

After Wilton’s first possession resulted in a punt, Westport went back to the air to score its lone touchdown and take a 6-0 lead.

Westport didn’t hold the lead for long, as the Warriors struck back in characteristic fashion with the offensive line of Coulter, Camilo Galeano, Eric Zhang, Griffin Morris, Stephen Kendra, Cooper Heinemann and D.J. DiCostanzo taking control of the game.

Bursting through a hole opened by DiCostanzo, Morris and Kendra, Austin Andersen streaked through the defense and raced 55 yards for Wilton’s first score. Phillips added the extra point to put the Warriors ahead for good.

Westport threatened again just before halftime, but Oliver Shulman, Tate Falta, Dominick Caratazzolo and Matt LaManna led the Warriors' defense,  forcing a last-second pass before halftime. With defensive tackle Hollings in the quarterback’s face, the pass fell incomplete.

The Warriors put on a clinic in the second half. Andersen and Phillips took turns grinding out yards, setting up a misdirection play for Patrick Coulter, whose cut toward the goal line left a Westport linebacker lunging at air and looking over his shoulder at a 21-yard Warriors' touchdown. Phillips added the two-point conversion to put Wilton up 15-6.

On Wilton’s next possession, Phillips and Andersen both had long runs, highlighted by Phillips’ 19-yard TD scamper. The conversion was good as Ryan Healey made a nifty catch on Phillips' pass and bulled his way just over the line for the conversion and a 22-6 lead.

To its credit, Westport did not give up, driving to the Wilton 9 late in the game. However, linebacker Austin Andersen put an exclamation point on the game, returning an interception 51 yards to the Westport 20,  where Wilton took a knee on consecutive plays to run out the clock.

Defensive Battle Ends in a 0-0 Tie for Wilton White 3rd Grade

The Wilton White 3rd grade football team settled for a scoreless tie with Fairfield on Sunday afternoon.

The game started with Wilton’s defense on the field against Fairfield’s disciplined and physical offense that was intent on running the ball with authority.

But with defensive ends Joshua White and Austin Cameron containing the running backs and outside linebackers Davis Cote and Quinn Wiseman running up to make big tackles, Fairfield's drive stalled deep in Wilton territory.  On a fourth-down play with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Fairfield tested the middle of Wilton's defense, only to be slowed by interior linemates  Matt Gulbin, Michael Coffey, Henry Sell and Blake Pagano-Walley - along with middle linebacker Sean Sullivan - who drove the ballcarrier back for a loss.

Wilton's offense responded with a balanced running attack that featured nice gains on sweeps by quarterback Everett Andersen and running backs Sullivan and Cote.

Nice blocking by Logan Brady, Jason Bivona and Jack Fielden helped Wilton push deep into Fairfield territory, but the drive ended with a fumble.

Wilton forced a punt on the ensuing possession after a great tackle by Wiseman and was in position to score again. Despite three solid runs by Blake Pagano-Walley and a nice pass reception by Coffey in a newly unveiled aerial attack led by quarterback Andersen, the drive stalled short of the goal line.

With only 28 seconds left in the half, the Fairfield quarterback completed a beautiful pass up the middle that looked like it might break the deadlock, but Pagano-Walley and cornerbacks Spencer Dean and Luke O’Neil combined on a touchdown saving tackle to end the half.

Early in the second half, Wilton’s frustrations continued as a 50-yard touchdown run by fullback Coffey, made possible by solid blocking from Charlie Hastings, Bivona, Sell, Brady, Cameron, White, Pagano-Walley and Gulbin, was called back due to a penalty.

It was now clear the defense had to carry the load on this afternoon.  And on Fairfield’s first possession of the second half, White, Cameron, Sell and Sullivan responded with multiple tackles for loss. 

Alex Smith, Connor Healey, Daniel Gruseke, Jake Eagen, Michael Gruseke and Jack Fielden all made great contributions on defense and were a huge part of keeping Fairfield out of the end zone throughout the second half.

Wilton’s defense withstood one final push deep into its territory late in the  fourth quarter. 

With under two minutes remaining, a 2nd-and-goal  from the 5 was turned into a loss on an impressive tackle by linebacker Sullivan.

On 3rd-and goal, the Fairfield running back seemed to have an angle on the end zone, but defensive end Austin Cameron made a punishing open field tackle, dropping the runner for another loss and saving the game for the Warriors. Fairfield’s  fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 13 seconds remaining. 

In a strong performance, the Wilton U-11 Blue boys soccer team achieved its first victory of the season with a 3-1 win over New Milford.

Great passing led to an early goal as Jay Cassone found Colin Kroll in front of the net to put Wilton up 1-0. The defense was solid in the first half, led by Clay Adams, Andrew Bucciero and Ryan Schriber, while Cameron Farrar was strong in goal.

After New Milford tied the game 1-1, Chase Connolly's nice assist to Chris Tienken put the Blue team ahead 2-1. In the second half, Wilton's hard work on both ends of the field payed off as Schriber converted a penalty kick to make it 3-1.

Wilton's defense shut down New Milford with energizing play from Peter Denious, Farrar and solid goaltending by Kroll. The offense kept the pressure on throughout the second half, led by Ethan Grandolfo, Brendan Connor and Ethan Fang.

Week five results in Fairfield County Football League for Wilton teams:

Saturday

Junior sixth grade -- Wilton Black 7, Westport North 0

Junior fifth grade -- Wilton Black 19, DJFL White 0

Senior seventh grade -- DJFL White 21, Wilton White 6

SUNDAY

Bantam fourth grade -- Wilton Blue 20, DJFL Blue 0

Junior fifth grade -- Wilton Blue 19, DJFL Blue 0

Senior eighth grade -- RYF Black 19, Wilton Blue 14

Bantam third grade -- Wilton White 0, Fairfield Red 0

FRIDAY'S RESULTS

Football

Wilton 42, Bassick 6 (completed Saturday)

Boys soccer

Wilton 4, Fairfield Ludlowe 0 -- Evan Owen, Kyle Dedrick, Patrick Stevens and David Brown scored for the Warriors (4-2-1), who jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first half

Girls volleyball

Fairfield Warde 3, Wilton 1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22)

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE

Girls soccer

Wilton 1, Ridgefield 1

MONDAY'S SCHEDULE

Girls soccer

Danbury at Wilton, 4 p.m.

Girls volleyball

Westhill at Wilton, 6 p.m.

STANDINGS

• Football

• Boys soccer

• Girls soccer

Field hockey

0

Girls volleyball