Here's Ky'Juon Butler on the 7yd TD run. He's over 100 yards rushing and has three scores for Bloomfield. Semifinal clash with Ansonia is on course. #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/hCQMgeFZeQ
— Kyle Brennan (@kylebrennan1) November 28, 2018
BLOOMFIELD — Some might call Bloomfield’s speed on the football field overwhelming. Some might prefer labels like incendiary or blistering. After seeing the Warhawks up close in Tuesday’s Class S quarterfinals, Woodland coach Chris Moffo settled with “deadly.”
No matter how one describes Bloomfield’s athletes on the gridiron, they usually produce impressive results.
No. 4 Bloomfield utilized its team speed on both sides of the ball to surge past No. 5 Woodland, 49-10, and advance to the Class S semifinals. The Warhawks will face old rival and top-seeded Ansonia on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Jarvis Stadium for a championship berth.
Woodland (9-2) staked itself to a 10-6 lead entering the second quarter, but Bloomfield (10-1) scored six unanswered touchdowns to close out the game.
Four different Warhawks scored as part of an offense that racked up 396 yards, and defensively they sacked Hawks quarterback Tyler Bulinski four times and intercepted him twice more.
“Our team speed is what we do,” Bloomfield coach Ty Outlaw said. “That’s what we do here in Bloomfield. We’re a fast team and that showed today. We knew if we got at them early, we’d pull away.”
2018 CIAC Football Playoff Scoreboard
Ky’Juon Butler led Bloomfield with 20 carries for 143 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 3-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. He also starred at outside linebacker and recorded a sack of Bulinski in the second half.
“We started to see how they played and we started adjusting to their offense,” Butler said. “The D-line takes up the blocks and allows (the linebackers) to hit the holes.”
Daron Bryden threw touchdown passes to Anthony Simpson (26 yards) and Jayvon Massey (20 yards). Simpson (67 yards) and Shakur Hill (64 yards) also sprang long touchdown runs as Bloomfield wore down Woodland’s defense. The Warhawks outscored the Hawks, 30-0, in the second half.
“When we watched the film, we felt like we were the better team,” Outlaw said. “We felt if our defense could hold them a few times that our offense would pull away.”
Bloomfield coach Ty Outlaw praised the Warhawks' speed ("that's what we do here") and admitted it was tough to focus on preparing for Woodland with a potential matchup with old rival Ansonia awaiting in the semifinals. That game will happen Sunday afternoon in the Valley. #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/dQMzDEF4nZ
— Kyle Brennan (@kylebrennan1) November 28, 2018
Edit Krivca led Woodland with 27 carries for 178 yards and a 41-yard touchdown to open the scoring. The Hawks struggled to defend Bloomfield’s athletes on the edge and hard-hitting Butler up the middle.
“We made some mistakes that they capitalized on,” Moffo said. “We didn’t get to our assignments, and those kids are tremendous football players. If you give them an inch, they’re going to take a mile. We gave them an inch and we weren’t able to tackle on the perimeter, and that killed us.”
Bloomfield will meet Ansonia in the latest edition of a longstanding postseason rivalry. The programs have faced off in state finals a record six times, with the Warhawks winning the most recent meeting in the 2015 final.
Outlaw admitted it was difficult to prepare for Woodland knowing that a showdown with Ansonia likely awaited in the semifinals.
“All week we’re trying to focus on Woodland, but Ansonia is in our heads,” Outlaw said. “We were watching film of Woodland and Ansonia. It’s going to be a great game. Our history with Ansonia — we go back and forth with who’s the best. Ansonia has a great program and it’s what they do, play football. That rivalry will always be there.”
Butler looked ahead to Sunday’s game that some observers feel will be the true Class S championship game.
“I feel like it’s going to be a dogfight,” Butler said.
BLOOMFIELD 49, WOODLAND 10
WOODLAND 10 0 0 0—10
BLOOMFIELD 6 13 23 7—49
- W—Edit Krivca 41 run (Angelo Kollcinaku kick)
- B—Ky’Juon Butler 2 run (pass failed)
- W—Kollcinaku 30 FG
- B—Butler 3 run (pass failed)
- B—Anthony Simpson 26 pass from Daron Bryden (Sean Dixon-Bodie kick)
- B—Butler 7 run (Simpson pass from Bryden)
- B—Simpson 67 run (Simpson pass from Bryden)
- B—Jayvon Massey 20 pass from Bryden (Dixon-Bodie kick)
- B—Shakur Hill 64 run (Dixon-Bodie kick)
Records: W 9-2; B 10-1.