SEYMOUR — A ball-hawking Woodland defense forced four first-quarter turnovers Wednesday night, paving the way for a 16-0 playoff-clinching shutout victory over NVL rival Seymour at DeBarber Field.
“The defense played great,” Woodland head coach Chris Moffo said. “We work on that every week and they performed today.”
The Hawks, who evened the Thanksgiving Eve series at 9-9 with the Wildcats, also nailed down a berth in the Class S state playoffs for the second year in a row, improving to 9-1. Seymour completed its campaign at 6-4, with consecutive losses to Ansonia and Woodland to close out the year defusing their playoff hopes.
THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
“It was only six?” Seymour head coach Mike Kearns said of the Wildcat turnovers. “It seemed like a lot more. It’s hard to win when put the ball on the ground seven, eight times (one fumble went out of bounds)… You’re driving and everything is going well.
“It puts the defense in a bad spot and you can’t score when you turn the ball over on every drive.”
Seymour coughed the ball up its first two possessions, with a muffed punt setting up Woodland’s first touchdown.
Things did not improve from there.
Woodland’s Palmieri INT for fifth Seymour turnover. #cthsfb @GameTimeCT pic.twitter.com/0KfuRnAleA
— Michael Suppe (@Mike_Suppe) November 28, 2019
Woodland quarterback Tyler Bulinski wasted no time after the muff was recovered by Matthew Gunnison, finding Nathan Bodnar in the right corner of the end zone with 9:34 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats then fumbled again two plays later, leading to an eight-play scoring drive of 45 yards with the short field for the Hawks.
Jason Palmieri punched in the score from 8 yards out, before the Woodland defense came up with another fumble recovery inside the Hawk 3-yard line on the final play of the first quarter.
“The difference was us taking the ball away,” Palmieri said.
The only second half scoring came when Angelo Kollcinaku kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Woodland. The Hawks also recorded two second-half takeaways — including an interception by Palmieri. The senior running back/line backer’s 65-yard catch-and-run from Bulinski set up Kollcinaku’s short field goal.
“Whatever we need, I try to do for the team,” Palmieri said. “Role players, everyone does their job.”
Seymour, behind quarterback Kevin Harmerling connecting with wide receivers Louie Cortello and Matt Oczkowski, moved the ball effectively, but struggled mightily to finish off drives. With linebacker Ben Brooks, who recorded a highlight-reel forced fumble and recovery in the first half, marshaling the defense, Woodland came up with stops on every Seymour drive.
The turnovers and stalled drives proved too much for Seymour to overcome, as the Wildcats dropped their second straight rivalry game to the Hawks.
“We outplayed them in certain parts of the game,” Kearns said. “They played really well and they’re a good football team. We were able to drive the ball and play some pretty good defense outside of a few plays.”
Jason Palmieri talks about a big win for Woodland over rival Seymour. #cthsfb @GameTimeCT pic.twitter.com/5wkKC6gIru
— Michael Suppe (@Mike_Suppe) November 28, 2019
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jason Palmieri, scored a six-yard touchdown, intercepted a pass and recorded a 65-yard reception to key the Woodland victory
QUOTABLE
“We bent but we didn’t break tonight. They did a great job. I’m very proud of them,” Woodland head coach Chris Moffo