The last 30 seconds of the Haddam-Killingworth football game against the Coginchaug/East Hampton/Hale-Ray co-op were, as H-K coach Tyler Wilcox put it, “a little strange.”
H-K won 28-27, but a lot happened in the waning moments of the game Friday night.
Haddam-Killingworth led 28-21 but Coginchaug scored with about 30 seconds left to cut the lead to one. After Coginchaug scored, the Blue Devils received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which moved the ball back for the extra point. An extra point was attempted but H-K proceeded to be called for offside, so Coginchaug moved forward five yards. The second attempt at the PAT was tipped by the H-K defense and the ball fell short of the crossbar.
“We were very relieved,” Wilcox said. “Our kids were going nuts. But the game still wasn’t over at that point.”
There were 23 seconds left. Coginchaug had an onside kick which H-K recovered. Coginchaug still had three timeouts.
“We either had to get a first down or we would have to punt to them from around the 50 yard line,” Wilcox said. “We were weighing our options. In the back of my mind, I had seen this similar scenario, there were around 25 seconds left without running your offensive plays, you could take delayed knees essentially where you try to burn off as much clock as you can before you go down.
“I knew they had the three timeouts. The coaching staff agreed on it. We were confident. The first one, we were hoping Coginchaug wouldn’t realize what was going on and we were able to burn off seven seconds on the kneel-down. No one came after the quarterback so he just kept walking back, burning time off.”
Coginchaug took a timeout. There were 16 seconds left.
“We’re doing the math in our head,” Wilcox said. “If we get seven seconds again, we’re good. Then somebody steps on our quarterback (Jay Evans) as he’s leaving the center so he falls over. So they only burn 2-3 seconds off the clock. Now we’re in trouble. Just based on the math and the timing.”
Coginchaug took its second timeout with 13 seconds left.
“In my head I’m like ‘This plan’s backfiring, we’re in trouble, but I’m not throwing the ball, I’m not running a play,’ so I’m like, ‘We’re doing it again guys, make sure you block, quarterback make sure you get out from under center, no one steps on you.’ So we end up burning up another seven seconds. Now we’re down to six seconds left.”
Coginchaug called its last timeout. The ball was at the H-K 30. The field was wet because it had rained earlier and the ball was slippery.
“Now it’s fourth down – are you going to punt the ball to them?” Wilcox said. “We can’t get a fresh ball. We don’t want to risk a wet ball, getting a snap there on our side of the field. We’re not punting. I’m like, ‘Guys, we’re doing it again. Block for six seconds. The quarterback’s going to back up, he’s not going to go more than 10 yards in case there’s time left for them. Sure enough, he backpedals. We unfortunately miss a block on the edge. The quarterback gets a guy coming at him. He starts sprinting. We believed there was no time left on the clock, that he burned those six seconds up. The officials thought otherwise.”
There was a second left. Coginchaug had one more chance and elected to go for a 27-yard field goal.
H-K senior Chase Lombardi-Bole, who opened the game with a touchdown, blocked it.
“Chase Lombardi-Bole was able to get through an interior gap that we saw was a weak side in their field goal formation,” Wilcox said. “As soon as they got it off, he extends his arm – it’s a beautiful play on film – he almost overran it, he got in so quick and slipped on the wet field conditions but he pulled it off, he got that hand up there. It was a great day for him. It was a big sigh of relief for us.”
Haddam-Killingworth improved to 4-2.
“It was definitely a wild ending,” Wilcox said. “I wasn’t expecting a last-second field goal after we got the ball back with 23 seconds left.”
See which area teams are on cusp of cracking Top 10 in latest high school football poll
More highlights from Week 7
– Southington’s Jacoby Roman completed 8 of 17 attempts for 195 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-20 victory over Manchester. Lonnie Green rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown.
-Cody Puzio ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns in Berlin’s 24-7 win over Newington Friday. Brandon Kelly had an interception for the Redcoats and Camden Lavoie had two sacks and Sean Granger one.
-Josh Durant rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown and Jake O’Brien completed 7 of 10 pass attempts for 124 yards and had one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns in Sheehan’s 28-27 win over North Haven.
-Junior Michael Chopak had 24 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown in Cheshire’s 35-0 win over West Haven Friday. Liam Suomala had a touchdown reception and a TD run for the Rams.
-Granby/Canton rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Stafford co-op 34-27. Junior Gabriel Mensah scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns and had 19 carries for 168 yards. Tristan Jackson had eight tackles, four solo, and one sack for Granby/Canton.
-Will J Davis scored four touchdowns and had an interception in Rockville’s 49-0 win over the Windsor Locks co-op Friday.
-Michael Sitaro Jr. racked up six touchdowns – three rushing and three passing – in Cromwell/Portland’s 42-21 win over Valley Regional/Old Lyme Friday. Sitaro Jr. rushed for 158 yards and completed 10 of 13 pass attempts for 182 yards.
-Senior Joey Montalvo made 10 catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another TD in East Catholic’s 44-16 win over Avon Thursday.
-Enfield quarterback Sawyer Pequita had 23 carries for 258 yards and was 12 for 19 for 130 yards and six touchdowns in Enfield’s 62-54 win over East Hartford Thursday night. Jon Hewitt had 13 carries for 184 yards and had three touchdowns for Enfield.
-Kadain Claflin-Coy completed 16 of 19 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns and Jaiden Booth and Jyiere Perry each had 120 yards receiving and combined for five touchdowns as Weaver beat Morgan/Old Saybrook/Westbrook 42-0 Thursday.
-South Windsor’s Jalil Montgomery had 29 carries for 174 yds and two touchdowns in the Bobcats’ 27-24 victory over Bristol Central Thursday. Gabe Ouellette had 11 carries for 108 yards and Jayden Glasper had 11 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns for Bristol Central.
Games to watch
New Britain (5-1) at Maloney (5-1), Thursday, 6:30 p.m. at Falcon Field, Meriden: New Britain got a big win last week in overtime over Glastonbury and will try to keep the momentum rolling against Maloney. Both teams have losses to Fairfield Prep.
Bloomfield (3-3) at East Catholic (4-2), Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Cheney Tech, Manchester: East Catholic has won three straight; Bloomfield won its fourth straight with a 16-14 victory over Northwest Catholic.
