Housatonic Mountaineers Looking Strong

Win snaps Mountaineers' four-game losing streak
11/11/2007


By PETER WALLACE
Register Citizen Staff

FALLS VILLAGE - Housatonic High School's football team celebrated Senior Day and their final home game of the season with a 49-22 whipping of defending Uncas Division Champion Windsor Locks.

The Raiders (0-9) started the season banged up and nothing has improved - particularly against the Mountaineers.

"We knew they were really physical," said veteran Windsor Locks coach Pat Scelza. "With their play variations, you can't stunt, so we decided we had to go physical to physical. They were just too big for us."

Housatonic, 4-4 with two winnable games left on their schedule, exploited their advantages all game.

"We added a few plays to keep the kids interested, but basically, we just ask them to execute on offense," said Mountaineer coach Deron Bayer.

Oh, baby.

That meant eight points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, six in the third and 21 in the fourth. By the final period, the size and strength discrepancy was overwhelming and Housy, trying to run out the clock, just couldn't quit scoring.

Jameson Martin had 73 of his team-leading 121 rushing yards just that way. With a 36-14 lead, six minutes left in the game, Martin got loose around the left end and dashed into the end zone 31 yards away. It happened again with two minutes left, from 42 yards away.

Before that, the gains were steady, but smaller, with Mountaineer lines in charge on both sides of the ball. Opting to kick off, the Mountaineer defense took over the ball quickly, then the offense took off on a five minute scoring drive, with Tom Kennedy (18 carries, 107 yards) squeezing in the final two yards. Martin ran in for the two-point conversion.

Housy scored twice more, in the second quarter, before Windsor Locks made a first down for the first time, midway through the second period.

The Mountaineers thrive on the ground with their shotgun, no-huddle multiple option lineup [Single-Wing]. In the second touchdown, Tom Kennedy finished another series of steady chips upfield on a two-yard run for 14-0. Then Will Kennedy flipped a pass to Charlie Horowitz for a stunning route to two more points.

Not to worry. Ben Wilbur stayed on the ground for the next one, though a 24 yard scoring run, untouched, is better than most passes.

Down 22-0, the Raiders started their engine. A first down was followed by two more as they, too, stuck to the ground. Sophomore Colin McGhee bulled in for a two-yard touchdown and quarterback Isaac Jiminez passed for two more points.

Then, with the taste of paydirt in their mouths, the Raiders almost scored again. They recovered an onside kick and sat on the Housatonic 11 yard-line with two seconds left in the half. It was enough for a pass attempt, or, as it turned out, a sack by Charlie Horowitz.

Assistant coach Steve Kelleher designed a defensive personnel shift that included Horowitz at defensive end for the first time. The 6-foot-6 205-pound senior thrived.
Housy's 22-8 halftime lead invited lots more Mountaineer runners to try the turf. Jon Habacker had all four of his carries after the break, including the final 10 yards for Housy's first second-half touchdown.

Windsor Locks had no such fresh-leg luxury, as Jerome Hill (23 carries, game-high 163 yards) and McGhee (11 carries, 88 yards) shared the duties that brought Locks to the Housatonic two at the start of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jiminez snuck across the line, but that may have taken all the energy the Raider linemen had.
Tom Kennedy burst through for a 25-yard score before Martin's "accidental" bursts surrounded one more Raider score - a 26-yard run by Hill.

Is it time for Mountaineer fans to think "winning season"?
Maybe them, but not the coaches or team.

"We have to get ready to play Stafford (2-6)," said Bayer. "That's all we're thinking about."

Naw; they'll think about Saturday's win, too.


===================
The Register Citizen

190 Water Street

P.O. Box 58

Torrington, CT 06790