Sixth Grade Football: Westport North 14 - Wilton Blue 13

The Wilton Blue sixth grade football team experienced its first taste of defeat this season as they lost a close 14-13 contest to Westport North on Sunday in Westport to drop to 5-1 on the year.

The game started out well for the Warriors as Niko Kouvaris picked off a Westport pass to give Wilton its first possession on their own 38.  However, Westport’s defense stopped the Warriors on fourth and one to take over near midfield.

The teams traded possessions but then Westport went on the move with a couple of big running plays and a swing pass that took them all the way to the Wilton one.  The Warrior defensive line of Dominick Polito, Jack Lenz, Jack Savarese, Noah Levi, Anthony Andre and Sean Soltis stopped the Wreckers inches from the goal line on the first play, but Westport punched it in on the next and added the extra point to go up 7-0.

Running behind the offensive line of Jack DiRocco, Erik Lebek, Polito, Lenz, Sean Purdy, Savarese and Levi, Kyle Hyzy, Matthew McVey, Ryan Healey and Austin Andersen pounded the ball into the teeth of the Westport defense to no avail.  At halftime the Warriors trailed 7-0.

Fired up after a rousing halftime speech by Coach Hyzy, the Warriors played with new intensity in the second half.  Levi, Hyzy and Jimmy O’Brien shut the Wreckers down, forcing a punt to the Wilton 26.  After Andersen and Healey both moved the ball, Hyzy took a third down pitch from Healey and weaved his way all the way to the Westport 15.  On third and 22 from the 27, Hyzy threw a perfect strike to Jack DiRocco for Wilton’s first score.  DiRocco’s kick tied the game at 7.

On Westport’s next possession they drove all the way to the Wilton 37, but the defensive line including Nishant Wangneo and Steven Tuin stopped the Wreckers cold on fourth and three, giving the Wilton offense another chance.

On the Warriors’ next possession, Hyzy ran for 10 and Healey for 14 on a quarterback keeper.  Andersen was tackled with an illegal horse collar tacking yards onto the drive.  Then Hyzy ran 30 yards to the 5 where Westport was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, making it first and goal at the 2.  Healey scored on a quarterback sneak on the next play, but the extra point was no good, leaving Wilton up 13-7.

The Warriors played tough defense as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter.  However, on fourth down with time running out, the Westport quarterback threw a swing pass to his running back who raced 40 yards for a game-tying score.  The point after kick was good to put the Wreckers up for good 14-13.

The Warriors moved the ball during their last possession but ran out of time, suffering their first defeat of the season.