Naugatuck Football Falls to Ansonia

After already wrapping up a berth in the Class S state playoffs, the Ansonia Chargers had one thing on their mind:  revenge. 

In last year’s annual Thanksgiving day game against Naugatuck (now in it’s 112th year), they were beaten 38-20 as the Greyhounds clinched the NVL regular season title. This year, Ansonia backed-up its undefeated record by squashing the home team in runaway fashion, 49-14.

“That loss (last year) will hurt us for the rest of our lives,” Ansonia head coach Thomas Brockett said. “You don’t like losing on Thanksgiving, so it was a tough one.”

Boasting the state’s second-highest scoring offense (behind Masuk High of Monroe), the Chargers hit the ground running. Sophomore sensation Arkeel Newsome, already the leading rusher and scorer in the state, took the second play from scrimmage for his team 64 yards to the house for Ansonia’s first touchdown of the day. He would add two more touchdowns before halftime, including a 36-yarder that put the Greyhounds in a 21-6 deficit. Defensively, Naugatuck had no answer at times for the visitor’s potent rushing attack.

“He (Newsome) is too good to keep a gap open,” Naugatuck head coach Rob Plasky said after the game. “He’s gonna find it and he’s gonna score. He’s too good of a running back, and they have too good of a line. They’re gonna create space.”

On offense, the home team could do little to counter. Senior back Jake Yourison, the team’s best weapon offensively, was held to just 24 yards on the ground in the first half as the Greyhounds ran the wildcat and 2-back sets exclusively.  Senior Matt Harris was responsible for distributing the ball after the snap, attempting 14 passes, but found little success. A Yourison TD run from 4 yards out (after a long fumble recovery) was the only thing the kept them from being shut out. That score made it 14-6, with 5:54 left in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, the Greyhounds began showing a little more life. After yet another TD run from Newsome (263 yards, 5 TDs), who punched it in from the 5 to make it 28-6, Yourison led Naugatuck on an impressive drive down the field.  In a 3-play, 82-yard possession, the captain ran it in from just over 40 yards out to cut the lead to 28-12. He would run for 90 yards in the half, and 114 for the game.            

Although the Ansonia defense played great, Brockett admitted that they knew they would have their hands full. “They have guys that can run the football so we had to put more people in the box to try and stop them,” he said. “Yourison is a great player, and he certainly got his yards.”       

As the minutes ticked down to seconds in the fourth quarter, and both teams had their second- and third-stringers in the game, the Ansonia sidelines began to cheer on their squad to turkey day victory. The final score was Ansonia 49, Naugatuck 14. The Chargers will begin their playoff push next week.

“This game was important for a lot of reasons,” Brockett stated afterwards. “We wanted to finish the season undefeated, so it was a big game. Naugatuck’s got some great players, and I thought our kids put forth a great effort.”

For the Greyhounds, this loss represented an end to their season, as well as the final high school game for their seniors. Plasky took particular pride in his team, which finished with a 6-4 record.

“My football team overcame adversity all year long,” he remarked. “We were a little undersized, and we had a lot of guys playing out of position. But these kids played hard, and I’m proud of them.”