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After staying on South's heels all night Ansonia couldn't keep pace in the second half and in particular the 4th quarter as TVS got back into the win column with a 41-14 victory over the Tigers. There was a steady drizzle all night which meant that both teams would run a lot and use the pass sparingly. Going into the 4th quarter South was up by two scores 28 to 14 and with the slick conditions - a timely fumble could have changed the game around and given Ansonia new life. But South kept the pressure on Ansonia and scored twice more in the final frame to put the game well out of reach.
South has a deeper bench and with the ability to rotate players, it helped keep their legs fresh. Ansonia has to play iron man football with a good many players going both ways and South seemed to grind them down in the second half. But Ansonia teams are always gamers and they made the most of their opportunities, keeping it a close game for 3 quarters. The South defense stopped Ansonia's first two drives of the second half and that seemed to break the back of the Tigers. The first drive was stopped by a TVS sack that made it 4th and forever. The second drive was later in the 3rd quarter and they drove down to deep into TVS territory but a fumble ended that drive after they had gotten all the way to the TVS 7 where it was 1st and goal. And South actually intercepted a half back option pass during that drive - but a roughing the passer penalty gave Ansonia the ball back for another chance at the end zone. In any event, it was a real momentum changer as South would go the distance in their ensuing possession and score.
Ansonia opened the game with a squib kick, which South mishandled. Ansonia played Tiger ball on offense a good bit of the night - full house backfield and two tight ends. They went for it on 4th down two times in their first possession and got the first down. But the feisty South defense stopped them on their third try at a 4th down conversion and took over on downs at their own 7 yard line. They drove the distance and scored on a 2 yard carry by Zane Cottingin, who had set up the score with a 28 yard carry the play before. Ansonia tried to do a fake punt when their next drive failed, but South sniffed it out and then South promptly scored when Wes Cole called his own number and went about 50 yards to put South up 14-0.
Ansonia scored just before time let out in the half. South had a touchdown called back by a hold and couldn't convert a 4th down at Ansonia's 40. Ansonia used the short field and put together a nice drive, scoring thru the air with a pass with about 4 seconds left. Making it a 14-8 game at the half. South scored twice in the third quarter and made two good defensive stands. Jordan Burns made a 28 yard TD catch. Wes Cole made a 16 yard TD run - after having a previous TD run called back by a penalty. So twice in this game Cole had TD's called back because of penalty. Jordan Newman ran back the South kickoff right before the end of the third quarter for a score to show that Ansonia still had some fight left in them. This made the score 28-14 as the teams entered the last quarter.
South scored two more times - Joe Webb made a spectacular run where he broke multiple tackles on a 35 yard TD run. Shockey made the last score of the night. Ansonia couldn't muster much offense at all by this point. The momentum needle had swung completely over to South's side and their hungry defense was feasting on the Tiger running backs. It was a treat for the hardy South fans that travelled to Ansonia on a rainy Friday night. I think that South at least equalled if not bettered the fan count of the Tigers. The win puts South at 3 and 1 for the season and next week they host a homecoming game against Arcanum. While Ansonia is 1-3 and travels to National Trail.
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