Neither snow nor Brookfield can slow down St. Joseph in Class M final

St. Joseph’s Christian Trez (20) looks to get away from Brookfield’s Daniel Jackson in Saturday’s Class M championship game in the snow at Central Connecticut State.

NEW BRITAIN – It was a winter wonderland for the St. Joseph-Trumbull football team Saturday at Arute Field on the campus of Central Connecticut State University. 

Playing in a steady snowfall with a wind chill temperature of about five degrees, the Cadets scored on their first eight possessions and captured the Class M championship with a 54-16 decision over Brookfield. 

It is the 11th state title for the Cadets, who finish the season with a 14-2 record. St. Joseph has won three titles in the last five years. 

“We got beat by a better team. They were as advertised,” Brookfield head coach Rich Angarano told CIAC Sports.com. “Not much we could do as an offense and they ran the ball down our throats.” 

The Cadets, whose only two losses this season were to Class L champion New Canaan, ran for 206 yards, led by Mufasha Adbul Basir, who ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Jordan Vazzano completed just 5-of-7 passes for 168 yards and four touchdowns. 

Once the Cadet receivers got into the open field, they were hard to bring down. Adbul Basir scored on a 54-yard touchdown pass in the waning seconds of the second quarter and Shane Miller scored on a 46-yard pass in the third quarter that was a short pass out of the backfield. 

St. Joseph’s Lars Pedersen (29) breaks up a pass intended for Brookffield’s Liam Clancy (22).

“They’re a confident group,” St. Joseph coach Joe Dellavecchia said. “We believe in each other. There was no selfish play this season because we had so many weapons. No one cared who scored.” 

St. Joseph (14-2) scored 200 points in three CIAC tournament games. This was their lowest scoring effort of the tournament. They had 84 points in a 84-49 win over Ledyard in the quarterfinals and 62 in a 62-34 win over Joel Barlow in the semifinals. 

“It was just a matter of coming out and doing the job we had to do.” Adbul Basir said. “It was a real team effort. Everyone did their job. (The offensive line) was moving people out of the way and making running lanes for me. We wanted to leave with a big statement.” 

Defensively, the Cadets were swarming all over Brookfield. Through three quarters, Brookfield had no points and just 135 yards of offense. Brookfield’s Robert Drysdale finished the game with 167 yards rushing but 93 yards came in the fourth quarter when St. Joseph made wholesale substitutions on defense. 

Cameron Ryan had a game-high 11 tackles for St. Joseph and two tackles for losses. Lars Pedersen had eight tackles. The Cadets had 56 tackles, three tackles for losses and broke up five passes. 

More photos from the game.

Abdul Basir scored the first two touchdowns as the Cadets took a 16-0 lead after one quarter. He ran eight times for 47 yards on St. Joseph’s first scoring drive and ran five times for 56 yards on the second scoring drive.  

“The conditions didn’t bother me,” Adbul Basir said. “I prefer snow and rain. It makes we work twice as hard. It was kinda fun.” 

Vazzano threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to Mark Hirschbeck (21 yards), Abdul Basir (54 yards) and Lars Pedersen (30 yards) to give the Cadets a 38-0 lead at the half. “We said we wouldn’t let the snow be a factor in this game,” Vazzano said. “I have to credit to our offensive line. They were unbelievable.” 

St. Joseph extended the lead to 54-0 in the third quarter when Jack Yerxa ran 40 yards with a fumble for a touchdown and Shane Miller turned a short screen pass into a 46-yard touchdown run down the far sideline. 

NOTES: The temperate was 14 degrees at kickoff with a 10 mph wind. Attendance was 675 hearty fans on this cold morning. … Despite the cold temperatures, Dellavecchia received a celebratory shower as the players poured a jug of water over him in the waning seconds of the contest. … This was St. Joseph’s 13th finals appearance. … It was the first win by the Cadets in the finals since the 2010 Class S final when they beat Ansonia, 49-28. Ansonia hasn’t lost since. … St. Joseph won its 11th state championship. Only Ansonia (19) and Hand (11) have won more CIAC titles. 

St. Joseph 54, Brookfield 16
At New Britain
Brookfield (11-4)    0   0   0 16 — 16
St. Joseph (13-2)  16 22 16  0 – 54
First quarter
SJ: Mufasha Abdul Basir 3 run (Abdul Basir run), 8:02
SJ: Abdul Basir 1 run (Mark Hirschbeck pass Jordan Vazzano), 3:16
Second quarter
SJ: Lars Pedersen 30 pass from Jordan Vazzano (pass failed), 10:39
SJ: Mark Hirschbeck 21 pass from Vazzano (Hirschbeck pas Vazzano), 4:30
SJ: Abdul Basir 54 pass from Vazzano (Hirschbeck pass Vazzano), 2:16
Third quarter
SJ: Jack Yerxa 40 fumble return (Joey Civitella run), 10:57
SJ: Shane Miller 46 pass Vazzano (Civitella run), 2:38
Fourth quarter
B: Brad Westmark 27 run (Austin Reich run), 5:49
B: Bobby Drysdale 50 run (Drysdale run), 1:30
Individual statistics
RUSHING: SJ – Mufasha Abdul Basir 19-166; Christian Trefz 7-15; Joey Civitella 3-13; Shane Miller 4-12. Brookfield – Bobby Drysdale 21-172, 1 touchdown; Brad Westmark 7-54, 1 touchdown; Austin Reich 9-44; Daniel Jackson 3-5; Gabe Pompette 1-3.
PASSING: SJ – Jordan Vazzano 5-7-0, 168; Brookfield – Brad Westmark 3-12-0, 15.
RECEIVING: SJ – Shane Miller 2-63; Mufasha Abdul Basir 1-54, Lars Pedersen 1-30, Mark Hirschbeck 1-21, Brookfield – Liam Clancy 1-10; Bobby Drysdale 1-5; Nick Seis 1-0.