Granby/Canton’s Will Attianese (22) carries the ball in Tuesday’s 26-12 loss to Watertown. More game photos
GRANBY, Nov. 28, 2023 – It took the offensive line of the Watertown High football nearly two quarters to find ways to open gaps in the line for running back Aiden Arline and quarterback Brayden Gambee in Tuesday night’s Class SS quarterfinal game against No. 1 Granby/Canton.
But once the Warriors figured that out, Arline and Gambee took over. The combined to rush for 208 yards and three touchdowns in the second half to help lift No. 8 Watertown to a 26-12 win over the top-seeded Bears.
It was the first CIAC tournament win for the Warriors in football since they won a Class SS championship 37 years ago in 1986.
Watertown (6-5), which moves over .500 for the first time this season, advances to face fellow Naugatuck Valley League rival Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic in Sunday’s semifinals in Winsted. The Yellowjackets beat Tolland, 22-16.
Granby/Canton (8-3) was able to move the ball and had two long scoring drives. But they had three turnovers – two fumbles lost and an interception.
“We were our own worst enemy,” Granby/Canton coach Erik Shortell said. “We fumbled 5, 6, 7 times, missed tackles. Blown assignments. Just played sloppy. In the playoffs, every team is good and we couldn’t come back from it.
“If you play bad and turn the ball over more times than they do, any team, it doesn’t matter if they are 0-9, you’re not going to win the game,” he said.
Granby/Canton was in control of the game for much of the first half. Watertown’s first five drives resulted in 14 yards gained, 17 plays, one first down, a fumble and four punts.
But you could see the Warriors gaining confidence.
Watertown’s Brayden Gambee (12) looks for open space in Tuesday’s Class SS quarterfinal game. The Warriors won 26-12. More game photos
Trailing 6-0, Watertown stopped the Bears on a fourth down and two play on their own 44 yard line to force a turnover on downs. The Warriors did nothing with the ball but punter Anthony Andujar got a great, wind-aided roll and the ball was downed on the Granby 1-yard line for a 56 yard punt.
Granby QB Vincent Forte got the Bears some breathing room with a 28-yard run on second down but the Bears had to punt from their own 39-yard line with 2:40 left in the second quarter.
Watertown took over on their own 48-yard line. Gambee completed a 26-yard pass to Andujar to the Granby/Canton 24. Two plays later, it was Aiden Arline with a 17-yard run to the end zone to give the Warriors a 7-6 lead.
Watertown nearly scored a touchdown on the final play of the quarter when Gambee intercepted a Forte pass with 3.1 seconds left and returned it 64 yards to the two-yard line before Granby/Canton’s Gunnar Metcalfe drove him out of bounds to end the quarter.
Watertown got the ball to open the third quarter. The big play was a 59-yard run by Gambee to the Granby/Canton 10-yard line. Two plays later, he scored from the 14-yard line to give Watertown a 13-6 lead.
Forte gained 10 yards on consecutive carries but he collided with one of his own lineman on the second carry and the ball popped loose and into the hands of the Warriors.
“We had the momentum everything was working that we thought would work and then we fumbled and we just can’t do that,” Shortell said.
Five plays later, it was Arline evading tackler to score on a 21-yard run and help increase the lead to 20-6.
Gambee ran for a game-high 135 yards on 17 carries including 114 yards in the second half. Arline had 94 of his 120 yards in the second half of the game.
“The holes were crazy. The holes were insane,” Arline said. “Thank you to my linemen. I, honestly, really didn’t do much except run forward.”
Granby/Canton didn’t quit. They marched 80 yards on 14 running plays to pull within eight, 20-12, on a two-yard TD run from Forte, who ran for 130 yards on 27 carries. Forte scored with 7:15 left in the game. The extra point attempt hit the left upright and bounced away.
Watertown’s Adam Hassinger returned the kickoff 32 yards on the Watertown 42-yard line. Gambee gained 13 yards on first down and Arline gained 42 yards to the Granby/Canton three-yard line. Gambee scored two plays later from the six for a more comfortable 26-12 lead with 5:29 remaining.
Granby/Canton had one last drive but it died on the Watertown 22-yard line with 2:35 remaining.
“I am proud of our guys from coming down the stretch and tightening up the defense and fighting through,” Watertown head coach Shawn Stanco said. “When (Granby/Canton) came back and scored, they punched right back and kept it going.”
Arline feels the Warriors had an edge due some of the challenging teams they faced in the Naugatuck Valley League where they played in Division I.
He was asked how the NVL helped prepare the Warriors. “Naugatuck, Ansonia. I could keep on talking. Those teams are super tough and these dudes play against Jordan-era plumbers and mechanics,” he said.
The Bears are members of the Pequot Conference that had two teams – Cromwell/Portland (Class S) and Rockville (Class M) – advance to the Sunday’s semifinals and three teams — Granby/Canton, Coginchaug co-op and SMSA co-op – lose. Ansonia and Holy Cross advanced from the NVL while Oxford and undefeated Naugatuck, the No. 1 seed in Class L, were beaten.
Watertown was one of two No. 8 seeds to earn a win in the CIAC playoffs Tuesday night. The Warriors celebrate their win. More game photos
Granby/Canton looked sharp on their first drive. They marched 70 yards on 13 plays to take a 6-0 lead on a three-yard touchdown run from Will Attianese. Forte had 15-yard completions to Attianese and Ryan Cunowski on the drive along with a 15-yard run.
Forte also lost a fumble early in the second quarter. Watertown didn’t score but it was time that the Bears didn’t have the ball and opportunities to score.
Granby/Canton’s Ben Vrabel did recover a Watertown fumble in the first quarter. Attianese and Cunowski each had two tackles for a loss while Metcalfe had a 10-yard sack. Chambers returned three kickoffs for 50 yards.
“I am beyond proud,” Shortell said. “I told them to keep their heads up. It was a phenomenal year. We battled.”
The Bears qualified for the tournament for the fourth straight year but are still looking for their first state tournament. Watertown got their first win in the playoffs since 1986 when only the top two teams in each class were invited to the tournament. All top four seeds in Class SS lost on Tuesday.
Watertown 26, Granby/Canton 12
At Granby
Watertown (6-5) 0 7 13 6 — 26
Granby/Canton (8-3) 6 0 0 6 — 12
First quarter
G: Will Attianese 3 run (kick blocked), 6:21
Second quarter
W: Aiden Arline 17 run (Samuel Paoletto kick), 0:54
Third quarter
W: Brayden Gambee 14 run (kick fails), 8:46
W: Arline 24 run (Paoletto kick), 5:53
Fourth quarter
G: Vincent Forte 2 run (kick fails), 8:03
W: Arline 6 run (kick fails), 5:29
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Watertown – Aiden Arline 14-120, Brayden Gambee 17-135, Dylan Fekete 1-minus 5, Noah Powell 1-0; Granby/Canton – Will Attianese 20-89, Vincent Forte 27-130, Carter Chambers 2-1, Team: 1-minus 13
PASSING: Watertown – Brayden Gambee 4-8-0, 44; Granby/Canton – Vincent Forte 8-23-1, 80
RECEIVING: Watertown – Adam Hassinger 2-16, Anthony Andujar 1-26, Michael Mendillo 1-10; Granby/Canton – Will Attianese 1-5, Ryan Cunowski 1-15, Aidan Barbee 3-21, Carter Chambers 2-23, Ben Vrabel 1-6
INTERCEPTIONS: Gambee (W) 1-64; FUMBLE REC: Vrabel (G) 1-0, Hassinger (W) 1-0, Gambee (W) 1-0; SACKS: Vincent Matule (W) 2-10, Julian Guerrera (W) 1-3, Gunnar Metcalfe (G) 1-10
KICKOFF RETURNS – Chambers (G) 3-50, Arline (W) 1-32, Hassinger (W) 1-14; PUNT RETURN: Arline (W) 1-5
Class SS tournament
Tuesday, November 28
No. 8 Watertown 26, No. 1 Granby/Canton 12
No. 5 Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic 22, Tolland 16
No. 7 Joel Barlow 13, No. 2 Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton 6
No. 6 Sheehan 33, No. 3 Windham 0
Sunday, Dec. 3
Semifinals
Watertown at Gilbert/NWR/Housatonic
Joel Barlow at Sheehan
Saturday, Dec. 9
Championship game
