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Memorable rally in final seconds lifts Ansonia past Woodland into Class S finals

Ansonia’s Romeo Charles pulls in a last-second touchdown pass from Matteo Sorrentino to lift the Chargers to a 30-23 win over Woodland Regional Sunday in the Class S semifinals. More game photos

ANSONIA, Dec. 8, 2023 – The Ansonia High football program is more than 100 years old with more than 800 wins and 22 state championships in its storied history.

It would take a pretty special game to be remembered as one of the all-time great contests in Charger history. Folks at Jarvis Stadium would submit that Sunday’s Class S semifinal victory over Naugatuck Valley League (NVL) rival Woodland would qualify.

No. 2 Ansonia scored with a touchdown with 00.5 seconds remaining to beat No. 6 Woodland Regional, 30-23, to advance to Saturday’s Class S state championship against Bloomfield at Rentschler Field.

The Chargers (11-1) won the game after Woodland scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 25.9 seconds remaining to take a 23-22 lead.

Trailing by seven, 22-15 with 3:38 remaining, Woodland (8-4) took over on their own 20 yard line and marched 80 yards on 12 plays with Norman Cook scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass from QB Jack Brunetti. On the two-point conversion, Brunetti pulled in the pass from Christian Morales to give the Hawks a 23-22 lead.

On the kickoff, Ansonia got a 13-yard return on a short kick from Crison Fogle to the Woodland 49-yard line with 20.8 seconds remaining.

After an incompletion on first down, Ansonia QB Matteo Sorrentino lofted a deep pass to receiver Romeo Charles near the eight-yard line that was incomplete but Woodland was called for pass interference and a 15-yard penalty.

With 8.2 seconds left on the clock, the Chargers ran the same play and Charles got behind the Woodland defender and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass over his shoulder to lift Ansonia into the state final for the 33rd time since 1976.

“We won (once) with a walkoff field goal nothing like this in a state semifinal with 20 seconds left and one timeout,” Ansonia coach Tom Brockett said. “It is unbelievable. We made a couple of mistakes on that (last Woodland drive) but we kept fighting.”

Sorrentino was playing in his first game for the Chargers since Nov. 8 when he hurt his collarbone against Woodland.

“We preach attitude and belief and pride,” he said. “We just kept our heads down as a team and kept fighting. The game isn’t over until it is over. We put our heads down and that fire in our heart came out and we did what we needed to do.”

Woodland’s Christian Morales runs for yardage in Sunday’s Class S playoff game in Ansonia. More game photos

Ansonia threw just four passes in the game, riding the legs and strength of back Quintez Whittle, who ran for a game-high 184 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries.

Charles was focused on the game-winning play. He didn’t hear the Nolan Field crowd roar when he pulled in the game-winning reception. “I kind of blacked out,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything. I just my teammates running toward me. I saw no (penalty) flags and got excited.”

Woodland coach Joseph Lato said he should’ve called a timeout after the pass interference call with eight seconds left to give his defense a chance to regroup.

But he was proud of his team’s effort and resolve to erase a 14-point deficit to take the lead with 25 seconds remaining.

“They played a great game,” he said. “They did everything asked of them. They worked their tails off. Unfortunately, we left 25 seconds on the clock.”

Ansonia, who beat the Hawks 50-27 in November, had a 22-8 lead at the half.

On their first drive of the second half, Woodland marched 71 yards on 11 plays with Brett Lato scoring on a four-yard touchdown reception from QB Jack Brunetti with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter. The extra point from Hunter Crock cut the Ansonia lead to seven, 22-15.

In the fourth quarter, Woodland was on the move again. Sorrentino’s hit a great 38-yard punt that rolled out of bounds on the Hawks’ one-yard line. But a 22-yard run from Christan Morales on a third down and two play moved the Hawks out of the shadow of their own goal post and down the field.

A 29-yard completion from Brunetti to Morales put the ball on the Charger 13-yard line with under seven minutes left in the game. But Ansonia’s Jaydem Whittle got the interception to stop the drive.

Woodland got the ball back on their own 20 with 3:38 remaining. On third down, Brunetti was intercepted by Quintez Whittle who returned the ball into the end zone. But that interception was negated by a roughing the passer penalty.

Brunetti completed 5-of-his next 6 passes to give the Hawks a 23-22 lead with 25 seconds left. Twice, the Chargers were called for defensive holding calls on the scoring drive.

Ansonia took an early 8-0 lead when Quintez Whittle scored on a 65-yard run and the two-point conversion just 14 seconds into the game. Woodland tied the game at 8-8 on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Josh Stepputtis from Brunetti with 6:15 left in the first quarter and a two-point conversion run from Morales.

Ansonia responded immediately with a 67-yard touchdown run from Quintez Whittle and another two-point conversion run to boost the lead to 16-8 with 6:02 left in the opening quarter.

Quintez Whittle has run for eight two-point conversion runs in the last two games for Ansonia. He tied a state record with six two-point conversion runs in the quarterfinal victory over Valley Regional/Old Lyme on Tuesday.

Ansonia extended their lead to 22-8 with 3:14 left in the second quarter when Evander Leon-Ayala scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Charles, who played quarterback for the past three games that Sorrentino has missed.

Woodland threatened with a drive of their own with Brunetti completing six passes but the drive stalled on the Charger 25-yard line.

Woodland players are stunned as Ansonia fans celebrate the Chargers’ last-second touchdown to beat Woodland. More game photos

Ansonia 30, Woodland Regional 23
At Ansonia

Woodland (8-4)              8  0  7  8  — 23
Ansonia (11-1)               16  6  0  7  — 30
First quarter
A: Quintez Whittle 35 run (Whittle run), 11:46
W: Josh Stepputtis 55 pass from Jack Brunetti (Christian Morales run), 6:15
A: Whittle 67 run (Whittle run), 6:02
Second quarter
A: Evander Leon-Ayala 7 pass from Romeo Charles (run fails), 3:14
Third quarter
W: Brett Lato 4 pass from Brunetti (Hunter Crock kick), 3:49
Fourth quarter
W: Norman Cook 13 pass from Brunetti (Brunetti pass from Morales), 0:25
A: Charles 34 pass from Matteo Sorrentino (Jayden White run), 00.5

More game photos

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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