| CHS Varsity Football '09-'10 |
| Football Friday Rams Escape Cross with 21-18 Win Brian Havlicek intercepted a Dontay Long pass, leading to a 5 yard touchdown run by Greg Palmer in the fourth quarter as the Cheshire Rams came from behind to beat Wilbur Cross 21-18 in a key SCC Division 1 East contest in New Haven. Dan Sweeney had a key 19 yard run on the winning drive. Sweeney would also come up big on defense as Cross attempted to come back and score a winning touchdown. Cross wide receiver Dourel Scott took 2 consecutive screen passes from Long down to the Cheshire 14. A holding call pushed the Governors back to the 24. The Cheshire defense held and on 4th and 3, even with Scott being one of the best kickers in the area, Cross decided to go for it. Long rolled out to his left, and with all the receivers covered, sprinted for the first down marker but Sweeney read the play, came off his block and drove Long out of bounds well short of the marker, giving the ball back to the Rams with about 3 minutes left. With Cross down to only one time out, Cheshire looked to run out the clock, however they were faced with a 3rd down and 3 from their own 26. Palmer called his own number and blasted through the line, sprinting past some of the fastest Cross defenders and running 72 yards down to the 2 yard line. The Cross defenders, tackling the ball, pulled it loose but a hustling Brian DeBisschop was right there to pounce on it. All that was left was to take a knee twice and the Rams move to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in the SCC D1 East. Cross drops to 2-1, 0-1. Cheshire opened the scoring, taking the opening kickoff and driving for a Palmer to Tuscano 6 yard pass. Kyle Pulek's kick put the Rams up 7-0. With 3:58 left in the quarter, Long fumbled a handoff and Matt Rapetsky was right there to recover. Four plays later Palmer hit Jake Scinto on a 12 yard slant and Scinto took it in for six. Pulek's kick made it 14-0. Cross would answer with three unanswered scores, keeping posession for most of the second quarter with a long drive for a score and then late in the quarter taking advantage of an interception and scoring on a great leaping catch by Maurice Morrison, taking the ball away from two Cheshire defenders as the half expired. They failed on both conversions but trailed by only 2 at halftime. Morrison would score again on a 5 yard pass from Long in the third quarter to give Cross an 18-14 lead. It didn't look good for Cheshire when Cross picked off their third Ram pass of the day. However, on 2nd and 9, Long made his biggest mistake of the day, floating a pass over the middle. Havlicek stepped up and made the play setting up the winning drive. Both teams played great defense and the difference in the game was Cheshire's ability to come up with the big play on both offense (Palmer, Tuscano, Sweeney) and on defense(Sweeney, Havlicek, Repetsky) |
| Cheshire 41 Amity 13 Max Slade ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, and Greg Palmer ran for 132 yards, passed for 99 and also scored twice for the visiting Rams in their opener. Dan Sweeney also ran for two scores and had 59 total yards. Sweeney added 11 tackles on defense. Connor Hepler had eight tackles and a sack for the Rams (1-0). Record-Journal |
| Rams Hold On For 30-24 Win vs. Sheehan Greg Palmer scored two touchdowns and Dan Sweeney rambled 64 yards with a fumble as the Rams rebounded from last weeks loss by beating Sheehan 30-24 at McClary Athletic Complex Friday night. Mike Skibicki had the first touchdown for Cheshire (4-1). With the game tied at 7 in the second quarter, Sheehan picked off Max Slade at the Cheshire 49. The Ram defense made a stand, but on 4th and 14, the Titans faked a punt and made a first down leading to a 25 yard field goal by Brendan Murphy to give Sheehan a 10-7 lead. Cheshire would answer, driving down the field as the half wound down. A Palmer to Havlicek completion set up Kyle Pulek, who drilled a 35 yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the half to tie the game. Cheshire would come out of the intermission strong, stopping a Sheehan drive on a 4th and 2 from the Cheshire 21. The Rams called on Dan Sweeney, who ripped off a 30 yard run. Palmer would then scramble for 9, and Paul Tuscano would gain 16 yards on a triple option to move the ball to the 12. Palmer would then take it off tackle and into the endzone for his 11th touchdown of the year. Pulek's kick gave Cheshire a 17-10 lead. After a 3 and out by Sheehan and a punt, Cheshire would start their next drive from their own 32. Palmer would hit Brian Debisschop over the middle for 19 yards to get the Rams deep into Titan territory. After a couple of runs, Palmer broke through and blasted 18 yards up the middle for the TD, after a great ball fake to Sweeney that had the Sheehan defense fooled. Pulek's kick put the Rams up 24-10. Palmer would finish with 117 yards on 22 carries. Sheehan would not go quietly, however. QB Brett Biestek hit Brendan Murphy with a 44 yard bomb, and then called his own number for a 23 yard run, down to the Cheshire 1. Biestek would eventually take it in, cutting the Rams lead to a touchdown. The ensuing kickoff resulted in a Jake Scinto fumble, recovered by Sheehan at the Cheshire 34. However Sweeney would come up with the ball two plays later out of a scrum and sprint 64 yards to paydirt. Pulek proved he was human by missing an extra point but the Rams were now up 30-17 with 11 minutes left in the game. The teams traded possesions down the stretch, but Beistek would hit another long pass to get the Titans to the Ram 21 with about 8 minutes left. After an Evan Gaudio sack seemed to slow the drive, Beistek hit AJ Pazcuzzo on a screen down to the 8 and then hit a fade route to John Songer to pull Sheehan to within a score. Sheehan's onside kick attempt was recovered by Greg Trifone at the 49. Cheshire attempted to run out the clock on the ground. Sweeney( 86 yards on 11 carries) had another big run on the drive but the drive stalled. Pulek was called on to punt and put the ball out of bounds at the Titan 5 with 1:29 left in the game. Beistek would try to move the ball down the field but Sweeney would knock down a Hail Mary pass with a few seconds left to preserve the victory for the Rams |
| Rams Top Hand 31-13 Behind Palmer 2 TD Hamden, Greenwich Lose, Cheshire Back in Top 4 Greg Palmer went 11 of 15 for 117 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns as Cheshire defeated Hand (3-3) in a SCC Division I East matchup. Dan Sweeney rushed for 63 yards, caught a touchdown, and recorded 13 tackles for Cheshire (5-1). First quarter C-Dan Sweeney 7 pass from Greg Palmer (Kyle Pulek kick) Second quarter H-Alex Shaw 7 pass from Nick Merullo (Tyler Mirando kick) C-Palmer 12 run (Pulek kick) Third quarter H-Casey Dowd 8 pass from Merullo (kick failed) C-Palmer 16 run (Pulek kick) Fourth quarter C-Paul Tuscano 10 run (Pulek kick) C-Pulek 25 FG |
| Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT Final Cheshire 7 7 7 6 27 North Haven 7 10 0 0 17 Game Summary First quarter N-Joe Schwab 72 run (Ron Carbone kick) C-Mike Skibicki 1 run (Kyle Pulek kick) Second quarter N-Kendrick Amaker 11 pass from Schwab (Carbone kick) C-Greg Palmer 2 run (Pulek kick) N-Carbone 31 field goal Third quarter C-Palmer 6 run (Pulek kick) Fourth C-Palmer 34 run (kick failed) Team records: C 6-1; N 4-3 |
| Football Friday Cheshire 34 Fairfield Prep 0 Final Rams Move to 7-1 |
| Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final Fairfield Prep 0 0 0 0 0 Cheshire 20 7 0 7 34 Game Summary First quarter C-Dan Sweeney 53 run (kick failed) C-Sweeney 1 run (Dom Severino kick) C-Greg Palmer 7 run (Severino kick) Second quarter C-Mike Skibicki 10 run (Severino kick) Fourth quarter C-Greg Trifone 72 interception return (Severino kick) Team records: C 7-1; F 0-9 Sweeney Scores Twice In Cheshire Win Dan Sweeney scored two rushing touchdowns in Cheshire's 34-0 win at home in SCC interdivisional play. Sweeney had a 52-yard run and a one-yard run for touchdowns. Greg Trifone returned an interception 72-yards for the Rams (7-1). |
| RAMS STATE CHAMPS! Beat Staples in OT 28-21 |
| Total Team Effort Brings Rams Class LL Championship In what turned out to be one of the best games in recent CT High School playoff history, the Cheshire Rams won their first State Football Championship since the glory days of the 90's. When Senior Luke Scinto pounced on a fumble in overtime, the celebration began. Greg Palmer ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Brian Havlicek scored and came up with a big interception that led to the third touchdown, and the Ram defense, led by Scinto, Steve Southerland, Connor Hepler, Craig Thorne and Evan Gaudio dominated the Staples offensive line. Special teams for the Rams was outstanding. Sophomore Kyle Pulek hit four extra points and came up with big punt after big punt to keep Cheshire ahead in the all important field position battle. Junior Evan Gaudio showed his outstanding athletic ability and desire, making tackles on Staples highly tauted return game. After Staples took the opening kickoff for a touchdown, using over 11 minutes of the first quarter, the Rams scored 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 halftime lead. The big difference in the 2nd quarter was the dominance of the Ram offensive and defensive line play. The third quarter and most of the fourth was a battle of field position, as both defenses controlled the game and the teams exchanged punts. Staples did not get to be the #1 team in the state by accident however. With about 6 minutes left in the game the Wreckers put together two big play drives to tie the game at 21. Cheshire got the ball first in overtime, and after a tough ten yard run by Senior Dan Sweeney on 2nd and 12 got the ball to the two, Mike Skibicki drove up the middle for the go-ahead touchdown. It was Skibicki's first carry of the game. Staples possesion started with a six yard run to bring the ball to the four. The next run went up the middle and the ball came loose. Scinto jumped into the pile and wrestled the ball away from the Wreckers lineman. With that play, the Rams were now the team of destiny. They finished what they started last year, reaching the Class LL finals only to lose to Glastonbury. This year, 2009, Cheshire was not to be stopped. Congratulations!! |
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| Cheshire 20 Glastonbury 6 CIAC Class LL Semi-Final Revenge is Sweet as Rams Roll into Championship Game Cheshire came up with five turnovers, including a pair of red-zone interceptions in the second half, to unseat top-seeded and defending champion Glastonbury in the Class LL semifinals Tuesday night. The Rams (10-1) got second-quarter field goals of 32 and 26 yards from sophomore kicker Kyle Pulek and a safety to build an 8-0 lead by halftime, then extended it to 20-0 on second-half touchdown runs by running back Dan Sweeney (11 yards) and quarterback Greg Palmer (8 yards). Sweeney rushed for 116 on 21 carries and Palmer completed 9 of 14 passes for 107 yards. It was the posession offense of the Rams and the stingy "bend but don't break" defense that keyed the victory. With star two way player Paul Tuscano out with mononucleosis, a few different players picked up the slack. Sebastian Little had a very strong game running the ball for Cheshire, while quarterback Palmer stepped into the defensive backfield and came up with two interceptions, halting Tomahawk drives. Ryan Connolly had another very strong game at corner, shutting down his side and also came up with a big 50 yard reception, breaking a number of tackles along the way. Jake Scinto played extended snaps on defense at cornerback, making a number of solid plays. Inside, strong performances by Evan Gaudio and Luke Scinto kept Glastonbury quarterback Sean McQuillen out of the pocket all night. Cheshire will now take on Staples on Saturday for the Class LL State Championship. Staples edged Xavier 31-28. Game location and time had not been decided at press time although West Haven is a probable site. Stay tuned to CheshireCtSports for all the game information. Cheshire vs. Glastonbury 1 2 3 4 OT Total #3 Cheshire (10-1) 0 8 6 6 20 #2 Glastonbury (9-2) 0 0 0 6 6 Final Second Quarter C--Kyle Pulek 32 FG (1:18) C--Safety. Malcolm Crosson tackled in end zone (0:56) C--Kyle Pulek 26 FG (0:00) Third Quarter C--Dan Sweeney 11 run (kick failed) 6:43 Fourth Quarter C--Greg Palmer 8 run (kick failed) 3:09 G--Dylan Malara 1 run (kick failed) 1:34 |
| Sweeney, Rams Run Over Southington 24-11, Clinch Playoffs Dan Sweeney had 133 yards rushing in the first half including a 63 yard touchdown run to lead the Rams over Southington 24-11 at McClary Complex this morning. The win puts Cheshire third in Class LL and most likely a meeting Tuesday at Glastonbury in the State Tournament. By beating Southington, a Class LL school, Cheshire leapfrogged Bristol Central, who was playing a winless Harding team today and tied Xavier for third. Cheshire had more tiebreaker points and will therefore be the third seed and a rematch with the team that beat them in the Class LL Championship Game last year.. Greg Palmer connected with Brian Havlicek for a long 83 yard touchdown and ran one in from the one himself as the Rams overcame an early safety to score 21 unanswered points in the first half. The Cheshire defense held the highly tauted Knights offense to only 3 first downs in the first half and continued to force quarterback Connor Butkeiwicz to misfire on key 3rd and 4th down opportunities. The Rams had at least 6 near interceptions in the game. Ryan Connolly and Paul Tuscano had particularly strong games for the Rams in the defensive backfield along with Brian Havlicek. The Rams were able to stuff the running game of Southington and Tyler Danko by swarming to the ball and and making all of their tackles. Dylan Baumgartner, Sweeney, and Steve Southerland disrupted everything the Knights were trying to do in the run game, allowing Thorne, Mike Skibicki, and Luke Scinto to get good looks at Danko. |
| Tuscano also contributed on offense, completing a two point conversion pass to Sebastian Little after the Sweeney score to give the Rams a 14-2 lead at that point. Just when it looked like Southington was going to get back into the game at 24-11 and the ball, three Cheshire players converged on a Knight's reciever forcing a fumble that was recovered by Baumgartner, stopping the drive. The Rams were able to keep the ball out of the hands of the Southington offense in the 4th quarter, holding possession for about 9 minutes with solid running from Sweeney, Palmer, and Skibicki. In other action affecting the Class LL playoff picture, Greenwich missed a 35 yard field goal with 2 seconds left and Staples went on to win 30-28 to stay in the top spot in the Class. Wins by Xavier (34-0 over Middletown), and Bridgeport Central (49-0 over Harding) should finalize the top four this way: Staples #1, Glastonbury #2, Cheshire #3, and Xavier #4. This could change pending the results of common opponents. |
| Kyle Nelson Nominated for Rudy Award Cheshire High School Senior Lineman Kyle Nelson has been nominated for the prestigious Rudy Award given to players who overcome the odds and show heart and perseverance. To vote for Kyle's journey, click here. |