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FAIRFIELD, Conn. It took nearly 23 hours, but Fairfield Prep football won its home opener. The Jesuits beat Wilbur Cross, 35-18, in a rain-delayed game that began Friday night and carried on into Saturday afternoon.
All in all, I think our kids did pretty well, Prep head coach Tom Shea said Saturday. We didnt have the fire and passion that we had [Friday night], but we came on out, we were pretty efficient and we made plays when we had to.
Prep came out strong in the first quarter, scoring on its first possession with an eight-yard touchdown run by Joseph McBride. Wilbur Cross struck back, however, on the next drive. After Javon Taylor completed a 62-yard pass to Kyle Holmes, Demarco Ware brought the score to 7-6 on a five-yard touchdown run.
McBride answered right back with a 31-yard touchdown just two plays later. Both he and Shea credited the juniors impressive game with shifts along Preps offensive line.
We practiced hard all weekharder than we did the Griswold week, McBride said, referring to the Jesuits 21-14 win last weekend. We came out strong [Friday] on the line.
The Jesuits then added to their lead in their next possession. Senior receiver Charles Keady capped off a 92-yard drive with a one-handed catch on a 20-yard pass from Thomas Brewster to put Prep up 21-6. The Governors then answered quickly again, with Taylor and Holmes connecting on a 63-yard pass to pull within nine. But the Jesuits finished the half with Brewster scoring himself on a 10-yard touchdown run, ending Fridays action ahead, 28-12.
Friday nights thunderstorms arrived at halftime, and after about an hours delay officials decided to postpone the finale to Saturday afternoon. Both offenses struggled after the break, with both teams going scoreless in the third quarter.
When Prep finally broke the stalemate on the first play of the fourth quarter, it was the defense that came through. Sophomore linebacker Nicholas Crowle intercepted a pass and ran 39 yards to pick up the Jesuits fifth touchdown.
Prep threatened to score again on the next drive, but a 22-yard Chris Golger touchdown run was called back because of a holding penalty. Keady fumbled on the next play, leading to Preps only turnover of the game. Wilbur Cross followed with a 68-yard drive, scoring a touchdown on the final play to end the game at 35-18.
With the victory, the Jesuits improve to 2-1 on the season. They host Jonathan Law High School Thursday night, hoping to improve on their first two-game winning streak since the 2007 season.
To reach Greg Canuel, email gcanuel@thedailyfairfield.com.
CORRECTION: This story originally stated that Charles Keady had a 22-yard touchdown run negated by a penalty. Chris Golger made the play.
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