Gilbert trumps Wildcats, 20-7

WINSTED — It took the better part of a quarter for the Gilbert-Northwestern football team to shake a troubled offensive game before taking a 20-7 victory at Wolcott Tech Sunday, Oct. 25.

The Yellowjackets faced Wolcott Tech coming off a tough home game against Avon and clearly underestimated the winless Wildcats’ desperation for a home-field victory. The Jackets were caught flat-footed and remained noticeably shaken through most of the first quarter until their defensive line started to show the first sparks of life.

Wolcott Tech worked to create holes in the awakening Gilbert-Northwestern defense through the second and developed a lengthy drive that put them in position to score. Yellowjacket Geoff Cersoli nabbed a would-be touchdown pass to keep the game scoreless and put some vigor into a comatose Gilbert-Northwestern offense.

Yellowjacket Kyle Jones provided a bulldozer blocking effort to open up enough room for a 20-yard quarterback keeper by Bobby Lippincott to kick-start the Jackets’ first significant offensive drive of the afternoon. Jones offered yardage of his own on a 9-yard carry that would become a Gilbert-Northwestern first down with another rushing effort from Lippincott.

The Jackets’ blocking continued to create space for the rushing game, but Devin Morgan seemed to have little difficulty zigzagging his way through the Wolcott Tech defensive line all on his own. Morgan’s remarkable agility and field sense generated significant yardage throughout the afternoon and put the Jackets in position to score before the half.

Gilbert-Northwestern football excels when it plays a hard, grinding, rush game but has shown their ability to put up a clean passing game as well. With the Wilidcat defense looking to keep the game scoreless before the half, Lippincott found Casey Ranthum with a quick touchdown pass to give Gilbert-Northwestern the first points of the day. J.P. Dulac added the extra point to give the Jackets the 7-0 lead with time dwindling in the first half.

A resurrected Yellowjacket defense led by Jones clamped down on the Wildcats’ next drive and forced them to punt. With plenty of momentum and little time, Gilbert-Northwestern worked to extend their lead before the half. A handful of strong rushes put Lippincott in position to hit Yellowjacket Ross Lopardo with a second Gilbert-Northwestern touchdown pass. The Wildcats managed to block the extra point attempt, but now trailed 13-0 heading into the halftime break.

The third quarter remained a fierce stalemate throughout. The Yellowjackets and Wildcats both offered some decent individual efforts but were unable to post anything throughout the quarter.

The Jackets regrouped and orchestrated another solid drive in the fourth that seemed to be barreling towards an unavoidable touchdown until it was quickly derailed by an interception deep in Wildcat territory.

The Wildcats returned possession to the Jackets on an intercepted pass of their own, allowing Morgan to add another touchdown. Dulac added the extra point to give the Yellowjackets a 20-0 lead in the fourth.

The Wildcats did manage to strike late in the quarter with a pass from quarterback Tom Notchick to Nick Schibi, who ran 66 yards to prevent a shutout.

The Yellowjackets ran out the clock to take the 20-7 road victory and improve their season record to 4-2.

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