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Berlin held Justice to 64 yards rushing (on 15 carries) but the senior scored three touchdowns (of 1, 1, and 3 yards) after fullback Capalbo (25 carries, 123 yards - both game highs) ran the ball against the interior of the Berlin defense.
"They don’t do anything fancy," Berlin coach Al Pelligrinelli said after his club lost for the first time in 17 home games. "They just give it to that kid and let him run with it. There’s a reason why they are where they are."
"They couldn’t stop the fullback," Justice said, acknowledging that he played more of a decoy role. "They were looking for me. I (was) handing it off and they were chasing (me) outside and he’s getting a first down."
Berlin wasn’t able to consistently stop the fullback, but Pelligrinelli was pleased with his club, describing the game as the team’s best performance of the season.
"It was a lot better than last week," Pelligrinelli said, alluding to the club’s stunning 33-11 defeat against Middletown. "We did what we had to do (Saturday)."
Berlin was forced to overcome a pair of early turnovers as Way blocked Joel Hartunian’s punt on Berlin’s first possession. Taking over at the Berlin 40, NFA went the distance when Capalbo plunged over from the five with 5:15 left in the first quarter. The play capped a nine-play drive.
Moments later, Berlin was in even bigger trouble as Way lofted a short, high kick that came down near the Berlin 40 at the same time an NFA player laid out the Berlin receiver. NFA recovered the ball at the Berlin 41, and things looked desperate.
But the Redcoats held to escape further trouble. After engineering a 44-yard drive that ended at the NFA 31, Berlin couldn’t stop the Wildcats’ next drive. Justice scored on a quarterback sneak with 5:51 left in the half for a 14-0 lead.
"They were tough in there," Pelligrinelli said, referring to NFA’s run defense, which yielded only 28 yards on the ground. "They were big and physical. (Defensive ends) Dan Ryan (listed at 6-7) and (6-5) Matt Shaughnessey, (lineman) Craig Gernhardt, and their captain Jason Bakoulis were tough."
The NFA defense set up the next touchdown, 7:15 into the third when Shaughnessey tipped a Sanzo pass at the line of scrimmage and Bakoulis intercepted the ball at the Berlin 15. Four plays later, Justice snuck in to make it 21-0.
It was part of the frustration for Berlin, which had eight passes tipped, seven courtesy of Shaughnessey.
The Redcoats engineered a 15-play, 65-yard drive Sanzo (16-for-31, 2 INTs, 1 TD, 148 yards) was 7-for-11 on the drive, and two of the incompletions were on tipped balls.
His nine-yard strike to Chris Schroeder (6 catches, 69 yards) on fourth-and-five made it 21-7. But NFA engineered a backbreaking 16-play, 67-yard march to make it 28-7.
On the game’s final series, Berlin turned it over on downs when Shaghnessey tipped three passes on the 8-play drive, and NFA coach Steve Robichaud admitted it was part of the Wildcats’ strategy.
"We knew Sanzo was short in stature," Robichaud said of the 5’9" Sanzo. "So we emphasized that this week."
