Danbury football team wins a wild one over Hamden

DANBURY -- Wow, were the Football Gods ever smiling down upon the Danbury Hatters on Friday night.

After watching a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead evaporate in a matter of seconds against Hamden, Danbury regained the lead for good when the Dragons botched a punt from their own end zone. The resulting safety lifted the Hatters to an improbable 15-14 victory, their first of the season.

"I have to credit our kids for playing all the way through," Danbury coach Dan Donovan said. "Our defense could've hung their heads there when that happened and just let them run the clock out. But they decided they were going to step in and stop them. We knew we had some time and our timeouts. We were going to go after the punt, and it came out in our favor."

Led by sophomore quarterback Anferny Ith and a valiant defensive effort, the Hatters appeared to be in the driver's seat early in the fourth quarter. They led 13-0 courtesy of Corey Chaffee's electrifying 86-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter and Ith's 17-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Jakobson in the third.

But Hamden refused to go peacefully.

A 22-yard touchdown pass from Eli Bonadies to Spencer Thomas trimmed the Dragons' deficit to 13-6 with 7:31 remaining.

Danbury's Chris Latham misplayed the ensuing kickoff and Hamden's Trevor Perry pounced on the loose ball at the Danbury 5. One play later, Bonaparte ran for the score and Bonadies ran for the two-point conversion to make it 14-13 Hamden.

"It's a learning experience for Chris," Donovan said. "I talked to him and he thought it was going to roll into the end zone. If it rolls into the end zone, it's a touchback, no problem. But it didn't quite make it, then he went for it. A little bit of nervousness, but he learned from it. It'll never happen again."

Danbury's ensuing drive stalled at the Hamden 11 with less than four minutes to go. But just when all hope seemed lost for the Hatters, their defense stopped Hamden on three successive plays and forced the Dragons to line up for the pivotal punt. The snap slipped through punter Akeemo Dixon's hands and rolled around in the end zone. Dixon recovered the ball to prevent Danbury from scoring a touchdown, but the safety was enough to put the Hatters back in front.

Danbury recovered the ensuing onside kick, but couldn't run the clock completely out on its next drive. Hamden took over with time enough for one last play, but Danbury's Marlon Black sacked Bonadies as time expired.

"Danbury played hard today," Hamden coach Tony Martone said. "I like their quarterback. He kept them in the game. Special teams -- we dropped the ball in the end zone, they return a punt for a touchdown -- that was the difference in the game tonight."

Ith, who played freshman football last year, seemed to grow up right in front of the 2,000 or so fans in attendance. He took charge in the second half.

"We know he's an athlete, and he's got a great head," Donovan said. "But coming off of freshman football and going with a new offense on the varsity level, it took him a game and a half to settle in."

Ith completed 16 of 25 passes -- 10 of 16 in the second half -- for 115 yards and ran the ball 11 times for 39 yards. He was sacked twice and intercepted twice, all in the first half. He hit Chaffee four times for 34 yards and Jakobson three times for 23.

"We just played hard as a team," Ith said. "We never gave up on each other. I threw my two picks in the first half, but everyone picked it up and did what they had to do. Everyone just did their job."

Alfred Valentine set the tone for the Danbury defense on Hamden's opening series of the game. The Dragons were moving the ball efficiently until, on third and 20 from the Hamden 41, Valentine's punishing hit on receiver Derrick Atkinson broke up a pass across the middle. Also for the Hatters, Elijah Duffy and Karon Danzy each had an interception, Danzy and Eric Henry each added a sack and Akim Moffett was in on several big defensive stops. The Hatters' defensive secondary was tested in the second half and responded by breaking up several pass plays in the end zone. Chaffee, Duffy and Justin Placella all broke up pass plays.

For Hamden, Atkinson and Jonathan Lewis each had an interception and John Thomas and Denny McCary each had a sack.

HAMDEN 0 0 0 14 -- 14

DANBURY 0 7 6 2 -- 15

D--Corey Chaffee, 86 punt return (Anferny Ith kick).

D--Tristan Jakobson, 17 pass from Ith (kick failed).

H--Spencer Thomas, 22 pass from Eli Bonadies (pass failed).

H--Derrick Bonaparte, 5 run (Bonadies run).

D--Safety (Hamden fumble in the end zone).

Records: Hamden 0-2; Danbury 1-1.

Source: http://www.newstimes.com/sports/article/Danbury-football-team-wins-a-wild-one-over-Hamden-3884953.php

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