Hand’s Colin McCabe cuts through the Maloney defense for a touchdown early in the first half on Monday.
Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media
MADISON — The championship game everyone wants to see is set.
Hand vs. St. Joseph.
Second-seeded Hand (12-0) assured itself a berth in Saturday’s CIAC Class L final with a 42-0 victory over third-seeded Maloney Monday night at the Surf Club. The Tigers and top-seeded St. Joseph, who have been ranked 1-2 in the state polls all season, will meet at 3 p.m. at Willowbrook Park in New Britain Saturday for the L title. St. Joseph downed New Canaan 42-0 Monday night in the other semifinal.
It will be the first matchup in a state final with teams ranked 1-2 in the state poll since Xavier defeated Southington in 2005 for the LL title.
CIAC FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCOREBOARD/SCHEDULE
“We’ve kind of had that idea in our heads all year,” said Hand quarterback Phoenix Billings, who was 5-for-12 passing for 102 yards and 20 yards rushing. “They’re a great team. We have a lot of respect for them and it should be a pretty awesome game.”
Phoenix Billings talks about the winning streak and the upcoming showdown with St. Joseph #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/1Pjp2j0x6G
— Dave Phillips (@davephillips41) December 10, 2019
The heavy rain throughout Monday night made a huge difference in the game as both teams had trouble holding on to the football.
“The weather obviously isn’t ideal when it’s this bad,” Billings said. “I thought we did a great job of just using what we had, trying to get the ball downfield, and our offensive line did a great job of getting that push up front.”
It also extended Hand’s winning streak to 36 consecutive games. The Tigers, who will be going for their third consecutive state championship, are perfect since losing to Shelton, 21-19, in Week 3 of the 2017 season.
Hand football coach Dave Mastroianni talks about Hand’s winning streak and the upcoming showdown with St Joseph #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/cO9qxWXH9Z
— Dave Phillips (@davephillips41) December 10, 2019
“You can’t put that in perspective,” Hand coach Dave Mastroianni said. “Every coach says you try to go 1-0 every week and we’ve been able to string those 1-0’s together. I’m proud of our team and stringing those together.”
And Hand started out with a bang, scoring on its first two possessions.
Colin McCabe (17 carries for 102 yards) scooted off left tackle for a 26-yard run just six minutes into the game. McCabe added the conversion run to make it 8-0.
After Maloney punted, Phoenix Billings finished off a 41-yard drive for the Tigers with a one-yard scamper and with Isaiah McNeilly’s kick, it was 15-0 with 1:26 to go in the first quarter.
Hand had a couple of chances to tack on points in the second quarter, but Ethan Haberman fumbled on the Maloney 1-yard line. The Tigers also had another shot with five seconds left, but McNeill’s 36-yard field goal was short and wide to the right.
It's the game everyone thought would happen in Class L. St. Joe's vs. Hand. The @HandTigersFB with an impressive win over Maloney tonight to get to this point. @AndrewFBrill with the recap @WFSBnews #cthsfb @HandTigers pic.twitter.com/cTHqCrh3KP
— Elliott Polakoff (@ElliottPolakoff) December 10, 2019
The Tigers added two touchdowns in the third quarter to break wide open.
Conner Quinn picked off an Angel Arce pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown midway through the quarterback and Jesse Lutz added a 4-yard run late in the period to make it 29-0.
Hand’s defense put tons of pressure on Arce (5-for-19 passing for 73 yards) in the fourth quarter and forced him into back-to-back fumbles which the Tigers returned for touchdowns by Kevin Nizolek and Ben Cornelio.
The only setback for Hand came when McCabe left the field with assistance with an apparent leg injury late in the third quarter.
“I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know,” Mastroianni said about whether McCabe will play in the state final. “Jesse Lutz has proven he can play and I have every confidence in him.”
Maloney finished 10-2 with the loss.
“I don’t think the score indicates the final outcome,” Maloney coach Kevin Frederick said. “Defensively, we played awesome. Offensively, we struggled and couldn’t hang on to the football.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Hand’s defense which kept Maloney off the scoreboard throughout the game and turned three turnovers into touchdowns.
QUOTABLE
“It’s a good feeling to get back to the championship game regardless of who we are playing. That was our goal all year. Now, we’re playing St. Joe’s ….okay.”
— Hand coach Dave Mastroianni
