Sheehan Titans take the field for the 2019 CIAC Class S Championship
David G. Whitham / For Hearst Connecticut Media
TRUMBULL — With 4:21 left in the third quarter, No. 3 Bloomfield scored, taking a two-point lead on No. 4 Sheehanin the CIAC Class S title game.
Eleven seconds later, an 80-yard bomb from Kyle Simmons to Jordan Davis put Sheehan back in front.
Davis and the Titans never looked back, scoring the next 36 points, taking the game from an instant classic to an instant blowout, winning 64-33.
CIAC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCOREBOARD
It is the first state championship for Sheehan since 1985 and it could not have been any sweeter.
“Thirty-four years, it’s been a long time. We were in a drought, but not anymore,” said Davis, who scored four touchdowns. “All that this team has been through and all the adversity that we faced. To see that time wind down and for us to be victorious, it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Davis scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown and caught touchdown passes from Simmons of 37, 15 and 80 yards.
Simmons threw three touchdown passes and ran for three touchdowns of 4, 4 and 16 yards. He finished with 291 yards passing.
Bloomfield, the defending Class S champions, had allowed 29 points heading into the game, a total Sheehan doubled.
“Sheehan made some plays and, after 34 years, I feel like they just wanted it a little more than us,” Bloomfield coach Ty Outlaw said. “We made some mistakes and (Sheehan) fought hard. It has been an amazing year, but unfortunately, we couldn’t finish and go back-to-back. That’s what happens when you get comfortable. After 34 years, they we just hungrier.”
Bloomfield jumped on Sheehan early, going up 14-0 on 22-yard pass from Daron Bryden to Anthony Simpson and a 6-yard pass from Bryden to Michael Raiford.
Sheehan would answer with Simmons hitting Davis for a 27-yard touchdown pass, making it 14-7 Bloomfield after one.
The second quarter was one of the best played by any two teams, all season, with a combined five touchdowns scored.
Bloomfield struck first with Simpson taking a screen pass 51-yards for a touchdown. Sheehan came back with Davis running one in from 6-yards out. Sheehan would take its first lead, 21-20, on a 15-yard pass from Simmons to Davis with 5:15 left in the half.
Bloomfield retook the lead with Bryden hitting Simpson for a 27-yard touchdown. Sheehan would end the half scoring on a 4-yard run by Simmons, making it 28-27 Sheehan at the break.
Bloomfield went up 33-28 on a 15-yard run by Shakur Hill with 4:21 left in the third. The Warhawks would not be heard from again.
Sheehan ended the quarter with the bomb to Davis and a 4-yard touchdown run by Simmons.
The fourth quarter turned into more of a coronation of Sheehan rather than providing any drama on the scoreboard.
Sheehan scored three more times in the fourth with Terrence Bogan running in from 4 and 1 yards for scores and Simmons capping it with a 16-yard run.
Bogan finished with 195 yards rushing on 23 carries.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jordan Davis, Sheehan. Davis scored four touchdowns but none as big as the 80-yard pass he caught in stride from Simmons. Davis had 186 receiving.
QUOTABLE
“We knew we were going to have to weather the early storm. They have athletes at every position on the field and they were better than us at so many positions,” Sheehan coach John Ferrazzi said. “We told the guys ‘Don’t panic and once we get the momentum, let’s ride it.’ That’s exactly what they did. I am so proud of them. They earned every single bit of this. We have Jordan Davis, we have Terrence Bogan. You have to ride or die with your playmakers and those guys just carried us, all season long.”
STATE RECORD
The 97 combined points is the most scored in a CIAC state football final. The previous record was set in the 1999 Class M final won by Weaver 69-26.
