Wolverines: Comeback kids

Stonington — Leave it to senior Rob Foisey, one of Griswold High School's saviors Friday night, to describe his team's stunning turnaround in a pivotal Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division game.

The Wolverines went from giving away the game, committing all five turnovers and several costly penalties in the first three quarters, to staging a dramatic comeback.

"That's Griswold football," Foisey said. "We just never give up. We knew we could do it."

After falling behind by seven points on the previous Stonington possession, Griswold quarterback Derek Ward connected with Foisey for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.

Then Griswold coach Glenn LaBossiere made a gutsy call, going for the win with a two-point conversion. Junior Tony Velasquez capped the rally by following blockers up the middle for a wild 15-14 victory.

"It's a huge win for us," LaBossiere said.

Huge, indeed.

The Wolverines (5-2, 4-1) clinched at least a tie with Stonington (5-3, 4-1) for the division title. Killingly can force a three-way tie by winning its final three games.

Once Foisey slipped behind the defensive back to haul in the touchdown pass, LaBossiere never hesitated in making his decision.

"That was no doubt in my mind," LaBossiere said. "It was a formation that we didn't show before. I gave it to Tony and our offensive line did a good job."

The Wolverines had a little help on the game-winning drive. After Stonington mounted its best drive of the night, marching 72 yards in 11 plays and scoring on Josh Whitford's 5-yard run and two-point conversion for a 14-7 lead with 2:19 left, the Bears lined up for the kickoff.

Stonington chose a squib kick but the ball went only to the Griswold 46, giving the Wolverines excellent field position.

"We didn't kick it where we wanted it to go," Stonington coach A.J. Massengale said.

Key plays in the drive included Ward completing four passes and fullback Ken Slonski powering 2 yards on a fourth and one on the Stonington 45 with 1:12 left.

Faced with a second and 10 from the Stonington 25, Foisey found a seam down the left sideline for the game's biggest touchdown.

"Chris Brayman ran a great slant and ran guys off (me)," Foisey said. "I wasn't expecting to be open. I thought they would have a man over the top."

Massengale blamed a blown coverage on the play.

It was a painful defeat for the Bears, who clung to a 6-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter. After recovering a fumble, senior Zach Branesky scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter but the extra-point attempt was blocked.

Defenses dominated until the final 7:39 when the teams combined to score 23 points. The Wolverines took their first lead of the night, grinding out an 11-play, 49-yard drive. Velasquez ran it in from the two for a 7-6 edge.

The Bears answered quickly on Whitford's run and conversion to make it 14-7, but they couldn't hold on. The Wolverines gang-tackled Whitford at the Griswold 27 to end the game.

"It's very, very disappointing," Massengale said. "We couldn't take advantage of opportunities and the turnovers and couldn't finish the game."

g.keefe@theday.com