The New England Patriots showed how difficult it is for a football team to win every game last season.
And much like the Patriots fell to an underdog Giants in the Super Bowl, the New London Junior Whalers lost to a team it beat in the regular season Nov. 16 in the Southern New England Youth Football Conference championship at Norwich Free Academy.
Just a month earlier, New London topped Killingly, 13-6, in Danielson in Game 7 of a perfect 9-0 regular season. The Whalers entered the title game with 21 straight victories, dating back to their 2007 Junior championship for youths under 14 years of age and 125 pounds.
New London’s Micro Whalers (under age 12, 110 pounds) also sported a 10-0 overall mark heading into its championship against Griswold. Many observers from the 13-team league expected New London to bring home two of the three divisional titles as it did last year when the Seniors and Juniors prevailed.
But, as has been said a few times, that’s why they play the games. New London’s team came home with their first losses. Griswold topped the Micros, 12-0, and Killingly ended the Juniors’ 21-game streak in convincing fashion, 38-0, on a chilly windy day on the NFA artificial turf.
“The team learned a life lesson today,” Juniors coach Willie Quinonez said. “The hardest part about being undefeated is feeling overconfident. You can’t go into a game overconfident. We beat them up there at their place, and there could have been a feeling that it was going to happen again. We knew the final was going to be us versus Killingly, because they always have a good team at this level.”
Killingly finished tied for third with Windham and East Lyme at 7-2. The Redmen knocked off Waterford, 39-34, in the semifinals in a wild game. The Lancers could not contain Killingly running back Isaiah Moone in that game. Neither could the Whalers. Using bursts of speed and uncanny balance, Moone ran for 178 yards against the usually stout Whaler defense that had allowed just 59 points in nine regular season games.
Even the New London fans gave Moone his props, yelling, “It must be a full Moone.”
Trailing 13-0 late in the second quarter, New London drove inside the 10-yard line behind the running of Jose Garcia and quarterback Ziggy Leblanc. In the final minute, Killingly stalled the drive, robbing New London of any momentum heading into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Moone scored on a 25-yard reverse to make it, 20-0. New London went to its passing game, but at least five dropped passes foiled that strategy. Killingly poured it on, scoring three more touchdowns for the 38-0 victory.
For a team that averaged 27 points a game during its 9-0 regular season, the shutout was tough to swallow. New London appeared more affected by the cold than Killingly. It was an uncomfortable day, 24 hours after a day when temperatures topped 65 degrees.
“The weather did affect us a little bit, but it was cold on both sides,” Quinonez said. “We saw the forecast and told the kids it was going to be cold. Killingly just was more focused. Their defense did a great job clogging up the middle. When we fell behind, the wind disrupted our passing.”
If the Juniors were powerful during their 9-0 regular season, the Micros showed even more dominance. After a season-opening 45-6 win over Norwich, New London registered shutouts wins of 41-0, 39-0, 40-0, 31-0, 43-0, and 38-0 before sliding past Ledyard, 19-18. The Micro Whalers of coach Mike Ladson capped a 9-0 season with a 41-0 victory, allowing just 24 points all season.
New London, however, did not face the other undefeated Micro team, Griswold, until the championship. Still, the Whalers handled defeat well and left the field with their Whaler Pride intact.
“Both Junior and Micro were 10-0 and given New London’s history of winning championships, yes, we expected both teams to win,” Quinonez said. “Neither team won, but we can still hold our heads up high. The kids showed good sportsmanship in defeat, and we give credit to the winning teams. Many of our players will be playing for championships again on the upper levels.”
The Senior Whalers (under 14 years old and 180 pounds) completed another successful season. The 2007 Super Bowl champs finished 7-2 in the regular season but were eliminated in the playoff semifinals. New London did hold the distinction of handing Super Bowl champ Groton-Mystic its only loss.
By Larry Kelley
Special to the Times