WALLINGFORD – When the calendar shifts to the middle of November, all eyes shift to seeding and playoff implications throughout the state. Both the Jonathan Law and Lyman Hall football teams were well aware of what was at stake when the two squared off Friday evening in Wallingford.
In an instant classic, Matt Witteman scrambled and found Reid Moulton for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 56.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Law a 24-21 win over Lyman Hall.
“We have faith in our offense that we can score at any time,” Law coach Ryan Pearson said. “It was a learning moment for us. We scored a little too quick against Xavier, and it came back to hurt us. This one we knew we had to march down the field and kill the clock because that offense over there is explosive. We did not want to give them too much time back on the clock.”
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The two teams combined for 902 yards of offense, including 479 yards by the Trojans in the loss. Lyman Hall quarterback Ryan Casey ran for 193 yards in the loss.
Trailing 21-17 after Lyman Hall scored on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Logan Michaels to Brent Michaud with 5:13 to go, Law marched 69 yards in 10 plays on the game-winning drive.
Lyman Hall had one final opportunity, but the Law defense came up big, denying quarterback Ryan Casey and the Trojans.
The first half saw a combined 506 yards and 24 points with Law leading 17-7 at the intermission. Witteman not only ran for 40 yards and a touchdown in the half, but he threw for 192 yards and a score for 232 of Law’s 264 first-half yards.
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The Law defense was equally impressive in terms of keeping the high-powered Trojans out of the end zone. Lyman Hall had 242 yards of offense in the opening half, but managed only a 67-yard touchdown run by Michaud for a 7-3 lead with 2:27 left in the opening quarter, one offensive play after Law’s Aiden Ramos kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Witteman then took over for Law as he hit Hunter Kendzierski with a 74-yard scoring strike for a 10-7 lead with 9:57 left in the half.
“It’s fun,” Kendzierski said. “I love getting the ball, seeing my teammates get the ball. These are big games.”
After the Law defense forced a punt, Witteman capped a 7-play, 54-yard drive with a 4-yard score and a 17-7 lead with 3:51 left in the half.
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Law’s defense came up big in the final seconds of the first half, stopping Lyman Hall’s Casey at the Law 3-yard line as time expired in the first half.
Lyman Hall took the second-half kickoff and marched 74 yards in 11 plays, capped with RJ Drescher’s 1-yard score.
At 7-2, Law is currently ranked third in Class SS, while Lyman Hall, also 7-2, is third in Class M.
Hunter Kendzierski, Law: The senior caught six passes for 169 yards and a touchdown as Law improved its postseason positioning.
“We have had that connection for years. Since Pop Warner, we just practice in season, out season, just all the time. We have a good connection.”
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– Law’s Hunter Kendzierski on quarterback Matt Witteman.
Law 3 14 0 7-24
Lyman Hall 7 0 7 7-21
JL-Aiden Ramos 29 FG
LH-Brent Michaud 67 run (Christian Rivera kick)
JL-Hunter Kendzierski 74 pass from Matt Witteman (Ramos kick)
JL-Witteman 4 run (Ramos kick)
LH-RJ Drescher 1 run (Rivera kick)
LH-Michaud 8 pass from Logan Michaels (Rivera kick)
JL-Reid Moulton 12 pass from Witteman (Ramos kick)
JL 7-2, LH 7-2.
This article originally published at Jonathan Law tops Lyman Hall on Witteman-to-Moulton TD pass with 56.8 seconds left.
