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News Article
Belmont Hill Football Wins New England ISL Football Championships
WINDSOR, Conn. -- Deja vu hit Belmont Hill coach Kevin Fleming yesterday.
Last year, despite leading with a minute to go, Belmont Hill lost the NEPSAC Lorden Samson Bowl to Brunswick. Yesterday, Belmont Hill had a 19-point lead over Brunswick going into the fourth quarter but let it slip to 6 points with 4:33 left in the game. But Peter Loukas's quarterback sack with 37 seconds left allowed the Hill to hold on for a 26-20 win.
"This is the greatest victory in the history of Belmont Hill football," Fleming said to his team. "And I don't think anybody will argue [with that]."
Brunswick had the advantage of earning a come-from-behind win in last year's game in a similar scenario.
With 2:13 left in the game and trailing, 26-20, Brunswick forced Belmont Hill to turn over the ball on downs, taking over at its 29. The Bruins had to go 71 yards in two minutes, but based on their last two possessions, when they took a combined time of 2 1/2 minutes to score, the drive was theirs for the taking. Brunswick quarterback Kevin Decker (16 for 35, 199 yards, 2 INTs, 1 TD), who had run for 94 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries to that point, had Belmont's defense playing off the line of scrimmage, because he is, as Fleming put it, "the best high school quarterback I've ever seen."
He ran for 3 yards on first down, but missed receiver Kevin Royal on second. On third down, Decker took the run up the middle, then fumbled the ball, but Bruins offensive lineman Greg Wyman recovered it, giving Brunswick the ball at the 41.
Receiver Tom Connor caught a Decker pass, but a block-in-the-back penalty brought the ball to the 31. Decker took the ball left and out of bounds, but Belmont received a 15-yard personal foul penalty for hitting him after the play, bringing up a Brunswick first and 10 from its 46 with just more than a minute to go, almost the same position the team was in last year.
Connor ran to the Belmont Hill 38, but three failed passes and a motion penalty set up fourth and 15 from the 43 with 37 seconds remaining.
Decker was flushed out of the pocket, where he had been the most dangerous, to the right sideline. Belmont Hill senior linebacker Loukas was there to put the smack down on Decker, giving Belmont the opportunity to take a knee and run out the clock.
"I'm thinking they're going to throw long," said Loukas. "So I start to drop back. I'm also thinking that maybe he would drop back and scramble, which he did. I just came up and made the play."
Belmont Hill was led on offense by the BC-bound Dan Williams (120 yards rushing) and Corey Gatewood (184).