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It was enough because the defense bent but did not break in the opening minutes of the contest.
"The defense really came through when we needed it," Plainville rookie coach Michael Archangelo said. "Vinal is very tough inside and they run the ball right at you. Our guys up front did a nice job."
The biggest stand came with only 4 minutes gone in the game. Vinal Tech/Coginchaug (0-3, 0-3 Nutmeg) had a first-and-goal from the Plainville 3-yard line. But they couldn’t score.
After an incompletion, Vinal’s Antonio Inglis gained a yard. On third and goal, quarterback Todd Manjuck tried to sneak up the middle but he only gained a yard to the 1-yard line after being stopped by Cory Zapatka and Aaron Benson.
On fourth-and-goal, Manjuck again tried to sneak in up the middle but this time, Aaron Weinhofer stopped him for no gain.
"That first drive was a heartbreaker," Vinal Tech/Coginchaug coach Bob McNamara said. "You never know how that could change the game in terms of momentum. But you have to tip your hat to Plainville. They made the plays they had to make."
Inglis put Vinal in position early in the game with a 62-yard kickoff return to Blue Devil 23-yard line. On fourth-and-1 from the 14, Inglis gained seven and a facemask penalty moved the ball to the three.
On Vinal’s next possession, they got the ball on the Plainville 37-yard line but gained just one yard.
Plainville took over on its own 10-yard line but four plays later, Scott broke outside to the right sideline and broke an attempted tackle by Manjuck for a 77-yard touchdown run. Corey Wisk’s extra point made it 7-0 with 11:45 left in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils tried an onside kick after the kickoff and Hawks recovered on its own 42. Inglis, who ran for a game-high 162 yards on 29 carries, evaded two tackles to the Blue Devil 23 where the drive stalled.
Plainville took over and on its third place, Forcella dashed up the middle for a 59-yard touchdown run. Wisk’s extra point made it 14-0 with 8:22 left in the second quarter.
Vinal drove to the Plainville 30 on its next drive but Zapatka came up with a key 8-yard sack to stifle the drive.
The Hawks finally scored on a 11-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 2-yard run from Inglis with 3:41 left in the game. They did get the ball back one more time but that drive ended when Plainville’s Nick Barbagallo and Kevin Carroccia teamed up for an 8-yard sack.
"We limited the mental mistakes that hurt us the previous two weeks," Archangelo said. "I’m proud howwe gutted this one out. This was a team effort and they all did a nice job."
Scott led Plainville with 98 yards rushing on nine carries while Forcella had 71 yards rushing.
Plainville beat Vinal for the first time since 2001.
