WINSTED — The Yellowjackets football team built an insurmountable defensive wall in their 13-0 hometown victory over the Stafford-East Windsor Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 8.
Gilbert-Northwestern opened the affair with a short kickoff return. Yellowjacket quarterback Bobby Lippincott immediately found tight end Sean Fitzgerald with a clean pass for the first GN first down of the game.
Jackets Kyle Jones and Devon Molway combined on the rush for another first down.
GN continued to battle out additional first down yardage on the rush and quarterback keepers, inching deeper into the Bulldogs’ end.
The partnership that began the drive finished it, as Lippincott connected with Fitzgerald again on a touchdown pass. GN took the lead early, 6-0.
The Bulldogs’ chances of building a bit of offensive momentum of their own were immediately squashed as the Jacket defense quite literally swarmed Stafford-East Windsor. A few quick plays later, GN forced a fumble that was hastily recovered by Yellowjacket Zach Gain.
Lippincott went to work on the next drive, connecting on a good passing game while working out of trouble on yard-gobbling quarterback keepers. Just shy of their second touchdown, the Jacket offense lost steam, but they hung on to their 6-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Jacket defense continued to bewilder the Bulldog offense and landed another momentum-killing blow off a huge sack by Jackson Reidy. With their backs to the goal line, Stafford-East Windsor was forced to punt away possession.
GN was plagued by penalties throughout the game, and would often find the liveliness drained from their offense with each flag thrown. The Jackets coughed up possession to the Bulldogs on a fumble of their own, but quickly dismantled Stafford again with another sack by J.P. Dulac. GN wasted little time on the next drive, with a neat little pass from Lippincott to Fitzgerald for the second touchdown of the game. Dulac added the extra point to bring GN’s lead to 13-0.
Molway was superb on the Jackets’ final drive before the halftime break, blasting up the middle. Lippincott continued to locate and connect with Fitzgerald, hitting him once for a first down and once again on the next play. In the dying seconds and out of reach of a touchdown, Dulac attempted a field goal from far out, but was unable to connect. The Jackets held onto their 13-0 lead heading into the break.
The second half seemed to drag on endlessly, as the Jackets worked against their own offensive effort with repeated penalties. The Bulldogs remained puzzled as how to work around GN’s defense and finish a drive. The Jackets were able to produce offensively, but their first half edge seemed to disappear, making it difficult to finish out a drive. Despite some late offensive opportunities for Stafford, the Jackets were able to hold onto their lead to take the 13-0 win at home.
GN remains perfect this season with a record of 4-0, while Stafford-East Windsor still looks for their first win at 0-4.
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