Turnovers prove costly in Norwich Free Academy's loss against Hamden
NORWICH - Erik Larka didn't expect a birthday party when he took the Norwich Free Academy football head coaching job two years ago. But he wouldn't mind seeing a cupcake once in a while.
The Wildcats seem to have the misfortune of facing experienced and talented teams nearly every week. Hamden, a playoff team a year ago and expected to be stronger this year, sent NFA to 0-2 with a 41-14 victory Thursday at Alumni Field.
The Green Dragons (2-0) featured a powerful running game with backs Charles Hebron and Josh Miller each rushing for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Backup quarterback Justin Chapman, starting for the injured No. 1 signal caller, threw for two TDs to hold off the Wildcats, who overcame a 21-0 deficit to trail just 21-14 at halftime.
Hamden's relentless ground game plus three NFA turnovers and key penalties (twice having 12 men on the field) made the score get out of hand.
"They have more depth than us and kind of wore us down," Larka said. "Last year, we lost six games to teams who had their best squad in years and this year Stamford and Hamden are loaded and we face another heavyweight in New Britain before we see Fitch. We'll be in the gauntlet for a while until we can breathe."
NFA explosive offensively
The Wildcats passed for 340 yards against Stamford and were productive in the air again. Conor Gaughan caught four passes for 99 yards, showing electrifying moves after the catch. Ryan Cleary added nearly 100 yards on five receptions. Gage Hinkley threw for a pair of TDs, a 6-yarder to Cleary and a 4-yarder to tight end Evan Gigliotti to make it, 21-14.
Mistakes doom NFA
After Hamden took an early 7-0 lead, the first of four Hinkley turnovers, a fumble, set up Hamden's second score in the first quarter - Hebron's 22 yard run. Hinkley's first of three interceptions sparked a short Hamden drive, cashed in by Miller's 13-yard TD to make it 21-0 still in the first quarter.
"If the game is evenly played, losing the turnover battle by three usually costs you three touchdowns," Larka said. "We actually played well on the field against a powerful team but the mistakes (turnovers and penalties) killed us."
Fired-up comeback
NFA shed its erring ways to rally in the second quarter to make it interesting.
"Credit NFA for coming to play and taking advantage of our complacency," Hamden coach Tom Dyer said. "But this is a senior team and a group that has a chance to be special."
More mistakes
Hamden took the third quarter kickoff and scored to make it 27-14. That score stood into the fourth when NFA's defense was penalized for having 12 men on the field on a 4th and 1 to extend a Hamden drive, which made it 34-14 on Hebron's 23-yard run.
They said it
"You can't turn it over against a strong team," Larka said. "This isn't the old NFA with three 300-pound linemen and 100 kids on the roster. We have 65 kids and some tough players and have to clean up the mistakes to be successful."
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Free Academy falls to Hamden in high school football
