Notre Dame-West Haven Claims Class M Football Title By Routing Berlin

EAST HARTFORD, CT — A ball control offense which dominated time of possession by nearly a 2-to-1 margin propelled Notre Dame-West Haven to a Connecticut football championship, as the Green Knights upended previously undefeated Berlin 35-8 in the Class M title game Saturday at Rentschler Field.

Quarterback Matthew Piechota threw three touchdown passes, including two to Matteao Petruzziello, and Jacob Staton rushed for two scores to power Notre Dame to victory in its first state championship appearance.

Piechota got things rolling by firing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ralph Sarno on the final play of the first quarter. Staton scored on a 10-yard run near the midpoint of the second quarter, sending the Green Knights to the locker room at halftime with a 14-0 lead.

After intermission, second-seeded Notre Dame picked up where it had left off, engineering a 14-play drive which culminated in a 13-yard scoring pass from Piechota to Petruzziello. Staton bulled over from 8 yards out early in the fourth quarter to provide the Green Knights a 28-0 advantage.

Piechota connected with Petruzziello again on a 17-yard scoring pass with 5:15 to play. Berlin avoided a shutout when Josh Grimm hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Lorenzo Miele with 2:47 remaining.

Notre Dame piled up 395 total yards to just 109 for Berlin. Staton gained 113 yards on 24 carries, while Jonathan Evans had 80 yards on 15 rushes. Piechota completed 17 of 24 passes for 208 yards.

The Redcoats entered the game as the top seed with a 12-0 record, and were seeking their first state title since 2009.