Militia outlasts Panthers

Ken Charter helps secures the Militia’ second win of the season                                

MERIDEN, CT- It what could have been the longest game in NEFL history, the Western Connecticut Militia overcome a 14-0 deficit to defeat the Connecticut Panthers 22-20 in overtime. “There is no team that plays us tougher in the league than the Panthers” said quarterback Kevin Oberg, “we all get up for this game; it usually always comes down to the last minute”.

The Panthers took their opening drive 73 yards as Jamie Bryant found receiver Marky DesRuisseaux for a 14 yard scoring catch. Their next possession saw Bryant run up the middle of the Militia defense for a 48 yard sprint to the end zone to give the home team an early lead. “They jumped out on us early but we kept our cool and got back in the game” said Oberg. Late in the second quarter, the Militia used a combination of battering runs by Aaron Taylor and play-action passes to Darius Rannie to get into the end zone and to cut the lead in half before intermission.

The second half saw the momentum switch to the Militia. Poor kicking all evening gave Western Connecticut the ball deep in Panther territory. A three yard plunge by Taylor tied up the game at 14. After a failed field goal attempt, three consecutive personal foul penalties by the Panthers put the Militia in scoring position again. A 2 yard run by Oberg gave them their first lead of the night with less than six minutes remaining in regulation. A low snap foiled the extra point and put the Panthers only six point behind and the ball in Bryant’s hands.

After a big return by Shante Wynn, Bryant hit Ryan Lipton for a 22 yard gain that placed them deep in Militia territory. With the ball placed on the 12 yard line with less than 30 seconds to play, Bryant zig-zagged through the Militia defense and broke the goal line for the tying score. An overthrow on the two-point conversation sent this memorable game into overtime. “This is another typical game against the Militia” said Bryant, “neither team ever wants to give up in this matchup”.

After a few changes of possession, the overtime period was nearing the conclusion. An Oberg interception with minutes to play set the Panthers up 98 yard away from a winning score. Looking to run out the clock, the Panthers ran three plays on the ground and elected to punt the ball and preserve the tie. With 10 Militia players on the line of scrimmage and the Panthers punter in the shadows of their own goal post, defensive back Courtney Moultrie right hand blocked the punt sending the ball out of the end zone for a game winning safety.

“It’s not how we planned it but we will take a win any way we can get it on their field” said head coach Lonnie Young, “this is a regular Panther-Militia game, hard-hitting all the way through”.

BOXSCORE

CONNECTICUT PANTHERS

WESTERN CONNECTICUT MILITIA

TOTAL OFFENSE

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