Christian Brothers out of New Jersey edged Fairfield Prep 33-32 Friday evening in an exciting cross-border clash.
"It seems ridiculous to say in a high-scoring game, but defense won us the game," said Christian Brothers Head Coach Pat Moroney.
It was a good, physical game in which CBA was solid at the breakdown while Fairfield was powerful in contact. The lead changed hands four times in this match.
"Tough day for the Jesuits in New Jersey," said Fairfield Prep Head Coach Kevin Kerry. "A CBA team that is excellent at the breakdown and did a wonderful job taking advantage of Fairfield Prep mistakes."
Fairfield Prep got two tries from Harry Crawford and also tries from Alex Iadarola, Cole Westerlund, Henry Tymniak, and Anthony Dorsi. But they slotted just the one conversion.
"Our straightforward system focuses on taking the opposition's time and space away, and the lads executed it very well," said CBA's Moroney. "We knew they had a size advantage, with their pack significantly bigger than CBA's, so we planned to put as much pressure on them as possible from the breakdown out."
Kerry acknowledged that his Prep team has issued with their kicking game, and little miscues in general hurt them.
"An inability to connect on offense allowed a very aggressive and motivated team to take the win," said Kerry." Credit to an excellent inside center on CBA and some speedy wings who cut through our line."
The center would be Jordon Young, who was indeed excellent, disrupting a lot of what Fairfield did. He was named player of the game.
"Our team's resilience was genuinely inspiring," said Moroney. "We dug deep and found the resolve to come back and win, a testament to our strength and determination."
