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11/22/2018 11:00 PMThe Haddam-Killingworth football team recorded a historic victory when it faced Valley Regional-Old Lyme (VR-OL) in the annual Thanksgiving Week game between the division rivals last week. H-K defeated the Warriors to claim the coveted Principal’s Cup for the first time in seven years, while also solidifying its first berth in the postseason since that same 2011 campaign.
The Cougars traveled to Deep River to face Pequot Conference Sassacus Division rival VR-OL at Valley Regional High School on Nov. 20 in the regular-season finale for both teams. Haddam-Killingworth qualified for the Class S State Playoffs by scratching out a 27-21 win against the Warriors. H-K trailed 14-9 in the fourth quarter, before rallying for three consecutive touchdowns to come away with the win. The Cougars will play a Class S quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Nov. 27
“It was a total team effort tonight. It wasn’t easy, but the kids played together, and played hard. I’m proud of them,” Head Coach Mike Baklik said. “It’s always great to beat Valley, and to make the playoffs on top of that is awesome.”
Junior running back Dalton Modehn ran the ball 17 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars. He also reeled in a pair of interceptions on defense. Senior captain Tobey Callender picked off a pair of passes, as well, to go with 76 yards and a pair of TDs on 12 carries. With the win, Haddam-Killingworth finished its regular season with an overall record of 9-1 to go with a mark of 6-1 in the Pequot Sassacus Division. VR-OL, which needed to beat H-K to make the Class S Playoffs, finished at 7-2 overall and went 5-2 in divisional play this year.
Callender’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Haddam-Killingworth a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. VR-OL struck back when Ryan Santos threw a 47-yard touchdown to Jason O’Brien to give the Warriors a 7-6 edge through one. VR-OL went ahead 14-6 after Santos found O’Brien on a 34-yard TD strike in the second quarter. Later in the frame, junior Jordan Callahan kicked a 33-yard field goal to trim the Warriors’ lead to 14-9 at halftime.
VR-OL held on to its five-point lead until the fourth quarter, when Callender snagged an interception to set up Modehn for an 8-yard touchdown rush that put the Cougars up 15-14. Following another interception and a long return by Callender, the senior QB ran for a 3-yard TD that extended H-K’s lead to 21-14. On VR-OL’s next drive, Modehn intercepted a pass and followed by breaking off a 44-yard touchdown run to give the Cougars some insurance with a 27-14 advantage.
Now down two scores, the Warriors cut into H-K’s lead when Santos dumped off the ball to O’Brien, who pitched a lateral that Nick Braga took 70 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-21 with less than a minute to play. VR-OL then kicked an onside kick that was recovered by the Cougars. VR-OL got the ball back with 25 seconds left after H-K was forced to punt, but the Cougars stopped the Warriors on their final drive to emerge victorious and punch their ticket to the playoffs.
The Cougars have earned the No. 7 seed for the Class S draw and will travel to No. 2 Bullard-Havens Tech (10-0) for a quarterfinal on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m. The winner advances to a semifinal on Sunday, Dec. 2 against either No. 3 Stafford-Somers-East Windsor or No. 6 Cromwell-Portland (both 9-1).