For the Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team, it experienced the essence of why so many play the game at the high school level. The Warriors got to experience the euphoria of not only defeating their Thanksgiving rival in the final week of the regular season, but to also do it in thrilling, last-second fashion to punch a playoff ticket.

Haddam-Killingworth hosted Valley Regional-Old Lyme on Nov. 26 in the program’s annual Thanksgiving Week matchup that housed some major playoff implications, with H-K entering the clash with a 7-2 mark and the Warriors at 6-3. It was Valley-Old Lyme that grabbed the decision with a 22-18 final to give the Warriors the Principal’s Cup.

Both teams concluded their campaigns with a 7-3 record. The victory was monumental for the Warriors, who clinched a spot in the Class S State Playoffs along the way. On Dec. 3, the team, as the No. 7 seed, traveled to second-seeded Ansonia for a quarterfinal matchup (after press time).

Senior Thomas Troy scored on a one-yard run with 13 seconds remaining to give Valley-Old Lyme the victory. H-K took an 18-15 lead into halftime on the strength of two touchdowns from senior Ryan Rafferty–one on a five-yard run and another on a five-yard pass from senior Bryce LaCoss. Senior Gunnar Howes opened the scoring for the Cougars with an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give them a 6-0 lead after a missed extra-point attempt. The visitors responded later in the first with a 14-yard scoring scamper from Troy and then took a 7-6 lead after converting the point-after kick.

“We all knew going into the game that it would be a tough one, as they run a time-consuming offense. Their offense chews up time and keeps the ball out of our hands, as all they do is run the ball,” said Troy. “We knew going into the game whoever was going to be more physical would win the game. A week prior to the game, my coach asked if I would be able to play running back for the game, since against tougher teams, they would double team me in the passing game. I said yes of course, as I would play any position to help out. All the credit should go to our line, as they dominated up front and let me have a great game.”

In the second frame, Valley-Old Lyme added to its lead with a four-yard dash by Troy to go ahead by nine at 15-6. H-K responded with a tandem of five-yard scoring plays from Rafferty, one on a run and the other through the air, to give the home side an 18-15 lead at intermission. The second half remained scoreless until Valley-Old Lyme scored on its final drive. In the afterglow of the monumental win, senior captain Max Novak detailed that the boys understood the magnitude of the game and all that was on the line.

“Tuesday night was a big night for Valley Regional-Old Lyme. This game wasn't any regular season game; this was a Thanksgiving game, and a playoff game, so our team really locked in the entire week of practice,” said Novak. “Our coaches knew the assignment and put everyone to work. No matter how freezing it got at practice, we still put in 100% effort every minute of practice.”

Novak added that the Warriors did have to deal with some injuries for the contest, but as it has been all year long for Valley-Old Lyme, they took a next-man-up mentality. He also marveled at the feats of Troy and the entire offense, as the Warriors captured the annual Turkey week trinket that was on the line.

“H-K put up a good fight, even though our team was missing key players. But even when missing players, we still have people that can do the job,” said Novak. “Troy is an amazing player that can make anything happen when given the ball from [senior quarterback Giovanni] Winters. In addition to those two, [senior receiver Cam] Atkinson really showed his true talent that night, and hopefully we will see more of him next game. But after all, the Principal’s Cup is where it's supposed to be.”

A win against Ansonia would vault Valley-Old Lyme into the semifinals on Sunday, Dec. 8 against either No. 3 Cromwell-Portland or No. 6 Woodland. The victor there would go to the final on either Saturday, Dec. 13 or Sunday, Dec. 14.

While Troy is certainly very thankful to be playing more football into the month of December, he was also gracious towards the successful strategy put forth by those with the headsets on the sidelines.

“Our coaches also had a great game plan on both defense and offense, as we switched up our usual game plan on both sides of the ball,” said Troy. “At the end of the day, we played more physical and wanted it more than they did. It feels great making states and to know I have one more guaranteed week of football left.”

Head Coach Hill Gbunblee, who could not be reached for comment following the win, is assisted this fall by coaches Brandon Woodcock, Jim Metz, John Pereira, and Garret Hall.

The 2024 Warriors’ roster is comprised of seniors Troy, Atkinson, Alex Kruzel-Boxwell, Winters, Max Novak, Matt Cooper, Jovanie Molina, Peter Kuhn, Rigo Chirinos, Joseph Medel-Herrera; juniors of Chase King, Garrison Nankee, Rowan Wyrebek-Brasky, Conor Dickson, Jackson Pannier, Jack Knudsen, Mike Spencer, Churchill Roberts, Mike Chirinois, Jayden Vasquez, CJ Zapatka, Quinn Hadarik, Tesering Samphel, Will Sicignano, Eli Torres, James Preston, Reed Schmelzer; sophomores Charles Edwards, Kevork Shegirian, Alex Krol, Charles Zelek, Paul Kuhn, Pat Lynch, Tristan Taylor, Jackson Fritz, Matt Mossberg-Philhower, Zach Belval, Kalonji Joyce, John Blalock, Kaylib Pinder-Dorothy, Luke Beighau, Chayanne Echeverria, Maxsim Stopa, Cody Donahue, William Burgess, Brodie Whelen; plus freshmen Caden Bedell, Mitchell Bowe, Eli Brainerd, Mason Brown, Anthony Cardenas, Bieler Lopez, Jayvius Molina, Finnegan Recchia, and Jaxson Welch.

2024 Valley Regional-Old Lyme Football Regular Season Results

Sept. 13: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 23, Morgan-Old Saybrook-Westbrook 13

Sept. 21: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 35, Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby 17

Sept. 28: Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton 47, Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 37

Oct. 5: Capital Prep 35, Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 26

Oct. 10: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 38, North Branford 32

Oct. 25: Cromwell-Portland 21, Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 16

Nov. 1: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 36, Weaver 6

Nov. 15: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 14, Stafford-East Windsor-Somers 7

Nov. 21: Valley-Regional/Old Lyme 25, Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman Memorial 8

Nov. 26: Valley Regional-Old Lyme 22, Haddam-Killingworth 18