Groff's 3 field goals, defense lift New Canaan past Cheshire, into Class L final

NEW CANAAN — It’s been four years since the New Canaan football team has appeared in the CIAC state finals, a lifetime for a storied program with a long history of trophies.When New Canaan finally booked its return trip to championship weekend, senior Ty Groff made it clear: There’s more to accomplish.“It’s the one-more-game mentality,” Groff said. “We still have one more. The job’s not finished yet.”Behind three field goals from Groff and a bend-don’t-break defense, the fourth-seeded New Canaan football team overcame No. 8 seed Cheshire 23-13 in the CIAC Class L semifinals Sunday at Dunning Field. New Canaan (11-1) will face third-seeded Maloney (11-1) in the Class L final on Saturday, Dec. 10 at a either Rentschler Field or Central Connecticut at a time to be announced. Maloney, the defending Class L champ, defeated Shelton 27-14 in the other Class L semifinal.New Canaan is making its first appearance in the state finals since 2018, when it lost to Greenwich, and is seeking its first state championship since beating Windsor in the 2016 Class L final.“Thank God, I have another week left with this group,” New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said. “They’re great kids and just a great group to coach. I’m proud of the way our kids hung in there. We bent but we didn't really break, so that was great.” Groff’s three field goals, from 26, 23 and 33 yards, accounted for nine unanswered points for New Canaan, and turned a narrow 7-6 edge into a two-score game at 16-6 with 11:53 remaining.Having already broken New Canaan’s school record for career field goals, Groff tied the state record at 24, a mark set by Middletown’s Michael Aresco from 2014 to 2017.“Obviously, we’d rather get the touchdowns,” Groff said. “I go out with my dad all the time and we practice all the time, ever since the fifth grade. I’m excited whenever I get the opportunity to kick.” “It’s great to have a kid that can kick field goals like (Groff),” Marinelli said. “If he’s not the best kicker in the state, I don’t know who is. He’s a guy we’ve depended on all year long and he’s been great for us.” The semifinal game was riddled with penalties. New Canaan was flagged 10 times, including four for pass interference, costing them 117 yards, and Cheshire was hit with nine penalties for 80 yards. There was just one turnover, but it was costly. Trailing 13-6, Cheshire lost a fumble one play after receiver Luke Weidemann had picked up 44 yards for a first down at the New Canaan 24-yard line in the third quarter. “When you make mistakes, you turn the ball over and you do things like that, it’s an uphill battle especially against a team like that,” Cheshire coach Don Drust said. “We played as hard as we could for 48 minutes and sometimes games like this come down to a mistake here and a mistake there, and that’s what this one came down to.” Cheshire played without junior Jeffrey Gonzalez, who was sick, and junior Matt Jeffrey was knocked out of the game with 8:20 remaining and the score 16-6. Jeffrey collected 86 total yards, rushing for 32 and catching five passes for 54 yards. Marsh, a sophomore, was 18-of-21 passing for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Weidemann, who had six catches for 86 yards. New Canaan did most of its offensive damage on the ground, amassing 227 rushing yards, including 72 from Hunter Telesco and 98 from Luke Reed. New Canaan’s Mack Seelert opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Cheshire answered with a 17-yard connection from Marsh to Weidemann. The kick was wide left, leaving Cheshire behind 7-6. For the next 38-plus minutes, neither team reached the end zone, as Groff’s field goals were all the scoring. “We’ve lived and died with (the defense) all year,” Marinelli said. “We wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for them.” After a defensive stop in the red zone, New Canaan drove 99 yards on seven plays, with Reed rushing six times for 98 yards, including a 15-yard TD to make it 23-6 with 2:27 remaining. Marsh hit Weidemann for an 11-yard TD with 1:28 remaining, but New Canaan recovered the ensuing onside kick to nail down the win. PLAYER OF THE GAME Ty Groff, New Canaan: The reigning GameTimeCT All-State first team kicker booted three field goals against Cheshire, tying the state career record at 24. He also passed for 115 yards at quarterback. QUOTABLE “Our defense is the best defense in the state and we’re super-proud of those guys, and the offense came alive today. I was really happy that we were able to put on a little bit of a show, especially with it being out last time at Dunning.” — New Canaan’s Ty Groff David.Stewart@hearstmediact.com; @dstewartsports New Canaan 23, Cheshire 13 CHESHIRE 6 0 0 7 — 13NEW CANAAN 7 3 3 10 — 23NC — Mack Seelert 20 run (Ty Groff kick)C — Luke Weidemann 17 pass Aniston Marsh (kick failed)NC — Groff 26 field goalNC — Groff 23 field goalNC — Groff 33 field goalNC — Luke Reed 15 run (Groff kick)C — Weidemann 11 pass Marsh (Micah Galloza kick)Records: Cheshire 7-5, New Canaan 11-1

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