Grounding and pounding in the rain

Thanks to Mother Nature’s persistent rain and gusting winds Friday night, St. Joseph’s 17-14 road triumph over Staples-Westport had an old school gridiron tone. The ball wasn’t thrown much at the Staples Stadium as each side made about 20 passes for less than 100 yards.

Ground and pound was the main course. St. Joseph had 187 yards on 32 carries thanks to Jaden Shirden (27 carries, 172 yards). The Cadets’ offensive line of Robert Mihaly, Mark Arnone, Dennis Elrod, Chris Kiley, Nick Dilorio and Rich Licursi should be commended for their work in the trenches against a bigger Staples defense.

Staples finished with 37 carries and 155 yards led by quarterback Jake Thaw (20 carries, 103 yards).

The kicking game on both sides overcame the elements.

Staples’ A.J. Konstanty had a number of good punts from near his own end zone to keep the Wreckers in decent shape in the field position battle. Bradley Cox was 2-for-2 on PATs.

For St. Joseph, senior Luke Kirby’s 34-yard field goal provided the margin of victory. Quarterback David Summers had a number of successful pooch punts to help in the field position battle.

— Rich DePreta

TIME FOR ANALYTICS

St. Joseph’s victory also had an effect on the state playoff ranking, solidifying the No. 2 slot in Class M for the 2017 Class S champ Cadets.

St. Joseph (7-1) has a 136.25 average. The Cadets increased their lead over Sheehan-Wallingford (6-1, 115.71 average, which beat Bassick-Bridgeport Friday) and Killingly (7-1, 111.25 average, which beat Trinity Catholic-Stamford).

St. Joseph might catch No. 1 Berlin (8-0, 140.0 average). Both schools have two games remaining.

Staples (6-2) is clinging to the No. 8 slot in Class LL with a 96.25 average. At No. 7 is New Britain (7-1, 115.0 average).

Nipping at Staples’ heels are No. 9 East Hartford (6-2, 95.0 average, two games left vs. three-win squads) and New Canaan (6-2, 93.75 average, games left with No. 11Fairfield Ludlowe (six wins) and No. 2 Darien (eight wins).

— Rich DePreta

SACK ATTACK

Mozi Bici was a one-man wrecking crew for Greenwich in its game against Ridgefield at Tiger Hollow Stadium on Friday night.

The Cardinals’ senior defensive end was in the Tigers’ backfield throughout as he registered eight sacks. If that wasn’t enough, he had numerous tackles, returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and recovered a fumble. As for his big sack night — he set a state record for most sacks by a player in one game.

Besides sacking Ridgefield quarterback Owen Matthews eight times, Bici also had several pressures and was instrumental in disrupting the Tigers’ usually high-scoring offense the whole game. Greenwich, which visits Danbury on Friday, improved to 7-0 with the victory.

— David Fierro

COOL HAND LUKE

Newtown quarterback Luke Melillo didn’t have to do a lot to lead his team past Brookfield Friday night thanks to an impactful defense, but the senior standout made several highlight-reel plays to keep drives alive.

A pair of third-down conversions — including one to Harry Lucas that involved eluding the Bobcats’ pass rush — showed off Melillo’s athleticism. He’s completing 62 percent of his passes for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with adding 277 yards on the ground.

“I think that’s what he does best,” Nighthawks coach Bobby Pattison said. “We call him ‘Cool Hand Luke’ because he’s cool, calm and collected. He’s having a stellar year for us; one of the best things about him is his ability to extend plays.”

Newtown sits at No. 4 in the Class LL rankings with two games remaining, leaving the possibility of opening the playoffs on the road despite posting a perfect regular season.

— Ryan Lacey