AUGUSTA — The Cony football team kicked off its run in the Class B North playoffs Friday night with a simple, efficient game plan. The Rams then executed it to near perfection.
The top-seeded Rams beat No. 8 Mt. Blue 38-13 in a quarterfinal game at Fuller Field. Cony (7-2) will host No. 4 Falmouth — which beat No. 5 Gardiner 27-21 on Friday — in the semifinal round Nov. 4 in Augusta.
“It’s a great win,” Cony quarterback Dom Napolitano said. “We like playoff wins, we’re just ready for the next round.”
Mt. Blue finished 3-6.
The Rams battered the Cougars with the 1-2 combo of Napolitano (21 carries, 71 yards) and running back Elijah Klaiber (18 carries, 139 yards). Napolitano accounted for five touchdowns, two passing and three rushing. He was 10 of 11 passing for 93 yards.
“The offense moved the ball well, we controlled the pace a little bit,” Napolitano said. “We just ran the ball until we needed to throw.”
“I think (Mt. Blue) was more committed to stopping the pass,” Cony coach B.L. Lippert said. “We had some nice rush lanes, our (offensive) line worked hard. Both Eli and Dom ran hard. In (the playoffs), you’ve got to be able to run the football. We did that tonight, we’ll have to be able to do that again next week.”
Klaiber added a rushing touchdown for Cony.
Cony’s defense once again turned in a strong effort. The Rams forced three turnovers out of Mt. Blue. Rocco Napolitano and Jasper Parrilli each had interceptions for Cony, while defensive lineman Jon Lettre had a fumble recovery that he returned for a long gain in the second half.
The Cony football team warms up in the vocational garage at Cony High School before taking the field to play Mt. Blue on Friday night. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“Our defense played amazing,” Dom Napolitano said. “Jaden (Geyer) played great, Jonny (Lettre) played great. We had a few picks, getting to the ball, made some big plays.”
“Our defense is sort of bend but don’t break,” Lippert added. “(Mt. Blue) moved a little bit against us. (Mt. Blue’s Isaac Wrigley) is a pretty good wide receiver, we had a good corner on him. He made the tough catches in traffic. But when we got in the red zone, for the most part, we were sort of able to bow out back and keep them out of (the end zone).”
Mt. Blue stayed in the game thanks to the passing of quarterback Jayden Meader, who finished 11 of 20 through the air for 124 yards. The Cougars were able to hit some big plays down the field, including a 43-yard strike from Meader to Wrigley down the sideline in the second quarter. That play eventually led to Meader connecting with Charles Stevens on a 14-yard touchdown pass.
“I’m tremendously proud of my guys,” Mt. Blue head coach Matt Friedman said. “Coming from where we were, last year, trying to put things back together, it’s been a long road but it’s been a great road. These guys really kind of dedicated themselves to playing as hard as they can and helping rebuild this program. This senior class, we’re going to miss them.”
Up 19-7 at halftime, Napolitano helped ice the game in the second half for Cony, scoring on two touchdown runs and connecting with wide receiver Kam Douin on a 22-yard touchdown pass. Napolitano also had a 20-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for the Rams.
Parrilli was Napolitano’s top target, hauling in four receptions for 40 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown reception off a shovel pass in the first half.
Wrigley had five receptions for 73 yards for Mt. Blue. Cowen Young added a rushing touchdown for the Cougars.
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