Lyman Hall football holds off Guilford in final minute in battle of unbeatens

WALLINGFORD - It took until the final minute for the ink to run dry, but on this Friday night, Lyman Hall football finally got its signature win.

A fourth-and-2 tackle at the Lyman Hall 43 by defensive lineman Kolby Ryerson with 32 seconds left to play secured a 20-13 Trojans victory over Guilford in a battle of undefeated Southern Connecticut conference teams at Fitzgerald Field.

Lyman Hall, shaking off lopsided losses to Guilford in each of the last four years, remains atop the CIAC Class M playoff rankings at 6-0. The Trojans took a giant step toward their first postseason berth since 2010 while knocking Guilford to 5-1.

This game, however, went from one-sided to nail-biter in a span of ever-quickened heartbeats down the stretch. A pair of touchdown runs by do-it-all quarterback Ryan Casey and a nifty reverse taken for an ice-breaking score by Brent Michaud had Lyman Hall ahead 20-0 early in the second half.

Guilford charged back behind the passing of sophomore QB Ryan Lynch and junior running back Shane Connelly. Lynch hit Ben Mennone with an 8-yard pass to get Guilford on the board in the waning seconds of the third quarter, then engineered an 82-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard TD run by Connelly that narrowed the score to 20-13 with 4:55 to play.

Guilford got the ball right back on a Casey fumble at the Lyman Hall 33, but the Trojans held on the fourth-and-11 at the 19 with 2:20 left.

It was Lyman Hall's second fourth-down stop of the half in its own territory. The D would be called upon to make one more. Unable to gain a first down to run out the clock, the Trojans were forced to punt with just under a minute to go from their own 16.

It was a good one by Christian Rivera, and it put Guilford just on the other side of midfield with 49 seconds to go. Lynch completed a 7-yard pass on first down. Then Lyman Hall dug in. Defensive end Douglas Trauner swatted down a pass at the line. Lynch's next attempt fell incomplete.

Facing fourth-and-2, the Grizzlies turned to Connelly, who had gained 157 yards on 30 carries, to move the sticks and keep hope alive. Instead, Kolby Ryerson stepped in and wrapped him up one yard shy.

"I pushed through," said Ryerson. "I had a feeling they were going to try and get that first down (on the ground)."

The Trojans staked themselves to a 14-0 halftime lead by scoring on two of their three possession and stopping the Grizzlies on all four of theirs, including two on interceptions in Lyman Hall territory.

A short punt set up the first TD late in the first quarter. Brent Michaud hauled in a 28-yard pass down the middle, then took a reverse from Logan Michaels (with Casey lined up at tailback) 21 yards around right end to give Lyman Hall a 7-0 lead.

Guilford seemed poised to answer, driving to the Trojans 21, until a leaping Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka sack by Christian Rivera knocked the Grizzlies nine yards back and Brian Whalen picked off a pass on the next snap.

The Trojans turned around and went 76 yards in seven plays. Casey hit tight end Brandon LaPlante for a 31-yard gain, then took a draw up the gut, dodging and breaking tackles for a 26-yard TD run with just under five minutes left in the half.

Guilford again surged downfield, riding the tireless legs of Connelly. But with time running down, the Grizzlies had to go up top. On first down at the Lyman Hall 30, they went for it all only to see Rivera come down with a pick at the goal line.

Friday marked Lyman Hall's first win over Guilford since 2019. The Grizzlies had taken 11 of the 12 previous meetings, including 48-8 a year ago in Guilford.

This story will be updated.

Player of the Game

Ryan Casey: Lyman Hall's senior quarterback threw an interception and lost a fumble. But he also ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 79 yards and, as coach C.J. Monroe said, "There was not one snap, one play toward the end of that game where I didn't want the ball in Ryan Casey's hands."

Quotable

"I love this environment, I love this atmosphere, I love everything about Lyman Hall. What this means to this program, to me and this team is unimaginable." - Lyman Hall quarterback Ryan Casey.

Lyman Hall 20, Guilford 13

GUILFORD  0 0 6 7 - 13
LYMAN HALL  7 7 6 0 - 20

LH-Brent Michaud 21 run (Christian Rivera kick)
LH-Ryan Casey 26 run (Rivera kick)
LH-Casey 6 run (kick failed)
G-Ben Mennone 8 pass from Ryan Lynch (kick failed)
G-Shane Connelly 3 run (Jack Coyne kick)
Records: Guilford 5-1; Lyman Hall 6-0.

This article originally published at Lyman Hall football holds off Guilford in final minute in battle of unbeatens.