Lawmen run past Lyman Hall

The way Jonathan Law football coach Mark Robinson sees it, it’s better to start slow and finish strong than the other way around. And that is exactly what his team is doing. The Lawmen opened the season with four straight losses, but are now starting to find their groove. Law overpowered Lyman Hall 40-14 Friday night before 400 at Fitzgerald Field in Wallingford for its second straight win, and third victory in five games. “It’s always better to end it on a high note,” said Robinson, whose team scored its most points since it posted 60 points against Plainfield exactly one year earlier. Law and Lyman Hall both entered the game with two victories overall, and one win in the SCC Division II West. The Lawmen proved they were by far the better team. The victory gave Law (3-6 overall, 2-2 SCC Division II West) a third-place finish in the SCC Division II West, the team’s best finish since it won the division in 2007. The Devonites struck first, marching 87 yards in nine plays on their first drive of the game. A 32-yard Giovanni Marzullo-to-Tim Edson pass to start the drive set the tone. Marzullo finished things off with a four-yard keeper. Law failed on the PAT, but led 6-0 midway through the first quarter. Lyman Hall took the lead early in the second quarter on a 50-yard touchdown run. The Trojans converted on the point after try, and led 7-6. The Lawmen answered Lyman Hall’s touchdown 59 seconds later, as Marzullo found Timmy Maher open down the right sideline. Maher avoided one would-be tackler and coasted into the end zone for a 61-yard touchdown pass. Mick Murray added the kick for a 13-7 lead. The Lawmen made it 20-7 two possessions later, as Maher took an option pitch from Marzullo and raced 16 yards for the score. The back-breaker came for Lyman Hall at the end of the first half, when Law used a combination of a solid defense and its timeouts to force Lyman Hall to punt the ball to the Law 36 with 31 seconds left in the half. Whether the Trojans thought Law would just take a knee and head to the locker room or not, Robinson wasn’t sure, but the Trojans didn’t appear ready for the simple inside handoff the Lawmen ran on first down. The Law offensive line blasted a big hole, and fullback Joe Ziebell did the rest, charging his way to a 64-yard touchdown with just 19 seconds left, and giving the Lawmen a decisive 27-7 halftime lead.” Law continued its dominance in the third quarter, scoring two more touchdowns on Ziebell runs of 14 and three yards to take a 40-7 lead. Ziebell rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs, on 15 carries in just three quarters worth of action. Robinson was quick to praise his offensive line of Sean Rice, Austin Abe, Rick Casagrande, Sam McTighe and Drew Carolan, who helped the Law offense amass 401 total yards, including 302 on the ground. “The offensive line was ridiculous tonight,” said Robinson. “Any time you get the fullback to almost 200 yards, they are doing their job.” Robinson also heaped praise on the team as a whole. “We finally played physical tonight,” he said. “The offense, defense and special teams all played great.” Marzullo completed 3-of-7 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, and ran 13 times for 37 yards and another score. Maher caught two balls for 67 yards and a score, and added another touchdown on the ground. Defensively, the Lawmen got big plays from Max German (sack), Tucker Saley (fumble recovery), David Patrick (interception), Mike DiBartolomeo (half-a-sack), Chris Bellegarde (half-a-sack), Casagrande and Edson to limit the Trojans to just 259 yards. Law will next play at Plainville (5-4).

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