The Sacred Heart football family gets to celebrate a great anniversary this weekend when it honors the 1990 Class SS state championship team.
Yes, it’s been 25 years since the Hearts pulled off a wild 32-26 Kansas tiebreaker overtime win over The Morgan School on Dec. 1, 1990, at West Haven High School.
When the Hearts burst onto the field prior to the game, they set the stage for their first football state championship since 1968. (video courtesy of Jason Stien, YouTube). The Hearts were “CIAC Merit Award” winners in 1968 in Class M, along with New Canaan, Ridgefield, Simsbury and Windham. There were no CIAC playoffs at the time (info courtesy of Gerry deSimas Jr. and the state football record book). Sacred Heart had been in a championship game in 1988, but was blown out by Stratford.
The Hearts rallied from a 26-14 fourth quarter deficit to claim the title in 1990. Glen Knight scored on the first play of overtime for the winning points. Sacred Heart appeared in the SS title game again in 1991 and lost to Stonington.
Sacred Heart will celebrate that memorable 1990 championship, the first CIAC title in Waterbury history, tomorrow from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the East Street Eatery in Wolcott.
Here’s my recap of the game after watching Stien’s video post.
Morgan came out pounding the ball downfield on Sacred Heart. The Morgan ground attack set up its first score, a touchdown pass, and a 6-0 lead.
The Heart response came quickly with a huge run on their first play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Sacred Heart’s Jason Iverson punched it in for six, and the extra point put it ahead 7-6 (courtesy of an Associated Press report in The Day of New London on Dec. 2, 1990).
Morgan fumbled on its next possession, but then it blocked a Sacred Heart punt. The Huskies scored on their next play for a 12-7 lead.
Disaster struck for the Hearts when they fumbled on their next possession, on the final play of the opening quarter. Morgan picked up a touchdown on its ensuing possession on a pass, but missed the two-point conversion again, leaving its lead at 18-7.
Sacred Heart punted away on its next possession, which gave Morgan a chance to take an even bigger lead. The Huskies were forced to punt, but got the ball back on an interception. Morgan took its 18-7 lead into the half.
The teams traded punts to begin the second half, then Sacred Heart scored on a long touchdown run by Ted Buonocore. The kick was good, and the Hearts trailed 18-14.
The Hearts got the ball back after a punt, but fumbled it away to the Huskies. Big back Ron Stopkoski barreled in for a touchdown, then Morgan completed a wild two-point conversion pass (the snap was mishandled) for a 26-14 lead. The Huskies led by that same margin after three quarters.
Sacred Heart came back with a scoring pass from P.J. Buonocore to Bill D’Occhio, but missed the two-point conversion, leaving Morgan with a 26-20 advantage with 10:12 to play.
The Heart defense came up big with an interception on the next Morgan possession, but the offense gave it back with another fumble deep in Husky territory.
Sacred Heart’s defense came up big again and forced a punt, giving the offense the ball right around midfield. The Hearts tied the game on a 25-yard, jump ball touchdown pass from P.J. Buonocore to Steve Pogodzienskif in the end zone. The extra point was missed, however, leaving the game tied at 26 with 1:40 to go. That set up the Kansas tiebreaker overtime, where each team gets the ball and four plays to score from the defense’s 10-yard line.
Sacred Heart got the ball to start OT and scored on its first play on a 10-yard run by Glen Knight. The Hearts again missed the extra point, leaving the score at 32-26.
Sacred Heart’s defense forced Morgan into an intentional grounding on third and goal, setting up a long fourth down attempt. The Hearts didn’t fall for the halfback option on the last play and clinched the state championship.
