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Sports

Patterson Rushes for Three Touchdowns and Eclipses 1,000 Yard Rushing Mark

Law football hopes to carry their momentum into the Thanksgiving clash against city rival Foran.

The Lawmen football team defeated visiting Prince Tech 34-6 on Thursday night at Jonathan Law High School in Milford. This was the final home game for 16 senior Lawmen football players.

Jonathan Law, winner of three of their last four games, is 3-6 overall this season and Prince Tech also owns a 3-6 record after falling to the Lawmen.

Law scored on their second possession of the game on a senior Josh Patterson 5-yard run  up the middle to take  a 7-0 lead with 5:19 left in the first quarter. The Lawmen failed to score on their first drive as Mike Spadaro's 25-yard field goal was blocked by Kevin Manning of Prince Tech.

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Law would stop the Falcons with less than two minutes left in the first quarter as senior defensive back Everett Smith recovered a fumble at the Prince Tech 16-yard line. After another failed Law field goal attempt of 35 yards Prince Tech got the ball back at the end of the first quarter but it was short lived. Three plays later, Law senior linebacker Stephon Davis recovered a fumble from Falcons running back Rakheem Jordan and Law took over. Seven plays later, Law scored on a brother hook up as Ryan Falaguerra hit brother Connor Falaguerra for a 37-yard touchdown run after the catch for a 14-0 lead after Spadaro converted the PAT with 9:09 left in the second quarter.

Ryan Falaguerra had 150 yards passing in the game. Prince Tech would answer on a 12-play drive as the quarterback Manning looked like he was going to pitch the ball but handed the ball to junior wide receiver Alrick Stephens on a reverse for a 5-yard touchdown cutting the lead to 14-6 with 4:13 left before the half. This was Stephens lone carry of the game. The Prince Tech conversion pass attempt failed and was broken up by Connor Falaguerra. The Lawmen would answer right back on a two play drive keyed by a 31-yard run into the left corner of the endzone by Patterson.

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Law led 21-6 at the half. With 2 minutes left in the third quarter Law senior Corey Santos picked off a pass from Manning and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown making it 28-6 after Spadaro converted the PAT with 1:26 left in the third. The PAT was a 35 yard attempt because of a penalty against the Lawmen. Before the interception Patterson put heavy pressure on Manning.

Stephon Davis intercepted Manning's pass at the 42-yard line and returned it 19 yards to the Falcons 23 yard line. Foran would capitalize quickly as Patterson finished the scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run with 10:26 left in the game. His previous carry of seven yards put him over 1000 yards for the season. Manning blocked Spadaro's extra point attempt and Law led 34-8.

With 7:38 many of the starters were pulled from the game .Freshman quarterback Tim Maher saw action connecting on a 27 yard pass to sophomore Daniel  Ziebell.  Running backs junior Brody Deell and freshman James Palmer also saw action in the game.

 Manning, the senior quarterback for Prince Tech, was a real tough player to contain on the ground as he rushed for 123 yards. The defense was able to get the job done when it needed to.

Prince Tech Head Coach Bob McNamara said Manning will be missed.

"He was all state last year as a defensive back and he is a four year starter for us at quarterback and we are really going to miss him next year," McNamara said. "Law played a real good game. Rahkeem (Jordan) hurt his ankle early in the game and he is a real good runner for us so that hurt. That is part of football."

Senior Josh Patterson of Law experienced a milestone during the game. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season. He had 13 carries for 106 yards and touchdowns runs of 5, 31 and 16 yards. Patterson has 19 rushing touchdowns this season.

"It feels real good to hit 1000 yards again," Patterson said. "Last year we had two 1,000 yard runners. The defenses key on me. Our line is blocking awesome and they are big and one of the best in the state. I am looking forward to next week. We will need to work on stopping the running game. I am not sure if Tucker (Schumitz, the Foran quarterback) will be coming back or not."

"For him to carry on the tradition is great and I am so proud of him," Jonathan Law Head Coach Mark Robinson said." We really needed him to be a 1,000-yard runner for us this season and he did it."

Two seniors caught Coach Robinson's attention in their final home game.

"Stephon Davis (middle linebacker) made some real physical plays inside and he has done this for us all year. He is averaging 12 tackles a game. I was so glad for him to play so well defensively on senior night ( had a fumble recovery and later in the game an interception to set up a touchdown). He pressures the quarterback and also plays real well on special teams. Teddy Kostopoulos had another strong game. He plays on both lines (offensive and defensive) and is also a huge part of special teams .These kids play real well and are stretched out tremendously."

Law will travel across town to face city rival Foran on Thanksgiving morning at 10:30 a.m. This is the final game of the season for both Milford schools.

Prince Tech is located in Hartford and is a member of the Constitution State Conference (CSC) made up of Vocational Technical Schools from throughout the state. Law is a member of the Southern Connecticut Conference.

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