WETHERSFIELD - One play can make all the difference in winning and losing.

       For the 2015 Wethersfield High School football team, it was two plays that ultimately decided their semifinal showdown against undefeated North Haven last Monday night.

       The host Indians of North Haven scored on their first two offensive plays, jumping out to a 14-0 lead, before holding off the hard-charging Eagles of Wethersfield, 21-14, at Vanacore Field to advance to the Class L state championship.

       North Haven entered the contest averaging 50 points per game and their misdirection, single-wing offense fooled Wethersfield’s normally disciplined defense on their first two series.

       After Wethersfield was forced to punt on their opening possession, wingback Michael Montano found a void in the Eagles defense and sprinted 68 yards to the end zone on North Haven’s first offensive play, prompting the hometown fire department in attendance to sound their earsplitting truck sirens.

       The Eagles again were forced to punt of their next possession and on the ensuing play tailback Conner Suraci burst through a gaping hole before racing 93 yards for another score, giving the Indians a two touchdown advantage less than six minutes into the game.

       Wethersfield defense, which had surrendered only 11 points per game over their first eleven games, settled down after the inauspicious start and contained the quick-strike offense over the next three and a half quarters.

       â€�"After those first two series we told the kids to make sure they did what they were supposed to do and stay with their assignments,” said Wethersfield head coach John Campanello. â€�"They got more confident in doing what they were coached to do and we were more successful after that.”

       The Eagles offense also found their rhythm and twice drove into the red zone in the first half, but came up empty both times.

       They first threatened to score early in the second quarter, but turned the ball over on downs at the 16-yard line. Running back Jamal Bagley then lost a fumble at the five-yard line, ended another scoring opportunity with five minutes left in the half.

       â€�"We didn’t take advantage of the situations when we got down there. We shot ourselves in the foot and we made mistakes in the red zone,” added Campanello. â€�"We didn’t capitalize when we got down there. We told the players [at halftime] that the first half was behind us and we had to move on to the second half.”

       Quarterback Devon Smith and his offensive mates received the halftime message and got things rolling on their first possession of the second half when they drove 83 yards in 13 plays before Smith polished off the drive with a four-yard run. Smith found a crease in the heart of North Haven’s front-seven before leaping over two would-be defenders to cross the goal line. Austin Stefano’s extra point cut the deficit in half with 1:29 left in the third.

       Smith then took matters into his own hands defensively when he tackled and stripped the ball from Montano after a long run yard run midway through the final quarter. An alert Smith recovered his own forced fumble at the Wethersfield’s four-yard line.

       The good fortune was short lived as Wethersfield running back Richard Williams had the ball jarred loose three plays later and North Haven’s Nick Campanelli pounced on the ball at the five-yard line.

       The next play, Montano scurried around the left side for his second touchdown of the game, extending North Haven’s lead to 21-7 with 5:20 to play in regulation. Montano finished with a game-high 182 rush yards.

       The resilient Wethersfield offense mounted an impressive drive on their next possession, which culminated with Smith connecting with Williams from 26 yards out on third and long, narrowing the gap to seven points with a shade over three minutes remaining.

       The ensuing onside kick from Stefano was perfectly placed, but recovered by the home team, who cemented the game with two first downs to run out the clock and end Wethersfield’s season.

       The victory advanced North Haven to the Class L state title game, where they lost a 42-35 barnburner to New Canaan on Saturday.

       Wethersfield’s heartbreaking loss ended a magnificent season for the local footballers who made plenty of memories and history during their 2015 campaign.

       They became the first team in the program’s history to win a playoff game, defeating Torrington, 33-6, Dec. 1 to reach the semifinal round. The team was appearing in the postseason for the second straight season and most of the upperclassmen have been vital parts on an Eagles team that has won 27 of their last 28 regular season games,, dating back to 2013.

       The loss to North Haven was the last for nearly 20 seniors who will be graduating.. Campanello and his staff will have the tough task of replacing several starters, including Smith and Williams, who starred on both sides of the ball.

       Kyle Klavins, the team’s leading receiver, who was injured in the regular-season finale against Newington, and fellow pass catcher Eric Wright, who was injured early in the loss to North Haven, will also be graduating.

       Four of the five starting offensive linemen and bookend cornerbacks Elijah Young and Jae-Qaun Brown also played their final game at Wethersfield.

       â€�"They’re an athletic group. They don’t get intimidated by anybody,” Campanello reflected on the senior class. â€�"They’re as competitive as any class that I’ve ever had. They don’t like losing and they keep battling back play after play after play. It’s that kind of attitude that carried over to the other players.”

       The departing seniors have laid the groundwork for the growth of the school’s football program and Campanello should indeed have another successful campaign next season, but the veteran coach perfectly summed up this season when addressing the team immediately following the disappointing defeat.

       â€�"I wish you could have gotten a better result, because you deserve it,” Campanello told his team. â€�"You have nothing to hang your heads about, because you stayed together as a team.”

       It was a team that the town of Wethersfield will not soon forget.