Second Half Comeback Lifts Warde Over Ludlowe 48 Years Ago Today

A bad snap from center and a recovered fumble allowed Andrew Warde High School's football team to score a pair of second half touchdowns and rally for a 16-14 upset victory over cross-town rival Roger Ludlowe High School at the winners' field before a bi-partisan crowd of 4,000 people, Saturday, October 20, 1973.

Reliable halfback Ken Aiello grounded out 180 yards on 30 carries to spark the Crimson Eagles to their first FCIAC victory against five overall losses and left them with a 1-3 mark in the Eastern Division. Ludlowe fell to 1-3 in the East and 2-4 overall.

Aiello, who also tallied on both extra point conversions, received a plaque from the Fairfield Lions Club as Warde's most valuable player in the game, while Bob Haggerty was voted Ludlowe's top performer in post game ceremonies.

The Flying Tigers tallied at 2:52 of the first quarter when quarterback Joe Rietano sneaked across the goal line on a fourth-and-goal sitution. The 10-play scoring drive started when Tom Danielson fumbled on his own 31 yard line. Kevin Klik kicked the extra point to give the guests a 7-0 lead.

Coach Emil Taft's squad added another seven points on the first play of the second quarter when Rietano hit Paul Sullivan with a 21-yard completion and Klik added the extra point to take a seemingly secure 14-0 cushion into intermission. Please click the link below to access and enlarge the newspaper story of the game.
Sun, Oct 21, 1973 – Page 93 · The Bridgeport Post (Bridgeport, Fairfield, Connecticut) · Newspapers.com
But the fired-up Eagles of Bill Davis weren't going to be denied and turned opportunistic by using the Ludlowe miscues to pull out the win. The first break came when Ludlowe punter Mark Greenwalt was not able to handle the snap from center and was brought down on hos own 34 yard line.

Later, Aiello's 23-yard carry brought the ball down to the nine yard line, and two plays later Steve Cameron crossed the goal line with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter. Aiello fought his way into the end zone for two additional points.

The deciding touchdown came after tackle Julius Dudics pounced on a Ludlowe fumble at the Tigers' 31. A facemask penalty and a 12-yard run by Aiello put the pigskin on the eight yard line. On third-and-goal, quarterback Jim DelVecchio hit paydirt from one yard away to tie the score at 14-14 with 6:29 left in the game. Aiello again battled his way into the end zone for the deciding two points

Paul