Football wrap-up

Big victories

highlight

football 

weekend

By Ron P. Coderre

It was somewhat of a miraculous weekend for three local high school football teams as they recorded victories that were more than significant in the big picture for the local fandom.

Plainfield High School off to the best start of all area teams recorded a huge come from behind win over the New London Whalers, a team they have very seldom been able to compete with over the years.  Woodstock Academy posted a W for the first time in nearly two years on the gridiron.  W was a letter that the Centaurs had almost forgotten existed.  And finally, Killingly, thirsting to get into the win column threw its offense into high gear in beating visiting Robert E. Fitch of Groton.

Unfortunately Quinebaug Valley Pride and Pomfret School are still winless as the Pride was dropped by Cheney Tech and the Griffins were shutout by Tabor Academy.  Following an opening season victory, Hyde-Woodstock was unable to stand prosperity and lost a heartbreaker to New Hampton School.

Melee Disrupts Plainfield Win

Plainfield had very little time to enjoy its 21-17 win over New London, when a physical brawl broke out between some over exuberant Panther fans and members of the Whalers football team.  According to reports, the Panther fans were former football players who had never beaten New London during their high school days and took the opportunity to engage in taunting the Whalers throughout the entire contest.

On the field however, the Plainfield footballers stuck to their mission and employed a rarely used play, the hook and ladder, to capture the victory in the final 1:06 of the game.  Quarterback Steve Jankowski hit Alex Gaudreau with a short 4-yard pass and the tight end flip the ball to a speeding Jordan Federer who took the pigskin to the NL 30-yard line.  Jankowski then hit wide receiver Cody Alday with the game-winning pass with 42 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Panthers were down 17-6 when all the excitement occurred.  Jankowski (15-21-262) hit a pair of 30 yard passes to Isiah Fort and Tyler Ballard and Federer (13 carries for 97 yards) picked up important yardage to keep the winning drive alive.

In addition to the game winning toss, Jankowski also had a 4-yard scoring pass to Gaudreau earlier.  The victory lifted Plainfield to 3-0 on the season.

Acads End Two-Year Drought

Woodstock Academy employed a solid second half performance, in which they outscored St. Bernard/Norwich Tech 21-6 to roll to its first victory since Oct. 28, 2011, 35-14 over the Saints much to the jubilation of the hometown fans.

Holden Cote was the big gun in the Centaur offense rushing for four touchdowns and a two-point conversion.  After falling behind 8-0 Woodstock rallied behind Cote as he scored on a 6-yard run, followed by a 2-yard plunge to give the Acads an unusual halftime advantage of 14-8.

Cote got the second half off on a positive note, scoring the only touchdown of the third stanza on a 29-yard run.  After Kameron Janice opened the fourth period scoring with a six-yard tally, Cote closed out the Woodstock scoring with a 16-yard TD burst.

Cote was the game’s top rusher with 192 yards on 27 carries.  Janice had 94 yards on 21 carries and quarterback Trent Appleton was 11-78.  The win not only lifts the spirits of coach Clay Killingsworth’s Centaurs but it also puts them a 1-2 and 1-0 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division.

Killingly Outlasts Fitch in High-Scoring Affair

Killingly jumped out to a 32-7 first half advantage over Fitch High School and played the visitors even in the second half to walk off with a high scoring 53-28 victory over the Falcons.

Freshman Spencer Lockwood was the early catalyst in the win, scoring the first two touchdowns for the Redmen.  He crossed into pay dirt with runs of eight and 12 yards.  His play inspired Killingly’s leader Michael Elsey, who shocked the crowd with a 90-yard kickoff return and a 3-yard touchdown burst.

Chace Wood closed out the first half scoring when he tallied on a 34-yard option pass from Vasileous Politis.  Wood, eager to prove himself, opened the second half scoring when he was on the receiving end of a 10-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Derosier.  Tyler LeSage and Dimitri Key closed out the scoring for Killingly with touchdown runs.  Lesage on an 18-yard punt return and Key on a 17-yard run.

Elsey with 104 yards on 22 carries was the Redmen’s top ground gainer and receiver, as he amassed 114 yards in the air on six receptions.  Signal caller Derosier enjoyed another fine game under center, hitting 11 of 19 passing attempts for 177 yards for 1-2 Killingly.

Wins Hard to Come by for Pride, Wolfpack and Griffins

Hyde-Woodstock battled a rugged New Hampton team but was unable to score when a late opportunity presented itself and fell to 1-1 as it was edged 17-12.  All of the scoring in the game occurred in the first half.

Dexter Thompson scored both touchdowns for the Wolfpack, the first on a 55-yard pass-run play from quarterback Marcus Greenridge, which put the home team up 6-0.  Trailing 7-6 in the second quarter, the Greenridge to Thompson hookup struck again putting Hyde-Woodstock on top.  This time the duo was responsible for a 64-yard scoring play.  Unfortunately coach Sean Saucier’s team was unable to take advantage of second half chances and fell to 1-1 with the loss.

Pomfret School, despite 98 yards from running back Emanuel Calmar, was beaten by Tabor Academy 20-0.  The loss drops the Griffins to 0-2 on the season.

Quinebaug Valley Pride jumped out to a 7-0 lead over Cheney Tech on a Raif Santerre 7-yard touchdown scamper but was shutout the remainder of the way, losing 20-7.  Santerre was the lone bright spot for the Pride with 119 yards on 28 carries.  The Pride is now 0-3 on the year.

 

 

Grants to

help fight

drug and

alcohol

By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM ---  With some pride, town officials are directing two new grants toward a drug and alcohol-free young population.

Douglas M. Cutler, project director of Putnam Partnership to Reduce the Influence of Drugs for Everyone (PRIDE), said the town recently received a $125,000 Drug Free Community Coalition grant and a $48,875 Sober Truth About Underage Drinking Prevention grant. 

Both are federal grants from the Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration. They both started Oct. 1. The $125,000 grant is the seventh out of a 10-year grant program. The second one is the third year out of five years.

Cutler said past efforts which run the gamut are having an effect and that tangible success helped the town win those grants against some very heavy competition.

He pointed to a survey which shows that there has been a 15 percent drop --- between 2010 and 2012 --- in the number of middle school students who report drug or alcohol use. Likewise, the town has seen a 4 percent drop in high school freshmen reporting the same.

"We've shown success," Cutler said, and this helped win the grants.

Plans for the grant money include continuing the social host media campaign which lets parents know the dangers of hosting parties with alcohol at home. There is also a social norming campaign that concentrates on middle school students' awareness of drugs and alcohol.  Many programs will get a boost including a leadership training program for students, training for bars and restaurants and multicultural training and many more. 

"We're really zeroing in on these goals," he said.

Cutler said the town has been working to reduce the influence of drugs and alcohol since 1998 as a coalition.

He added that the PRIDE coalition consists of 12 sectors some of which include faith, media, schools, youth groups, businesses and more. 

 

 

PUTNAM —  Prepare to have a ghoulishly good time during the final evening in the 2014 First Fridays season. Starting at 6 p.m. Oct. 3, the event will usher in the month of ghost stories, costumes, and trick-or-treaters, celebrating all things Folklore. In addition to art vendors, entertainment, and Art Attacks during the festival, the Putnam Business Association, in partnership with the First Fridays Committee, invites attendees to participate in a Zombie Fashion Show. Participants are encouraged to come dressed in their undead-best and be a part of the frightening festivities. 

Entertainment for the Oct. 3 event will include performances by The Amazing Taylors. First up will be the Three Billy Goats Gruff puppet show, a family friendly show for all ages. After the sun goes down, The Amazing Taylors will then perform a Spooky Shadow Show, a performance that older kids and adults can enjoy. Haunted Carnival Games will also be available throughout the evening. And there will be Art Attacks. Masks play an important role in many cultural traditions. At the Community Arts table, attendees are invited to create and decorate their own mask. From animals to Day of the Dead skulls, each mask can be used to tell a story. 

Performing will be the Extraordinary Rendition Band of Providence, a collective street band of brass, reeds, and percussion. The band will move throughout Main Street, spreading infectious rhythms with each step they take

Music will not be the only infectious thing on Main Street during the October First Fridays. There is a zombie virus quickly spreading throughout the area, with the infected due to congregate on Main Street Oct. 3, where they will drag their decaying bodies across a putrid runway for prizes. The top three best dressed will win in three categories: Best Undead Man, Best Undead Woman, and Best Undead Youth (14 and under). For those planning to walk the runway, join the “Zombie Fashion Show – Zombie Call!” event page on Facebook. Registration for the fashion show will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Montgomery Ward building. Come out and show your zombie spirit and your costuming skills! For more information on the Zombie Fashion Show and the Oct. 3 First Fridays, visit www.discoverputnam.com.