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Leaping
Woodstock Academy freshman John Bennett (24) leaps over Waterford keeper Tim Silvia in the Centaurs 1-0 boys’ soccer loss to the Lancers. Photo by Marc Allard.
Off We Go
Seamus McDermott left, recovered a fumble and carried the ball into the end zone in a 39-0 win over Plainfield. Unfortunately, the touchdown was called back due to a penalty on the Centaurs. Photo by Maddy Millar.
Centaurs roll
to win on
Homecoming
Marcus McGregor hasn’t played much football but he does know one thing. When a defensive lineman gets a chance to touch the football – grab it.
A ball thrown by Plainfield quarterback Codey Lefevre was tipped by fellow defensive lineman Huck Flanagan and wound up in McGregor’s hands.
There was no stopping him in his 35-yard odyssey to the end zone early in the first quarter that started the Centaurs football team on its way to a 39-0 rout of the Panthers.
“It was amazing. My first touchdown. I just caught it and took it to the crib,” McGregor said.
McGregor is a native of the Bahamas and had never played football prior to this fall. He came to the U.S. as a baseball player.
Woodstock Academy football coach Sean Saucier said McGregor is one of those “neat stories” that just kind of emerge from a season.
“He’s funny, absolutely hilarious,” the Centaurs coach said. “He’s dialed in and he plays so far ahead of where he should be. In his first practice, we got him with a hard count. That was the only time we got him. We tried to do it another time and he just looked at us and said, ‘No, you didn’t get me.’”
Fellow junior defensive lineman Evan Roy said when McGregor started, he didn’t even know what a first down was. He’s a quick learner.
“He comes in here and gets a pick-6. He’s an animal. A game changer and a monster part of our team,” Roy said.
The defense, as a whole, got to Plainfield. The Centaurs (2-1) allowed the Panthers only 51 total yards and three first downs.
“We needed that for Homecoming here,” Roy said. “We’re proving ourselves in the ECC. Our defense is always locking up and our offense is flowing.”
The Centaurs scored the first touchdown of the game when quarterback Ethan Davis (5-for-9 passing, 42 yards) hit Jackson Goetz in the corner of the end zone to complete a six play, 61-yard drive and give the Centaurs a 6-0 lead just 2 minutes, 16 seconds into the game.
McGregor followed just two plays later with his interception.
Prior to the Davis pass to Goetz, the Centaurs did have a touchdown called back by a holding call.
After the McGregor score, two more touchdowns were called back including a 17-yard fumble recovery and return by Seamus McDermott.
Those were three of the five touchdowns negated by penalties against Woodstock Academy in the first half alone.
“I was very frustrated at halftime,” Saucier said. “I was a little disappointed because we talk so much about playing clean football and it didn’t happen.”
The Centaurs did score two more first half touchdowns on a 22-yard run by Davis with just under two minutes left in the first quarter and on a 4-yard Davis to Braiden Saucier pass just 2 ½ minutes into the second quarter to build a 25-0 lead.
The Centaurs also cleaned up their act in the second half, getting called for only a hold in the fourth quarter that mattered little.
Running back Payton Barna (13 carries, 85 yards) scored on a 7-yard run early in the third quarter and then Saucier’s son, Braiden, threw his first varsity touchdown pass, a 22-yard pass to Woodstock Academy’s No. 22, Parker Anderson.
“That was cool,” Saucier said. “He stayed in the pocket too on the last drive and took a big hit when he completed (a 38-yard pass) to Parker (on what turned out to be the last play of the game). He’s a pocket passer, likes to stay in there and let things develop. It was huge to get him some reps because you never know when you’re really going to need him.”
Boys’ Soccer
In their only match of the week Sept. 24, the Centaurs could not find the net against the Waterford Lancers and suffered a 1-0 defeat.
The two teams mixed it up early. The Centaurs (1-4, 1-2 ECC Div. II) tested Waterford keeper Tim Silva but he was up to the task.
Noah Page had a chance off a corner but got just a little too far under the ball and it cleared the crossbar.
Austin Byer later appeared to have a breakaway but Silvia came out of the net, slid, and scooped up the ball before Byer could get a shot off.
Woodstock Academy keeper Brian Jameson was also tested early.
Griffin Neal and Ian Rush both saw their opportunities tipped over the top of the twine by Jameson.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, Jameson couldn’t get to Jeremy Gibbs’ chance.
Matias Arcelus took a direct kick just outside the area and directed it toward Gibbs who was able to get his head on the ball and popped it over Jameson and into the net to give the Lancers (2-3, 1-1 ECC Div.) with 3:44 left in the first half.
Field Hockey
In practice last week, Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon was going over a drill.
“I was very slowly going over what I wanted them to do with two different scenarios and a lot of lightbulbs went off. It was like ‘Oh, that’s what you mean when you say that.’ They’re catching on,” Gagnon said.
The Centaurs did pick up their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Killingly. The Centaurs also suffered a 5-2 loss to NFA last week.
The split left the Centaurs with a 1-3-1 record overall and a 1-2-1 mark in the ECC.
The Centaurs did get plenty of contributions from the youngsters this past week. Freshman Abby Converse and sophomore Sophia Petrella were key ingredients in the win over Killingly.
Petrella and Converse both got their first varsity goals in the win with Petrella also adding an assist.
Gagnon termed the lower numbers this season both a blessing and a curse.
It will allow Gagnon to give players like Converse more time on the field.
But there are other concerns. “Injuries have plagued us more this year with kids being out of shape due to (the pandemic). In the past two years, they have done less conditioning and that has hurt. But will smaller numbers, we are able to focus on them more individually and they get more playing time but the injuries hurt and fatigue is setting in,” Gagnon said.
Senior Julia Powell also scored against Killingly. It was her second goal of the season.
The Wildcats (1-4, 1-2) posted their first win of the season against the Centaurs.
After a scoreless first quarter, Alice Ann Rourke broke free from the Centaur defense and was able to convert, putting the first goal of the game in with 8 minutes, 52 seconds left in the half. Woodstock Academy countered with Converse getting her second goal of the year off an assist from Petrella just a minute after the Rourke goal.
But the Wildcats went on top, 2-1, when Naina Prakash scored off an assist from Rourke for the halftime lead. Jalyn Reed made it 3-1 NFA early in the third quarter before Converse, off an assist from fellow freshman Grace Pokorny, scored with just 3:39 left in the quarter.
After neither team was awarded a corner in the first half, the Wildcats suddenly got seven in the second half and scored their final two goals off of them, both by Caitlin Duda.
Duda, who inserts on the set play, found herself open on the left side of the net twice and put one home with 1:18 left in the third quarter and another with 15 seconds left in the contest to guarantee NFA the win.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy