Roundup
School record but Centaurs fall to Killingly on T-Day
It is not something that is often seen. A team with a first down and goal may not have been anything special, but this was from the 49-yard line.
That was the situation that Killingly faced on its first possession of the final Thanksgiving Day game between the Trailblazers and Woodstock.
At the time, it was a good start for the Centaurs. That was until Killingly scored despite the hole it dug itself.
It set the tone for the game as Killingly continued its undefeated ways, finishing 10-0, with a 67-13 win before an announced 1,247 onlookers on its home field over the Centaurs.
Woodstock finished the season with a 3-7 record.
"(Killingly) is one heck of a team and are the program that we aspire to be; the way they execute, the way they win football games, how the program has evolved. In a way, it's a blessing to have a state power in your backyard to look at and try to emulate as best you can, They showed that (Thursday)," said coach Connor Elliott.
But Killingly coach Chad Neal probably wasn't feeling that way at the start of the contest.
Killingly drove the ball in four plays to the Woodstock 9-yard line and quarterback Quinn Sumner appeared to have put the Trailblazers on the board with a touchdown pass to Hunter Allard. Until a flag flew and Killingly was called for a hold. On the next run play, Killingly was whistled for a chop block followed by a dead ball unsportsmanlike penalty.
Thus, first-and-goal at the Woodstock 49.
But what looked like a blessing for the Centaurs quickly became a curse.
Woodstock defensive back Alec Nunes broke up a pass play but Hayden Allard rushed for 18 and on third down, Sumner (5-for-6 passing, 84 yards) then hit Hayden's brother, Hunter again, for a 31-yard score.
This time, the touchdown counted.
It was followed by a Centaurs fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving Killingly the ball on the Woodstock 16.
Two plays later, Hayden Allard (6 carries, 114 yards) took it in from eight yards out for a 14-0 Trailblazer lead.
The Centaurs went three-and-out on their first offensive possession but with regular punter Caydem Herlihy out with an injury, the punt only traveled seven yards and Killingly took over inside the Woodstock 20 at the 19-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Sumner hit Hunter Allard with a second touchdown pass.
A fumble on a carry on the first play from scrimmage for the Centaurs resulted in a 2-yard sneak from Sumner that put Killingly up, 28-0, just 5 minutes, 31 seconds into the game.
"My biggest frustration was our lack of execution especially in that first half, with the fumbles and turnovers. They're a good enough team that we didn't need to help them We spotted them those 28 points and that set the tone for the rest of the game," Elliott said.
To their credit, the Centaurs did bounce back briefly at the end of the first quarter when quarterback Elijah Poh found some success in a West Coast-style offense that peppered Killingly with short passes.
"That may be something to look at a little more next year," Elliott said. "Quick passing, get the ball out and force (the opponent) to defend the whole field against that.”
Poh completed five passes in the series with the last one being a 13-yard connection to running back Cooper Harris for the Centaurs lone first half score which briefly interrupted Killingly's momentum.
Aiden Lamotte took the following kickoff to the house from 68 yards out and three plays into the second quarter, Hunter Allard picked off a Poh pass and returned it 28 yards to put Killingly up, 42-6.
A 31-yard run by Hayden Allard, a 20-yarder by Joe Mackie and another 33-yarder by Hayden Allard gave Killingly the insurmountable 61-6 lead at the half.
There was a little good news for the Centaurs in the very brief second half that followed.
Poh found Griffen Bloom for a 71-yard touchdown pass .
The junior completed 19 of his 27 passes for 201 yards.
That gave him a Woodstock school record 2,079 yards in passing this season.
"It's a tremendous individual achievement for him and it's cool that he got it in his first year here and first-ever year as a starting quarterback," Elliott said of his quarterback who transferred from Killingly to Woodstock. "Any individual award is really a team award because without the blocking and the receivers, you don't get any yards. He would be the first to say that, too. I'm very happy for him.”
Overall, the coach looked at the season in a positive light.
"It was a growing year," he said. "I felt like we were in most games, (Thursday) being the exception. Besides this one, our most lopsided loss was to Griswold and we were in that game at halftime," Elliott said. "It was eye-opening for some of the kids. My expectation is that we will be in the state playoffs next year and to do that, we have to have a heck of an offseason. We have to get into the weight room, stick together, and form a great family. Next year, we build on the foundation that we built this year and, hopefully, build to a brighter future."
Several Centaurs have been named ECC All-Stars. Poh, Harris, Dylan Phillips and  Alec Nunes were all named ECC Division II All-Stars while Wyatt Voter, Bloom and Aidan Soukaloun received honorable mention recognition.

Rivalry Change
The Thanksgiving Day matchup between Woodstock and Killingly High School has seen its final chapter written for the time being.
The two sides agreed to part ways recently after what has been a pretty one-sided rivalry in favor of Killingly during its time in place.
“As an athletic director, you constantly evaluate and that goes for the conference as well where we constantly evaluate where schools and teams are at to provide the best quality matchups that you can,” said Woodstock Academy athletic director Sean Saucier said of the decision to move on. “It was time.” Saucier played for Putnam and had a similar situation occur with the dissolution of the Killingly-Putnam Thanksgiving Day tradition that morphed into a Putnam-Plainfield game before briefly going back to a Putnam-Killingly contest.
Killingly and Woodstock have both played Windham at different times during the Thanksgiving time period. When Putnam and Plainfield took on each other on the holiday, Killingly played the Whippets.
The Centaurs and Whippets last did so for three years between 2012 and 2014 in the Thanksgiving slot before Woodstock moved on to face Killingly.
“These things come and go,” Saucier said. “We were presented with the option of mixing it up and doing something different and we thought it was the right move.”
The Woodstock Academy-Windham matchup will reappear in 2026.
“Any time that you are preparing for what everyone knows will be a competitive matchup, it’s a lot more fun,” Saucier said.
Whether or not it will always be a Thanksgiving morning game is still up in the air.
That will likely be the case during a Woodstock home game year as the Bentley Athletic Complex does not have lights. However, Windham has traditionally played on Thanksgiving eve or, as it has with Montville for the past several years, the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving.
“We haven’t ironed that out yet but my understanding is that it will be around Thanksgiving if not on it. We will just decide what is best with both schools and just go with it. I think it will be good for our kids,” Saucier said.
Coach Connor Elliott had mixed emotions about the decision to move on from the rivalry.
“It’s OK with me in the sense that I do want to give our players a better opportunity to compete and win on Thanksgiving. I’m not saying we never would have had that opportunity, it could have happened against Killingly, but I do think Killingly is our most natural rival,” Elliott said. “I think this is an awesome environment here at Killingly. I genuinely enjoy coming here on Thanksgiving and coaching besides the potential outcome of the game. It’s a new beginning for the program and I think Windham is a good matchup in terms of logistics, where they are and the connection of the towns and it used to be who we played on Thanksgiving.”
It does not mean that Killingly and Woodstock will not play each other during the season.
As of now, the Trailblazers are in Div. I of the ECC and Woodstock is in Div. II. Windham, this season, was also a Div. II team.
The two divisions do play crossover games although the Centaurs do not play every Div. I team every year.
“We usually get at least two Div. I teams every season so we could definitely still play Killingly and probably will,” Saucier said.
Killingly has not announced a new Thanksgiving Day opponent as of yet.

Fieldhouse back up and running
Just in time for the winter athletic season, the Alumni Fieldhouse is back in operation.
The multi-use facility was closed during the fall due to a water pipe break that resulted in the gym floor having to be removed and replaced.
The new gymnasium was scheduled to open its doors again on Monday just in time for tryouts and practices for the winter sports season which also commenced on Monday.
“It’s really exciting,” said Athletic Director Sean Saucier. “When that happened in August, the first thing that crossed my mind was December 1st. It’s a testament to a lot of people, our operations officer Hans Rynehart, our maintenance and housekeeping staff. Everybody had to sacrifice a lot. Teachers had to move classrooms during the construction process so to be where we are now and have the gym open for tryouts on Monday is outstanding.”
Saucier said the facility is “beautiful” once again with some of the walls receiving a fresh coat of paint and some other things that were done to tidy up the area.
 “At the beginning of the process, it was really about getting approval from the insurance company to start. That’s what really made me nervous, how long was the approval going to take? The flooring company was ready to go but could not do anything until the approval came through. It was an exciting Friday when I was able to call the flooring company and tell them that it was a go. They were ahead of schedule the whole way,” Saucier said.
One aspect that still has to be concluded is a new scoreboard was still be put in place but Saucier was confident that it would not be an issue once the season begins.
The previous scoreboard was damaged in the water pipe incident and was rendered inoperable.
“The new scoreboard is in the building and I think it will be installed (this past weekend). If not, it will go up (this) week. Our home (girls’ basketball) opener is Dec. 12 and we will certainly be ready to go for that,” Saucier said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

IMG 3437: 
Senior Kaylee Saucier throws one of her four touchdown passes as the Woodstock Academy senior girls defeated the junior girls in the annual Centaur Challenge flag football game, 42-21.

Senior Maci Corradi catches a pass for the senior class in a 42-21 victory over the junior girls in the annual Centaur Challenge flag football contest.

: Jaelyn Knox proudly displays the flag of a junior opponent which she captured to end a play in the senior girls 42-21 victory. 

IMG 3418: 
Elise Coyle runs for one of her three touchdowns for the junior girls in the annual Centaur Challenge flag football game. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.

5811: 
Coach Connor Elliott hugs his senior players as they leave the football field for a final time. Photo by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media.

3864: 
It was not the most satisfying day as a team but junior quarterback Elijah Poh did throw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and set a school record for passing yards in a season as he cleared the 2,000-yard mark. Photo by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media.

5128: 
Wyatt Matulis punts the football away for Woodstock. Photo by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media.

.

..