Centaurs fall
on soggy
T-Day
It just seemed par for the course this season for the Woodstock Academy football team.
There was always another curveball thrown at the program.
On Thanksgiving Day, not only were the Centaurs down their first two quarterbacks due to injury, the field that the game with Killingly was supposed to be played on at Nichols College was unavailable and Mother Nature decided to add a rainstorm into the mix.
“This week has mirrored our season in a lot of ways and what I mean by that is being resilient and flexible. We found out that Nichols wasn’t really an option a week ago. We met with the older kids and told them our options were to play at Killingly or we can do whatever we can to play at Bentley. I left the option up to them and I saw the sparkle in their eye about playing here (at Bentley),” head coach and Athletic Director Sean Saucier said.
“I am just so grateful for all the people that volunteered and helped at the last minute to make it work at Bentley,” said Associate Head of School Holly Singleton. “
Killingly came in with an undefeated record and was averaging 46 points a game while giving up only 14. Those numbers stayed true to form as Killingly blanked the Centaurs, 47-0, to finish with an undefeated regular season.
The Centaurs finished the season with a 2-8 mark.
Killingly jumped on top early when junior back Hayden Allard on the third play of the game, broke free of a couple tackles and went 58 yards for the score just 1 minute, 22 seconds in.
The Centaurs continued their quarterback experiment as seniors Kyle Grist and Cam Nason played their final games behind center.
“As crazy as it sounds, it feels normal to us now,” Saucier said of the Grist-Nason combo. “How do you get to this? But, now it feels normal. Here we are two to three weeks later of having them rep it and we worked on fine tuning some things.”
It was tough on the first possession as the Centaurs were forced to punt.
Killingly took over on the Woodstock 45 and on the next play, quarterback Quinn Sumner (3-for-3 passing, 124 yards) found Hunter Allard down the sideline for the 45-yard touchdown. It was Sumner’s 16th, but not last, touchdown pass of the season while Allard reeled in his eighth touchdown reception.
The Centaurs did get into Killingly territory on their second possession.
A facemask on a run by Nason moved them up to their own 40 and Grist (12 carries, 47 yards) reeled off a 9-yard gain to near midfield.
A Killingly offside penalty got the ball into Killingly territory and a pair of runs by Grist and Gabe Luperon moved the ball to the Killingly 41.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, the drive stalled and went backwards with Killingly taking over on downs at its own 49.
Sumner, on the first play from scrimmage, stepped back and lofted a pass downfield to Aiden Lamotte for the junior’s third touchdown catch of the season.
Another Woodstock punt gave Killingly another opportunity which Sumner used to find Joseph Gould with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Centaurs fumbled the ensuing kickoff which was recovered by Killingly and Everton Brown trotted in from 11 yards out for the 35-0 first quarter lead.
The Centaurs did put together a decent drive beginning at the end of the first quarter where a 12-yard pass from Grist to Aiden Brailsford gave them a first down on their own 44 going into the second quarter.
Grist added 25 yards on the ground in five carries to get Woodstock to the Killingly 32.
Brailsford (7 carries, 30 yards) found daylight for another 10 and the Centaurs were in the red zone at the 19-yard line.
But the Centaurs decided to go to the air and it created a highlight moment for Hayden Allard.
The Killingly junior, who had come into the game with 1,510 yards rushing, only carried the ball three times for 74 yards in the game.
But he was defending on the pass and picked it off near the goal line, returning it the distance for a 100-yard interception return and a 41-0 Killingly advantage.
Killingly wrapped up the contest with a 14-yard run by Gould with three minutes left to play in the first half to account for the final score.
Nason finished the day by completing both of his passes for 11 yards while Brailsford had two catches for 20.
“We had our last meeting before we came down here with the seniors. We don’t meet after or on Monday, this is it. We had a special meeting before the game and I told them that they had left an incredible legacy of resilience for everyone else to follow with everything we have been through. I’m proud of them,” Saucier said.
Earlier in the week, Jacob Say, Dylan Phillips and Alec Nunes were named ECC Div. II football All-Stars. Sam Clark and Nason were chosen as honorable mention All-Stars with Nunes earning the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete Award and Aidan Soukaloun named as the ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
2024 Aiden Brailsford: Woodstock Academy senior Aiden Brailsford runs the football against Killingly on Thanksgiving Day at the Bentley Athletic Complex. (2 pictures to choose from)
2024 Cam Nason: Woodstock Academy senior quarterback Cam Nason looks to throw on Thanksgiving Day against Killingly.
2024 Woodstock Academy offensive line: The Woodstock Academy football team’s offensive line of (from left to right) Jacob Say, Henri Bessette, Cayden Menor, Ryder Chaput and Wyatt Voter were ready prior to their showdown with Killingly on Thanksgiving Day.
2024 Luperon, etc…: At times, Woodstock Academy seniors Aiden Brailsford (5), Kyle Grist (44) and Cam Nason (16) were in the same backfield together against Killingly on Thanksgiving Day.
2024 Umbrellas, Tents: The background says it all as onlookers huddled under tents and umbrellas in a persistent rain as Woodstock Academy battled Killingly on Thanksgiving Day. Photos by Abby Ditzel/Woodstock Academy.
.