Woodstock Academy football coach Sean Saucier challenged junior running back Jaden Dennett before the game with Amistad Sept. 15, “I wanted him to just be at his best, work harder, finish his runs and be consistent. He took it to heart,” Saucier said.
Dennett took those words and ran with them.
Literally.
He finished with 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Centaurs to a 41-6 win over Amistad at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
“It was nice to win, but what was more rewarding was executing the things we worked on in practice. We fixed our mistakes from the previous week,” Saucier said.
The Centaurs jumped out on top, 21-0, in the first half.
Gavin Savoie, who finished with 45 yards in six carries, scored just 3 minutes, 18 seconds into the game on a 4-yard run.
Just six minutes later, Dennett found his way into the end zone.
The Centaurs built some momentum going into the locker room when Savoie scored his second touchdown and Dennett added the two-point conversion for the 21-0 halftime lead.
The Centaurs used some defensive plays to set up their offense in the second half.
“I really thought our defensive backs would have opportunities for some interceptions and they got us the ball a couple of times,” Saucier said.
Nick Bedard and Dan Suitum both came down with picks in the second half.
“Bedard had a great day,” Saucier said. “He had a heck of a game on both sides of the ball.”
Bedard scored the last touchdown of the game for the Centaurs (1-1) on a 35-yard run.
Dennett also scored on a 12-yard scamper and Travis White added a short touchdown on a shovel pass from quarterback Derek Thompson in the third quarter.
The Centaurs didn’t need much from Thompson, who passed for only 75 yards, since the rushing game accounted for over 300.
“The offensive line was outstanding. It was hot and I never had to sub them out. They opened holes all day,” Saucier said.
The Centaurs stay home Sept. 22 to play the Capital Prep/Achievement cooperative at 1:30 p.m. at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
“We know Capital Prep is going to be a quality team. It’s a good opportunity for us. They are not the powerhouse they were last year. We’re just going to have to have the confidence to play and compete with them,” Saucier said.
Capital Prep/Achievement has played two Eastern Connecticut Conference teams thus far. It lost to New London, 20-7, in its opener and fell Sept. 14 to Windham, 49-0.
“We’re going to have to tackle well against them. They play well in space and that will be one of the things that we focus on in practice,” Saucier said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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