Football Wrap-up

Hyde lone

team 

to post win 

in tough 

weekend   

By Ron P. Coderre

In a weekend that witnessed local schools suffer through defeat, one team the Hyde-Woodstock Wolfpack defied the odds and posted a big win over Hebron Academy, which traveled to the Nutmeg State all the way from Maine.

The Quinebaug Valley Pride opened the weekend under the arcs at the St. Marie-Greenhalgh Sports Complex and was edged by visiting Prince Tech.  Killingly, Pomfret School and Woodstock followed suit on Saturday, with the Redmen losing on the road to Bacon Academy, Berkshire shutting out Pomfret and Woodstock suffering through a long afternoon at home against a strong New London team.

Murphy and Greenridge Tandem

 Lead Hyde to Victory

Hyde-Woodstock’s Jimmy Murphy continues to impress as he once again led the Wolfpack to victory, a hard fought 20-14 win over visiting Hebron Academy.  This week Murphy had huge support from steady quarterback Marcus Greenridge, who added a pair of scores on runs of 6 and 2 yards to salt away the win for coach Sean Saucier’s charges.  

After Hebron broke out on top 8-0 early in the first quarter, Murphy responded with a 12-yard run to pull Hyde-Woodstock within two points 8-6 and close out the initial stanza scoring.  The Wolfpack took a 12-8 lead to the locker room at halftime thanks to the first of Greenridge’s two scores.

Murphy and Greenridge both broke the century mark on the ground, as “Murph” ran for 107 yards on 14 carries and Greenridge had 102 yards on 15 carries.

The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter with Greenridge once again tallying, this time from 2 yards out.  A Murphy two-point conversion run closed out the Wolfpack scoring insuring the six-point margin of victory.  The win upped Hyde-Woodstock’s record to 3-1 overall and 3-1 in the Evergreen League.  Next week the Wolfpack is on the road at Holderness School in a 2 p.m. contest.

Pomfret School was on the road in the far reaches of western Massachusetts where it was whitewashed by Berkshire 12-0.  The Griffins next game is Saturday at home versus Canterbury School at 2:30 p.m.

Pride, Killingly & Centaurs Fall

The Quinebaug Valley Pride put up a strong effort against visit Prince Tech but dropped a heartbreaker 22-14.  The loss drops the Pride to 1-4 on the season.

This was a game that coach Joe Asermelly felt could easily have been a victory for his team and he took part of the blame for the loss.  Late in the game the coaching staff lost track of the timeout situation and the game clock, causing confusion on the field for the Pride, resulting in the loss of what might have been a positive situation.  Regardless in the end, the Techsters left Putnam with the win.

Following a Prince Tech 7-0 first period advantage, the Pride fought back as running back Raif Santerre bulled over from 5 yards out to knot the score following a Chuck Innes point-after kick.  However, the Pride was unable to stand prosperity and went to intermission trailing 14-7.  

The third quarter belonged to Prince Tech as it scored the only touchdown of the stanza to take a 20-7 lead into the final 12 minutes.  A Jeremee Perez one yard burst was all that the Pride would manage before the final whistle.  Santerre once again broke the century mark on the ground with 144 yards on 30 carries.

The Pride now prepares for O’Brien Tech, which visits the St. Marie-Greenhalgh Sports Complex on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. encounter.

Killingly, much like the Pride was hoping to pick up a victory on its trip to Colchester for a game with Bacon Academy.  The Redmen however, came away disappointed as the Bobcats posted a 35-28 win in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score might indicate.

Bacon took a 28-6 lead to the locker room at halftime as the only score Killingly could muster was an Austin Caffrey 10-yard run for a touchdown.  Bacon controlled the third quarter, scoring the only touchdown during that 15-minute period before Killingly came to life.

Whatever the reason for the resuscitation, Killingly posted 22 final period points narrowing the final margin to seven points but not enough for the victory.  Caffrey scored on a two-yard burst to open the fourth period scoring.  His running mate, Michael Elsey then his paydirt twice on runs of 31 and 57 yards as time became Killingly’s enemy.

Elsey toted the pigskin 19 times for 167 yards, while Caffrey had 11 carries for 81.  Quarterback Kyle Derosier was 7-for-25 in the air for 76 yards, 56 of those yard were credited to his favorite target Vasileous Politis.

The loss drops Killingly to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division.  They now prepare for the rugged Stonington Bears, who invade Danielson on Friday evening for a 6:30 p.m. contest. 

Homecoming Day for Woodstock was more like Custer’s Last Stand as the New London Whalers put on a show in Woodstock besting the outmanned Centaurs 51-6.  The lone bright spot for the Acads was running back Holden Cote who scored on a four-yard burst late in the game.  The loss drops Woodstock to 1-4 on the season.  

 

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