Football Wrap-up

Hyde wins 

high-scoring 

bowl game

By Ron P. Coderre

The Hyde-Woodstock Wolfpack produced the right ingredients in winning its first ever bowl game Nov. 15 at Hoffman Field in W. Hartford.  Coach Sean Saucier’s team used its main man Jimmy Murphy to power its way to victory.  The Wolfpack added a little Marcus Greenridge and Dexter Thompson with some timely defense in beating Kingswood-Oxford School in the New England Prep School Athletic Council Mike Atkins Bowl in a game that saw both teams score a combined 107 points. 

As local high school teams prepare for Thanksgiving Day games some teams got a taste of turkey while others ate crow this week.  Plainfield continued to roll as it swept by outmanned St. Bernard-Norwich Tech in a game played at Panther Stadium.  

Killingly, Quinebaug Valley Pride and Woodstock were all on the road and had long trips home.  Killingly lost a tough one to New London and the Pride was equally disappointed when it was dropped by AbbottTech-Immaculate.  Norwich Free Academy celebrated Veterans Day with an easy win over Woodstock Academy.

Jimmy Murphy and Friends 

Score 61 in Bowl Win

Jimmy Murphy, Hyde-Woodstock’s scoring machine, concluded his prep gridiron career in storybook fashion, scoring five touchdowns and kicking five extra-point conversions.  Murphy, who last year played for Avon High School, was right at home in W. Hartford performing in front of a large contingent of family and friends.  And perform he did in Horatio Alger style!

Murphy was the lead actor in the Wolfpack’s 61-46 high scoring Mike Atkins Bowl victory over Kingswood-Oxford School.  Following a Kingswood-Oxford early score, Murphy and friends went to work, tallying nine touchdowns in knocking out a resilient KO team.

The hard-charging, never-say-die Murphy scored on five long touchdown gallops of 56, 45, 61, 60 and 60 yards.  He amassed an astonishing 341 yards from scrimmage on 17 carries.  Joining the scoring parade was the nimble Dexter Thompson, who also enjoyed a great afternoon of football, racking up three touchdowns.  Thompson’s initial score came in the second quarter on a 66-yard pass-run play from Marcus Greenridge.  In the third period Thompson, who had 85 yards on only three carries, added TD runs of 60 and 22 yards.  Hyde-Woodstock scored a phenomenal 48 points in the middle two periods in running away from the Wyverns.

The icing on the cake came from supporting actors, Justin Allard, who scored on a 13-yard aerial connection with Harrison Smith.  The Hyde defense, despite allowing 46 points, turned in four key interceptions in the back-and-forth contest.  The win closes out the Wolfpack’s season with a near perfect 8-1 log.

Killingly Loses Another Heart Breaker

Killingly High School, the tough luck team of northeastern Connecticut, dropped to 1-9 on the season following another game in which with some luck they could have emerged victorious.  This week the Redmen of coach Chad Neal lost on the road to a highly rated New London team 16-7.

Killingly was pumped up for this key encounter and came out with the adrenaline flowing.  They took a first period 7-0 lead on a Michael Elsey 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Derosier.  Elsey, since shifting from running back to wide receiver, has become the most potent offensive player up and down Eastern Connecticut.  Vasielos Politis converted the point-after kick to close out the Killingly scoring.  The teams went to the locker room at intermission tied 7-7.

Unfortunately for Killingly it was unable to generate any sustained offense for the remainder of the contest as it was shutout in the final three quarters by the Whaler defense.  All that’s left for them as they attempt to salvage the season is their Thanksgiving morning encounter in Putnam against the Quinebaug Valley Pride.

The Pride meanwhile played a home contest at Ellis Tech under the arcs against Abbott Tech-Immaculate.  The change of scenery from the St. Marie-Greenhalgh Sports Complex in Putnam didn’t work, as the host Pride went down 27-20 at the hands of the visitors.  For coach Joe Asermelly and his charges it was a tough loss to swallow.

The hosts jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a “Chuckin” Charlie Innes to Kyle Loomis 33-yard touchdown aerial connection.  The Abbott-Immaculate combine responded with a pair of unanswered touchdowns.  Down 13-6, QVP produced a rally of its own on a spectacular Innes to Jeremee Perez 49-yard pass connection.  The grab by Perez was one of the best catches witnessed in the area in years.  The visitors tallied once more prior to halftime to take a 20-13 lead to the locker room.   

In the second half the Pride opened the scoring as it did at the start of the contest when Innes and Loomis connected again for a 25-yard score through the air.  However, the visitors responded once again for the final seven-point margin of victory.

There were many highlights for the Pride, as Innes had his best game in the air, completing 4-of-14 for 150 yards and three touchdowns.  Loomis had 58 reception yards on two catches, while Perez accounted for 49 yards and Raif Santerre had one catch for 43 yards.  “Santy” was a workhorse on the ground again toting the pigskin 36 times for a total of 167 yards, putting him unofficially at 1,316 yards from scrimmage for the season.  The loss levels the Pride at 5-5 as it prepares for Killingly at home on Thanksgiving morning.

Woodstock traveled to Norwich Free Academy and witnessed a spectacular pregame show honoring veterans as part of a Veterans Day week celebration.  Prior to the game a contingent of 175 people unfurled an 800-pound American flag that covered the entire gridiron.  The flag which came from a company in Salt Lake City had previously been used on Monday evening at the Philadelphia Eagles game and also for the first game of this year’s World Series.

In the game between the Centaurs and the Wildcats, NFA then unfurled an explosive offense as it completely covered every aspect of the contest, winning 44-8.  Woodstock’s only score came in the final stanza on an 8-yard Kameron Janice touchdown run and two-point conversion.  The loss drops the Acads to 1-8 on the season.

Plainfield Rolls at Home

Plainfield was excited to return to its home field after five consecutive weeks on the road.  The Panthers demonstrated their glee by entertaining the home folks with a 42-6 trouncing of Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division foe St. Bernard-Norwich Tech.

As he’s done most of the season for the 8-1 Panthers, quarterback Steve Jankowski paced the victory with a brilliant aerial exhibition.  He threw for 231 yards on an 11-15 evening.  Four of his passes landed in the arms of his receivers for touchdowns.  In addition, Jankowski also ran for a 68-yard touchdown.

Tyler Ballard was Jankowski’s favorite receiver as he accounted for five receptions, three for touchdowns.  Ballard scored on aerials of 46, 57 and 80 yards.  Cody Alday was also on the end of a 15-yard Jankowski touchdown toss.  Hunter Griffin (4-55) had a 29-yard scoring run and Devyn Phongphan was credited with a safety for a tackle in the end zone.  Plainfield now prepares for its next game, an unusual Thursday evening encounter against Woodstock Academy under the arcs at the home of the Panthers.

 

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