By Ron P. Coderre

The spirit of the crowd on hand for the Killingly High School CIAC quarterfinal Class M matchup between the Redmen and the Stratford Red Devils wasn’t dampened by the steady rain that fell throughout the game that was played on the Killingly home turf.  Neither were the spirits or the enthusiasm of the team as Killingly methodically disposed of the visitors 35-10.

 After playing to a 7-7 first period tie Killingly went to the air for the only the second time in the contest just prior to intermission.  Following a fumble recovery by Ethan Canova, Redman quarterback Kyle Derosier found his favorite receiver Vasileios Politis on his only completion of the evening for an 8- yard touchdown.  The score gave Killingly a 21-10 halftime advantage and spurred on the defensive unit, which held the visitors scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Killingly’s feared running back Austin Caffrey, as he has so many times all season, set the tone for the game with a first period 7-yard touchdown.  Following a Stratford touchdown and fieldgoal, the Redmen responded to the 10-7 deficit with a 7-yard Spencer Lockwood touchdown.  The Derosier to Politis aerial connection then gave Killingly breathing room.

Following a scoreless third period Killingly concluded the scoring when its one-two punch of Caffrey and sophomore Lockwood once again hit paydirt.  Caffrey capped a 95-yard drive that ate up clock with a 4-yard burst.  Lockwood finished off the Red Devils with a 3-yard run late in the game.

Caffrey and Lockwood each had two touchdowns.  The pair combined for 284 yards on the wet turf.  Caffrey was the workhorse with 180 yards on 22 carries, giving him 23 touchdowns and 1,798 yards on the season.  Meanwhile Lockwood toted the pigskin 17 times for 104 yards, putting him over the 1000-yard plateau with 1,086 yards.

Freshman Luke Desaulnier continued his impressive kicking performance.  He was perfect on the night despite the weather, converting 5-of-5 point after kicks.  In addition to Canova’s fumble recovery, Bret Long turned in a key pass interception.  Big Josh Angell had an outstanding night on both sides of the football.  He did put a scare into the hometown faithful when he missed a couple series due to a right knee injury.

The victory gives coach Chad Neal’s team a 10-1 record as they move to the semifinal round of competition.  The Redmen were in action on Monday evening under the arcs at home in a 6:30 p.m. contest against 9-2 Brookfield, a team that began the season in the Top 10 in the state polls.