Football Wrap-up

Tricks and 

treats on

ghoulish 

weekend 

of football

By Ron P. Coderre

All local schools were in action over the Halloween weekend as the 2016 season winds its way quickly to Thanksgiving Day and the postseason for at least one hopeful.

Killingly kept its postseason dream of a CIAC playoff spot alive by surviving a ghoulish scare by the Plainfield Panthers.  The visitors were not fazed by Killingly’s reputation and threw a scare into the Redmen’s psyche before succumbing by one point.

The Quinebaug Valley Pride received an unusual treat by posting its first win of the season.  Although it took the Pride seven weeks to register win #1 it was rewarding for the young team.

The Woodstock Academy defense played a trick on coach Darryl Daleen when it held Wolcott Tech/Gilbert/Northwestern Regional to a mere six points.  Rather than a trick, it was probably a treat because every other game has been a high-scoring affair.  To make Halloween even nicer for coach Daleen, the offense piled up 56 points in picking up the team’s fourth win of the season.

Pomfret School, which had a three-game winning streak, was beaten for the second time this season by visiting Gunnery School.  Hyde School-Woodstock, which will close its doors this June, is experiencing a long football season.  The Wolfpack lost it fourth game, a defeat at the hands of New Hampton School.    

      Plainfield Throws Halloween Scare 

      into Killingly

Underdog Plainfield marched into Killingly on Friday night and almost pulled off a trick on the Redmen on “trick or treat” night.  After surviving the previous week on a last play touchdown to beat Windham, Killingly held on by a thread and survived a 21-20 victory over the Panthers.

Killingly looked like it was in for a big offensive evening when it jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter advantage.  The Redmen scored on a Zach Caffrey 1-yard run followed by a Kyle Derosier to Spencer Lockwood 54-yard pass-run hookup.  When Luke Desaulnier caught a Derosier pass in the end zone for the two-point conversion, coach Chad Neal’s boys looked like they were in for an easy win.

A determined Plainfield Eleven however had other ideas.  The Panthers struck back in the second stanza when signal caller Marcus Robinson tallied what would be the first of three touchdowns he would score in the game.  Robinson ran the pigskin over from 14 yards out and when the conversion pass failed the teams went to the locker room at intermission with Killingly on top 14-6.

The second half started with a bang for Killingly as runningback sensation Lockwood broke loose on a 43-yard TD scamper.  A Desaulnier point-after kick put the Redmen comfortably on top 21-6 at this juncture.

In the final period the Plainfield defense, which was stubborn all game really tightened the screws on the Killingly offense.  Meanwhile, the starring Robinson went to work on the Killingly D.  He started the fourth quarter scoring on a nifty 31-yard touchdown run.  A Brendan Ogden to Cam Gonzales two-point aerial conversion pulled the Panther to within seven points, 21-14.

The crucial point in the game was yet to unfold.  With 3:36 showing on the clock, Robinson scored once again on another 31-yard run to pull his team to within one point of tying the hosts.  Plainfield coach Pat Smith decided at this point to go for the one-point kick on the PAT play.  Killingly’s Bret Long, who’s known for his receiving then took on the hero’s cape as he broke through to block the extra point try, giving Killing the victory by the slimmest of margins.

The win raised Killingly’s record to 6-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division III, clinching the 2016 crown.  Lockwood got back over the 100-yard mark on the game when he ran for 112 yards on 24 carries.  Derosier was 4-4-94 from the quarterback slot.

The loss broke a Plainfield three-game winning streak, putting them at 4-3 on the season and 0-2 in Division III.  Robinson was Plainfield’s top runner with 149 yards on 19 carries and a remarkable three touchdowns.  The versatile signal caller was 12-28-161 in the air.  Overall Robinson accounted for 310-yards of Plainfield offense.  Nick Burlingame was on the receiving end of four Robinson tosses for 75 yards.

On Friday, Killingly travels to winless East Lyme for a 6:30 p.m. encounter under the arcs.  Plainfield has an unusual 11 a.m. encounter at CREC Co-op in Hartford on Saturday.

QVP Receives a Treat in the Form of a WIN

It took the Quinebaug Valley Pride until Halloween weekend to treat itself to a victory this football season.  Following six consecutive losses the Pride broke into the win column with a 20-14 win over Vinal Tech/East Hampton/Goodwin Tech in a Constitution State Conference game played at legendary Palmer Field in Middletown.

Will McGlyn, who’s been a bright spot all season for the Pride, enjoyed another good afternoon on the gridiron.  He opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter.  On the day McGlyn eclipsed the century mark on the ground with 101 yards on 27 carries.

Meanwhile, McGlyn’s teammate, quarterback Josh Dodd took to the air against the tri-op opponent.  Dodd enjoyed his best day of the season completing 15 of 23 passes good for 202 yards of offense and two touchdowns.

Dodd connected on a 7-yard score with Jeff Reed and a 72-yard pass-run hookup with Jamie Talbot for the second and third Pride touchdowns of the day.  Reed was Dodd’s favorite target with six receptions for 82 yards.

The win puts coach Joe Asermelly’s charges at 1-6 on the season.  On Friday, the Pride travel to Cheney Tech for a 6 p.m. game under the lights.

Centaurs Offense Runs Wild

Woodstock Academy continues to improve each week, as this week the Centaurs put on a strong offensive showing combined with a stingy defense.  The Acads behind the running of Kameron Janice, who had five touchdowns, ran past an outmanned Wolcott tech/East Hampton/Goodwin Tech 56- to 6.  The win puts Woodstock a game above .500 at 4-3.

      Gunnery Guns Down Pomfret for Second Time This Season

For the second time this season the Gunnery School prevailed over Pomfret School in an 8-on-8 football contest.  The Golden Griffins were shutout by the visitors from Washington, Connecticut 34-0.  In the two games this year, Gunnery has outscored Pomfret 74-6.

The game dropped Pomfret to 3-2 on the season but more importantly was physically damaging for the Griffs as they lost two of their runningbacks to injury.

Hyde Falls to New Hampton

Hyde School-Woodstock, which was hoping to play its final season in Woodstock with a flourish, lost its fourth consecutive game, dropping to 2-4 on the year.  The Wolfpack was beaten by New Hampton School 35-14.

 

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