There were only two games in the area in Week 6 of the high school football season, but one saw Bristol Central knock Maloney from the ranks of the unbeatens.
The Rams dispatched the Spartans, ranked 11th in the latest GameTimeCT/Register Top 10 Football Poll, by a score of 29-22 on Friday night at Bristol Central High School. D’Ante Ross sealed the win for Central with an interception at the 1:45 mark of the fourth quarter.
Maloney (4-1) went ahead 8-0 on a 25-yard touchdown run by Freddy Hidalgo, but Central responded with a three-yard keeper for the score from Justus Fitzpatrick to tie the game for 8-8. Both teams hit on passes for their two-point conversions.
Fitzpatrick helped give the Rams the lead when he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Nate Rosa in the second quarter. Central’s kick was no good, but it had a 14-8 lead. Tre Jones preserved the lead with an interception at the goal line near the end of the first half.
Maloney tied the game at 14-14 on a 10-yard Elliot Good touchdown pass to Maurice Brackett a little less than five minutes into the third quarter. Central went ahead 21-14 on a fantastic seven-yard touchdown run by Darrell Payton, who wouldn’t be denied on his way to the end zone. The Rams made the extra point for the seven-point lead with 11:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Spartans used a 62-yard James Tarver touchdown run and Good conversion pass to snag a 22-21 lead just 12 seconds later.
Payton scored again from a yard out with 5:32 remaining for a 27-22 Central lead, and the home crowd was rocking. Fitzpatrick tossed the two-point conversion to Payton for a 29-22 lead.
The Spartans moved the ball downfield in an attempt to tie the game, but the Ross interception with inside two minutes left sealed Central’s big-time victory. Two weeks prior, the Rams led undefeated Middletown 9-3 at BCHS with just minutes left in the game only to be stunned by two late scores in a 17-9 loss. There would be no comeback for Maloney on Friday night as Central improved to 2-3 on the season.
Newington 25, Bristol Eastern 7
All of the points in this game came in the first half, but nowhere near enough for the Lancers (0-5).
Eastern scored its touchdown on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Curtin to Elijah Gagliardo with 3:34 left in the first half. Jack Bachand made the extra point for the Lancers, who got on the board after the Indians (3-2) scored the game’s first 19 points.
Bye week
All other local teams didn’t play in Week 6. Here’s the full schedule for Week 7 (Oct. 18-20):
Oct. 18
Woodland at Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech (Municipal Stadium), 6:30
Oct. 19
Watertown at Wolcott, 6
Bristol Central at Newington, 6:30
Platt at Bristol Eastern, 6:30
Naugatuck at Kennedy (Municipal), 7
St. Paul at Crosby, 7
Oct. 20
Torrington at Wilby (Municipal), 10
Holy Cross at Waterbury Career Academy (Municipal), 2
