The last week of the high school football regular season brought some exciting games and great comebacks. Here’s what happened in each game:
Wolcott 30, Holy Cross 26
The Eagles (7-3) became the only local team to clinch a state playoff berth, but they needed a big fourth quarter rally to beat the rival Crusaders (6-4) on Friday at Ray Snyder Sr. Field. Wolcott scored 22 straight points in the fourth quarter to claim a 30-20 lead. Holy Cross got an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Qaron Brown to cut the deficit to 30-26, but Wolcott recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
The Crusaders led 20-8 after Alex Ward ran 73 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Eagle comeback began in the fourth quarter when Anthony Ligi (13 carries, 95 yards, 3 touchdowns) ran the ball into the end zone from nine yards out. Ligi then threw to Robert Rudd for the conversion to make the score 20-16 Holy Cross. Wolcott took the lead on Ligi’s second touchdown, this one from 14 yards out. A Ligi conversion pass to Matt Olmstead made the score 24-20 in favor of the Eagles. Ligi gave Wolcott some breathing room with a 28-yard touchdown. The conversion failed, but the Eagles led 30-20.
Holy Cross led 8-0 at the half on a Corey Fappiano touchdown pass to Brown and two-point conversion toss to Vincent Graziano. The Crusaders stretched their lead to 14-0 in the third quarter on a one-yard plunge by Ward. Ligi found Jake Sforza (25 carries, 111 yards; 4 catches, 118 yards) for a 35-yard touchdown pass, then ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 14-8. Ward stretched the lead back to 20-8, but Wolcott had a big rally left in it.
Ligi was given the Joe Lynch Most Valuable Player Award for his efforts. Lynch played for both Holy Cross and Wolcott while in high school. Lynch died of cancer in April.
The Eagles are the No. 7 seed in Class M and will play No. 2 Sheehan on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Sheehan High School in Wallingford.
Bristol Central 24, Bristol Eastern 19
The Lancers were ahead 19-18 in the fourth quarter and looking to grab their first win of the season against the archrival Rams on Friday at Muzzy Field, but the lead didn’t last.
A Bristol Eastern fumble set up Bristol Central in good field position, and Justus Fitzpatrick cashed in on a one-yard touchdown run with 7:17 to play in the game to put the Rams up 24-19. Bristol Central (5-5) was able to maintain its lead the rest of the way and claim a fourth straight win over Bristol Eastern (0-10). The Rams now lead the Battle for the Bell series 35-23-2.
Bristol Eastern led 13-12 at halftime on two Justin Marshall touchdown runs, then went up 19-12 in the third quarter on a long touchdown pass from Marshall to Laprise. Bristol Central began its comeback in the third quarter with a Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to Victor Rosa. Fitzpatrick threw a touchdown pass to Jose Navedo and ran for another score in the first half.
Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech 32, Wilby 6
These Brass City rivals met on Thanksgiving Eve on Snyder Field, and the co-op topped the Wildcats for their fourth straight win in the series. SH/KT finished the season 3-7, with one of the wins coming via forfeit against Wolcott. Wilby ended the year with a record of 1-9.
Kenneth Figueroa connected with David Laboy for a 16-yard touchdown with 8:15 left in the first quarter to open the scoring, but it was the only score Wilby would get. SH/KT tied the game on Quinten Asiedu’s eight-yard touchdown run with 3:50 left in the first half, then took the lead for good on the two-point conversion pass from Alex Gonzalez to Lucas Harey. The co-op led 8-6 at the half, then Saijon McIntosh went 80 yards for a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the second half. A two-point conversion run from Alex Gonzalez stretched the lead to 16-6. Josue Salazar and Marquis Barham added touchdown runs while Gonzalez tallied both conversions as the co-op blew the game open.
St. Paul 38, Oxford 22
The Falcons saw their 15-point lead evaporate on Thanksgiving Eve against the Wolverines, but they scored the last two touchdowns of the game to pull away. St. Paul won four its last five games to finish 5-5.
Connor Bogdanski had two touchdowns in the final minutes of regulation to snap the 22-22 tie and send his fellow seniors out with the victory. Bogdanski’s first touchdown punctuated a 96-yard drive, then he scored on the first play of the next St. Paul drive after the defense turned Oxford over on downs at its own 25-yard line.
The Falcons claimed an 8-7 first half lead on a touchdown pass from Kevin Ashworth to Christian Peterson. Quinten scored the first of his three two-point conversions for the lead. St. Paul went up 14-7 on a Conner touchdown run. The lead grew to 22-7 on an Ashworth keeper for a score. Brycen Kennedy had an interception in the end zone in the first half.
St. Paul has won four of the five meetings between the two teams.
WCA 62, Gilbert/Northwestern 21
Jalen Gopie ran over and around the GN defense in a Friday road win for the Spartans.
Too often, the GN defense saw the back of Gopie’s No. 5 black jersey as he scored seven touchdowns and ran for 341 yards on just 13 carries. Gopie often outran defenders, but when he had to, he showed off his strength and broke tackles. Five of Gopie’s touchdowns were 45 yards or longer. Langstun Racine ran back an interception for a touchdown, and Giovanni Rodrigues scored on a one-yard run.
WCA won its final two games to finish the season 5-5.
Kennedy 36, Crosby 0
The Eagles (4-6) finished their season with a victory, albeit one marred by a game-ending fight late in the third quarter. The fight erupted on the Crosby sideline after a Bulldog run out of bounds. It’s the second Waterbury game to end in a fight on Thanksgiving Eve in the last two years. The Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech game against Wilby in 2017 also ended in a fight.
Marquis Blagmon had three rushing touchdowns on just five carries for Kennedy. Matt Torres threw a touchdown pass to Jake Desjardins and also had a rushing touchdown.
Shemar Henry was a bright spot for Crosby (0-10) in what was a tough season.
