Week 7 football roundup: Bristol Central, Holy Cross in the middle of playoff chase

Week 7 of the high school football season has been completed, and there are two area teams that are in the middle of the playoff chase.

Bristol Central and Holy Cross, who are both 5-1, are ranked fifth in their respective classes, the Rams in Class L and the Crusaders in Class S. Central has won five straight games since losing its season opener at Bloomfield, 7-6. The Rams knocked off Tolland, 68-50, on Friday night in a crazy game. Holy Cross has won three straight games, including a 46-12 victory over Wilby on Thursday.

Waterbury Career Academy (3-2) is 10th in Class S and is sitting behind nine teams with one loss or less. It will be an uphill climb for the Spartans to reach the playoffs, but it can be done. WCA had a bye in Week 7.

Here’s what else happened in Week 7:

THURSDAY
Holy Cross 46, Wilby 12
Bristol Eastern 38, East Catholic 18
Northwest United 50, Wilcox/Kaynor 6: The Meriden/Waterbury co-op fell to 0-6 on the season.

FRIDAY
Bristol Central 68, Tolland 50
Wolcott 13, St. Paul 8: Mitchell Matyoka and Anthony Bell each ran for a touchdown in a defensive struggle between the Eagles and Falcons at McPhee Field in Bristol.
Matyoka ran for a three-yard score in the first quarter, and Bell scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out in the third quarter. Wolcott won its second straight game and improved to 3-3.
Ryan Kilpatrick ran for a five-yard score in the second quarter, and his two-point conversion pass to Erik Suzio gave St. Paul an 8-7 lead. The Falcons fell to 2-3.
Crosby 55, Derby 0: Tanner Leo threw five touchdown passes and completed 15 of his 18 attempts for 255 yards for the Bulldogs. Jashua Sanabria caught two of those touchdowns while Taji Blizzard, Jeffery Burke and Jonathan Herrington each tallied their own touchdown catches. Michael Scott ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, and Syere Coleman blocked a punt and returned it for a score. Crosby improved to 2-3.
Torrington 33, Kennedy 6: Matthew Velasquez scored on a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Eagles. Gerald Billups Jr. had an interception for Kennedy, which fell to 1-5.

Photo caption: Bristol Central and Holy Cross are in the thick of the CIAC playoff hunt after Week 7. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)