Week 2 of the high school football season is all done, and Holy Cross and WCA are both 2-0 after convincing victories.
The Crusaders squashed Watertown, 54-12, on Thursday while the Spartans hammered Derby, 55-12, on Friday. Three teams picked up their first victories of the season, and those were Bristol Central (31-20 over South Windsor); St. Paul (28-24 over Crosby); and Wilcox/Kaynor (28-16 over Prince Tech).
Here are some quick highlights from Week 2, starting with Thursday:
Thursday, Sept. 15
Holy Cross 54, Watertown 12: Tom Ligi and Drew Caouette each had huge nights for the Crusaders at Municipal Stadium’s Ray Snyder Sr. Field.
Ligi ran for three touchdowns and caught another for Holy Cross. All Caouette did was complete 13 of his 15 pass attempts for 225 yards and two touchdowns, one to Ligi and the other to Marques Campbell. Campbell also rushed for two touchdowns while Ryan Ciampi added a score on the ground. Kevin Matiz made six of his PAT attempts.
Holy Cross has a tough stretch of games upcoming. The Crusaders are at Seymour on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The next three games after that are WCA, Naugatuck and Ansonia.
Friday, Sept. 16
Bristol Central 31, South Windsor 30: Tre Blair scored three touchdowns for the Rams in their win over the Bobcats.
Blair had two rushing touchdowns and caught a scoring pass from Nik Salinas. Central (1-1) forced three turnovers, including interceptions by Anthony Paulino and Aiden Lamarre. Salinas also had a heck of a run that made the highlights. Check out Bob Rumbold’s Twitter feed for WTNH to see that gem.
The Rams are at Wilton of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference on Friday at 7 p.m.
Platt 29, Bristol Eastern 22: It was another close loss for the Lancers, who fell to 0-2 on the season.
Eastern trailed, 22-0, at halftime but was able to within one score twice before falling to Platt. Kamden Laprise and Rayshon Andrews hooked up for a touchdown pass while Jaiden Fore had a pair of scoring runs.
Eastern is at FCIAC foe Fairfield Warde on Friday at 7 p.m.
Oxford 34, Wilby 22: The Wildcats scored the game’s opening touchdown, but the momentum didn’t last in a loss to the Wolverines at Snyder Field.
Aaron James scored from 35 yards, and a two-point conversion had Wilby (1-1) ahead, 8-0. Oxford (1-1) scored the next 21 points for a 21-8 lead with 6:43 left in the third quarter. James Richards ran one in from nine yards out. The conversion failed, but the Wildcats were within 21-14 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
Oxford again extended its lead to two scores, 27-14, at the 2:40 mark of the third quarter, but Wilby answered with the big play. James hit Jamare Hall for a 75-yard touchdown, and the ensuing two-point conversion got the Wildcats to within 27-22 with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
Oxford scored on a long run with 7:25 to play in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Wilby takes on new NVL foe Gilbert-Northwestern-Housatonic (GNH) on Friday at 7 p.m. under portable lights at Van Why Field in Winsted.
St. Paul 28, Crosby 24: Jason Mathews made big plays on offense and defense for the Falcons (1-1) in their victory over the Bulldogs (1-1) on Friday night at McPhee Field.
Mathews threw for two touchdowns, ran for another, and recovered a fumble for St. Paul. Jeremy Taveras tallied over 100 yards rushing and a touchdown, and he also caught a scoring pass from Mathews. Taveras ran in a pair of two-point conversions while Charlie Aponte had a touchdown reception. Mike Barzee and Ryan Diaz chewed up yards on the ground for St. Paul’s run-first offense. They also made their presence felt on the defensive side with a forced fumble apiece. Erik Suzio added a sack for the Falcons. St. Paul travels to Waterbury on Thursday to play WCA at 6 p.m. at Snyder Field.
Crosby’s high-powered offense ran just 25 plays. Jeremiah Febus was 7 of 12 for 129 yards, including a touchdown pass to Jashua Sanabria. Michael Scott ran six times for 74 yards while Febus carried five times for 31 yards. Stacy Speaks Jr. had four attempts for 10 yards, including a touchdown. John Herrington led the receiving corps with three catches for 40 yards while Nevon Burke ran a kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown.
Michail Scott registered 16 tackles, including seven for loss, while Stacy Speaks Jr. tallied 12 tackles, including three for loss. Richard Simpson had a sack while Michail Scott, Willie Redd and Jireh Rawlison added a half-sack apiece. Crosby hosts Derby in its home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. at Jimmy Lee Stadium.
WCA 55, Derby 12: D’Vonte Lane ran for five touchdowns for the Spartans in their convincing road win over the Red Raiders at DeFilippo Field.
Dasani Yates also had a rushing touchdown for WCA. Zyaire Ettson and Julian Snead each caught touchdown passes from KaVaughn Canady, and Snead also recovered a fumble for the Spartans. WCA hosts St. Paul on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Snyder Field.
Torrington 14, Wolcott 13: Matthew LaMontagne ran 27 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (0-2) in a close road loss to the Raiders (1-1) at the Robert Frost Sports Complex.
Matthew Johnson’s 43-yard, go-ahead field goal attempt was wide with 13 seconds to play in the game. Johnson had missed an extra point earlier in the game, but had also hammered one through the uprights after LaMontagne’s first touchdown, according to the account from Tim Gaffney of Litchfield County Sports. Anthony Bell also had some good runs for Wolcott in the defeat.
The Eagles are at Naugatuck on Friday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Field.
Saturday, Sept. 17
Wilcox/Kaynor 28, Prince Tech 16: In the feel-good story of the weekend, the tech school co-op garnered a win over the Falcons.
The win was Wilcox’s first over Prince in football after 10 losses, according to a report on the Meriden Record-Journal website. The Wildcats scored all 28 of their points in the first half, as did the Falcons with their 16.
Raysean Emrie ran for two touchdowns while Brandon Alvarado caught a touchdown and ran for another for Wilcox/Kaynor (1-1). Caden Kennedy threw the touchdown pass to Alvarado, and Malik Sanchez-Colon recovered a pooch kick on the opening kickoff of the game. The win is for the first for first-year head coach Alonzo Relaford. The Wildcats have actually won two of their last three games dating back to 2021, when they dropped their first nine contests before winning the Route 66 Bowl against VG Techs in the finale.
GNH 34, Kennedy 6: Julius Caban ran for 94 yards and the lone Eagle touchdown in a loss to the Yellowjackets at Snyder Field.
Caban and Danny Rodriguez each had an interception for Kennedy, which fell to 0-2. The Eagles are at Oxford on Friday at 6 p.m.
Of note, it was GNH’s first win in the NVL after a loss at defending champion Naugatuck in the season opener the week before.
GALLERY: Here are my photos from Saturday’s Kennedy game.
Compiled from local media reports and MaxPreps.com
PHOTO CAPTION: Kennedy quarterback Dereck Ledee (1) takes off running during Saturday’s game against GNH at Municipal Stadium’s Ray Snyder Sr. Field. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
