It was a split decision for the four local high school football teams that competed in Tuesday night’s state quarterfinal playoff games.
Woodland and WCA both won games on the road. Bristol Central lost at home in the snow while Kennedy fell on the road. I wrote a separate post about the Eagles, which you can find here.
Here’s a bit about each of the other three games:
Woodland 33, Cromwell-Portland 7
The sixth-seeded Hawks (8-3) hammered away for 269 yards on 40 attempts and all five touchdowns in the victory over the third-seeded Panthers (9-2) at Pierson Park in Cromwell.
Senior Christian Morales had the bulk of the carries, rushing a game-high 24 times and a game-high 178 yards. Morales ran in a pair of touchdowns, as did junior Nico Scampolino (8-69). Senior Will Brooks (8-22) also scored a touchdown.
Junior Jack Brunetti was a pretty efficient 9 of 15 for 122 yards – given the snowy conditions – though he did throw an interception. Junior Erik Pulkkinen led the way in catches (4) while senior David O’Brien had the most yards (40).
On defense, sophomore Evan Mastropietro had nine tackles, including four for loss. Brooks and junior Trent Burkowsky had eight tackles apiece and combined for five tackles for loss. Juniors Adam Setaro and Mark Poulin tallied seven tackles each. O’Brien, Poulin, senior Brett Lato and junior Aidan Kane had a sack apiece while Brooks and Mastropietro combined for another sack.
Woodland gets another shot at second-seeded Ansonia on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in a Class S semifinal game at a site to be determined, according to the CIAC.
WCA 41, Capital Prep/Achievement 28
The eighth-seeded Spartans (8-3) twice trailed by 16 points in the first half and were down two in the fourth quarter, but came back to stun the top-seeded Trailblazers (10-1) at Weaver High School in Hartford.
Senior Dylan Rossi ran for four touchdowns, including three in the second half. Rossi scored on a one-yard run on 3rd and goal with 5:36 left in the second quarter, but Prep led, 22-6, at halftime. Rossi scored from seven yards out for the first WCA touchdown of the third quarter. Jameer Guest’s conversion run got the Spartans to within 22-14. After WCA recovered a high Prep snap inside the 10-yard line, Rossi scored from eight yards out to get the visitors to 22-20. A 72-yard touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing Trailblazer drive made it 28-20. Guest scored from six yards out late in the third quarter to pull the Spartans to within 28-26. That was the score after three quarters.
WCA’s Rocco Zenick had a big sack on Prep’s drive early in the fourth quarter. The Spartans forced a punt, but then muffed the return, giving the ball back to the Trailblazers. Prep picked up a big first down on 4th and short and later looked to be going in for the knockout touchdown, but a fumble into the end zone was recovered by WCA for a touchback.
Rossi completed a deep pass to Joshua Myers around midfield to get the ensuing Spartan drive going. Monie Eason broke off a great run, then Mekheem Ambursley burst free for a 29-yard touchdown to give WCA the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Rossi’s conversion pass to Guest put the Spartans ahead, 34-28.
Prep had 4th and short on its next drive and needed a first down to keep dreams of an epic rally alive, but WCA swarmed star back Hashim Jones and stopped him well short. Rossi scored for the final time from 10 yards out with just over a minute to play, then blasted the extra point through the uprights, to put the game away.
WCA will play at No. 5 Bloomfield in a Class S semifinal on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Bloomfield High School.
Bunnell-Stratford 21, Bristol Central 12
In a game that old-school football enthusiasts would have loved, the third-seeded Rams and sixth-seeded Bulldogs slugged it out in the snow at Bristol Central High School in their Class MM quarterfinal.
Central trailed, 14-12, early in the fourth quarter when Alberto Torres scored his third and final touchdown to put the game away. Torres scored on runs of 2, 6 and 3 yards in the game for Bunnell (9-2).
The Rams struck first when Donnie Rodriguez hit Caleb Simard for a 19-yard touchdown around the five-minute mark of the second quarter. Only two minutes later, Torres was in from two yards out. Torres also ran in the two-point conversion, and the Bulldogs wound up taking their 8-6 lead into halftime.
A long run by Rody Ricketts set up Torres’ second touchdown of the game. The score put Bunnell ahead, 14-6, early in the third quarter. Central was far from done, however, as Rodriguez scored from three yards out with about three minutes left in the third quarter. The conversion failed, however, and the Rams trailed the Bulldogs, 14-12. That was the score when Bunnell entered Central’s red zone to begin the fourth quarter. Torres scored his third and final touchdown to give the Bulldogs their 21-12 lead. The Rams pushed the ball into the red zone on their final drive, only to turn it over on downs. Central finished its season at 9-2. The Rams lose Rodriguez, Simard, Adontayh Gonzalez, Nathanyel Davis, Tim Sample, Julien Lopez, Ty Chasse Arnold, Jack Hartley, William Postell, Lincoln Archibald, Dom Dellaera, Tyler Ryan, Tristian Toussaint, Jake DeVeau, Julian Colon, Eduar Rodriguez, Tashawn Cauley, Carlos Torres, Alexander Maciag, Isaiah White, Jamel Hazelwood and Zack Holleran to graduation, according to their roster posted on the Central Connecticut Conference website.
