Football Game Preview: Cromwell/Portland Panthers vs. Weaver Beavers

The Cromwell/Portland Panthers will head out to take on the Weaver Beavers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Cromwell/Portland will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.

Cromwell/Portland is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They breezed past Morgan/Old Saybrook/Westbrook to the tune of 49-14 on Friday. Given the Panthers' advantage in MaxPreps' Connecticut football rankings (they are ranked 50th, while Morgan/Old Saybrook/Westbrook are ranked 138th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Cromwell/Portland can attribute much of their success to Michael Sitaro Jr., who threw for 329 yards and four TDs while completing 76.9% of his passes, and Tyler Cipolla, who gained 254 total yards and four touchdowns. Cipolla really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 70 yards. Rafael Mendez III helped Sitaro Jr. out on the ground, rushing for 69 yards and one score.

Meanwhile, Weaver had just enough and edged out Coginchaug Regional/East Hampton/Hale Ray 25-23 on Friday. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Beavers.

Weaver's win came from a few key players Cromwell/Portland will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kadain Claflin-Coy, who threw for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 17 passes, and also rushed for 45 yards. A healthy portion of Claflin-Coy's aerial production (120 yards to be exact) went to Jyiere Perry, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.

Weaver didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Damian Aquino and Jordan Tatham.

Cromwell/Portland's record now sits at 4-0. As for Weaver, they now have a winning record of 2-1.

Everything came up roses for Cromwell/Portland against Weaver in their previous matchup back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 42-7 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Panthers since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.