By Ken Lipshez
MaxPreps.com
In a game in which the offenses amassed yardage by the chunk, it was a defensive play that turned the tide.
Rocky Hill linebacker Terrence Thompson applied a fearsome hit on St. Paul/Goodwin Tech’s UConn-bound back Marcus Aiken on 4th-and-1 near midfield to preserve a five-point lead late in the third quarter.
The Terriers’ fearsome ground game took it in from there.
Fernando Sanchez scored three touchdowns and was one of three Rocky Hill backs to carry for over 100 yards Friday night as the Terriers rumbled to a 39-27 victory over previously unbeaten SPGT in a key Nutmeg League clash.
The balanced running of the speedy Sanchez (205 yards), workmanlike Mike Mancini (124 yards) and powerful fullback Frank Carlson (129) piled up over 450 yards. SPGT’s passing game with Brian Kaczynski at the helm amassed nearly 400 yards through the air.
“They’re three different kids,” Rocky Hill coach Dave Coyne said about his triple threat in the double wing. “Fernando’s quick and elusive, Michael runs hard and fast and Frankie’s a bull. Like I told him last year, ‘Run like you stole it,’ and that’s what he always says.”
It was Thompson’s titanic stick on Aiken behind the line with 3:20 left in the third quarter – with Rocky Hill up by only 26-21 – that served as the turning point.
“I knew it was going to Aiken,” said Thompson, a senior. “I went all out and put everything into it. I had to beat the outside tackle. I went speed, straight to him.”
Said Coyne: “He did that, we turned them away and it was ours.”
Mancini applied the backbreaker eight seconds into the fourth quarter with a 26-yard touchdown run.
Thompson was again tantamount in blunting any St. Paul comeback hopes on the next series, slamming Byron Jones to the turf on a pass that went nowhere and knocking down a desperation toss to Jones two plays later.
SPGT (6-1, 4-1 Nutmeg) was visibly spent against the stronger Terriers (6-1, 5-1), who controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half.
“We weren’t able to stop them.” SPGT coach Jude Kelly said. “If we made some more stops, I was very confident with our offense. They made a couple stops when they had to but we didn’t make enough stops on defense.”
Kaczynski was 17-for-29 for 399 yards.
Berlin Back on Beam
Forthcoming foes of the Berlin football team will be distressed to know that its loss to Rocky Hill came with a valuable lesson at minimal cost.
The Terriers ran against a Redcoats line that had been nearly invincible through its first four games. But RHAM/Lyman Memorial discovered that offenses require the Terriers’ talent and discipline if they’re going to pull off such a feat.
Max DeLorenzo scored two touchdowns and the Redcoats rushed for 361 yards Saturday in running roughshod over the outmanned Sachems, 37-0, to get back on task in the Nutmeg League’s final campaign.
When Berlin (5-1, 4-1) lost a hard-fought 15-8 game to Rocky Hill in Week 6, perhaps some pundits wrote the Redcoats off as a legitimate postseason contender and Top 10 team. After all, last year’s squad – one of the best in the school’s illustrious history that came within a sliver of a state title – did lose starters at 18 positions.
“Sometimes you have to go backward to move forward and that’s how we approached it,” Berlin coach John Capodice said. “We said, ‘What do we need to improve on and what are the goals?’ The kids set forth their goals as they move forward. We’re going to continue to improve on a weekly basis and go one at a time.”
Despite the setback, Berlin is one of three Nutmeg teams with one conference loss vying for first place, and sits third in the Class M playoff race.
Kevin Tatro, who shares rushing attempts with DeLorenzo and Taylor Tavarozzi, described how well the Redcoats have refocused.
“I knew (RHAM) was going to watch the Rocky Hill film so I knew what they were going to do – exactly what Rocky Hill did,” said Tatro, a senior who scored one of five Berlin touchdowns Saturday.
“Rocky Hill beat us and (RHAM) tried. We knew they were going to come at us right from the beginning and they did.”
They didn’t get far. The Berlin defense yielded just 32 yards on the ground, 48 in total and just two first downs, both in the fourth quarter when ‘Taps’ had already been played.
Berlin needed just two plays to take the lead. DeLorenzo rambled 79 yards and Tavarozzi added the two-point conversion.
DeLorenzo contributed his ninth touchdown of the season on Berlin’s final scoring drive. His 226 yards put the 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore just under 200 away from the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
“He’s a big kid, he’s got good speed, he’s a talented kid and that’s why he excels,” Capodice said. “He has some God-given talent, he’s a hard worker and a good student and it carries over to the field.”
The Redcoats visit Enfield’s new turf field Friday before returning home for a Nutmeg showdown against once-beaten St. Paul/Goodwin Tech on Scalise Field Nov. 7.
Collision Course in the CCC
* Southington and New Britain remain on a collision course for their CCC North battle at Rentschler Field Nov. 14.
Southington (5-1) rolled Manchester, 50-27, with quarterback Josh Lamson tossing five touchdown passes to four different receivers. Matt Roncaioli snagged a pair while Shaun Walowski, Ryan Borawski and Evan Rodrigues each had one.
The Golden Hurricanes (6-1) received little resistance from winless Rockville, 41-0, as Kaiuway Boima rushed for four touchdowns.
Both Southington and New Britain also have dates with unbeaten Glastonbury (7-0), which pulverized Fermi, 48-7. Jordan Brown ran for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns. Malcolm Crosson also had three rushing touchdowns.
* Newington (6-1) continued to set the pace in the CCC South by jumping out to a 40-point first-half lead before settling for a 40-21 win over Maloney. Quarterback Spencer Parker was perfect on five passes. He threw a touchdown strike to Jim Dombrow and ran for another.
* In the CCC West, Windsor and Hall engaged in a battle that would end one squad’s postseason hopes. Windsor (5-2) prevailed, 18-13, over their West Hartford foe.
Quarterback Pierre Narcisse tossed a touchdown pass to Matt Williams that went for 34 yards with just over a minute remaining. Hall scored all its points in the fourth quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Greg Macko to Eric Glynn and an interception return by Ahsan Gooden.
Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald covers central Connecticut for MaxPreps. He may be reached at kenlip@aol.com.
