By Ken Lipshez
MaxPreps.com
Their names don’t grace the headlines, in part because there are eight of them, in part because scoring touchdowns is not in their job description.
But when undefeated Berlin pulverized arch-rival Middletown, 39-7, in the rain last Friday night, the work of the Redcoats’ offensive line loomed large.
Berlin running backs Taylor Tavarozzi, Max DeLorenzo and Kevin Tatro followed the lead blocks of their efficient friends up front for 305 yards on the ground. A.J. Marsiglia, Kyle Johnson, Andrew Carlson, Pat Murphy, Steve Nelson, Nick DeLoia, Doug Campbell and Mason Powers laid down the law of the trenches for the third straight week.
“We dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Berlin coach John Capodice said. “All three backs – Tatro, Tavarozzi, and DeLorenzo – were able to run through large holes created by our offensive line. Defensively, we ran to the ball and did a good job of tackling in space.”
Middletown coach Eric Marszalek was missing his quarterback Charles Watson (year-ending knee injury) and leading rusher Reggie Allen, but could any quarterback have made up for 32 points?
“They dominated us up front,” Marszalek told The Herald of New Britain. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Tatro, who suffered a quad injury, ran for 60 yards on five carries for Berlin (3-0). DeLorenzo, a sophomore, had 106 yards in 10 cracks. Tavarozzi amassed 123 yards on eight totes. That adds up to more than 12 yards per carry.
“It’s a rivalry game. It’s gone back and forth,” Capodice noted about the teams’ annual battle, which generally features Middletown’s speed against Berlin’s strength.
“The kids get excited. There’s a lot of history. You can’t let Middletown (1-2) get outside or behind you. They had a couple injuries but you go with what comes off the bus.”
Berlin started the season by exorcising the demon that ended its dream in the waning seconds of the Class M championship game last December. Ledyard fell with a resounding thud, 34-7.
“That’s what set the season off,” said Capodice, who watched 18 of his 22 starters get diplomas last spring. “Ledyard is Ledyard. That win alone gave the kids confidence. We’re young, but maybe we can do this.
“Week 2 (38-6 over Plainville) we didn’t play well but we watched film and made adjustments,” he added. “Friday we saw improvement and that’s the overall goal. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. The scoreboard will take care of itself.”
Glastonbury Remains Perfect; Northwest Catholic Fells Rocky Hill; Cromwell Unstoppable
* Jordan Brown ran for a pair of touchdowns and 141 yards as undefeated Glastonbury made three first-half touchdowns stand up in a 21-3 victory over Simsbury (2-1). Corey Vanderbeck led the Simsbury offense with 91 yards. Nate Smith kicked a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter to account for the Trojans’ scoring.
* Kaiuway Boima scored three of his five touchdowns in New Britain’s 37-point third-quarter explosion as the Hurricanes remained undefeated with a 58-26 win over Bloomfield. New Britain running backs Boima and Tommy Phommalinh punished the Warhawks defense for over 240 yards as New Britain overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit and four second-quarter turnovers.
* Northwest Catholic swept Rocky Hill from the ranks of the unbeaten Monday afternoon with a 20-16 win in the muck at Fathers Field. With Rocky Hill’s double wing bogged down, the Indians received effective play from two-way Notre Dame-bound star Jake Golic (5 receptions, 62 yards).
* Workhorse Matt Rahman ran the ball 35 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns as Meriden Platt broke into the win column with a 35-6 rout of Farmington. Platt quarterback Kyle Laurendeau completed 14 of 17 passes, seven to tight end Derek Drag. Farmington scored first on a 56-yard run by A.J. Jones.
* Fred Ortiz ran for two scores and Shane Leupold hauled in two touchdown strikes from quarterback Spencer Parker in Newington’s 27-7 win over Hartford Weaver in the rain Saturday afternoon in Hartford. Weaver scored first on a touchdown pass from Andre Campbell to Dayquan Muhommad, the second time in two weeks the pair has collaborated on a TD pass.
* Quarterback Tyler Murphy threw for three touchdowns as Wethersfield remained unbeaten with a 40-0 rout of Hartford Bulkeley in an interdivisional CCC confrontation in Hartford. Murphy connected with Ben Zaino, Josh Cummings and Tre Roberts for scores. Jon Karanian made all five extra-point placements and booted a 27-yard field goal.
* Cromwell continued its total domination of the Pequot League with its third straight shutout, whipping Haddam-Killingworth, 34-0. Robert Jordan (11-for-21, 162 yards) tossed four touchdown passes, three to Shawn Holley and one to Dominique Carr. Cromwell has outscored its foes by 97-0.
Elsewhere in the Pequot, Ellington/Somers (3-0) and Tolland (2-0) march on. Ellington quarterback Peter Vamvillis and wide out Shane Hatheway combined on three TDs in a 42-14 rout of Housatonic/Wamogo. Kevin Rioux ran roughshod over Stafford/East Windsor, 47-6, for Tolland.
Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald covers central Connecticut for MaxPreps. He may be reached at kenlip@aol.com
