By Ken Lipshez
MaxPreps.com
Quarterback Erich Pfeffer ran for two touchdowns, passed for a third and watched his defense shut the door Friday night as the Glastonbury remained undefeated with a signature 25-21 win over Southington at Fontana Field.
Pfeffer and his backfield mate, Jordan Brown, each eclipsed 100 yards rushing. Brown was part of a defense that limited the Blue Knights (6-2, 3-1 CCC North) to just 60 yards over the final three quarters.
Southington coach Bill Mella still sees the possibility of a postseason berth.
“We’ve got to win. Simple. We win and we can still get in,” said Mella, whose team has games remaining with Class LL contenders New Britain and Cheshire. “Someone with two losses is getting in the playoffs. We’ve got to win."
Glastonbury (9-0, 5-0) spotted Southington a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and trailed 21-12 at halftime after an electrifying 84-yard kickoff return by Knights sophomore Zach Wholley.
“Coming into the game, they’re still the CCC [North] champs. They’re still probably the most dominant team in our league,” said Glastonbury coach Peter Pfeffer, father of the Tomahawks heady quarterback. “Our kids knew that.
“We didn’t want to start in a hole but we did. I thought we were going to be in trouble after they returned that kick. We went inside and I told the kids, we just had to execute.”
Glastonbury climbed back within two points with 5:51 left in the third quarter when Brown vaulted in from the 2.
After Southington’s next drive died at the 17, Pfeffer went 67 yards on a keeper to the Southington 5. Pfeffer consummated the drive on the same play from the 4, giving the Tomahawks their first lead of the game at 25-21 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
“[Erich Pfeffer] did a really nice job,” Mella said. “He has a nice command of the offense.”
Other than a brief flurry of short passes in the third quarter, the Southington offense had no answers in the second half. The Knights converted just four first downs. They never got out of their own territory in the fourth quarter.
Bristol Central Nips Newington
A 43-yard field-goal attempt that would have given the Newington High football team a one-point win was blocked, allowing Bristol Eastern to slip by the Indians, 20-18, and give the Lancers a leg up in the CCC South.
Bristol Eastern is 6-3, 3-0 in the division, while Newington falls to 7-2, 3-1. Newington remains in position for a Class L playoff berth with a tentative hold on the fourth and final qualifying slot. The Lancers have vaulted into fourth place in the rugged Class MM standings where undefeated New Canaan, Darien and New Haven Hillhouse have the top three spots on lockdown.
“We knew Newington was going to give us quite a challenge,” Eastern coach Paul Philippon told The Herald of New Britain. “All we can do is work hard in practice and try to put the best game plan in. Sometimes we’ve executed and sometimes we haven’t, but we’ve always played hard and things went our way.”
Bristol quarterback Dean Connelly threw for 140 yards in the first half and finished with 14 completions in 22 tries for 174 yards. Tom Tarantino caught eight passes for 57 yards.
Newington’s Shane Leupold had five catches for 88 yards. Newington quarterback Spencer Parker went 11-for-28 for 160 yards, and ran for 95 yards on 18 carries.
Crucial Win For Windsor
Windsor remained alive in the Class L playoff race on the strength of a last-minute 28-yard field goal by Jeffrey Acosta that sank Hartford Weaver, 18-16, in a CCC West battle.
Windsor, at 7-2 (3-1 CCC West) is fifth in Class L, right at Newington’s heels. The Warriors have games with West Hartford Conard and Bloomfield remaining. Weaver (6-3, 3-1) is also fifth, just behind Bristol Eastern for the final slot in Class MM.
Windsor’s Matt Williams rushed for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Bobby Fair had a 25-yard touchdown run for the Beavers, who have difficult tests against West Hartford Hall and Hartford Public remaining.
New Britain Slips
Lawton Arnold rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns as Simsbury used its triple option to defeat New Britain, 28-24, in a key CCC North clash.
Simsbury (7-2, 2-2 CCC North) hadn’t beaten the Hurricanes (7-2, 2-1) in 12 years.
Kaiuway Boima ran for 112 yards on 24 carries for New Britain, which played for a second straight week without starting quarterback Rafal Garcarz.
New Britain, which meets Southington next week at UConn’s Rentschler Field, is in a must-win mode to climb up from its sixth-place perch in the Class LL playoff race.
New Britain had two touchdown runs by Tebucky Jones Jr. negated by holding penalties.
Rocky Hill Rolls
Rocky Hill solidified its hold on the third slot in the Class SS playoff parade with a 42-0 win over East Catholic in the Nutmeg League.
Mike Mancini ran for two touchdowns. Fernando Sanchez scooted for 137 yards on eight carries and had one of two Terriers punt returns for scores. Tyler Cirinna had the other.
The Terriers have a test against Middletown next finish with a non-league contest against Nonnewaug.
Defense?
Berlin, stunned last week when Enfield rebounded from a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter to gain a 52-50 win, was exposed on defense again but still steamrolled Bristol St. Paul, 64-50.
Max DeLorenzo scored three of his five touchdowns in the first quarter as Berlin (6-2) surged to a 22-6 lead.
The Falcons (7-2) did their damage in the air where quarterback Brian Kaczynski connected with Byron Jones for three touchdowns.
The Redcoats are now fifth in Class M, pushed out of the fourth and final slot by Avon, which pulverized Winsted Gilbert in the Pequot League.
St. Paul is sixth in the Class M race with games against Hebron RHAM and Wilcox Tech still on the docket. Berlin has a huge Nutmeg league battle with resurgent Northwest Catholic before closing out the regular season with an intersectional clash against Windham.
Murphy Picks Pick Up Northwest
Sean and Jack Murphy had key interceptions late the game as Northwest Catholic came from behind to put down Enfield, 28-20, to grab fourth place in the Class S playoff race.
Sean Murphy took his pick for six to give the Indians (6-2, 5-1 Nutmeg) their margin of victory. Northwest, winner of six straight games, has a huge clash with Berlin coming up next before facing struggling, undermanned Plainville in its Thanksgiving Day finale.
Justin Strid was the offensive hero, piling up 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Ken Lipshez of the New Britain Herald covers central Connecticut for MaxPreps. He may be reached at kenlip@aol.com.
