By Ken Lipshez
MaxPreps.com
FARMINGTON, Conn. – The Farmington High locker room had the look of a funeral parlor.
The 16 seniors sat in their horseshoe-shaped dressing area without a dry eye among them. Assistant coach Dexter Williams-Bey took the wide-eyed underclassmen to the adjacent horseshoe for a lecture about the future.
In the coaches’ room, Farmington coach Bruce Wearne was trying unsuccessfully to fight back the tears. He had just told his team that his high school football coaching career was over, and it didn’t end anywhere near the way he would have liked.
Lawton Arnold scored four touchdowns as Simsbury showed why its headed to the state Class L playoffs with a 42-0 thrashing of the Indians in an interdivisional CCC mismatch at Farmington High Field last Friday night.
Wearne, the former New Britain Pulaski High dynamo who turned in three separate terms on the Farmington bench, ends his 18-year head coaching tenure at 70-93-4. Farmington, obviously unprepared to endure the rigors of the CCC following its departure from the Nutmeg League, ended its campaign at 1-10; it had made its CCC debut with a win over E.O. Smith.
Wearne coached the Indians from 1983-1990, and again from 1994-99. He vowed to come back after his retirement from teaching but didn’t take Farmington’s departure from the Nutmeg League into account when he made that decision.
The high points came in 1998 and 1999, when the Indians qualified for the Class L playoffs. They lost to Masuk in the 1998 semifinals, due in large part to a referee’s error. They whipped Waterbury Holy Cross, 33-0, in the semis the following year, but couldn’t cope with powerful Groton Fitch in the final, a 55-7 loss at West Haven High’s Strong Stadium.
“I didn’t know we were going to go to the CCC this quickly,” said Wearne, whose third term covered 2007 and 2008. “It was a challenge.
“The kids played hard week in and week out but we got banged up and we’re not that deep. They’re a bunch of great kids who never quit. They played hard every down but they were green. It’s too bad 16 of them are going to leave because they got a taste of it and with another year, maybe they could do it.”
They fought gamely against Simsbury (9-2) in the first quarter, forcing three turnovers, but couldn’t put anything together offensively. The Trojans, visibly amped up for the postseason, offset their error-filled start with a blocked punt that Aric Bernier recovered in the end zone and a 57-yard run by Arnold that produced a 12-0 lead.
The Indians turned it over three times in the second quarter and Simsbury put the game well out of reach with three touchdowns.
“The kids had a lot to play for tonight,” Simsbury coach Jeff Osborne said. “They knew if they won they were in and they’re going to play a home game. It means a lot [to make a playoff opponent] come to our turf in the northern part of the state and play some football.”
Southington Remains Hopeful
Jon Kelleher, whose brother Matt quarterbacked Southington to the finals in 2005, scored two touchdowns last Wednesday night as the Blue Knights overcame early problems to crush Hartford Public, 35-12, on the frozen turf of Dillon Stadium.
The usually high-scoring Southington offense entered the second quarter without having registered a touchdown in seven consecutive periods.
“If you could see the bubble over my head right now, it would say, ‘Huge sigh of relief,’” Southington coach Bill Mella said. “When we have the pressure of scoring 35 or 40 points a game, it’s very easy to get frustrated.
“I’m very proud of my staff and the kids for coming out to work the next day at practice, putting the games behind and saying, ‘Whatever we can fix, let’s fix,’ because we had another opportunity to compete.
“We needed to put points on the board. I’m very happy for my kids and the 35 points are going to go a long way.”
Kelleher, primarily a defensive back, had only run the ball three times prior to the game. He ended Southington’s point famine on the first play of the second quarter after the Knights (7-3) fumbled twice and fell behind 6-0 over the first 12 minutes. In the third quarter, he burst into the Owls’ secondary and raced 83 yards – Southington’s longest run from scrimmage this season – to increase the lead to 28-6.
“It was a great team effort,” Kelleher said repeatedly. “We came together after a couple tough weeks – defense, offense special teams, it was great. We knew we had to get ready. It was all or nothing. We’re not losing, we’re going for it.”
Kelleher’s older brother Matt, now at Yale, was heavily recruited as he passed for 54 touchdowns and over 6,100 yards in 2004 and 2005. Jon, a 6-1, 188-pound junior, is following adroitly in big brother’s footsteps.
“I have him as a role model to look up to,” he said. “I kind of model myself after him, his work ethic. He’s gotten in places and hopefully it will take me to the same places. Just work hard and everything will follow through.”
Southington must defeat Cheshire, one of the hottest teams in the state, on Thanksgiving Eve for a chance to return to the Class LL playoffs.
Newington Eyes Thanksgiving Clash with Wethersfield
The first half was eerily similar to the loss to Bristol Eastern that was still fresh in the Newington football conscience.
The Indians, with first place in the CCC South and a Class L playoff berth hanging in the balance, fell behind early and could not recover.
Ten days later, here was revitalized Hartford Bulkeley playing Newington even and in position to deliver a fatal blow. But the Indians decided during intermission that they weren’t going to let that happen.
Jon Riddick scored three touchdowns and the defense held the Bulldogs in check Monday night as the Indians pulled away for a 28-6 victory to set up a Thanksgiving morning clash with Wethersfield that likely will determine their postseason destiny.
Was it the extended layoff due to Friday night’s postponement? Was it the rarity of Monday Night Football at Alumni Field? Did the 20-18 loss to Eastern that has the Lancers on the verge of back-to-back CCC South championships send Newington on a downhill path?
Whatever it was, the Indians (8-2, 4-1) had to recover quickly. The tenuous 7-6 lead they held at halftime didn’t cut it and coach Clay Hillyer had to light a fire.
“We were dealing with a big loss against Bristol Eastern and we were pretty dejected from it,” Hillyer said. “We weren’t happy how we played in that first half when we were down 14-3 and came back strong but couldn’t pull it out. I think that was on our minds a little bit.”
But Riddick, who missed the first two games of the season due to a high ankle sprain suffered in a preseason scrimmage, put together a powerful performance. He exploded out of the locker room in the third quarter to gain 38 yards on five carries, keying a drive that changed the course of the contest.
Newington, currently third in the Class L playoff derby, is leading fourth-place Windsor by two tiebreaker points. The tiebreaker points are based on strength of schedule, calculated from the wins and ties amassed by the teams that Newington and Windsor have beaten.
Waterbury Crosby and Stratford Bunnell are in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with 8-2 records, hoping that Wethersfield will deal Newington a crushing blow on Thanksgiving morning.
Week 11 Rewind: North Branford Knocks off Cromwell
* Cromwell’s bid for an undefeated season in the Pequot League went up in smoke Saturday afternoon as North Branford heads into its regular-season finale against Hamden Hyde Wednesday without a loss after a 6-0 win. Elijah Schuler scored the lone touchdown and rushed for over 100 yards while the Thunderbirds’ defense limited Cromwell to just 61 yards on the ground. Cromwell remains in the Class S playoff picture, holding down second place, while North Branford vaults to the top spot.
* Everett Frink’s 4-yard TD run with 4:11 remaining in the game gave West Hartford Hall a 20-14 victory over visiting West Hartford Conard in the 52nd meeting between the neighboring schools. The win was also Hall's first against Conard since 2006. The Chieftains had won last season's game, 41-7, and lead the series by 30-19-3. Frink finished with 47 yards on seven carries.
Hall (7-4, 3-2 CCC West) didn't secure the win until Edgar Hannibal forced a Conard fumble on fourth-and-14 from Hall's 40 with 41 seconds remaining. Conard (2-9, 2-3) had tied the contest at 14-14 with 3:09 to play in the third period, when Marcus Stevens scored on a 33-yard run.
* Spencer Beaudreault rushed for three touchdowns and 190 yards as Windham crushed fading Berlin, 41-7, at home. The Whippets have a Thanksgiving encounter with E.O. Smith to complete their season. Berlin, rebuilding after losing 18 of 22 starters from its 2007 Class M playoff squad, lost four of six after starting the year with four straight wins.
* Canton added a little luster to its second varsity season by crunching Winsted Gilbert, 38-14, in a mild Uncas Division/Pequot League upset. Luke Talbot ascended the heroes’ mantle for the Bulldogs (2-9), scoring three touchdowns, rushing for 131 yards and recovering a fumble. Gilbert (4-6) trailed 28-0 when Justin Farkas returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.
Ken Lipshez, a sportswriter for the New Britain (Conn.) Herald, covers central Connecticut for MaxPreps. He may be reached at kenlip@aol.com.
