Newington hasn't had much luck against Bristol Central recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Newington Nor'easters will challenge the Bristol Central Rams at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated (Newington has six wins dating back to last season, while Bristol Central has nine dating back to last season).
Newington's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They took their contest at home with ease, bagging a 28-0 win over Bristol Eastern. Considering the Nor'easters have won three games by more than 27 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Newington's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Evan Pigott led the charge by rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.5 yards per carry. Those 142 rushing yards gave Pigott a new career-high. Another passer making a difference was Enzo Corvino, who threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
Another reason for the win was Newington's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for 11 sacks. Khalil Stewart led the group effort, picking up three of those sacks all by himself. Zachary Girolamo also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 11.
Meanwhile, Bristol Central was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past Edwin O. Smith 41-7 at home. Given the Rams' advantage in MaxPreps' Connecticut football rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Panthers are ranked 129th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Donnie Rodriguez and Jayden Glasper were among the main playmakers for Bristol Central as the former rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries and the latter rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Bristol Central was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 378 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Bristol Central didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Ryan Sample, Gabriel Ouellette, and Nathanyel Davis picked up one apiece.
Newington's victory was their fourth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. As for Bristol Central, their win bumped their record up to an identical 5-0.
Newington couldn't quite finish off Bristol Central in their previous meeting back in November of 2023 and fell 20-17. Can Newington avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
