High School Football: Sophomores step in all over the field for this CT team as it earns big win
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Southington’s starting quarterback went down with an injury a few weeks ago. A sophomore stepped in. The team’s top two running backs got hurt, one last Friday against Windsor, and another sophomore stepped in.
Ben Beaulieu rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns – all in the second half – in a 28-7 win over Windsor, which was ranked fourth last week in the Courant state coaches football poll but dropped to 10th this week. It was the first loss for the Warriors.
“He hit some holes and he was gone,” Southington coach Rob Levesque said of Beaulieu. “He ran like a man possessed.”
Southington (5-3) has lots of sophomores; there are three on the offensive line, a linebacker and sophomore Jacoby Roman is the quarterback.
“We were young last year and we’re still young,” Levesque said. “We make mistakes sometimes. I told the kids Friday, we’re capable of making mistakes and losing big games or we’re capable of executing and winning big games.”
A close loss to St. Joseph in Week 3 gave his team confidence, Levesque said. And there was a good game plan in place against Windsor, last year’s Class MM runner-up.
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“I think we were comfortable with the way they played so we were able to game plan and the kids executed the game plan on defense, especially,” Levesque said.
Windsor had averaged 55 points per game over the previous four games.
Southington is sixth in the Class LL rankings, with games against two tough opponents, Maloney and Cheshire, to close out the regular season.
“We’re not looking at the rankings too much,” Levesque said. “We’re just taking care of our stuff.”
Here are some highlights from last weekend:
Conard beat Simsbury 21-13 and there were a number of key plays that made the win possible. Conard’s Jameson Lamoureux blocked an extra point that would have tied the game in the second quarter, Gio-Scheff Mota blocked a field goal attempt at the end of the first half that could have given Simsbury the lead and the game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Xavier Williams to Henry Tamaccio came on fourth and goal in the fourth quarter. Also with Simsbury on the 5-yard line, first and goal, Conard’s defensive lineman Taurean Cauley intercepted a pass with 48 seconds left in the game to help preserve the win. Simsbury quarterback Braeden Siano was 13 for 31 for 243 yards and had a touchdown and an interception. Holden Smith had 20 carries for a career-high 154 yards for Conard. …
Tyler Napierkowski scored three touchdowns, two on pass receptions and one on the ground and quarterback Jamien Evans threw four touchdown passes for Haddam-Killingworth in a 55-12 win over the Windsor Locks co-op Friday. …
Cody Puzio had four touchdowns, including a 71-yard run, in Berlin’s 35-0 victory over Farmington. The Redcoats are 8-0. … Cheshire quarterback Aiden Gregorich (15 carries, 142 yards) ran for a touchdown and passed for another in the second quarter as Cheshire defeated Sheehan 14-7 Friday. Sheehan quarterback Jake O’Brien completed 11 of 19 passes for 118 yards and ran for a touchdown in the first quarter. …
Granby/Canton quarterback Joseph Lewie threw a career-high four touchdown passes in a 48-0 victory over Capital Prep Friday. Lewie had 11 carries for 113 yards and one rushing touchdown and completed eight of 12 passes for 120 yards. …
Sawyer Pequita passed for 175 yards and rushed for 101 yards and scored three touchdowns in Enfield’s 30-26 win over Bristol Central. Jon Hewitt had a 40-yard TD in the fourth quarter for Enfield and rushed for 117 yards.
Games to watch
Rockville (6-1) at Cromwell/Portland (8-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m. at Pierson Park, Cromwell: Rockville had a bye week after losing to CREC while Cromwell/Portland is on a roll and hasn’t had a close game since Week 2, a 39-31 win over North Branford.
Weaver Co-op (5-2) at CREC (5-3), at Comp Sci, 6 p.m., Friday: Weaver is on a three-game win streak and ranked fifth in Class L while CREC will try to bounce back from a difficult loss to North Branford last week.
Lyman Hall (7-1) at Guilford (7-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: A game with playoff implications as Guilford is ranked third in Class M while Lyman Hall is No. 4.
Maloney (5-3) at Southington (5-3), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Southington wants to keep the momentum from last week’s win over Windsor going, while Maloney needs a win for playoff contention.
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