New Britain’s Santiago Isaza has the jersey of Southington QB Jasen Rose. Isaza eventually got his arms around Rose’s waist but Rose was strong enough to make that TD pass.
SOUTHINGTON, Oct. 30 – Southington High, the No. 1 ranked high school football team in the state has one of the state’s most exciting players to watch – 6-foot-3 Jasen Rose, who has committed to play at UConn next fall.
He got in trouble Friday night against New Britain but frequently ran away from it to make big plays as Southington won its 27th consecutive game with a 35-0 win over New Britain at Fontana Field. Rose completed 9-of-16 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
Near the end of the second quarter with the Knights leading 14-0, Southington back Alessio Diana broke several tackles on a 41-yard run to the New Britain 6-yard-line.
On the next play, a New Britain defender had his arms wrapped around Rose from behind, trying to tackle him. But Rose was strong enough to stay upright and throw a six-yard touchdown pass to Vance Upham for a 21-0 lead with 2:45 left in the first half before three New Britain defenders finally took him to the turf.
New Britain QB Daijohn Hill (3) tries to get away from Southington’s John Meade in Friday night’s game in Southington.
The play that brought the biggest smile to the fans at Fontana Field came in the waning seconds of the game.
Rose was sacked for a 15-yard loss, pushing Southington back to the 10-yard line. A false start penalty moved the ball back to the five. On the play, Rose was able to elude the rush and fired an outstanding spiral 50 yards down the field to Austin Morin, who caught the ball in stride and raced to the end zone with a 95-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in the game.
“We moved it on the ground. We moved in the air. We got the win and you gotta love it,” Rose said afterward.
“He made big plays when we needed them,” Southington’s fifth-year coach Mike Drury said. “He has the ability to make those kind of plays.”
With the victory, Southington (7-0, 4-0 CCC Div. I East) won its third divisional title in the last four years. In the first half, the Knights were simply too quick to the ball and New Britain’s offense went nowhere. The Hurricanes (4-3, 2-2 CCC Div. I East) adjusted in the second half and were able to move the ball but couldn’t sustain it with two drivings dying in the red zone (inside the 20-yard line).
NOTES: Southington has won seven straight in the series that began in 1911 and 10 of the last 11 games. … The Knights lead the series, 24-11-1. … Southington hosts its regular season finale next week against East Hartford beginning at 7 p.m. … Read more about this game at GameTimeCT.
Southington 35, New Britain 0
At Southington
New Britain (4-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Southington (7-0) 14 14 0 7 – 35
First quarter
S: Jasen Rose 4 run (Jon Doty kick), 10:21
S: Alessio Diana 7 run (Doty kick), 7:17
Second quarter
S: Austin Morin 41 pass from Rose (Doty kick), 7:17
S: Vance Upham 6 pass from Rose (Doty kick), 2:45
Fourth quarter
S: Morin 95 pass from Rose (Doty kick), 0:49
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Southington – Jasen Rose 5-8, Alessio Diana 8-87, Vance Upham 3-4; New Britain – Daijon Hill 10-19, Muhammed Codjoe 1-2, Kaylin Samuels 17-41, Keyshawn Gunn 2-17, Santiago Isaza 2-0, Tahj McCall 1-3
PASSING: Southington – Rose 9-16-1, 272; New Britain – Hill 14-29-1, 153
RECEIVING: Southington – Austin Morin 3-143, Jake Testa 2-31, Vance Upham 1-6, Alessio Diana 2-34, Jake Kligerman 1-3; New Britain – C.J. Gaskin 3-35, Donovan Dorce 4-47, Santiago Isaza 3-14, Muhammed Codjoe 1-17, Tahj McCall 1-8, Ronnie Watson 1-25, Paris Lavan 1-16
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