Scary-good performance by Ellington in win over Canton; Mills wins 2nd straight

Quarterback Alex Higley (11) was back behind center for the Warriors but Ellington was still able to hand Canton its seventh loss of the season.

ELLINGTON, Oct. 31 – On a Halloween afternoon, the Ellington High football team put together a scary performance at the expense of Canton. The Purple Knights scored five touchdowns in the first 14 minutes of Saturday’s Pequot Conference game in a 48-12 victory.

Junior running back Izaiah Castro-Vega ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns along with scoring on a 45-yard interception return to lead the Purple Knights (6-1, 4-0 Pequot East). Kyle Griffith ran for a game-high 120 yards and two touchdowns, including an 86-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.

Canton (0-7, 0-3 Pequot West) welcomed back quarterback Alex Higley and running back/receiver Eddie Melton, who had missed the past few games with injuries and illness. Higley completed 12 of 25 passes for 150 yards and two interceptions. Melton caught a game-high seven receptions for 97 yards.

The Warriors received a pair of two-yard touchdown runs from Melton and Matt Bangs, who ran for a team-high 80 yards on 11 carries. Julian Adams and Brock Steinfeldt each had five tackles for Canton while Elliot Moreau had four.

Canton did recover a pair of Ellington fumbles. Freshman Brian Connolly and Charlie Parchen each recovered a fumble. One Knight fumble was caused by Adams. Defensive for Ellington, John Dubiel has 12 tackles and 2½ sacks while Justin Ames had an interception and one sack.

The Warriors return to the gridiron on Saturday when they host Lewis Mills (3-3, 1-2 Pequot West) at 2 p.m. in the final home game of the season.

Ellington 48, Canton 12
At Ellington
Canton (0-7)         0    6  0  6  — 12
Ellington (6-1)     20  14  7  7  — 48
First quarter
E: Izaiah Castro-Vega 65 run (kick failed), 6:13
E: Mark Hickman 53 pass from Christian Rider (Jay Skorulski kick), 3:10
E: Wellington Silva 20 run (Skorulski kick), 2:13
Second quarter
E: Castro-Vega 48 run (Skorulski kick), 11:00
E: Casto-Vega 45 interception return (Skorulski kick), 8:40
C: Matt Bangs 2 run (run failed), 5:26
Third quarter
E: Kyle Griffith 4 run (Nick Sharpe kick), 7:54
Fourth quarter
C: Ed Melton 2 run (run failed), 9:23
E: Griffith 86 run (Sharpe kick), 8:27
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Canton – Matt Bangs 11-80, Eddie Melton 7-minus 1, Alex Higley 7-37, Braedon Bean 1-minus 2, Mekiah Davis 1-minus 4; Ellington – Kyle Griffith 9-120, Izaiah Castro-Vega 3-119, Lesile 3-16, Rellis 2-25, Luginbuhl 2-8
PASSING: Canton – Alex Higley 12-25-2, 150; Ellington – Christian Rider 1-1-0, 52; Moller 2-2-0, 26
RECEIVING: Canton – Eddie Melton 7-97, Mekiah Davis 3-34, Matt Bangs 2-19; Ellington – Mark Hickman 1-52, Redler 2-26
RETURNS: Davis (C) 4-81 (KR); Melton (C) 3-28 (KR); Jack Szczepanski (C) 1-10 (KR); PUNTS: Bean (C) 3-70; KICKOFFS: Bean (C) 3-119

Lewis Mills 27, Old Saybrook/Westbrook 7
BURLINGTON, Oct. 31 – Quarterback Trevor Baker completed 7-of-15 passes for 180 yards and two touchdown passes as Lewis Mills won their second straight game with a 27-7 Pequot Conference game over Old Saybrook/Westbrook on Saturday.

It is the second time in team history that the Spartans (3-3, 1-2 Pequot West) have won two in a row. They’ll try to win three in a row for the first time when they travel to Canton next Saturday for a Pequot West contest.

Mills built a 19-0 lead in the first quarter with Baker throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Lanning, Tyler Mello recovering a fumble in the end zone and Colin Kennedy scoring on a 57-yard touchdown run.

Kennedy finished with 67 yards rushing on nine carries while Mike Ciccarelli ran for 26 yards on seven rushes. Matt Rinkus scored on a 77-yard touchdown reception from Baker in the fourth quarter.

It was the first time that Mills beat a team that came into the game with a winning record. The visiting Rams are now 5-2 on the year.

Lewis Mills 27, Old Saybrook/Westbrook 7
At Burlington
OSW (5-2)              0  0  7  0  — 7
Lewis Mills (3-3)   19  0  8  0  — 27
First quarter
LM: Lucas Lanning 41 pass from Trevor Baker (Hunter Cowger kick)
LM: Tyler Mello fumble recovery in end zone (kick blocked)
LM: Colin Kennedy 57 run (run fails)
Third quarter
OSW: Chase Cook 2 run (Ryan Bergeron kick)
LM: Matt Rinkus 77 pass from Baker (Romano pass from Baker)