Lewis Mills’ Michael Ciccarelli set a new school record for most yards rushing in a game and longest TD run in Saturday’s 28-0 win over Canton.
BURLINGTON, Sept. 24 – Two penalties against the Canton High football team Saturday wiped out two carries for Lewis Mills senior running Michael Ciccarelli, denying him 92 yards and a touchdown.
There were no worries. Ciccarelli ran for a school record 226 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries to lead Lewis Mills to a 28-0 Pequot Conference West Division victory over a young Canton squad on sunny afternoon with wisps of clouds filling the air.
“He’s our big impact player,” Lewis Mills head coach Jose Santana said. “He’s our horse and our go-to player when we run the ball.”
Ciccarelli also intercepted a pass as the Spartans (2-1, 1-1 Pequot West) won their second straight game. Mills played its first game on its new grass surface that was recently installed at the high school.
Canton (0-3, 0-3 Pequot West) couldn’t stop Ciccarelli. On Mills’ first offensive play, he scooted through the line and raced down the left sideline for a 37-yard touchdown.
The next time Ciccarelli touched the ball, he broke the school record for the longest TD run. He weaved his way through traffic and escaped down the right sideline for a 70-yard touchdown run. It broke the mark set by Colin Kennedy (58 yards) against Enfield in 2015. With just two carries, he had 107 yards and two touchdowns and Mills had a commanding 14-0 lead with just 8:03 gone in the game.
“It was nice,” Ciccarelli admitted about scoring two touchdowns on his first two touches of the contest. “It is every running back’s dream.”
Lewis Mills’ Tim Higley (5) and Michael Ciccarelli (48) close in on Canton QB Alex Higley (11) in Saturday’s Pequot West game in Burlington.
After the game, the first thing he did was credit his linemen. “Our line did extremely well,” Ciccarelli said. “We worked extremely hard this week. It started with the line. They gave us the opportunities to get outside and drive down the field.”
Ciccarelli’s 226 yards shattered the old single game rushing record of 165 yards set by Colin Kennedy last year against Enfield. It could have been more. In the third quarter, he had a 69-yard run into the end zone called back due to a holding penalty. Another holding penalty in that same drive removed a 23-yard run from Ciccarelli’s column.
“You can’t think about that (plays coming back due to penalty),” Ciccarelli said. “There is always the next play to run as hard and as far.”
Santana was pleased with the win but he knows there are challenges ahead. Mills’ next six games come against teams with winning records a year ago – Ellington, Granby, Cromwell/Portland, North Branford, Valley Regional/Old Lyme and Morgan. “From here on out, we play the elite of the Pequot Conference,” Santana said. “If we win from here on out, we’ll have a good chance to make the playoffs.”
Canton had a few successful plays but the Warriors didn’t come close to the end zone. Canton lost the opening kickoff when a Mills player punched the ball out of the hands of the kickoff return man. The closest the Warriors got to the end zone was reaching the Lewis Mills 18-yard line early in the second quarter before the drive stalled.
Canton QB Alex Higley completed 5-of-18 passes for 53 yards and threw two interceptions. Ta’ki Blizzard led the Warriors with 62 yards on the ground on eight carries. Jack Szczepanski and Braedon Bean had 39 yards each rushing.
“Some of kids played a more competitive game than they had in the past,” Canton coach Mike Guy said. “We moved the ball but in crunch time, we tossed it away or didn’t execute.
“They’re working hard. No one is giving up. They’re doing what we’re asking of them and it’s all we can ask of them.”
Canton QB Alex Higley fires a pass downfield in Saturday’s loss to Lewis Mills.
Szczepanski gained eight yards on a kickoff return to open the game but a Mills player punched the ball out of his hands and Grant Berube recovered the fumble for the Spartans. On the first play from scrimmage, Ciccarelli ran 37 yards for the touchdown and a 6-0 lead. The extra point kick was short.
Ciccarelli made it 14-0 on a 70-yard touchdown run and Baker completing a two-point conversion pass to Chris Romano with 8:43 left in the first quarter.
Late in the first half, Canton moved the ball well. Szczepanski’s 12-yard run gave the Warriors a first down on the Mills 45-yard line. On second down, Ta’ki Blizzard raced around the left side for a 16 yard gain. But, again, the ball was punched out of his arms. Fortunately for Canton, Noah Lau recovered the fumble on the Mills 22-yard line to keep the drive alive.
Canton couldn’t get any further than the 18-yard line before the drive died.
Late in the second quarter, Mills quarterback Trevor Baker scrambled for nine yards on fourth down to keep the drive going. A 24-yard run from Ciccarelli moved the ball to the Canton nine-yard line. Ciccarelli scored from the two-yard line a few plays later for a 20-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first half.
Mills extended its lead to 28-0 when Baker completed a floating 41-yard touchdown pass to Chris Romano with 2:42 left. Baker had the two-point conversion run.
NOTES: Mills hosted their opening game at Muzzy Field on Sept. 10 against Gilbert/Northwestern because the new grass wasn’t ready yet. … Mills hosts Ellington at home next Saturday at 1 p.m. … Canton has two consecutive bye weeks before they return to the field on Friday, Oct. 14, hosting Ellington at 6:30 p.m. at the turf field for the annual Spirit Week night game. …. Two weeks should give Canton QB Alex Higley time to heal. He bruised his leg after an 11-yard gain in the fourth quarter when he ran into an equipment box on the sideline. He left the game. … Ciccarelli tied the school record for most TDs in a game (3) — a record he shares with Max Stone (vs. Stafford/East Windsor 2013) and Bob Martinotti (vs. Morgan 2011). Ciccarelli also scored 3 TDs a year ago against SMSA/University/Classical. … Mills’ 28-point victory was the second largest in program history. Lewis Mills beat Stafford/East Windsor by 29 points in 2014 – 35-6.
Lewis Mills 28, Canton 0
At Burlington
Canton (0-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Lewis Mills (2-1) 14 6 8 0 — 28
First quarter
LM: Michael Ciccarelli 37 run (kick fails), 11:42
LM: Ciccarelli 70 run (Chris Romano pass from Trevor Baker), 8:03
Second quarter
LM: Ciccarelli 2 run (pass fails), 0:55
Third quarter
LM: Chris Romano 41 pass from Baker (Baker run), 2:42
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Lewis Mills – Michael Ciccarelli 16-252, Trevor Baker 5-6, Jeremy Peters 1-14, Rocco Fratarcangeli 2-minus 4, Hunter Cowger 4-30; Canton – Alex Higley 5-3, Dugan Lloyd 1-1, Jack Szczepanski 7-39, Ta’ki Blizzard 8-62, Braedon Bean 13-39, Ben Robinson 1-5
PASSING: Lewis Mills – Trevor Baker 4-16-0, 54; Canton – Alex Higley 5-18-2, 53; Dugan Lloyd 0-1-0
RECEIVING: Lewis Mills – Jimmy Romano 1-5, Chris Romano 2-42, Hunter Cowger 1-7; Canton – Dugan Lloyd 2-25, Gavin Wood 3-27
INTERCEPTIONS: Michael Ciccarelli (LM) 1-13, Cooper Mattiello (LM) 1-43; FUMBLE RECOVERY: Grant Berube (LM) 1-0; Ben Robinson (C); SACK: Max Klinkert (C) 1-1
RETURNS: Kickoffs – Jack Szczepanski (C) 2-21, Gavin Wood (C) 1-0, Ta’ki Blizzard (C) 1-15, Hunter Cowger (LM) 1-26; Punts – Alex Higley (C) 1-10, Blizzard (C) 1-10
You must be logged in to post a comment Login