Simsbury QB Jackson Butler (9) completed 11 passes for 127 yards and ran for 63 yards and 2 TDs in Friday night’s one-point loss to East Hartford, 28-27.
EAST HARTFORD, Sept. 21 – East Hartford quarterback Raquan Tompkins had to get the job done on both sides of the ball on Friday night.
Offensively, Tompkins threw two touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown. Defensively, he made the play of the game to keep the No. 6 Hornets undefeated.
Tompkins tackled Simsbury quarterback Jackson Butler on an attempted two-point conversion run with 1:36 remaining as East Hartford held off Simsbury, 28-27 Friday night in Central Connecticut Conference action.
With three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Simsbury (0-3) had turned a 14-point deficit into a one-point deficit. But Tompkins made the play of the game as the Trojans went for the win.
Trailing by 14 points, Simsbury pulled within one point, 28-27, thanks to a nine-yard run from Butler and a successful extra point from Kory Zall (3-for-3) along with a three-yard touchdown run from Mark Bedson with 1:36 remaining.
In the third quarter, Tompkins broke a 7-7 tie with a one-yard run to give East Hartford a 14-7 lead. Running back Quiton Haughton, who ran for a game-high 128 yards on 12 carries, extended the lead to 21-7 with a 46-yard touchdown run.
Bedson, who led Simsbury on the ground with 90 yards and a pair of TDs on 21 carries, cut the lead to one touchdown, 21-14, with a 1 yard run. The Hornets stretched the lead to 28-14 on 53-yard touchdown pass from Tompkins to Jayden Gardner.
Butler completed 11-of-28 passes for 127 yards for Simsbury. Freshman Jackson Harper caught a team-high four passes for 75 yards. Butler also ran for 63 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 carries.
Simsbury forced four East Hartford turnovers. Spencer Meace had an interception and fumble recovery while teammates Brad Pfaff and D’Sean Martin also recovered fumbles. Tommy Guilfoyle, Cole Hermsen and Mohammed Haroon each had more than 10 tackles each.
It was East Hartford’s third straight win over the Trojans and the first one-point decision in the series since Simsbury prevailed by a 27-26 score in 2006. The series dates back to 1910.
Simsbury returns to action on Friday night when they travel to New Britain to face the undefeated Hurricanes (3-0) at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
East Hartford 28, Simsbury 27
At East Hartford
Simsbury (0-3) 0 7 0 20 – 27
East Hartford (3-0) 0 7 14 7 – 28
Second quarter
EH: Jaquan Allen 41 pass from Raquan Tompkins (Gabe Florian kick)
S: Jackson Butler 3 run (Kory Zall kick)
Third quarter
EH: Tomkins 1 run (Florian kick)
EH: Quinton Haughton 46 run (Florian kick)
Fourth quarter
S: Mark Bedson 1 run (Zall kick)
EH: Jayden Gardner 53 pass from Tompkins (Florian kick)
S: Butler 9 run (Zall kick)
S: Bedson 3 run (run failed), 1:36
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury – Mark Bedson 21-90, Jackson Butler 13-63, Daniel Sohn 1-4; East Hartford – Quiton Haughton 12-128, Raquan Tompkins 14-66, David Ortiz 13-50, Jaquan Allen 1-7, Troy Baxter 2-6, Jaydon Gardener 1-minus 5
PASSING: Simsbury – Jackson Butler 11-28-0, 127; East Hartford – Raquan Tompkins 6-15-1, 114
RECEIVING: Simsbury – Jackson Harper 4-75, Patrick Shanley 2-18, Jeremy Coleman 2-14, Bedson 2-13, Colby Chase 1-7; East Hartford – Jacquan Allen 4-105, Jaydon Gardener 2-9
FUMBLE REC: Brad Pfaff (S), Spencer Meace (S), D’Sean Martin (S), J. Gardener (EH); INTERCEPTION: Meace (S)
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