Georges helps Farmington beat Hartford Public; Simsbury wins first game of year

FARMINGTON, Oct. 19 – Senior cornerback Elrick George tied a state record Friday night when he returned two interceptions for touchdowns to help lead the Farmington High football team to a 25-7 win over Hartford Public in a CCC Division II East game in Farmington.

George returned one interception 17 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and returned a second interception 15 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter. He joins 17 other players with multiple interception returns for a touchdown in a single. It was last accomplished in 2015. George has intercepted three passes this season.

Farmington QB Jacob Conrad threw a pair of touchdown passes to Zihare Greaves as the Indians (3-3, 1-2 CCC Div. II East) won for the second time in three games. Farmington travels to Meriden next Friday night to face Maloney (5-1) at Ceppa Field.

Farmington 25, Hartford Public 7
At Farmington
Hartford Public (0-6)       0  0  0    7  – 7
Farmington (3-3)              0  7  6  12  — 25
Second quarter
F: Elrick George 17 interception return (Jacob Conrad kick)
Third quarter
F: Zihare Greaves 16 pass from Conrad (kick fails)
Fourth quarter
F: George 15 interception return (pass fails)
HP: Kahari Palmer 42 run (O.C. Johnson kick)
F: Greaves 8 pass from Conard (kick fails)

Simsbury High wore an alternative uniform in Friday night’s 42-0 win over South Windsor (Photo courtesy Simsbury High football)

Simsbury 42, South Windsor 0
SIMSBURY, October 19 – Wearing colorful alternative jerseys provided by the Simsbury Gridiron Club, the Simsbury High football team won their first game of the season with a dominating 42-0 CCC Division I victory over South Windsor.

Quarterback Jackson Butler and running back Mark Bedson ran for two touchdowns each. Jackson Harper caught a TD pass from Butler and Dan Sohn also ran for a touchdown.

It was the first shutout by the Trojan defense since beating Avon, 42-0, in last year’s season finale.

“We played better,” Simsbury High coach Dave Masters said. “We settled in on defense and made some switches to boost up and eliminate the big plays that hurt us against Conard (41-28 loss).

“The offense has been improving and the young guys have made some good progress,” he said. “Jackson Butler looked good running the ball and making plays with his legs. Dan Sohn and Mark Bedson ran the ball well and our young receiver corps of (freshman) Jackson Harper and (sophomore) Jeffrey Coleman are getting their routes down and catching the ball in big spots.”

Simsbury’s Jeffrey Coleman (22) moves in to make the tackle in Friday night’s CCC Division I game in Simsbury. (Photo courtesy Michelle Wingfield)

Butler completed 11 of 16 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a team-high 80 yards on five carries. Sohn ran for 56 yards on nine carries while Bedson gained 53 yards on eight carries.

Harper caught three passes for 25 yards while Coleman had a team-leading four catches for 37 yards.

“We also received some good offensive line play from Tommy Guilfoyle and Austin Taylor,” Masters said. Mike Schulitz had an interception for the Trojans, who didn’t have a turnover.

The uniforms were a gift from the Gridiron Club designed for Veteran’s Day but the players wanted to wear them more than once this season so they were unpacked for Homecoming. “The kids love them,” Masters said.

Simsbury (1-5) returns to action on Friday when they travel to Enfield to face the Eagles (3-3) at 7 p.m.

Simsbury’s alternative uniform that they work Friday night against South Windsor. (Photo courtesy Simsbury High football)

Simsbury 42, South Windsor 0
At Simsbury
South Windsor (0-6)       0    0    0  0  — 0
Simsbury (1-5)                   0  21  21  0  — 42
Second quarter
Sims – Mark Bedson 10 run (Kory Zall kick)
Sims – Jackson Butler 34 run (Zall kick)
Sims – Jackson Harper 10 pass from Butler (Zall kick)
Third quarter
Sims – Butler 20 run (Zall kick)
Sims – Bedson 12 run (Zall kick)
Sims – Dan Sohn 2 run (Zall kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury — Jackson Butler 5-80, Dan Sohn 9-56, Mark Bedson 8-53, G. Rosario 3-22, Z. Gilbert 2-minus 4; South Windsor — R. Pinkard 13-73, G. Hill 5-20, J. Gorborino 6-20
PASSING: Simsbury – Butler 11-16-0, 93; South Windsor — Logan Daley 3-13-1, 41
RECEIVING: Simsbury — Jeffrey Coleman 4-37, Jackson Harper 3-25, Aidan Boeshaus 1-17, Colby Chase 1-4, Brad Pfaff 1-0; South Windsor — J. Gorborino 1-19, N. Russell 1-14, M. Kaull 1-18

Simsbury’s captains come out for the pregame coin toss. (Photo courtesy Michelle Wingfield)