Farmington’s Thomas Keough (4) breaks up a pass thrown to RHAM’s Boden Landers (10) in Friday night’s CCC Division III game in Farmington. The visiting Raptors won, 42-21.
FARMINGTON, Sept. 10, 2021 – There were a few bright spots for the Farmington High football team in Friday night’s 42-21 Central Connecticut Conference loss to RHAM at George Bennett Field.
Freshman Jaylen Howlett got his first interception, Nicholas DeBrito blocked an extra point, Ryan Parker caught a touchdown pass and Matt Olson ran for 56 yards, including a 15-yard run for a touchdown.
The biggest thrill was being back on the gridiron after a one-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It feels fantastic,” RHAM’s second-year head coach Dakota Fleming said after picking his first career victory. “We were hungry and we got to eat tonight. That was the best thing.”
“I loved it,” Farmington lineman Dominic Cassarino said. “Football is my favorite sport and I was so upset last year when we didn’t have a season. So, I came out here and gave it my all. Do everything you can, because you never know it will be shut down again.”
Cassarino was one of the few players on the field that had played varsity minutes before. He was a two-way starter for the River Hawks in 2019. The vast majority of players on both teams were making their varsity debuts.
“We made a few plays and we made some adjustments but we have a lot of work to do,” Farmington High coach Chris Machol said. “We have to tackle better. It is a game of blocking and tackling. We got outblocked and outtackled.”
Fleming added, “We played with a lot of intensity and we played a lot of effort. All of the kids wanted to be out there and they played great. We made some mistakes and have a lot of things to work on.”
The visitor Raptors scored on their first drive on a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jace Kobyluck to Clint Grano, Jr., for a 7-0 after the extra point from kicker Dylan Keefe. RHAM’s defense then scored twice.
Vander Knutsen stripped the ball from Farmington QB Kevin Ives and ran 44 yards for a touchdown and on the next River Hawks possession, it was Knutsen that tackled Ives in the end zone for a safety and a 15-0 lead.
Farmington RB Luke Watson tries to escape from a pair of RHAM defenders in Friday night’s CCC Division III game in Farmington.
The River Hawks got on the scoreboard with a 48-yard touchdown drive that began with a 16-yard run from Ives. Watson scored on a 15-yard run to the outside with Adam Maselek kicking the extra point to cut the lead to 15-7 with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter.
RHAM extended the lead to 22-7 on a six-yard touchdown run from Knutsen with 6:43 remaining in the second quarter. The key play in the 69-yard drive was Kobyluck completing a 32-yard pass to Silas Haley on a fourth down and 15 play to keep the drive alive.
The River Hawks made a few big plays of their own to cut the RHAM lead to 22-13 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter. The drive began when Ives completed a short pass to Tommy Gleifert, who turned it into a 27-yard gain to the RHAM 35-yard line.
Five plays later, it was Ives who found Ryan Parker in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass with 50.1 seconds remaining. It was the first TD pass for Ives and TD reception for Parker. The extra point was blocked.
In this first varsity start, Ives completed 8-of-14 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
In the third quarter, the kickoff bounced off a Farmington player and the Raptors recovered. RHAM marched 52 yards on eight plays to take a 29-13 lead on a 10-yard run from Brody Magnanini. Kobyluck threw his second TD pass of the game, a 38-yard completion to Dylan Keefe while RHAM’s Hank Brodeur made a tackle in the end zone that forced a fumble that he recovered for a touchdown.
Farmington added a late score on a 15-yard run from Matt Olson, who ran for 56 yards on three carries.
The River Hawks return to action next Friday when they make the long trip to Storrs to face E.O. Smith in a CCC Tier III contest.
RHAM 42, Farmington 21
At Farmington
RHAM (1-0) 15 7 14 6 — 42
Farmington (0-1) 7 6 0 8 — 21
First quarter
R: Clint Grano, Jr 25 pass from Jace Kobyluck (Dylan Keefe kick), 8:01
R: Vander Knutsen 44 fumble return (kick blocked), 6:01
R: Safety. Knutsen tackles Kevin Ives in end zone, 5:13
F: Luke Watson 15 run (Adam Maselek kick), 1:13
Second quarter
R: Knutsen 6 run (Keefe kick), 6:43
F: Ryan Parker 12 pass from Ives (kick blocked), 0:50
Third quarter
R: Bobby Magnanini 10 run (Keefe kick), 7:05
R: Keefe 38 pass from Kobyluck (Keefe kick), 0:57
Fourth quarter
R: Hank Brodeur recovers fumble in end zone (kick wide), 3:26
F: Matt Olson 15 run (Olson run), 0:44
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Farmington – Matt Olson 3-56, Cayden Markowitz 1-2, Luke Watson 9-13, Kevin Ives 6-8, Ryan Parker 1-4
PASSING: Farmington – Ives 8-14-0, 63, Markowitz 0-2-0
RECEIVING: Farmington – Ryan Parker 5-23, Watson 2-12, Tommy Gleifert 1-27
