Simsbury defenders Mitchell Wallman (22) and William McKusker (88) close in Maloney’sJoziah Gonzalez in Friday night’s Tier I contest in Meriden.
MERIDEN, Sept. 24, 2021 – The Maloney High football team had taken a seven-point lead late in the third quarter of Friday night in a Central Connecticut Conference game but visiting Simsbury took the ball and marched 79 yards downfield in a little over two minutes.
The Trojans stood on the Maloney three-yard line and looked poised to tie the game as the fourth quarter began. A holding penalty in the backfield pushed Simsbury back to the 18-yard line.
It didn’t faze Simsbury QB Evan Wallace. On the next play, Wallace evaded the Spartan rush and lofted a high pass into the end zone to Ted Murphy, who towered over 5-foot-10 Maloney defender Rashawn Shelton. Murphy leaped into the air, got his two hands on the ball and it looked like a game-tying touchdown.
Shelton didn’t give up on the play. As Murphy came back down to earth, Shelton got his hand in there, jostled the ball loose and came up with a huge interception in the end zone with 11:51 remaining in the game.
“It was probably the play of the game,” Maloney High coach Kevin Fredericks said. “Rashawn is an athletic, passionate player. We’re happy that he made that play.”
Shelton’s play helped Maloney hold off Simsbury, 21-14 in CCC Tier 1 action at Falcon Field. The Spartans made another big stand with less than five minutes to go with the Trojans on the Maloney 24-yard line. The Spartans sacked Wallace twice to squash that potential scoring drive.
“We were in some tough spots and they had some big plays (against) us and we still kept them out (of the end zone),” Frederick said. “That is a sign of a good defense. We’re happy to come out of it with a win.”
Simsbury (1-2) played better than they did against Hall a week ago when they turned the ball over three times including twice in the fourth quarter on kickoffs. But it was a frustrating experience for the Trojans with a few plays making the difference.
“We needed to execute on every single play against them,” Simsbury head coach Dave Masters said. “We had things that went our way but we need to start winning football games. The defense played better than last week and kept us in the game. We have to clean up those three or four mental errors that really cost us. That is important.”
Maloney (2-1) led 14-7 at the half only to see Simsbury march 11 plays on 54 yards on their first drive of the second half to tie the game at 14-14 with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Issac Rivera scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Wallace. Earlier in the drive, Rivera caught a 17-yard pass and an eight-yard pass that brought the Trojans to the Maloney 13-yard line.
Simsbury QB Evan Wallace looks for an opening in Friday night’s loss to Maloney In Meriden.
The Spartans responded quickly, marching 82 yards on nine plays in little over three minutes to take a 21-14 lead on a 29-yard TD pass from QB Angel Arce to Joziah Gonzalez, with his second TD reception of the contest.
Simsbury wasn’t deterred at all. The Trojans began their next drive on their 14-yard line and Wallace completed a 22-yard pass to Daniel Sullivan. John Mairano ran for 10 yards, Wallace scampered for 12 and Mairano ran for 25 yards to the Maloney 17-yard line.
A pass interference call moved the ball and gave Simsbury first down and goal on the Maloney 8-yard line but a holding call on the Trojans moved it back to the 18-yard line. That set up Shelton’s big interception in the end zone when he wrestled the ball away from Murphy.
“I thought the ball was out of play and it was over,” Shelton said. “He had me but you can’t give up. You have to keep fighting. I knew he caught it and I was in bad position at that moment. But my coaches always say don’t give up until the ball is on the floor. As he was coming down, I brought my hands straight up through his and he kinda let go and it fell right into my lap.”
Simsbury’s defense made a goal line stand to remain in the game. Two plays after the turnover, Maloney’s Joshua Boganski ran 66 tards to the Simsbury nine-yard line. But Simsbury put pressure on Maloney QB Angel Arce, who had back-to-back incompletions. On third down, Simsbury’s Drew Hunter sacked Arce for a 10-yard loss. Arce’s fourth pass was incomplete.
Back-to-back sacks from Hunter and Zach Truting forced a Maloney punt. The Trojans moved to the Maloney 21-yard line and had a first down with 4:53 remaining but the Spartans sacked Wallace twice on the series. Maloney got the ball back on downs with 3:27 and ran out the clock.
Arce completed 12-of-26 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns passes, including two to Boganski.
Trailing 7-0 after one quarter, Mairano intercepted Arce early in the second quarter and returned it 20 yards to the Maloney 25-yard line. Mairano scored on a one-yard run with 9:28 left in the first half and the game was tied after Sullivan’s extra point, 7-7.
Maloney took a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter, marching 94 yards on 10 plays in 1:20 with Arce throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tylee Flowers with 35.7 seconds left in the half. Arce also made a big fourth down conversion to keep the drive alive with a 20-yard completion to Austin Studley.
Wallace completed 10-of-21 passes for 108 yards including four to Rivera for 40 yards.
NOTES: Simsbury hosts Glastonbury next week in another Tier 1 contest at Holden Field. .. It was just the fourth game ever between the two schools and the first since 2008. … Mairano had an interception in the game.
Maloney 21, Simsbury 14
At Meriden
Simsbury (1-2) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Maloney (2-1) 7 7 7 0 — 21
First quarter
M: Joziah Gonzalez 24 pass from Angel Arce (Josh Scaramuzzo kick), 2:40
Second quarter
S: John Mairano 1 run (Danny Sullivan kick), 11:01
M: Tylee Flowers 24 pass from Arce (Scarmuzzo kick), 0:35
Third quarter
S: Issac Rivera 5 pass from Evan Wallance (Sullivan kick), 5:37
M: Gonzalez 29 pass from Arce (Scarmuzzo kick), 2:16
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury – Evan Wallace 18-96, John Mairano 18-82, Charles Mairano 1-4, Noble Gongon 1-minus 3; Maloney – Joziah Gonzalez 2-11, Joshua Boganski 16-50, Angel Arce 6-minus 10
PASSING: Simsbury – Evan Wallance 10-2-1, 108; Maloney – Angel Arce 12-26-1, 172
RECEIVING: Simsbury – John Mairano 2-17, Cole Musser 2-15, Issac Rivera 4-40, Danny Sullivan 1-22, Ted Murphy 1-14; Maloney – Austin Studley 2-32, Ian Graham 5-35, Joziah Gonazlez 3-63, Tylee Flowers 2-52
MISSED FG – Sullivan, Simsbury 51
