Defense shines as Granby/Canton outlasts Stafford co-op squad, 20-19

Granby Memorial’s Luke Maher scored two TDs in Friday night’s win over Stafford co-op, 20-19, at Maher’s home school in Canton.

CANTON, September 17, 2021 – Luke Maher and teammate Khalil Thomas are quite familiar with the turf field outside of Canton High. Both have played on the artificial turf field for years in various youth football programs.

The two friends got a special chance to play again on their hometown field Friday night in front of family and friends Friday as members of the Granby/Canton co-op football team. It’s the only home game of the season scheduled to be played in Canton.

Maher and Thomas brought their A games. Maher scored two touchdowns, including a 16-yard interception return for a score while Thomas helped anchor a Bears defense that didn’t give up a point in a thrilling 20-19 Pequot Conference win over Stafford/East Windsor/Somers.

The visiting Bulldogs put 19 points on the board thanks to three defensive scores with a pair of interception returns and a fumble return for a touchdown.

The Granby/Canton defense stood tall as Stafford drove to the Bears’ 40-yard line in the final minute. In Stafford’s final series of downs, Thomas batted away two passes while Maher broke up a pass.

“We’ve been playing here (on the turf field) forever,” Maher said of him and Thomas.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Thomas said. “We’ve been playing here since we were eight or nine years old. It’s the best feeling to look over there and see the fans here calling our names. It’s one of the best wins I have had in my entire career.”

“Our defense the last two games has been absolutely phenomenal,” Granby/Canton coach Erik Shortell said. “(Stafford QB Mark McLaughlin) ran over Gilbert last week and (our) defense did the job. I am beyond proud of them. There were out there for most of the game and didn’t give up an inch.”

Long-time teammates Khalil Thomas, left, and Luke Maher celebrate after the Bears beat Stafford co-op, 20-19 Friday night in Canton.

Granby/Canton had a 20-13 lead after Maher’s seven-yard touchdown run with 9:03 left in the game. The Bears didn’t give up a first down to the Bulldogs on their next two series’ and were looking to run out the clock.

But Stafford/East Windsor/Somers QB Mark McLaughlin also plays defensive back and stripped Maher of the ball with 4:01 left in the game allowing teammate Logan Briggs to grab the ball and race 40 yards for a touchdown and pull the Bulldogs within one point, 20-19.

Stafford/East Windsor/Somers coach Brian Mazzone decided to go for two points and the win. McLaughlin rolled to his right, looking to pass but decided to run. And he ran into Maher, John Bruhin and his Bear teammates who stuffed the two-point attempt.

The visiting Bulldogs got the ball back with 1:49 on their own 20-yard line after a Granby/Canton punt. Twice, McLaughlin converted on third down passes to received Evan McKay (6-43) to keep the drive alive. A fourth down pass from McLaughlin to McKay put the ball on the Granby 40-yard line with 20.1 seconds left. But the Bulldogs didn’t complete another pass.

“To come up short (after) scoring three defensive touchdowns feels pretty bad,” Mazzone said. “They really took away Logan (Briggs) and when they did that it just made things a little bit harder. We had some (scoring) chances but we didn’t convert.”

Stafford co-op’s Gavin Mills forced Granby/Canton’s Luke Maher to fumble in the fourth quarter that enabled the Bulldogs to close within one point. Bulldog teammate Logan Briggs picked up the loose ball and scampered 40 yards for the TD score.

Granby/Canton, which plays one of their five home games in Canton each season, scored on their opening drive, a nine-play, 56-yard drive. Maher began the drive with a nice 22-yard kickoff return and Bears QB William Migliaccio ended the drive with his first career TD pass, a six-yard scoring pass to Thomas with 7:59 gone in the first quarter.

The Bears quickly made it 14-0 when Maher picked off McLaughlin and scored on a 16-yard interception return just 49 seconds later. “I saw the screen (pass) and I have always been taught find ball, go get ball,” he said.

However, on Granby/Canton’s next drive, it was Briggs who leaped up and pulled down a Migliaccio pass out of the air and scored on a 19-yard interception return to cut the lead to 14-7.

The Bulldogs pulled even close in the waning seconds of the second quarter. Under pressure, Migliaccio tried to throw the ball away but as he threw, his arm his a Bulldog defender the ball floated into the hands of Stafford/East Windsor/Somers’ Timothy Dickinson, who ran 50 yard with his interception return. The extra point was no good and the Bears led, 14-13 at the half.

Stafford/East Windsor/Somers had a chance early in the third quarter but it was Granby/Canton’s Michael Brosnan who made a nice tackle on a fourth down play on the Bears’ 35-yard line to prevent the Bulldogs from converting a first down.

Granby/Canton extended their lead to 20-13 with Maher scoring on a 7-yard run to cap a 13-play, 68-yard march with 9:07 remaining. Horst ran 11 yards for a first down on fourth down instead of punting from the Bears’ 33-yard line to keep the drive alive while Maher twice made a first down with runs on third down.

The Granby/Canton defense collapses on Stafford co-op QB Mark McLaughlin (8) during Friday night’s game in Canton.

Maher finished with a game-high and career-high 141 yards on 27 carries on his birthday. Migliaccio completed 11-of-18 passes for 140 yards, a touchdown and one interception.

McLaughlin ran for a team-high 73 yards on 20 carries and completed 8-of-28 passes for 71 yards and one interception. Briggs ran for just 18 yards on one carry and didn’t have a reception. Shortell praised the defensive work on Marquis Thomas on Briggs, an All-State football player as a sophomore in 2019.

NOTES: The Bears hit the road next weekend to face Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. … The last time these two teams met on the field was in 2019, also in Canton, when Granby/Canton prevailed in overtime, 28-27.

Granby/Canton 20, Stafford co-op 19
At Canton
Stafford/EW/Somers (1-1)           7  6  0  6  — 19
Granby/Canton (2-0)                  14  0  0  6  — 20
First quarter
GC: Khalil Thomas 6 pass from William Migliaccio (George Horst kick), 7:59
GC: Luke Maher 16 interception return (Horst kick), 7:10
S: Logan Briggs 19 interception return (Eric Wyse kick), 3:23
Second quarter
S: Timothy Dickinson 50 interception return (kick wide), 1:11
Fourth quarter
GC: Maher 7 run (kick blocked), 9:07
S: Briggs 40 fumble return (run fails), 4:01
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Granby/Canton – Luke Maher 27-141, Michael Brosnan 8-18, William Migliaccio 4-minus 8, Khalil Thomas 6-7, George Horst 1-11; Stafford co-op – Mark McLaughlin 20-73, Zachary Donovan 2-1, Logan Briggs 1-18
PASSING: Granby/Canton – William Migliaccio 11-18-1, 140; Stafford co-op – Mark McLaughlin 8-28-1, 71
RECEIVING: Granby/Canton – Luke Maher 2-43, Beach Sessions 2-39, George Horst 4-26, Khalil Thomas 1-6, Brandon Powell 2-31; Stafford co-op – Evan McKay 6-43, Dylan McLaughlin 2-9
RETURNS: Kickoff returns – Maher (G) 1-22, Thomas (G) 1-27, Robert Goines (S) 3-34; Punt returns – Briggs 2-40