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Wallace helps Simsbury dominate New Britain in season opener

Simsbury quarterback Evan Wallace ran for 2 TDs, threw a TD pass and had a 42-yard interception return for a TD in Saturday’s 37-0 win over New Britain.

GRANBY, Sept. 11, 2021 – Two years ago as a sophomore, Simsbury quarterback Evan Wallace didn’t have much of a season on the Trojan junior varsity squad. He broke his collarbone in the third game of the season and didn’t play again.

No one had a season a year ago thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wallace and his Simsbury High teammates took advantage of their chance to finally play Saturday with a dominating 37-0 win over New Britain in Central Connecticut Conference Tier I action at Granby High. The Trojans opened the season in Granby after flood waters last week damaged Holden Field.

Wallace had a hand in four of Simsbury’s five touchdowns. He scored on a pair of touchdown runs of 26 and one yard. He had an interception and ran it 42 yards for a touchdown and threw a seven-yard TD pass to Ted Murphy.

“It was awesome to be out there playing with the guys,” Wallace said. “We played hard and we played fast. It was so much fun. There is nothing like playing football.”

Simsbury (1-0) overwhelmed a young New Britain squad with a first-year head coach, Isaiah Boddie, and a freshman quarterback. The Hurricanes showed a few flashes of offense and got into the red zone – inside the Simsbury 20-yard-line — twice but didn’t threaten to score.

The Trojans limited New Britain (0-1) to less than 200 yard of offense – 79 yards on the ground and 100 yards through the air.

It was the first time that Simsbury has shutout New Britain and was the Trojans’ biggest opening day win in team history, eclipsing a 35-point win over Farmington nearly 100 years ago in 1923.

Simsbury QB Evan Wallace gets the ball away in Saturday’s 37-0 win over New Britain in Granby. Wallace completed 16-of-23 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown.

“Our thing is that this is one game and we still have a lot of game experience to gain,” Simsbury head coach Dave Masters said. “This was a step in that direction, especially confidence wise and aggressive wise.”

Afterward, there was a bit more celebrating than usual after an opening day victory. Yes, it has been a while since these players have had the chance to play football.

“Let’s be honest, it was good to be out here after 600 (plus) days,” Masters said with a smile. “I mean it was kind of a relief. Certainly, a win amplifies that and kicks it up a notch. Playing (from) ahead keeps the energy up.”

Wallace made his presence known immediately. He gained 13 yards on the first play from scrimmage. On his third play as a starting QB, he completed a 29-yard pass to hard-running John Mairano. Wallace gave Simsbury a 7-0 lead with his 26-yard run up the middle with 10:59 gone in the game.

On Simsbury’s second drive, it was Mairano who carried the load by rushing for 31 yards on four carries to the New Britain one-yard line. Wallace scored from the one to extend the lead to 13-0.

The Hurricanes threatened in the second quarter driving to the Simsbury 16-yard line, thanks in part to a 32-yard and 16-yard pass plays from freshman QB Donovan Campbell to Tyrone Richardson and a 14-yard run from Malakeye Edwards. But the drive stalled on the 17-yard line.

Wallace gave Simsbury a 20-0 lead with his interception and 42-yard run to the end zone with 1:35 left in the second quarter.

New Britain turned the ball over on downs and Simsbury drove 40 yards to the Hurricane 21-yard line in 41 seconds thanks to five consecutive completions from Wallace to Cole Musser, Isaac Rivera and Teddy Murphy.

Simsbury kicker Danny Sullivan made a 28-yard field goal and hit four of five PATs.

That set up Danny Sullivan, who hit a 28-yard field goal with 6.6 seconds left in the first half for a 23-0 lead.

Simsbury drove 78 yards in eight plays on their opening drive of the second half with Murphy scoring on a seven-yard TD pass. Mairano extended the lead to 37-0 on a 51-yard touchdown run with 8:40 left in the game.

Mairano finished with a game-high 112 yards rushing and a touchdown on 13 carries. Wallace ran for 74 yards and two TDs on 11 carries. Wallace completed 11-of-36 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Murphy caught five passes for 16 yards while Mairano pulled in three receptions for 54 yards.

NOTES: The series with New Britain dates back to 1984 and the Trojans have won four of the last five games. It is the second largest margin of victory in the series. Simsbury beat the Hurricanes by 41 points in 1985, 47-6. … Mairano’s younger brother, Chad, nearly scored his first varsity TD in the waning minutes of the game. Chad Mairano gained nine yards on his first carry and 51 yards on his second, getting knocked out at the one-yard line with about 30 seconds remaining. Simsbury took a knee to run out the clock. … Masters thanked Granby for use of their field. “I really appreciate Granby doing this,” he said. “They didn’t have to do that with COVID. It was nice of them to do.” … Simsbury is scheduled to face Hall on the road on Friday.

Simsbury 37, New Britain 0
At Granby

New Britain (0-1)             0    0  0  0  — 0
Simsbury (1-0)               13  10  7  7  — 37
First quarter
S: Evan Wallace 26 run (Danny Sullivan kick). 10:59
S: Wallace 1 run (kick blocked), 5:49
Second quarter
S: Wallace 42 interception return (Sullivan kick), 1:35
S: Sullivan 28 FG, 0:06
Third quarter
S: Ted Murphy 7 pass from Wallace (Sullivan kick), 6:28
Fourth quarter
S: John Mairano 51 run (Sullivan kick), 8:40
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury – Chad Mairano 2-60, John Mairano 13-112, Evan Wallace 11-74; New Britain – Donovan Campbell 1-minus 1; Nathanael Ruiz 4-8, Malakeye Edwards 8-43, No. 6 2-13, Cameron Bond 3-6, No. 8 1-6
PASSING: Simsbury – Evan Wallace 16-23-0, 136; New Britain — Donovan Campbell 11-27-1, 92; Edwards 1-1-0, 8
RECEIVING: Simsbury – John Mairano 3-54, Teddy Murphy 5-16, Cole Musser 3-33, Isaac Rivera 1-15, Nolan Conderino 3-10, Ben Fabian 1-8; New Britain – Nathanael Ruiz 1-3, Edwards 1-1, No. 6 1-8, Tyrone Richardson 5-83, No. 5 1-5, No. 21 3-7

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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