Mairano runs for 216 yards and 3 TDs to lead Simsbury past Glastonbury

Simsbury running back John Mairano ran for a career-high 216 yards and three touchdowns in Friday night’s win over Glastonbury at Holden Field. (Photo courtesy Scott Kerr)

John Mairano ran for a career-high 216 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Simsbury High football team to a 27-19 win over Glastonbury in CCC Tier 1 action at Holden Field in Simsbury on Friday night.

Mairano scored on runs of 39, 20 and three yards as Simsbury played at home for the first time this year. The Trojans played their season opener against New Britain in Granby due to flooding on the field earlier in September.

“Mairano was just a machine last night,” Simsbury High coach Dave Masters said. “He wouldn’t go down. We had trouble throwing the ball so we had to rely on the running game.” He is the first Simsbury runner with more than 200 yards rushing in a single game since 2018 when Mark Bedson had 252 yards against Manchester.

Simsbury (2-2, 2-2 CCC Tier 1) ran for 285 yards in the game. “We’re wildly inconsistent and we’re still learning the identity of what kind of team we are,” Masters said. “We are starting to figure out who can do what and where and who fits into the puzzle.”

After the visiting Guardians (0-4, 0-4 CCC Tier 1) took a 7-0 lead, the Trojans responded with QB Evan Wallace scoring on a 30-yard touchdown run. With Daniel Sullivan’s extra point, the game was tied 7-7.

Simsbury extended their lead in the second quarter on a three-yard touchdown run from Mairano and a Sullivan extra point for a 14-7 lead.

The Guardians cut the lead to one on a nine-yard touchdown run in the third quarter but missed the extra point, leaving Simsbury ahead 14-13. Mairano extended the lead to 20-14 on a 20-yard touchdown run but the extra point was no good.

In the fourth quarter, Glastonbury cut the lead to one, 20-19, on a one-yard TD run. The two-point conversion failed. Simsbury got some breathing room with a 39-yard TD run from Mairano and the extra point from Sullivan to boost the lead to 27-19.

Defensively, Issac Rivera led Simsbury with 14 tackles while Zach Truting had 13 tackles, including three for a loss. Charles Mairano had eight tackles.

“It was fun to be home. The environment was crazy and the stands were packed,” Masters said.

Simsbury returns to action next Friday night when they travel to Enfield (0-4) for another CCC Tier 1 contest.

Simsbury 27, Glastonbury 19
At Simsbury
Glastonbury (0-4)                 0    7  6  6  — 19
Simsbury (2-2)                       0  14  6  7  — 27
Second quarter
G: Drew Curto 1 run (Jack Niland kick)
S: Evan Wallace 30 run (Daniel Sullivan kick)
S: John Mairano 3 run (Sullivan kick)
Third quarter
G: Jack Patrone 9 run (kick fails)
S: J. Mairano 20 run (kick fails)
Fourth quarter
G: Petrone 1 run (conversion run fails)
S: J. Mairano 39 run (Sullivan kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury – John Mairano 23-216, Evan Wallace 10-69
PASSING: Simsbury – Evan Wallace 4-17-1, 40
RECEIVING: Simsbury – Issac Rivera 1-13, Daniel Sullivan 1-12, Charles Strayer 1-8, Cole Musser 1-7