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Simsbury finds a way in a 17-14 victory over East Hartford

East Hartford’s Darrion Williams can’t find much open space in Friday night’s CCC Tier 1 game in Simsbury. The Trojans scored with 2:03 remaining to earn a 17-14 win.

SIMSBURY, Nov. 12, 2021 – Facing a team that was averaging 32 points a game with a revamped lineup with players in new positions, the Simsbury High football team made Senior Night an evening to remember at Holden Field.

Issac Rivera made his first-ever start at quarterback for the Trojans while John Mairano returned to the field for the first time in several weeks and ran for a game-high 155 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 2:03 remaining.

The Simsbury defense made it all possible. The Trojans sacked East Hartford quarterback Darrion Williams three times, forced two turnovers (fumble, interception), blocked a punt and an extra point in a 17-14 CCC Tier 1 victory.

The visiting Hornets had the ball six times in the second half. They had just one first down, punted six times and threw an interception.

“We had a lot of guys stepping up and making huge plays,” Simsbury’s Drew Hunter said. “The key was containing (Watson). We knew they loved to run the stretch and that quarterback can scramble.”

Hunter had himself a game. He had two sacks, forced a fumble that a teammate recovered and helped block a second-half punt with teammate Zach Truting.

“Drew is super strong and super fast. He was super focused on this game because the seniors really wanted this,” Simsbury coach Dave Masters said.

There are 26 seniors on the Trojan squad and the win enabled Simsbury to improve to 5-4 with one game remaining at Bloomfield on Nov. 23.

Simsbury’s Michael Wallman (22) and Drew Hunter (58) keep the pressure on East Hartford QB Darrion Williams in Friday night’s CCC Tier 1 contest at Holden Field.

This wasn’t easy. East Hartford (4-5, 3-4 CCC Tier 1) took a 14-10 lead late in the second quarter thanks to a fumbled punt return that allowed the Hornets to retain possession of the ball on the Simsbury 15-yard line.

The Hornets scored on the next play on Williams’ 15-yard touchdown pass to David Pardo with 1:43 left in the first half. A successful two-point conversion pass from Williams to Pardo gave East Hartford a four-point lead at the half.

“(We) stuck together,” Masters said. “There was a lot of adversity in this game with fumbles and things that could have gone sideways.”

While the Simsbury defense kept the East Hartford offense under wraps, the Trojan offense sputtered throughout much of the second half, too.

After Hunter and Truting blocked the punt, the Trojans took over on the East Hartford 27-yard line with 10:57 left in the game. Simsbury drove to the Hornet six-yard line.

But an illegal motion penalty pushed the team back five yards to the 11-yard line. Mairano caught a pass but slipped on the slick turf after just a four-yard gain. The drive died after two incomplete passes from Rivera.

East Hartford got the ball back but went no where and punted and Simsbury took over on the Hornets’ 48-yard line with 4:38 remaining and trailing by four, 14-10.

Simsbury kept it on the ground with Rivera and Mairano carrying the load. Mairano got three yards on a third down and three play to keep the drive alive. Rivera gained 19 yards, including 10 yards inside a large group of East Hartford and Simsbury players that kept their legs churning before he could be brought to the turf.

Mairano scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with 2:03 remaining and Connor Aldrich kicked the extra point to give Simsbury the 17-14 lead.

East Hartford’s Jayden Fields (4) tries to score in Friday night’s game against Simsbury. Fields ran for a team-high 83 yards for the Hornets.

The Trojans sealed the deal when Jeremiah Hughes came up with his first career interception off a pass that bounced off two other teammates before he pulled it in near the goal line and returned it 30 yards with 1:03 remaining.

“It was do or die, honestly,” Mairano said regarding the final drive that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown. “(Our offensive line) really pushed on that last drive and got us what W. Our defense carried us so hard. They were awesome. They played their hearts out and saved us today.”

Rivera ran for 29 of his 79 yards in the final drive. He completed 6-of-15 passes for 59 yards.

Simsbury took an early 3-0 lead with a 12-play, 80-yard drive featuring a no-huddle offense for the first time this season. With the loss of starting quarterback Evan Wallace, who was injured in last week’s Southington game, the Trojans wanted to pick up the pace against the bigger Hornets.

Daniel Sullivan kicked a 27-yard field goal for Simsbury.

East Hartford responded immediately with a 80-yard drive of their own that ended with Nate Evans scoring from the two-yard line. But Simsbury’s Garrett Dagenais blocked the extra point to give the Hornets a 6-3 lead.

Simsbury regained the lead on a 38-yard touchdown run from Mairano with 8:11 left in the second quarter. The extra point from Sullivan gave the Trojans a 10-6 lead.

Injuries after eight weeks of football forced the Trojans to move players all over the field. But they were able to contain Watson, who had thrown for 1,376 yards and 14 touchdowns coming into this game. On Friday night, he threw for 69 yards and one TD.

And it continued a trend of close ballgames between these two programs.

They last met in 2018 with East Hartford earning a 28-27 win. In 2017, the Hornets won by two, 30-28 and earned a one-point win in 2016, 13-12. It was the first Simsbury win in the series, that dates back over a century (1910), since 2014.

Simsbury 17, East Hartford 14
At Simsbury

East Hartford (4-5)             6  8  0  0  — 14
Simsbury (5-4)                     3  7  0  7  — 17
First quarter
S: Dan Sullivan 27 FG, 8:34
EH: Nate Evans 2 run (kick blocked), 3:25
Second quarter
S: John Mairano 38 run (Sullivan kick), 8:11
EH: David Pardo 15 pass from Williams (Pardo pass from Williams), 1:43
Fourth quarter
S: Mairano 11 run (Connor Aldrich kick), 2:03
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Simsbury – Isaac Rivera 13-79, John Mairano 22-155, Noble Gongon 6-52; East Hartford – Darrion Williams 12-22, Jayden Fields 11-83, Nate Evans 2-2, David Pardo 1-10
PASSING: Simsbury – Isaac Rivera 6-15-0, 59; East Hartford – Darrion Williams 6-20-1, 69
RECEIVING: Simsbury – Ted Murphy 1-10, Chris Taddio 1-9, John Mairano 2-18, Daniel Sullivan 1-10, Noble Gongon 1-12; East Hartford – Kuhron walker 1-8, Jayden Fields 1-19, David Pardo 4-42
INTERCEPTION: Jeremy Hughes (S) 1

 

CCC Tier 1 Division Overall
Maloney 6-1 8-1
Hall 5-1 8-1
Southington 5-2 7-2
Simsbury 4-3 5-4
Conard 3-3 4-5
East Hartford 3-4 4-5
Glastonbury 1-6 2-7
New Britain 0-7 1-8

Friday’s results
Simsbury 17, East Hartford 14
Conard 31, Southington 24
Hall 51, New Britain 24
Maloney 48, Glastonbury 28

 

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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