Maloney’s Josh Boganski ran for a game-high 239 yards and four touchdowns as Maloney won their first state championship with a 35-21 win over Windsor Saturday in New Britain. More game photos
NEW BRITAIN, Dec. 11, 2021 – Maloney High junior running back Josh Boganski isn’t the biggest back on the field at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. But that’s OK, he doesn’t get hit on every play.
Boganski ran for a game-high 239 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries to lead Maloney to a 35-21 win over Windsor Saturday at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium and enable the Spartans to become the first high school from Meriden to ever win a state championship in football.
Windsor (11-2), which erased an 18-point deficit to beat St. Joseph’s in the semifinals, simply couldn’t stop Boganski or the Spartans. Windsor had two long scoring plays of 83 and 87 yards that kept them in the game but it wasn’t enough to secure a state championship.
“Josh would say the same thing that I am going to say,” Maloney High coach Kevin Fredericks said. “It’s not always about the running back. It is about the offensive line. Our offensive line is dominant. They are the best in the state.
“We push guys around. That is what we do,” Fredericks said. “We took it to them in the second half and Josh did a great job finding creases and our blockers were exceptional.”
Maloney (12-1) led 14-7 at halftime but they expanded their lead thanks to their defense. An interception by Kuron Wiggins – his fourth of the season — gave the Spartans the ball deep in Windsor territory. Four plays later, it was Boganski scoring from the 11-yard line and with the extra point, the lead swelled to 21-7.
Maloney forced Windsor to punt and a 21-yard return from Joziah Gonzalez gave the Spartans the ball on the Windsor 27-yard line. Three plays later, it was Boganski with a five-yard touchdown run and his fourth TD of the afternoon to give Maloney a 28-7 lead.
The Warriors refused to yield. Shawn Bell scored from the one-yard line with 1:39 left in the third quarter to complete an 11-play drive and cut the lead to 14 points.
On their next drive, Windsor QB Elijah Cromartie found Bell out in the flat for a short five-yard reception but Bell escaped a few tackles and raced 87 yards for a touchdown with 11:20 remaining to trim the Spartan lead to seven, 28-21.
But Maloney took advantage of a pair of 15-yard personal foul penalties from Windsor to march 70 yards and extend the lead on a 15-yard run from QB Angel Arce with 8:51 left in the game.
The Spartans, who came into the game with 23 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries, intercepted Cromartie four times. Wiggins had two interceptions. Austin Studley and Rashawn Shelton also had interceptions. It was the tenth interception of the year for Shelton.
“Our defense has been lights out all year long,” Frederick said. “They have kept us in a lot of games early on (in the season). They are fast, physical and fly to the football.”
Maloney, which shared the CCC Tier I title with Hall, finished the season with 12 straight wins after losing their opening game to Southington. Windsor captured the CCC Tier II championship this fall.
The Spartans celebrate their state championship win. They are the first Meriden school to win a state title in football. More game photos
Maloney 35, Windsor 21
At New Britain
Maloney (12-1) 0 14 14 7 – 35
Windsor (11-2) 7 0 6 8 — 21
First quarter
W: Jaevion Walcott 83 pass from Elijah Cromartie (Miles McMikle kick), 5:31
Second quarter
M: Josh Boganski 5 run (Josh Scaramuzzo kick), 8:13
M: Boganski 6 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 0:29
Third Quarter
M: Boganski 11 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 9:19
M: Boganski 5 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 6:08
W: Shawn Bell 1 run (kick failed), 1:39
Fourth Quarter
W: Bell 87 pass from Cromartie (Prince Samuels pass from Cromartie), 11:20
M: Angel Arce 15 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 8:51
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Windsor — Shawn Bell 16-41, Elijah Cromartie 8-minus 2; Maloney — Josh Boganski 46-239, Kenny McMillian 10-39, Angel Arce 6-3.
PASSING: Windsor — Cromartie 9-23-4, 200; Maloney — Arce 4-10-1, 47
RECEIVING: Windsor — Bell 3-94, Achillius White 3-11, Jaevion Walcott 2-83, Ray Rodriguez 1-12; Maloney — Austin Studley 2-18, Ian Graham 1-17, Joziah Gonzalez 1-12
CLASS S
Cromwell/Portland 21, Bloomfield 6
TRUMBULL, Dec. 11, 2021 – Cromwell/Portland’s Teddy Williams put on a show and the Panthers brought home their second state championship by beating previously undefeated Bloomfield, 21-6 Saturday to win the Class S title at McDougall Field at Trumbull High.
Williams scored all three touchdowns for the Panthers (13-0). He recovered a fumble in the end zone, caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cole Brisson and ran back an interception 66 yards for a TD.
Cromwell/Portland won their first championship as a co-op and won a state title for the first time since 2008.
Williams also caught five passes for 97 yards. Brisson completed 10-of-17 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
“A few guys got banged up a little early,” Bloomfield head coach Ty Outlaw told the Day’s Ned Griffen, “We came out in the second half, and we felt like we got it together (but) Cromwell played a great game. They figured us out. We couldn’t punch it in in the red zone.”
Cromwell/Portland scored on their first drive of the game. Ben Fagan was about to score on a 22-yard pass but fumbled before crossing the goal line. Fortunately for the Panthers, Williams leaped onto the ball.
Cromwell/Portland, which won the Pequot Conference title, became just the eighth Pequot Conference school to win a state championship. The last Pequot team to bring home a title was Valley Regional/Old Lyme in 2014.
Bloomfield lost in the Class S final for the second straight year. The Warhawks lost to Sheehan, 64-18 in 2019.
Cromwell/Portland 21, Bloomfield 6
At Trumbull
Cromwell/Portland (13-0) 7 7 0 7 – 21
Bloomfield (12-1) 0 0 6 0 — 6
First quarter
CP: Teddy Williams recovered fumble in end zone (Allen Cohen kick)
Second quarter
CP: Williams 46 pass from Cole Brisson (Cohen kick), 9:13
Third quarter
B: Darrien Foster 16 run (pass failed), 3:28
Fourth quarter
CP: Williams 66 interception return (Cohen kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Cromwell/Portland — Alex Hair 18-62; Teddy Williams 8-63; Owen Brunk 2-4; Cole Brisson 2-(-7). Bloomfield — Dallas Rose 16-65, Conellius Patrick 6-53, Darrien Foster 3-6, Zyon Hymes 1-5.
PASSING: Cromwell/Portland — Cole Brisson 10-17-1-162. Bloomfield — Darrien Foster 14-25-2-109.
RECEIVING: Cromwell/Portland — Teddy Williams 5-97, Ben Fagan 2-43, Daevyon Lovelace 1-15, Owen Brunk 1-7, Emeka Yearwood 1-0. Bloomfield — Robert Dunkley 7-73, Trey Ortiz 6-34, Connellius Patrick 1-2.
CLASS LL
Darien 42, Fairfield Prep 7
TRUMBULL, Dec. 11, 2021 – The Darien High football team dominated top-ranked Fairfield Prep on Saturday to win their fourth Class LL state championship in the last six years and eighth overall with a 42-7 victory at McDougall Field at Trumbull High.
Darien (12-1) is likely to be the No. 1 team in the state coaches poll and state sportswriters polls later this weekend.
“I think it was just people out there felt that we were a little subject because we had lost to New Canaan (12-7 on Thanksgiving),” Darien head coach Mike Forget told the Day’s Ned Griffen when asked about his team’s dominance. “I think the guys wanted to come out and send a message today.”
Tighe Cummiskey had a game-high 188 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries for the Blue Wave while teammate Jeremiah Stafford ran for 74 yards and 3 TDs on seven carries. QB Miles Drake completed 7-of-11 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Darien’s defense was dominant, allowing just 117 total yards. Fairfield Prep (11-2) had just 18 yards and one first down at halftime.
Darien 42, Fairfield Prep 7
At Trumbull
Darien (12-1) 7 7 21 7 — 42
Fairfield Prep (11-2) 0 0 0 7 — 7
First quarter
D: Tighe Cummiskey 40 run (Isaac McMullin kick), 6:45
Second Quarter
D: Matt Minicus 12 pass from Miles Drake (McMullin kick). 1:42
Third Quarter
D: Drake 19 run (McMullin kick), 7:50
D: Jeremiah Stafford 4 run (McMullin kick), 4:03
D: Stafford 56 run (McMullin kick), 0:32
Fourth Quarter
D: Stafford 8 run (McMullin kick), 4:32
FP: Tim Pearson 13 pass from Connor Smith (Aidan Graham kick), 1:37
Individual Statistics
RUSHING — Darien, Tighe Cummiskey 25-188, Jeremiah Stafford 7-74, Miles Drake 3-11, Matt Minicus 1-6, Ryan Felt 1-(-2). Fairfield Prep, Dan Barnick 10-17; Connor Smith 10-(-25), Wally Wuchiski 1-1.
PASSING — Darien, Miles Drake 7-11-102. Fairfield Prep, Connor Smith 17-29-138.
RECEIVING — Darien, Matt Minicus 2-62, John Wilson 2-38, Tighe Cummiskey 1-1, Jeremiah Stafford 1-1. Fairfield Prep, Tim Pearson 5-46, Tymaine Smith 5-30, James Iaropoli 3-33, Jack Reiling 3-18, Dan Barnick 1-11
The Day’s Ned Griffen and the Patch’s Tim Jensen contributed to this report.
