The Killingly HIgh football team celebrates after winning the Class M championship Saturday night in New Britain. More game photos
NEW BRITAIN, Dec. 11, 2021 – The game was over and the celebration had begun for the Killingly High football team at midfield of Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.
But Killingly High junior Soren Reif still cradled the football in his right arm, close to his body. He smiled along with his KHS teammates but no one was going to get that ball away from him – just like it happened during Saturday’s Class M championship game.
Reif ran for a game-high 183 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead undefeated Killingly to 28-14 win over Rockville High and the fourth state championship in school history. Teammate Jack Sharpe ran for 103 yards and a touchdown as Killingly ran over and ran through the Rams.
Killingly, the No. 1 seed in Class M, ran the ball on 11 consecutive plays on their opening drive of the third quarter to turn a seven-point halftime lead into a two-touchdown lead, 21-7. And after Killingly forced a Rockville punt, Killingly marched 52 yards in less than three minutes to extend their lead to three touchdowns, 28-7.
“We made a statement coming out of halftime,” Sharpe said. “We came out and showed we’re a force to be reckoned with a state championship and an undefeated season.” Killingly (12-0) finished undefeated for just the fourth time in school history and for the first time since 2017.
“We wanted to get powerful with them and beat them up a little bit,” said Killingly head coach Chad Neal, who earned his 100th career win in the victory. “We’re a running team. RPO, baby.”
In Killingly’s world, RPO stands for run people over.
Killingly’s Soren Reif (34) cradles the game ball after Saturday’s win over Rockville to win the Class M title in New Britain. More game photos
The game was tied at 7-7 in the second quarter before Killingly’s Ben Jax returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown to give KHS a 14-7 advantage with 6:52 left in the second quarter.
On their final drive of the first half, No. 2 Rockville drove to the Killingly 17-yard line before the drive stalled and KHS’ Shane Leduc blocked a 34-yard field goal attempt with 10 seconds left in the half.
In the third quarter, Killingly ran the ball often and hard. They ran 11 times on their first drive of the half with Sharpe running nine times. Reif scored from the 16-yard line with 6:42 left in the third quarter and with the extra point, Killingly led 21-7.
After forcing a Rockville punt, Killingly marched 52 yards on seven plays to extend their lead to 28-7 on a 28-yard run from Reif with 41 seconds left in the quarter.
Rockville (10-3) did cut the lead to 28-14 on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Deshaun Perry with 9:02 left in the game but that would be as close as the Rams would get. Perry outfought defender Noah Colangelo for the ball in the end zone for the score.
The Rams were led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who completed 16-of-27 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. Hason Green caught four passes for 60 yards while John Ryan grabbed four passes for 43 yards. Travon Edmondson led the way on the ground for Rockville with 63 yards on 13 carries.
Rockville was making their first appearance in the state finals since 1995 and were seeking their first championship since 1990.
Killingly 28, Rockville 14
At New Britain
Rockville (10-3) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Killingly (12-0) 6 8 14 0 — 28
First quarter
K: Jack Sharpe 10 run (pass fails), 7:33
Second quarter
R: Travon Edmondson 7 run (Michael Naylor kick), 8:36
K: Ben Jax 15 interception (Nathan Keefe pass from Thomas Dreibholz), 6:52
Third quarter
K: Soren Rief 16 run (Dreibholz kick), 6:42
K: Rief 28 run (Dreibholz kick), 0:41
Fourth quarter
R: Deshaun Perry 29 pass from Matt Ryan (Naylor kick), 9:02
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Killingly – Soren Reif 17-183, Jack Sharpe 23-102, Thomas Dreibholz 2-minus 7, Ben Jax 1-13; Rockville – Travon Edmondson 13-63, Deshaun Perry 3-18, Amir Knighton 7-44, Matt Ryan 4-minus 14
PASSING: Killingly – Thomas Dreibolz 1-3-1, 17; Rockville – Matt Ryan 16-28-1, 219
RECEIVING: Killingly – Ben Jax 1-17; Rockville – John Ryan 4-43, Juneil Powell 3-26, Hason Green 4-60, Amir Knighton 2-33, Deshaun Perry 3-57
INTERCEPTIONS: Jax (K) 1-15, Green (Ro) 1-0; KICKOFF RETURNS: Edmundson (Ro) 1-53, Jevon Osborne (Ro) 2-32, Colby Lopes 1-38, Keith Perry (K) 1-0; PUNT RETURN: Maddox Wedge (K) 1-5; SACKS: Killingly 2-15
