Ryan Maher (24) had a game-high 93 yards rushing, an interception and two tackles fr a loss in Friday night’s loss to Cromwell/Portland.
GRANBY, Oct. 7, 2022 – Cromwell/Portland, the defending Class S champion football squads, improved to 5-0 on Friday night with a 14-7 Pequot Conference win over Granby/Canton, giving the Panthers their 19th consecutive victory.
The Bears (3-2) had their three-game winning streak snapped with the loss..
But there wasn’t much of a difference between the two teams on this warm October evening. It was simply a few plays.
“That’s a dam good team but we’re a damn good team, too,” Granby/Canton coach Erik Shortell said. “We had a few mistakes and you just can’t do that against a good team like that.
“It’s that one extra holding call. That one bad snap. That one missed tackle,” Shortell said. “We’re there (and competitive with Cromwell/Portland). We just have to fix it and we’re going to.”
It took the Panthers, who had given up just 13 points in four previous games, some time to get used to the fact that they were facing an opponent that wouldn’t allow themselves to be dominated.
“You have to go your hardest every time,” Panther coach Randell Bennett said. “You can’t sneak into a game and try to wish good people away or you will end up in a dogfight like this.”
Cromwell/Portland got on the board first. With 4:07 left in the second quarter, the Panthers took over on the Granby/Canton 45-yard line after a short punt. Two plays later, Cromwell/Panther QB Cole Brisson found Ryan Rozich in open space for a 43-yard gain to the Bear four-yard line. Three plays later, it was Rozich rushing in from the four to give the Partners a 7-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the half. Allen Cohen had the extra point.
On the ensuing kickoff, Granby/Canton’s Luke Maher got into open space and raced downfield with a 61-yard kickoff return to the Cromwel/Portland 29-yard line with 28 seconds remaining.
Granby/Canton picked up four yards on a short pass to Maher before Granby QB Will Migliaccio found received Connor Richardson in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 12.4 seconds left. With the extra point from George Horst, it was a 7-7 game at the half.
Maher led all rushers with 93 yards on 15 carries. He had also a third period interception and a 29-yard return, several tackles for a loss along his 61-yard kickoff return that set up the tying score.
IN the third quarter, Granby/Canton drove to the Panther 30-yard line before the drive stalled thanks to some outstanding defensive plays from the Cromwell/Portland secondary.
On Cromwell/Portland’s first possession of the third quarter, it was Maher who had the interception and returned it 29 yards to the Panther 26-yard line. But Granby/Canton could only manage to gain give yards and kicker George Horst’s field goal attempt from 38 yards was wide. He also missed a 26-yard attempt in the first half when the Bears drove to the Panther nine-yard line on their first drive of the game.
Cromwell/Portland took the lead on their next drive, a seven-play, 80 yard march that concuded with Emeka Yearwood scoring from 12 yards away with 10:59 left in the game. Yearwood was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct by spiking the ball immediately after crossing the goal line.
That forced Panther kicker Allen Cohen to try a 25-yard extra point instead of a 10-yard attempt. Cohen’s kick just cleared the lower crossbar for a 14-7 advantage.
The Bears took over with 10:59 remaining and marched to the Panther 16-yard line with 4:16 remaining. Migliaccio completed a pair of eight-yard passes on third down and seven to Richardson and Brandon Powell, respectively, to keep the drive alive.
Granby/Canton faced third down and four from the Panther 19-yard line when Maher earned three yards to 16 to give the Bears a fourth down and three play. A premature snap ruined timing for Granby/Canton, who were fortunate that Migliaccio got the ball and gained a yard but it wasn’t enough to keep the ball.
Cromwell/Portland got three first downs to run out the clock and secure the victory.
Cromwell/Portland 14, Granby/Canton 7
At Granby
Cromwell/Portland (5-0) 0 7 0 7 — 14
Granby/Canton (3-2) 0 7 0 0 — 7
Second quarter
C: Ryan Rozich 4 run (Allen Cohen kick), 0:39
G: Connor Richardson 25 pass from Will Migliaccio (George Horst kick), 0:12
Fourth quarter
C: Emeka Yearwood 12 run (Cohen kick), 10:59
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Cromwell/Portland: Emeka Yearwood 14-88, Ositadinma Yearwood 5-10, Cole Brisson 3-6, Ryan Rozich 3-20, Machi Campbell 2-minus 5; Granby/Canton – Will Migliaccio 4-7, Luke Maher 15-93, Charles Attianese 1-minus 2
PASSING: Cromwell/Portland: Cole Brisson 9-20-2, 143; Granby/Canton: Will Migliaccio 13-17-0, 94
RECEIVING: Cromwell/Portland: Emeka Yearwood 1-9, Tyler Cipolla 2-44, Ben Fagan 4-41, Ryan Rozich 2-48; Granby/Canton: Charles Attianese 2-17, Connor Richardson 2-17, Luke Maher 2-0, Brandon Powell 4-12, William Attianese 2-28
