
Killingly players celebrate after winning the Class SS championship Friday night in East Hartford.
EAST HARTFORD, Dec. 13, 2024 – The Allard twins from Killingly High certainly made their mark on Friday night’s Class SS championship game against Wallingford’s Sheehan High at Rentschler Field.
Hayden Allard ran for a game-high 267 yards and four touchdowns and had an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to help lead Killingly to a 48-33 win over the Titans and their fifth state championship in school history.
Hunter Allard had an interception and grabbed a big 26-yard reception to keep a Killingly scoring drive alive with KHS nursing a one-point lead.
With the win, Killingly (13-0) finishes undefeated for the fourth time in school history and for the first time since 2021 when they captured their most recent state championship.
“The kids just bought in,” Killingly coach Chad Neal said. “I told them they had to play 48 minutes tonight and they did. They just grind and grind and grind. They make plays and that is what high school football is all about.”
It was a back and forth game through the first three quarters with just one punt.
Killingly had a seven-point lead, 34-27, when Everton Brown fumbled and Sheehan’s Richard Van Dyke scooped up the ball and rambled 49 yards to the Killingly 10-yard line. Three plays later, Sheehan’s Joshua Durant scored from the one-yard line to cut the lead to one, 34-33 with 1:17 left in the third quarter. The extra point was missed.
Thanks to Hayden Allard’s 100 yards of return yardage in the first half, Sheehan kept the ball away from Allard on kickoffs and made short kicks.
Killingly began their next drive on their own 45-yard line and marched 55 yards on eight plays with Hayen Allard scoring from the 13-yard line with 11:07 remaining. With the successful extra point, Killingly extended their lead to 41-33.
A big play on the drive was a 26-yard completion to Hunter Allard on a third down and 10 play to keep the scoring march alive.
As they did throughout the championship game, Sheehan (10-3) responded immediately.
They marched from their own 29-yard line to the Killingly 21-yard line with a 21-yard run from Jack Grant and mix of runs and passes from quarterback Jake O’Brien (10-63 rushing). An 11-yard run from Grant took the ball to the Killingly 10.
But on the next play, Killingly linebacker Anthony Oates, one of the few seniors on his junior-laden team, popped the ball out of Grant’s hands from behind, forcing a fumble that Killingly’s Payton Wallace recovered on the six-yard line with 7:46 remaining.
“The game came down to stops on defense and we made the stops on defense when we needed to make stops,” Neal said.
Killingly responded with a 12-play, 94-yard march that concluded with quarterback Quinn Sumner scoring from the one-yard line with 1:08 remaining to ice the contest.
Hayden Allard had seven rushes for 62 yards on the drive including a big 36-yard run on a fourth down and one play at midfield with 3:22 left in the game.
“Whenever we needed a big play on fourth down or third down, he made the play,” Neal said of Hayden. “He is a baller.”

Killingly’s Hayden Allard scored five touchdowns in Friday night’s win over Sheehan in the Class SS championship game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. (Jada Mirabelle photo courtesy of the CIAC)
Sheehan had a 14-6 lead after O’Brien scored on a one-yard run with 10:48 left in the second quarter but Hayden Allard responded with a 81-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to one, 14-13.
Killingly forced a Sheehan punt and responded with a four play, 78-yard drive with Hayden Allard scoring from 57 yards away to extend the lead to 20-14.
Sheehan’s Jack Grant scored on an 11-yard run and with the extra point, the Titans took a 21-20 lead with 3:31 left in the second quarter.
On Killingly’s next drive, Hunter Allard caught a 33-yard pass between two Titan defenders to put the ball on the Sheehan two-yard line. Hayden Allard scored to give Killingly a 27-21 lead with 35 seconds left in the first half.
Class SS championship
Killingly 48, Sheehan 33
At East Hartford
Sheehan (10-3) 7 14 12 0 — 33
Killingly (13-0) 6 21 7 14 — 48
First quarter
S: Joshua Durant 1 run (Evan Keating kick), 5:54
K: Hayden Allard 18 run (kick fails), 2:27
Second quarter
S: Jake O’Brien 1 run (Keating kick), 10:48
K: Allard 81 kickoff return (Cooper Logee kick), 10:32
K: Allard 57 run (Logee kick), 5:54
S: Jack Grant 11 run (Keating kick), 3:31
K: Allard 2 run (Logee kick), 0:35
Third quarter
K: Everton Brown 40 run (Logee kick), 11:06
S: Grant 8 run (kick fails), 8:22
S: Durant 1 run (kick fails), 1:47
Fourth quarter
K: Allard 13 run (Logee kick), 11:07
K: Quinn Sumner 1 run (Logee kick), 1:08
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Killingly – Hayden Allard 36-267, Quinn Sumner 2-3, Everton Brown 12-125, Joseph Mackie 1-5; Sheehan – Jack Grant 12-97, Jake O’Brien 10-63, Joshua Durant 10-51
PASSING: Killingly—Sumner 3-5-1, 79; Sheehan – Jake O’Brien 16-29-1, 186
RECEIVING: Killingly – Callan Senecal 1-20, Hunter Allard 2-59; Sheehan – Jayden Dougherty 5-46, Tucker Larson 6-93, Mason Baehr 1-16, Lucas Geremia 2-24
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.


High School
2025 NCCC Winter Tournaments

High School
2025 CCC Winter Tournaments
