Undefeated Rockville makes the plays to shutout Granby/Canton, 33-0

Rockville’s Max Sutherland (10) celebrates after recovering a fumble in Friday night’s Pequot Conference game in Granby. Rockville won, 33-0.

GRANBY, Sept. 26, 2025 – A week ago, the Granby/Canton football team made numerous mistakes (three lost fumbles, two interceptions) in a one-point loss to the Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton co-op squad.

This week, the Bears played better. They only lost one fumble and had a few nice runs. But defending Pequot Conference Uncas Division champion Rockville had several big plays as the visiting Rams rolled to a 33-0 win over the Bears on Friday night.

Rockville (3-0, 2-0 Pequot Uncas) had three long runs for touchdowns called back due to penalties.

“Last week, we beat ourselves. Badly. This week, we got beat,” Granby/Canton coach Erik Shortell said. “We’re super young. We start a majority of sophomores and juniors so this will make us better.”

Rockville’s William Davis ran for a game-high 180 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while Kayden Boland ran for 71 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Sophomore Luca Houle completed 3-of-3 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.

“We were really physical,” Rockville coach Erich Knicerbocker said. “It was an ugly game and it went back and forth. When you play an option team, you have to be really disciplined. I think we had a good game plan and executed it for the most part.”

Davis agreed. “We went hours and hours and hours on the film,” he said. “It was all about the game plan.”

The Bears didn’t gain a first down on their first three drives.

Rockville took a 6-0 lead on their second possession with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Keith Schmidt from Houle with 4:32 left in the first quarter. Molly Wilson’s extra point attempt was no good after it hit the upright and bounced back onto the field.

Granby/Canton closes in on Rockville’s William Davis (23) in Friday night’s Pequot Conference game in Granby.

After Granby/Canton lost the ball due to a fumble, the Rams drove to their second score of the game. On the fourth play of the drive, Davis weaved his way through the defense to gain 23 yards and race to the Bear 30-yard line.

On the next play, Davis scored on a 30-yard run but it was called back due to a holding call. No problem. Two plays later, Davis scored from the 18 for a 12-0 lead with 10:55 left in the first half. An attempt for a two-point conversion run failed.

The Rams forced another Granby/Canton punt and took over on their own 47-yard line. Houle completed a 15-yard pass to Chris Clarke and a 31-yard pass to Ben Finan to the Bear’s one-yard line.

Houle scored with 5:27 remaining in the first half and Wilson kicked the extra point for a 19-0 lead.

Granby/Canton got their initial first down of the game after a 15-yard run from Oliver Douglas late in the second quarter. They got another first down on a 12-yard pass from QB Joseph Lewis to Xavier Krauland.

The drive died on the Ram 30-yard line after an 11-yard run from Lewie. The half ended on an 11-yard sack by Granby/Canton’s Tristan Jackson and Gabriel Mensah.

The Rams extended their lead to 26-0 on a 39-yard touchdown run from Boland. He had another TD run of four yards in the fourth quarter as Rockville took a 33-0 lead.

Schmidt would have had 61-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter but that was negated by offsetting penalties on the play, which forced another punt. This time, he had a 10-yard return.

It’s been a competitive series since Rockville joined the Pequot Conference in 2017. The Rams have won five of six games since Granby/Canton came together but last year, the Rams outlasted the Bears, 27-20. In 2022, the Bears prevailed 44-20 and in 2019, Rockville went to double OT to beat Granby/Canton, 14-7.

While it has been competitive over the years, this is Rockville’s third shutout since 2021. The Rams won 34-0 in 2023 and 42-0 in 2021.

Granby/Canton’s Xavier Krauland (2) stretches for a first down in Friday night’s Pequot Conference game in Granby.

Rockville 33, Granby/Canton 0
At Granby
Rockville (3-0)              6  13  7  7  — 33
Granby/Canton (1-2) 0    0  0  0  — 0
First quarter
R – Keith Schmidt 19 pass from Luca Houle (kick failed), 4:32
Second quarter
R — William Davis 18 run (run fails), 10:55
R – Houle 1 run (Molly Wilson kick), 5:30
Third quarter
R  — Kayden Boland 39 run (Wilson kick), 5:20
Fourth quarter
R – Boland 4 run (Wilson kick), 8:37
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Rockville—William Davis 18-180, Kayden Boland 8-71, Darren Ghostlaw 3-18, Victor Hernandez 2-21, Luca Houle 3-7, team 1-minus 18; Granby/Canton – Elijah Sams 15-65, Gabriel Mensah 2-10, Joseph Lewie 9-14, Oliver Douglas 4-34, team 1-minus 2
PASSING: Rockville – Ghostlaw 2-7-1, 25; Houle 3-3-0, 65; Granby/Canton – Lewie 3-6-0, 30
RECEIVING: Rockville – Davis 1-15, Boland 1-10, Keith Schmidt 1-19, Chris Clarke 1-15, Finan 1-31; Granby/Canton – Xavier Krauland 2-26, Douglas 1-4