Mensah helps Granby/Canton pull away from Stafford co-op for victory

Granby/Canton’s Gabriel Mensah ran for 168 yards and three TDs in Friday night’s Pequot Conference win over Stafford co-op in Canton.

CANTON, Oct. 24, 2025 – There were a little over two minutes left in the third quarter and the Granby/Canton co-op football team was trailing visiting Stafford/East Windsor/Somers by seven points.

The visiting Bulldogs used big plays to score on a 44-yard touchdown reception, a 45-yard run and turned a Granby/Canton fumble deep in Bears’ territory into a four-yard touchdown run.

But the Bears stiffened with five tackles for a loss, including three consecutive losses in one series and scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Stafford/East Windsor/Somers, 34-27 on Friday night at Canton High in Pequot Conference Uncas Division contest.

Once a year, the Bears play a home game on the home field of their co-op partner Canton.

Gabriel Mensah, whose fumble in the second quarter, led to a Stafford co-op touchdown scored three rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter and ran for a game-high 168 yards on 19 carries.

The Bears (4-2) turned a 20-13 deficit into a 34-20 lead until Stafford co-op scored a late touchdown with 53 seconds remaining.

“We went back to our normal 4-4 defense,” Granby/Canton defensive tackle Wyatt Bernabucci of Canton said. “We brought the intensity and just executed.” Bernabucci had a sack and a tackle for a loss.

“We’re slowly learning to deal with adversity,” Granby/Canton had coach Erik Shortell said. “I am proud of the guys. We didn’t give up and we dominated the second half.”

Granby/Canton’s defense stood tall in the second half, allowing just one Stafford TD in the final minutes of the game.

Stafford co-op had a 20-13 lead when the Bulldogs took over the ball on their own 44-yard line with 2:06 left in the third quarter. Stafford co-op had consecutive plays for losses and quarterback Wyatt Marin was sacked by Granby/Canton’s Tristan Jackson for a four-yard loss.

After a 45-yard punt, the Bears took over on their 21-yard line and Stafford saw a heavy dose of Mensah, who ran the ball five times on the six-play, 79-yard scoring drive. The big play on the drive was a 58-yard run around the end by QB Joseph Lewie that put the ball on the Stafford five-yard line.

Mensah scored on a four-year run and Lewie ran in the two-point conversion to put the Bears up, 21-20 with 9:40 remaining in the game.

Stafford gained just five yards on its next drive and had to punt. Mensah struck immediately with a 58-yard touchdown run with 5:57 left in the game for a 28-20 Bear lead after Alex Krauland kicked the extra point.

Stafford had minus two yards on its next drive with Bernabucci and freshman Matthew Yanke getting a sack for a nine-yard loss.

Mensah scored his third touchdown of the game on a six-yard run to extend the Granby/Canton lead to 34-20 with 2:34 remaining.

“He just runs with aggression,” Shortell said of Mensah. “He’s not looking for hole (in the defensive line). He is looking straight (ahead) and is looking for contact.”

The fumble didn’t shake the team’s confidence in Mensah. “He’s a young running back and he’s very talented,” Shortell said. “We knew he would bounce back which he did which was nice.”

After his fumble and ensuing Stafford co-op touchdown, Mensah touched the ball four times on a six-play, 63-yard touchdown drive in the second half with Lewis scoring from the one-yard line to cut Stafford’s lead to one, 14-13.

Granby/Canton took the early lead when Oliver Douglas ran back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a 7-0 with Alex Krauland’s extra point. It’s the longest kickoff return in co-op history, which dates back to 2019. Douglas broke the previous record of 81 yards set by Luke Maher against Ellington in 2021.

After Mensah’s second quarter fumble, Stafford’s Peter Kryzewicki scooped up the ball and returned it 25 yards to the four-yard line. Three plays later, it was Marin who scored on a four-yard TD run to tie the game at 7-7.

Kryzwicki scored on a 44-yard run to give Stafford a 14-7 lead with 9:17 remaining in the first half. The Bears cut the lead to 14-13 on a one-yard run from QB Joseph Lewie. Mensah had a 26-yard run on the drive to the Stafford 14-yard line. The extra point was missed.

Stafford co-op extended their lead to 20-13 when Derek Consolini scored on a 45-yard run with 1:16 left in the first half.

Canton’s Wyatt Bernabucci (77) and Matthew Yanke (35) swarm over Stafford’s Nate Farber in Friday night’s win over Stafford co-op in Canton.

Granby/Canton 34, Stafford co-op 27
At Canton
Stafford co-op (2-4)          0  20  0    7  — 27
Granby/Canton (4-2)        7    6  0  21  — 34
First quarter
G: Oliver Douglas 95 kickoff return (Alex Krauland kick), 11:44
Second quarter
S: Wyatt Marin 4 run (Logan Moriarty kick), 10:56
S: Peter Kryzwicki 44 pass from Marin (Moriarty kick), 9:17
G: Joseph Lewie 1 run (kick failed), 6:26
S: Derek Consolini 46 run (kick failed), 1:16
Fourth quarter
G: Gabriel Mensah 4 run (Lewie run), 8:49
G: Mensah 58 run (Krauland kick), 5:46
G: Mensah 8 run (pass fails), 2:34
S: Nate Faber 16 pass from Kaiden Bobskill (Moriarity kick), 0:53
Highlights: Mensah (G) 19 carries, 168 yds, 3 TD; Lewie (G) 11 carries, 116 yds, 1 TD;  3 solo tackles, 11 total; Jackson (G) 4 solo tackles, 8 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss (TFL). Yanke: 2 solo tackles, 7 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 fumble recovery