Last-second TD lifts Enfield past South Windsor

Tomaz Kusta caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sawyer Pequita with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Enfield High football team to a 43-36 win over rival South Windsor on Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams in South Windsor.

Pequita completed 9-of-15 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (6-4), who kept their slim Class L playoff hopes alive. Enfield needs Platt to lose to Maloney and Ridgefield to lose to Danbury to have a shot at climbing into the top eight in the Class L rankings. The Eagles won three straight games to close out the season.

Either way, it’s just the second time since 2012 that Enfield has finished with a winning season. They were also 6-4 in 2023.

South Windsor (6-4) took a 36-35 lead with 1:17 left in the game on a five-yard touchdown run from Jalil Montgomery, his third TD of the game, and the extra point from Deniz Satar. The Bobcats erased a 13-point deficit, 35-21, with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns from Montgomery to take the lead. South Windsor had trailed by 14 in the second quarter.

Enfield got the ball back with 1:13 remaining in the game. On their first play, they gained 15 yards on an illegal hit on a receiver. Then, Pequita passed to Cam Trotta for an 11-yard gain to the Enfield 45 yard line.

Two plays later, Pequita rushed five yards but the Bobcats were penalized 15 yards for a late hit out of bounds on Pequita, moving the ball to the South Windsor 29 with 34 seconds left. After Pequita gained no yards on a run up the middle, he lofted a pass to the near pylon in the end zone that Kusta caught with 17 seconds left. It was his 13th TD pass of the season

Enfield completed the two-point conversion pass (Cam Coleman from Pequita) to take an eight point lead.

Pequita was also Enfield’s leading rusher, gaining 114 yards and rushing for a touchdown on 25 carries. He has rushed for a team-leading 1,183 yards and 14 TDs this season. Jamir Lawrence caught four passes for 85 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter that gave Enfield a 21-7 lead.

Defensively, Jakobi Jackson and Dominic Morcus each had five tackles and a tackle for a loss while Morcus also had a sack. David Ortiz had five tackles for Enfield while Joel Budd had two tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss.

Enfield 43, South Windsor 36
At South Windsor
Enfield (6-4)                      14  14  7    8  — 43
South Windsor (6-4)         0  21  0  15 — 36
First period
E: Sawyer Pequita 1 run (Seager Roberge kick)
E: Jakobi Jackson 7 run (Roberge kick)
Second quarter
SW: Jaden Bridgeforth 65 pass from Wyatt Prather (Deniz Satar kick)
E: Jamir Lawrence 51 pass from Pequita (Roberge kick)
SW: Dominic MacNeil 7 run (Satar kick)
E: Pequita 15 run (Roberge kick)
SW: Jalil Montgomery 1 run (Satar kick)
Third quarter
E: Jon Hewitt 10 run (Roberge kick)
Fourth quarter
SW: Montgomery 4 run (MacNeil run), 9:57
SW: Montgomery 5 run (Satar kick), 1:18
E: Tomaz Kusta 29 pass from Pequita (Cam Coleman pass from Pequita), 0:17