Tolland’s JC Gonzalez (9) and a teammates celebrate forcing an Avon/St. Paul turnover in Thursday night’s CCC win in Tolland. The Eagles recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and recovered two onside kicks.
TOLLAND, Oct. 22, 2026 – The score was tied and the first half was nearly complete when an Avon/St. Paul punt was downed by Cooper Donnelly at Tolland’s one-yard line with 1:23 remaining in the quarter.
“We were just trying to get it out of our end zone,” Tolland head coach Alex Backus said. The Eagles used some misdirection plays and drove over 40 yards and gained two first downs in the last 1:14 of the first half.
“We might have some success with this now,” Backus said. “That set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Tolland dominated the second half, allowing Avon just one first down and limiting the Falcons to just two offensive possessions. Tolland scored 18 points in the final 8:53 of the game to break open the game in a 26-8 victory in a Central Connecticut Conference Tier IV contest on Thursday night.
Tolland running back JC Gonzalez ran for a game-high 155 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries as the Eagles (4-2, 2-2 CCC Tier IV) snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory. Teammate Patrick Massaro ran for 84 yards on nine carries.
The victory kept the Eagles in the hunt for a CIAC Class S tournament berth. Tolland is currently the No. 7 seed with the top eight earning a spot in the tournament.
“We had a chip in our shoulder from the last two weeks and losing to Plainville and Lewis Mills,” said Gonzalez, who chalked up his fourth rushing performance of 100 yards or more.
Three weeks ago, Plainville whipped Tolland 40-0 and after a bye week, the Eagles dropped a 30-14 decision to Lewis Mills/Wolcott Tech’s co-op program.
“It was a great win and getting back on track was the most important thing,” Backus said. “There was doubt beginning to creep in after the last two games. For the kids to get this monkey off their backs really sets the tone for the rest of the year.”
Backus said the team had a great week of preparation for this game, including getting back into pads. “Things started turning around once we started rattling the pads,” he said.
Avon/St. Paul (3-3, 1-2 CCC Tier IV) got a big play from QB Christian Wankier, who found Peyton Bip behind the defense for a 61-yard touchdown reception – the longest since November 2024 when then-QB Ethan Lavore threw three TD passe to Carter Davies of 87, 76 and 56 yards in a win over Rocky Hill.
Tolland QB Caleb Graham looks for space in Thursday night’s CCC game with Avon/St. Paul.
But Avon/St. Paul couldn’t get much else going with their offense. And Tolland figured out to successfully run on the hard-hitting Falcons in the second half.
“We’ve got to preserve (through tough moments),” Avon/St. Paul head coach Kerry Ggraves said. “We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. In the first half, we were pretty good defensively. In the second half, we forgot our defensive fundamentals and it away from them.
Tied at 8-8 after one half, Tolland took the opening drive of the second half and marched to the Avon 38-yard line before the Falcons made the defensive stop. But Avon/St. Paul went three-and-out on their first possession of the half.
Tolland began a long drive on their own 23-yard line. They marched 77 yards on 13 plays, picking up first downs and converting twice on fourth down to keep the drive going. On fourth down and four from the Eagle 32, Gonzalez gained nine yards to keep the drive going.
It ended with Gonzalez scoring his seventh TD of the season for Tolland on a nine-yard run with 8:53 left in the fourth quarter. A two-point conversion run by QB Caleb Graham gave Tolland a 16-8 lead. Tolland ate up nearly a full quarter on the scoring drive (7:24).
A 10-yard scramble by Avon/St. Paul QB Chace King on fourth down and seven gave the Falcons their only first down of the half and the drive died with a pair of incompletion passes with 4:43 remaining in the game.
Tolland’s defense swams over Avon/St. Paul’s Dwane Edward in Thursday night’s CCC game in Tolland.
Gonzalez set up Tolland’s next scoring drive with a 41-yard burst to the Falcon eight-yard line. Alex Glaesser hit a 21-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the game for a 19-8 lead.
Tolland used an onside kick to recover the kickoff on the Falcon 37-yard line. A 30-yard run by Massaro put the ball on the four-yard line and Massaro scored on a four-yard TD run with 33 seconds left to extend the lead to 26-8 after another PAT from Glaesseur.
Tolland took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter on a 43-yard touchdown run from QB Caleb Graham and a two-point conversion pass from Graham to Wassim Adnane.
Avon/St. Paul responded immediately on its next possession when Christian Wankier threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Peyton Bip and a successful two-point conversion pass to Dwane Edward from Wankier with 10:55 left in the second quarter.
Avon/St. Paul returns to action next Saturday with a game at RHAM in Hebron.
FOOTBALL
Tolland 26, Avon/St. Paul 8
At Tolland
Avon/St. Paul (3-3) 0 8 0 0 — 8
Tolland (4-2) 8 0 0 18 – 26
First quarter
T: Caleb Graham 43 run (Wassim Adnane pass from Graham), 4:55
Second quarter
A: Peyton Bip 61 pass from Christian Wankier (Dwane Edward pass from Wankier), 10:55
Fourth quarter
T: JC Gonzalez 9 run (Graham run), 8:55
T: Alex Glaesser 21 FG, 1:58
T: Patrick Massaro 4 run (Glaesser kick), 0:33
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Tolland – JC Gonzalez 30-155, Mason Pease 6-18, Patrick Massaro 9-84, Brodyn McKinstry 1-1, Jimmy Larocca 3-3, Caleb Graham 4-38; Avon – Chace King 1-10, Evan Herron 5-minus 1, Jaden Scott 3-9, Juel Savoy 4-65, Christian Wankier 2-minus 6, Dwane Edward 1-0
PASSING: Tolland – Caleb Graham 2-6-0, 1; Avon — Christian Wankier 5-13-1, 81; Chace King 0-3
RECEIVING: Tolland – Wassim Adane 1-1, Larocca 1-0; Avon – Alex Schwarz 2-14, Peyton Bip 1-61, Evan Herron 1-1, Jaden Scott 1-5
