Bloomfield celebrates after winning the Class S championship Saturday in East Hartford. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
EAST HARTFORD, Dec. 9, 2023 – Davien Kerr scored three touchdowns and his twin brother Davion Kerry had a pair of touchdowns to lead No. 2 seed Bloomfield to a 42-20 win over No. 4 seed Cromwell/Portland in the CIAC Class S championship game at Rentschler Field.
The Warhawks snapped a three-game losing streak in the finals to bring home their first state championship since 2018.
“We came into this game saying we got this,” Davien Kerr said. “They scored first, I knew they were going to punch us in the mouth first but if we fight together, we are going to win this game. Two stops changed the whole game.”
“Bloomfield is a great team,” Cromwell/Portland coach Randell Bennett said. “We were just outmatched, they have more guns than we have.”
Davion Kerr ran for a game-high 173 yards on 21 carries white Davien Kerr ran for 45 yards on nine carries. Bloomfield QB Darrien Foster completed 10-of-17 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
Cromwell struck first on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jess Elfeich to Emeka Yearwood before Darrien Foster connected with Davien Kerr on touchdown passes of 10 and 24 yards.
Cromwell tied the game at 14-14 on Elfeich’s 15-yard TD pass to Jack Nolan.
Bloomfield scored on the final play of the first half after a 32-yard pass from Foster to Davion Kerr and a defensive pass interference penalty set up Davien Kerr’s 1-yard run to make it 20-14 at halftime.
Cromwell/Portland tied the game at 20-20 early in the third quarter. Two plays after Emeka Yearwood had a 62-yard run, his brother Osi Yearwood had a 2-yard scoring run to tie the game. But that would it for the Panthers, who gave up three unanswered touchdowns to the Warhawks.
Bloomfield 42, Cromwell/Portland 20
At East Hartford
Cromwell/Portland (10-3) 8 6 6 0 – 20
Bloomfield (11-1) 8 12 22 0 – 42
First Quarter
C: Emeka Yearwood 20 pass from Jess Elfeich (Matt Gish pass from Elfeich) 8:05
B: Davien Kerr 10 pass from Darrien Foster (Davien Kerr run) 5:39
Second Quarter
B: Davien Kerr 24 pass from Foster (pass failed) 11:14
C: Jack Nolan 15 pass from Elfeich (run failed) 0:45
B: Davien Kerr 1 run (pass failed) 0:00
Third Quarter
C: Osi Yearwood 2 run (pass failed) 10:53
B: Davion Kerr 22 run (Davien Kerr run) 10:13
B: Za’kwi Kimber recovered fumble in the end zone (pass failed) 3:49
Fourth Quarter
B: Davion Kerr 1 run (Davien Kerr pass from Foster) 11:03
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Cromwell/Portland – Emeka Yearwood 6-78, Tyler Cippoll 4-42; Bloomfield – Davion Kerr 21-173, Davien Kerr 9-45
PASSING: Cromwell-Portland – Jess Elfeich 11-17-1 129, Michael Sitaro 3-7-0, 116; Bloomfield – Darrien Foster 10-17-0 167
RECEIVING: Cromwell-Portland – Tyler Cippolla 7-51, Jack Nolan 3-75, Emeka Yearwood 2-13; Bloomfield – Davien Kerr 5-89
Class L
New Canaan 28, Darien 21
EAST HARTFORD, Dec. 9, 2023 – Ryan Barnard’s late forced fumble and fumble recovery led to Alexander Benevento’s go-ahead touchdown as second-seeded New Canaan topped No. 8 seed Darien 28-21 in the Class L championship game at Rentschler Field.
New Canaan (12-1) won their 14th state championship and improved to 4-0 against the Blue Wave in CIAC title games.
New Canaan tied the game, 21-21, on a 12-yard pass from Lawrence Robinson to William Langford with 5:03 left to play.
Darien (9-4) had plenty of time to drive for a potential game-winning field goal but Barnard came off the edge to jar the ball free from Darien quarterback Benjamin Rolapp. Barnard also recovered the fumble to set up the Rams inside Darien’s 20-yard line.
“Our offense has just scored and it was time to step up and make a play,” Barnard said. “When we got the ball, I knew it would be on me to get the pressure. Once I got there, all the practice and all the hard work kind of took over.
“It is so special, I could only ever have imagined it, it is an amazing feeling. This is the best way to end my football career. This rivalry is so special and I am so happy for my team.”
Alexander Benevento gave New Canaan the lead, 28-21, on a six-yard touchdown run with 2:39 remaining in regulation.
Veteran New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli thought the game might come down to one key play late in the game.
“That [sack and forced fumble] certainly turned the game around,” Marinelli said. “Before that, I am thinking, ‘oh my God’ because they are running the clock down and that is a hell of a football team. If we played them 10 times, I don’t know if we would beat them five. It is a lot to be said about our senior class, there is so much grit, they never gave up and we got a break and that is how we won the game.”
New Canaan 28, Darien 21
At East Hartford
Darien (9-4) 7 7 7 0 – 21
New Canaan (12-1) 7 7 0 14 – 28
First Quarter
D: Briggs McCluckin 3 run (Anson Sikora kick) 7:46
N: Luke Reed 1 run (Tucker Stevens kick) 4:18
Second Quarter
N: Alexander Benevento 24 pass from Lawrence Robinson (Stevens kick) 9:10
D: Charles Thom 1-yard (Sikora kick) 0:39
Third Quarter
D: Thom 1 run (Sikora kick) 3:21
Fourth Quarter
N: William Langford 12 pass from Robinson (Stevens kick) 5:03
N: Benevento 6 run (Stevens kick) 2:39
Class SS
Joel Barlow 21, Watertown 20
EAST HARTFORD, Dec. 9, 2023 – Joel Barlow stopped a two-point conversion attempt with 1:36 remaining to win their second straight Class SS championship with a 21-20 victory over Watertown Saturday night at Rentschler Field.
No. 8 Watertown, who bounced top seed Granby/Canton in the quarterfinals, scored a touchdown with 1:36 remaining on Aiden Arline’s two-yard run. But Barlow stopped the two-point conversion run from QB Brayden Gambee to retain a one-point lead.
“Coach is a stud for going for it,” said Arline. “We did the same thing at Holy Cross but we decided to kick instead and we didn’t make it so let’s go for it.”
No. 7 Joel Barlow (9-4) scored twice less than four minutes apart in the third quarter to turn a seven-point deficit into a 21-14 lead. Luke Bishop scored on a 17-yard run for the Falcons and after Watertown (7-5) fumbled on their next offensive play, Barlow converted on the turnover with a one-yard TD run from QB Jack Gilbert with 4:08 left in the third quarter.
Watertown, playing their first championship game since 1986, took a 14-7 lead at the half thanks to two touchdowns in the final 5:52 of the second quarter. Arline (7-86 rushing) scored on a 60-yard run and Gambee scored on a two-yard run with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Joel Barlow 21, Watertown 20
At East Hartford
Watertown (7-6) 0 14 0 6 — 20
Joel Barlow (9-4) 0 7 14 0 – 21
Second Quarter
B: Jack Gilbert 1 run (Keane Horne kick) 7:23
W: Aiden Arline 60 run (Samuel Paoletto kick) 5:52
W: Brayden Gambee 2 run (Paoletto kick) 0:19
Third Quarter
B: Luke Bishop 17 run (Horne kick) 7:51
B: Gilbert 1 run (Horne kick) 4:08
Fourth Quarter
W: Arline 12 run (run failed) 1:38
Individual leaders
RUSHING: Watertown — Aiden Arline 7-86, Brayden Gambee 12-74; Joel Barlow – Cole Peterson 15-56, Dylan Taylor 9-46, Luke Bishop 4-45, Jack Gilbert 11-41, Scott Romano 6-39
PASSING: Watertown — Gambee 8-13-1 55; Joel Barlow – Gilbert 0-1-0 0
RECEIVING: Watertown — Arline 3-38, Adam Hassinger 3-11
Material from the CIAC and reporter Jim Fuller was used to compile this report.
