Hungry to win, Simsbury rolls past Watertown, 48-13

Simsbury High coach Jim Caouette celebrates a Trojan TD in Friday night’s win over Watertown. More game photos

SIMSBURY, Sept. 18, 2026 – For the Simsbury High football team, a performance like this was long overdue.

Simsbury quarterback Braeden Silano threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores while the Trojan defense intercepted three passes and ran one back for a touchdown in a 48-13 win over Watertown on Friday night at Holden Field.

The 35-point win was the biggest victory for Simsbury since 2021 when the Trojans beat Enfield by 42 points.

“These kids were hungry to win,” Simsbury’s first-year head coach Jim Caouette said. “They had four wins in the past (three) years and were coming off a 1-9 season. Being so close a week ago when we kind of gave it away, they didn’t want (the game) to slip away.”

A week ago, four turnovers doomed the Trojans in a 40-35 loss to Middletown at Palmer Field. This week, Simsbury raced out to a 33-0 lead and didn’t take their foot off the gas.

Silano had another good day at quarterback. He completed 9-of-17 passes for 159 yards, one interception and two touchdowns. He ran for 128 yards and two TDs on 11 carries.

“Our quarterback is a great athlete and he can make something happen if things break down,” Caouette said.

Late in the second quarter, Silano scrambled to both sides of the field on an 11-yard run on a fourth down and four play to get a key first down and keep the drive alive. Silano had a 44-yard touchdown run with 5:23 left in the third quarter.

“The run opened up the pass and we were picking apart the defense,” Silano said. “I got to use my legs a bit. It was a great game tonight.”

Simsbury (1-1), playing Watertown for the first time in program history, didn’t have a single turnover on Friday night.

Caeden Candelario (18) returns an interception to the one-yard line in Friday night’s game in Watertown. Candelario had two interceptions in the game. More game photos

“I am just happy with how physical they were,” Caouette said. “Our coaches prepared the kids very well. I am proud of the coaching staff.”

Caouette got a dunking after the game when his players dumped the water cooler on him in celebration. The Trojans celebrated with photos and lots of hugs on the Holden Field turf.

Caouette presented the game ball to Simsbury Athletic Director Heather Golden.

“I told you that I would teach you how to win football games,” he said. And the energetic Caouette celebrated with his Trojan players.

Watertown, who also was 1-9 a year ago, drove deep into Simsbury territory with their first possession. But facing fourth down and seven from the Simsbury 24-yard line, Watertown QB Colton Lljazi was tackled for a six-yard loss by Kayveon Long and Brett Osborne.

Simsbury marched 70 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 20-yard run from Nasir Gouldbourne with 2:52 left in the first half. The big play in the drove was a 23-yard completion from Silano to Bryan George to the Watertown 20-yard line.

George caught seven passes for 131 yards and a 41-yard touchdown.

The first of two interceptions by Simsbury’s Caden Candelario ended Watertown’s next possession. Candelario returned the ball 19 yards to the one-yard line. Two plays later, Greyson Goetz scored on a touchdown pass from Silano for a 13-0 lead.

Simsbury made it 20-0 when Long intercepted Lljazi and returned the ball 10 yards for a touchdown with 8:14 left in the second quarter.

After Candelario’s second interception, Simsbury drove 46 yards with George scoring on a one-yard run with 3:59 left in the second quarter for a 26-0 lead.

George’s 41-yard touchdown reception from Silano with 2:41 left in the first half gave Simsbury a 33-0 lead. George broke several tackles on the run.

This was a Connecticut Football Alliance contest, aimed to providing teams with competitive non-league contests.

Simsbury returns to action on next Friday night when they renew their rivalry with Avon/St. Paul in the Route 44 Bowl.

The win was Caouette’s first win as a head coach since he coached at Avon from 2013-15. His last win in Avon was a 55-26 win over Simsbury in the Route 44 Bowl. For the past several years, Caouette was the defensive coordinated at Holy Cross.

Simsbury 48, Watertown 13
At Simsbury
Watertown (1-1)              0     0  13  0  — 13
Simsbury (1-1)               13  20    7  7  — 48
First quarter
S: Nasir Gouldbourne 20 run (Shawn Sweeney kick), 2:52
S: Greyson Goetz 6 pass from Braeden Silano (kick fails), 0:57
Second quarter
S: Kayveon Long 10 yard interception return (Sweeney kick), 8:14
S: Bryan George 1 run (kick fails), 3:59
S: George 41 pass from Silano (Sweeney kick), 2:41
Third quarter
W: Aiden Doehr 7 pass from Colton Lljazi (45 kick), 7:07
S: Silano 44 run (Sweeney kick), 5:23
W: (15) 44 pass from Lljazi (kick fails), 2:43
Fourth quarter
S: Silano 11 run (George run), 11:46