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Schools

Football, Soccer Challenges and a Track Record

Football heats up, soccer teams hit their groove and a record breaker on the track.

This was not a good week for area football teams, but Windsor is the exception. The Warriors remained undefeated after a 47-20 victory over Bristol Central at Muzzy Field, which remains one of the best places to watch a high school football game in the state.

The better news for Windsor fans is progress. Two areas to look at when assessing the level of a team’s play are penalties and turnovers. In a sloppy week one victory over Wethersfield, the Warriors committed 13 penalties and turned over the ball five times. Against Bristol Central, Windsor committed one turnover and four penalties.

If the Warriors (2-0) can retain this kind of focus they should enjoy their return trip to Muzzy Field this week against Bristol Eastern.

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There is no doubt about Windsor’s talent. Quarterback Quinn Fleeting and receiver Aaron Berardino are one of the state’s top pass-catch combinations and Berardino needs only a sliver of space to turn an ordinary play into a touchdown.

While Windsor took the suspense out of the game early, Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granbymade certain it lasted until the final play. Tristan Cauley scored on a 28-yard run on the final play of the game and then ran in the conversion to lift the Raiders to a 22-20 victory over Canton.

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Manchester bounced back from an opening loss to Hall-West Hartford with a 32-13 victory over South Windsor. The Indians should great versatility in the win, getting touchdown runs from Elijah Udoh and Marquis Little, as well as two passes from Little to Andrew Isaacs. For good measure, Manchester added a defensive touchdown to the mix. All of it bodes well in the weeks ahead.

Tolland lost 42-19 to Plainville but the Eagles have a back they can count on in senior Tucker Hewitt, who rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown.

DeShawn Smith rushed for 252 yards for Cheney Tech in a loss to Capital Prep/Classical Magnet.

Tony Romano threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Enfield lost to Gilbert/Northwestern Regional 36-20.

Ellington/Somers, which rolled to an impressive Week 1 victory over Canton, behind the legs of Mitch DiResta, Jack Schneider and Bryan Rider plays Monday against SMSA/University.

Around and About:

There is something to be said for adversity. The E.O. Smith boys’ soccer rolled through an undefeated regular season last year only to meet a talented and stubborn foe unimpressed with that accomplishment in the CIAC tournament. This season, seniors Mitchell Taintor, Mark Schmidt, Luke Melody, Darren McCall, Jack Kissane, John Estes and Janzen Erhard have already been tested in two difficult games. The opening scoreless tie against Farmington was reinforced by a 1-1 draw with RHAM-Hebron. Of course, it helps that those games sandwiched easy victories over Rockville and Rocky Hill, but it’s worth Oct. 18, when E.O. Smith travels to Hebron for the rematch on your calendar. These are the games that will help the Panthers.

The distinction between the regular season and tournament is an easy one to make. Both teams are equally motivated in a tournament game. During the regular season, this is not always so. Thus,Ellington girls’ soccer fans might not make too much of Suffield’s 6-2 victory over the Purple Knights. Suffield was rebounding from its first loss in 41 games and worked hard to balance its attack. Reilly Williams scored two goals and Ashlie DaCruz, Brittany Champagne, Brianna Bishop, and Peri Stevens each added one. Ellington got goals from Kelly Conley and Samantha Anthony.

The Enfield girls caught Avon at the wrong time on the schedule. The Falcons, who beat Suffield, were coming off a letdown loss to Granby. Enfield managed to play tight and got a call from Amanda Leonardo but lost 3-1.

Sometimes losses are an indication of quality. No one doubts the ability of the Tolland girls’ soccerteam and so when Rockville stayed with Tolland, behind the goalkeeping of Jenny Mears, it promises the Rams may be around for meaningful games later this season.

The Somers boys’ soccer continues to give indications that its goals tend toward tournament time. Don Whittle had four goals and two assists and Joe Pantuosco added three goals and two assists in an 8-0 victory over Bolton during the week. The Spartans victory was expected but their business-like handling of the role of favorite is impressive.

Kudos goes to Suffield’s Dan Moroney who knocked 46 seconds off the course record at Enfield High School running the 3.1-mile course in 17:02. Suffield dominated the four-team meet, defeatingEnfield, East Granby and Stafford.

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