But on Friday night at Rentschler Field, that same unit turned in a dream performance that, at this juncture, saved Southington's season. Forcing three turnovers and harrying New Britain quarterback Rafal Garcarz all night, the Blue Knights shut down the high-powered Hurricanes in a 20-14 CCC Division I rivalry battle that left both teams at 2-2.
Fittingly, it came down to the final play, with senior defensive back Tim Sowa knocking away a pass at the goal line intended for New Britain star wide-out Tebucky Jones Jr.
"Tebucky's a great player and we know they're trying to get him the ball. He's their playmaker. Game on the line, you know it's coming to him," said Sowa. "We had to stay back and anticipate that ball.
"That ball," Sowa added, "looked about a million miles high."
And when Sowa got his hands on it and knocked it harmlessly to the wet grass, head coach Bill Mella and his Blue Knights were feeling like a million bucks.
"I have absolute confidence in offense, defense, special teams, the coaching staff," Mella said. "Tonight, it was a complete team effort and that's what we we've been working for and that's what makes this real special."
Senior running back Dylan Danko scored two first-half touchdowns from 5 and 6 yards to put Southington up 14-0 at the break. Protecting the lead in the second half, the Knights made Danko their work horse and he responded with sure hands and feet, rushing for 115 yards on 32 carries.
The game-winner for Southington proved to be a 45-yard interception linebacker Joe Pesce returned for a touchdown on the second play of the second half.
Down 20-0, stymied by turnovers and penalties and Southington's hard-charging defense, New Britain found a way to claw back. Garcarz completed a rapid eight-play, 86-yard drive with a 15-yard scramble late in the third quarter, then beat the blitz with an inside screen that running back Kaiuway Boima turned into a 69-yard score with 4:11 to play.
"We're never going to be a team that's down. We're going to bounce back, and we did that," said New Britain head coach Paul Morrell. "They fought right up until the end and I'm super proud of them for that."
New Britain got the ball back for one last go, rode a few Garcarz-to-Jones connections and a fourth-and-1 conversion by Boima to the Southington 34. There, on fourth down, with the clock dipping under 30 seconds and with no way to stop it, Garcarz again went looking for his money receiver.
The crowd of about 1,000, seeming small in the Rent's vast spaces, was its shrieking loudest as the game reached its climax and Southington earned its first win since opening night.
"We're always as a team, but defense helped a lot tonight," said linebacker Jake Rodrigues, who had two sacks and also filled in for injured Zac Wholley at fullback on offense. "We've been lacking some and we brought it back tonight. We showed them what we could do. That extra fire."
Southington held New Britain to just 39 yards rushing. Garcarz completed 14 of 27 for 201 yards, with much of that coming in the fourth quarter.
Southington quarterback Connor Butkiewicz was 16-for-36 for 103 yards. Perhaps the biggest drive he orchestrated was one that didn't result in points, but ate nearly six minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Southington 20, New Britain 14
At Rentschler Field
New Britain 00-00-07-07-14
Southington 07-07-06-00-20
First Quarter
S-Dylan Danko 6 run (Danko kick) 5:20
Second Quarter
S-Danko 5 run (Danko kick) 4:26
Third Quarter
S-Joe Pesce 45 INT return (pass failed) 7:45
NB-Rafal Garcarz 15 run (Garcarz kick) 1:00
Fourth Quarter
NB-Kaiuway Boima 69 pass from Garcarz (Garcarz kick) 4:11
