Southington’s defense stepped up in big win

By MATT STRAUB
Sports Editor

EAST HARTFORD – Fourth-and-nine from the 34-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

The game and, more importantly, the Southington football team’s already slim playoff chances hung in the balance.

But unlike in three-point losses to Glastonbury and Windsor the previous two weekends, the Blue Knights’ defense came up with one final stop and preserved a 20-14 victory against New Britain at Rentschler Field this past Friday.

When New Britain quarterback Rafal Garcarz lofted a floater for the ultra-athletic Tebucky Jones Jr. down the right sideline, it was defensive back Tim Sowa who came up with the game-saving deflection.

"That ball looked about a million miles high," Sowa said. "I mean it was a great play [but] both teams played really hard. That play didn’t determine the game, it was really the whole time, the 48 minutes. ... It was great that we had our defense come together. These past two games that we’ve lost, they kind of came down on us because we let up so many points. It was such a great opportunity for us to come together on this field."

Southington coach Bill Mella praised the play of his defense as a unit, from the front seven which pressured Garcarz all night, to the secondary which picked off a pair of passes and limited big passing plays.

"Those kids love hawking the ball," Mella said of the secondary. "They do such a great job of flying around, getting to the ball. And they communicate so well, so we were able to make adjustments because those kids are tremendously athletic and they just complement each other so well. It was just wonderful to see them have that opportunity to come up huge like that. ... I just think the team defense itself, together, as a whole [was great]. The front was pushing their o-line around. The mid-level guys were flying to the ball, balls were popping out."

Coming into the season, a simple glance at the roster indicated the Blue Knights might have some early struggles on the offensive side of the ball with a new quarterback and a receiving corps. But through Southington’s first three games, it was the defense that suffered through some growing pains.

Against Glastonbury in week two, the Blue Knights built up a commanding 38-14 halftime lead on one the state’s premier teams, only to see it slip away in the second half, ultimately culminating in a 49-46 Tomahawks win.

A few Southington turnovers aided in that comeback, but the defense was still gashed by Glastonbury quarterback Sean McQuillan.

The following week on the road against Windsor, the Blue Knights held the Warriors to just 24 points. But the final seven of those points came on a improvised touchdown bomb by Windsor quarterback Pierre Narcisse with roughly seven and a half minutes remaining.

Against New Britain, however, the Blue Knights made sure the third time would be a charm.

"We couldn’t have any more let ups like we had the past couple games," said senior linebacker and captain Jake Rodrigues, the team’s leading tackler. "We lost two games by six points. We weren’t letting that happen again. No words were really needed by me, everybody knew what to do. Everybody knew what time it was and we got it done."

The defensive performance, combined with Southington’s impressive offensive output, was enough to defeat the Golden Hurricanes and potentially salvage a season that, just last week, looked bleak.

Senior running back Dylan Danko eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark (32 carries, 119 yards, two touchdowns) for the second straight week and senior wideout Anthony Florian gave quarterback Connor Butkiewicz a reliable target in the passing game.

"It’s my job. Run the ball, run out the clock. The o-line did great and I’m glad I’m part of it," Danko said.

With their next two games against Weaver (0-4) and Middletown (0-4), the Blue Knights seem likely to head into the season’s final four-game stretch – Simsbury (4-0), Newington (2-2), Conard (4-0) and Cheshire (3-1) – at 4-2 overall and 3-2 in CCC Division I competition.

Through four weeks, Southington ranks 14th in the Class L. Only the top four teams from each class qualify for the playoffs and Class LL features undefeated teams in Glastonbury, Newtown, Staples, Trumbull, Hamden and Greenwich.But with six weeks left, nothing has been decided. And if Southington pieces together more performances like the one against New Britain, they will be in the discussion come season’s end.

When asked if the win against the Golden Hurricanes would put the Blue Knights back on track, Rodrigues didn’t hesitate in his answer.

"Absolutely," he said.