South Windsor Panthers Youth Football - Week 5

Football scores:

South Windsor Maroon A defeats East Hartford 22 -0

South Windsor Gold A defeats Vernon 9 - 0

South Windsor Maroon B falls to East Hartford 6 - 36

South Windsor Maroon C defeats East Hartford 7 - 0

South Windsor Mighty Mites lose to East Hartford 0 - 24

South Windsor A Maroon team coverage: 

Last Sunday, on a wet and sloppy field at Rye Street Park, the South Windsor Panthers defeated the formerly 3-1 East Hartford Hornets 22-0.

Although the Hornets received the opening kickoff they promptly fumbled the opening snap of their drive and the ball was recovered by Dylan Hodge, marking the first of eight turnovers that East Hartford would commit during the game.

From there the teams traded possessions, with each team turning the ball over on downs. On East Hartford’s third possession they completed a 30-yard pass, only to have the receiver fumble the ball on the Panthers’ 25-yard line. Free safety Jacques Bouquot scooped up the ball and returned it to the South Windsor 44. After a Randy Holmes 10-yard first down carry the Panthers fumbled the ball themselves, returning possession to East Hartford at midfield. 

Two plays later the Hornets again dropped the ball, only to be scooped up my Mike Gore and taken to the Hornets’ 33 yard line. Quarterback Adam Harz rotated handing the ball to halfback Randy Holmes and fullback Matt Smith and the drive culminated in a 1-yard plunge by Smith. With a great snap by center Matt Pereira and placement by holder Benett Saylor, Bouquot was able to split the uprights with the kick, giving the Panthers an 8-0 lead.

The Hornets were able to hold on to the kickoff and began their drive with a tough 10-yard run, only to again turn the ball over on an interception by Holmes. 

The second half began with the teams, once again, turning the ball over on downs, but on the Panthers’ second possession Quarterback Connor Kapisak led a balanced attack down the field.  The drive included passes to Will Nowak and Ben Custer and was finished with 13-yard Bouquot run. Once again Pereira and Saylor were steady in the rain, providing a clean snap and hold for another Bouquot extra point, making the score Panthers 16-Hornets 0.

The next East Hartford turnover occurred when, on their own 41-yard line, East Hartford attempted a lateral screen pass in the flat that fell incomplete.  Panther cornerback Harz wisely attacked the Hornet split end, not allowing him to get to the ball while allowing his own teammate, safety Colin Ryan, to make the recovery.  Kapisak then connected with Bouquot on a 19-yard pass and then fullback Ankit Saini, behind stellar blocking, drove up the middle for a 15-yard scoring run.

The score stayed 22-0 and the three remaining East Hartford possessions ended with turnovers, including an onside kick recovery (both kicked and recovered by Bouquot), and two separate pass interceptions on the goal line by Matt Smith.  After the second of these interceptions halfback Michael Bazzano ran the ball 85 yards to the East Hartford 2-yard line where the Panthers took a knee to run out the clock.

On the day the Panthers, behind their solid offensive front including Saylor, Gore, Pereira, Dylan Jones, Jimmy Tamburro, Brendan Mabey, Muhammad Hassan, Matt Kennedy, Julian Ibes, Tito Pasqualoni, Alex Valente, Will Pineo, Chad Croxford, and Dylan Hodge, were able to run for 264 yards on 38 carries. Rushing duties were handled by Bazzano (2 carries for 87 yards), Holmes (10 for 50), Smith (9 for 46), Bouquot (4 for 24), Nowak (6 for 22), Saini (6 for 20), and Gavin Duff (1 for 15).

Although dealing with wet weather the Panthers were able to rely on their passing attack and threw for 87 yards. Kapisak (3 completions on 5 attempt for 54 yards) was able to connect with Custer, Bouquot, and Nowak.  Harz (2 of 4, 33 yards) connected with Smith and Ryan.

For the third consecutive week (and 4 out of 5) the Panthers’ defense did not allow a score.  Although they bent, they did not break, and allowed the Hornets only 118 yards on the ground and 32 in the air, while collecting four East Hartford fumbles and stealing 3 passes.

Defensively, South Windsor was anchored by, among others, linemen Hodge, Hassan, Kennedy, Gore, and Croxford, linebackers Nowak, Mabey, and Smith, and defensive backs Ryan, Holmes, and Duff.

Captains for the game were Chad Croxford, Ben Custer, Ankit Saini, and Matt Smith. Next on the schedule for the Panthers are the 3-2 Durham Falcons on Sunday at 11:00 AM at Coginchaug High School.

South Windsor C team coverage:

The South Windsor Panthers C team defeated East Hartford C team on Sunday at Rye St park 7-0.  The Panthers scored on a fine run by Ben Gendreau. The extra point was scored by Cole Higgins. The Panthers  were also led by the running of Colin Kniffen and Anthony Bellizzi. The backs gained yardage behind the stellar line play of Dominic  Bonano, Connor Mesite, Blake Greiner, and Brian Allard. The Panthers defense had their first shut out of the year and were led by Isiah Perez, Rob Godi, Jack Dempsky and Nate Russell who had 2 interceptions. The Panthers return to action on Sunday at Durham.