West Hartford Youth Football – Week Four Game Summaries

Submitted by John LaSpada

The West Hartford Youth Football League (WHYFL) kicked off its fourth week of the 2013 season Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field, with a full slate of games at the Flag (5, 6, and 7 year olds) Mighty Mite (7, 8 and 9 year olds), Pee Wee (10 and 11 year olds), and Pony (12,13,14 year olds) divisions.

FLAG DIVISION

Mooyah (Green) 18 – Dick’s Sporting Goods (Red) 12

For the fourth game of the season, Mooyah squared off against Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Mooyah came out on top 18-12. For Mooyah, Cooper Trantraporn had a remarkable game where he scored two touchdowns and continued his continuous team scoring contributions in each game this season. This was followed by Tyler Hazel, who scored a touchdown on offensive, but also had his best defensive game of the season, Great job Tyler! 

West Hartford Firefighters Association (White) 18 – Joey’s Pizza Pie (Black) 14

A hard-fought game ended in spectacular fashion yesterday when the West Hartford Firefighters Association nipped Joey's Pizza on the last play of the game, 18-14. Both teams showed great effort throughout the game, with outstanding defensive plays that kept it a tight contest.  With one final play remaining, and the WH Firefighters down 14-12, a sweep running play resulted in a 70-yard touchdown run by the Firefighters' mighty William Keegan. The long run was helped by great team blocking led by Ronan Foley and Elijai Joseph. The Firefighters were able to stay in the game to that point thanks to 2 long touchdown runs by Quinn Moran and the power running of both Khalil Shazel and Ismail Suleiman.  

Sweet Frog (Purple) 28 – AC Petersons (Blue) 7

The Sweet Frog Ravens continued their perfect season on a beautiful day designed for football with a 28-7 victory over AC Peterson. One the opening drive, Jack Decker took the ball untouched for his fourth touchdown of the year and on the next possession Isaac Ramsey went the distance, too. Owen MacDonald added his first score of the year on a nice run play while Chase Hanawalt added a touchdown reception to round out the scoring for Sweet Frog. 

While the AC Peterson team didn’t win, they play hard and were led by great blocking by Angela Mancini and Julian Watson, and a great long run by Jonathan Garcia. Luke Jones added the sole touchdown for AC Peterson at the end of the game. 

MIGHTY MITE DIVISION

Macca Plumbing Cowboys 34 – Santoro Construction Steelers 7

On the fourth week of the season, and another sunny day at Sterling Field, the Cowboys battled the Steelers in an exciting game. The Cowboys won the toss and chose to receive the ball. On their first possession, the Cowboys marched down the field on a handful of nice runs and scored their first touchdown of the game on a pass from quarterback Jack Kennedy to Jack Correia. The extra point was denied. The Steelers received the ball and were forced to punt after 3 runs and gave the ball back to the Cowboys around midfield. The Cowboys moved back down into Steelers territory and quickly scored again on a QB pass from Kennedy to Ben Woerlen. The extra point was converted on another quick pass to Woerlen. The score was 14-0 at end of first quarter. The Steelers received the ball to start the second quarter and after converting a first down, they were forced to punt. The Cowboys scored on the next play on a 40-yard run down the sideline by Kennedy. The extra point was denied. The Steelers moved the ball to mid-field on their next possession but eventually turned it over on downs. The Cowboys scored their last touchdown of the half on a 10-yard run by Kennedy to make the score 26-0 at the half.  

The Steelers received the opening kickoff of the second half and were forced to punt after 3 plays giving the Cowboys excellent field position. The Cowboys after a few nice runs by Steven Mascolo and Peter Langevin moved the ball inside the 10-yard line of the Steelers. The Cowboys then converted on another passing touchdown from Kennedy to Woerlen (Woerlen's second of the game). The extra point was converted on run by the Steelers and Cowboys exchange the ball a few more times until mid-way through their 4th quarter. The Steelers found the end zone on a nice run by Grant Kananga. The extra point was converted by Jay McNamara.

Defensive standouts for the Cowboys were Trevor Tanis, Steven Mascolo, Walker Disque, John Schultz.  Steeler’s standouts were Blake Bouley, Dylan Swift, Jay McNamara, and Grant Kananga.

The Cowboys move on to face the Jets on Sunday and the Steelers will matchup against the Browns.  

Moe’s Southwest Grill Jets 25 – Fischman Orthodontics Browns 12

The Moe’s Southwest Grill Jets outlasted the Fischman Orthodontics Browns for a 25-12 victory Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

The Jets were led on offense by the ground game of Wyatt Reid, Tommy LaSpada, DJ Romano, Logan Murphy, Wyatt Reid, and Ben Brockway.

Jack Brown, Dajuan Banks, Eli Salomons and Matthew Farber led the Browns’ offensive attack.

The teams exchanged offensive jabs in the first quarter, as the Browns’ opening drive ended on a hard fought fourth down stand by the Jets. The Jets started their drive strong as LaSpada broke a 30-yard run on the first play from scrimmage to bring the Jets to the Browns 10-yard line. The Browns defense held strong and kept the Jets out of the end zone.

The Jets opened the scoring later in the quarter on a seven-play, 45-yard drive, capped by a Logan Murphy run to put the Jets up 6-0. The Browns denied the extra point attempt.

The Jets extended their lead to 12-0 on the final play of the first half as quarterback Ben Brockway connected with Wyatt Reid for a 45-yard strike. Once again, the stingy Browns’ defense denied the extra point attempt.

The Jets received the second half kick and completed a seven-play, 50-yard drive, capped by Reid’s second touchdown of the day to extend the Jets’ lead to 18-0. Romano added the rushing conversion to make the score 19-0. Jets tailback Luke Boucher-Zazzaro was brought down short of the goal line on the extra point attempt.

Banks scored later in the quarter to narrow the lead to 19-6. The Jets responded with a Romano score to stretch their lead to 25-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Farber capped the scoring late in the fourth on a nice run to narrow the score to 25-12.

Standouts for the Jets included Brockway, Romano, LaSpada, Murphy, Reid, Aidan Dorian, Jonny Robinson, and Israel Lopez. In addition, the Jets received solid offensive line play from Walker Beverly, Joey Hassett, Sam Rosa, Thomas Moore, and Ryan Bushnell.

Browns standouts included Brown, Eli Salomons, Banks, Farber, Tanner Ostop, Patrick Schwab, and Xavier Couloute.

The Jets move on to face the Cowboys on Sunday and the Browns will matchup against the Steelers.  

PEE WEE DIVISION

The Watts Group Giants 33 – Brewer Paving Packers 0

The Watts Group Giants used a balance offensive attack to defeat the Brewer Paving Packers 33-0 Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

The Giants elected to receive the opening kick and went to work right away. Dan Hussey bolted down the left sideline on his way to a 45-yard touchdown run to put the giants up 6-0. Sean McNamara added the extra points to make it 8-0. The Giants held the Packers on downs on the ensuing possession.

Dan Hussey hit his twin brother Joe Hussey with a pitch and catch which Joe took to the house on a 45-yard run to put the Giants up 13-0. On the Packers next possession, Skye Dolce slipped in front of an errant Packer pass and returned it 40 yards for a Giant score. Before the half ended, Dolce raced into the end zone on a nifty run to put the Giants up 27-0.

In the second half, the Giants turned to Chris Rodriguez at quarterback who handed off to Rebecca "Johnnie Football" Markie who ran hard for several tough yards. The Packers were resilient as they turned the Gmen away from their end zone on several attempts. Finally, converted guard, Richie, "the hammer," Aponte bulled through the Packer defense to make the final score 33-0.

Standing out for the Packers were Miles and his cousin Sean Sierra who both played valiantly on both sides of the ball. Nick Urso was able to gain tough yards against the solid New York defense.

On the Giant side of the ball, Sekope Colon and Richie Aponte opened gaping holes for their running backs. On defense, Kevin Tiernan and Jayden Correro stood out.

Next week, the Giants take on the Patriots, and the Packers will match up against the Vikings.  

JT Ghamo 49ers 22 - Hartford Hospital Rehabilitation Network Vikings 12

The JT Ghamo 49ers locked horns with a tough Hartford Hospital Rehabilitation Network Viking team, with the 49ers coming out on top 22-12 Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

The Niners took control early and never looked back.  After forcing the Vikings into negative yardage on their first offensive series, the Niners received favorable field position after a punt and drove 40 yards in four plays for their first score.  Two of those plays were led by fullback Gabe Salomons, whose strong running style benefited the 49ers all game long. With the score 7-0, the 49ers were able to push the Vikings to another “three and out” series and put a second score on the board. Jake Tousignant got the touchdown while Josiah Rivers swept the outside to put the Niners up 14-0 at the start of the second quarter. The Vikings fumbled on their next offensive series, but the defense held strong and stopped the Niners on an attempted 4th down conversion - and the Vikings took over on downs. However, time ran out and the score at the half remained 14-0.

The Niners received the kickoff to start the second half and drove down the field, with Jack Tousignant getting his second touchdown of the day. Niners quarterback Nico Mazzocca threw a pass to Andrew Reicher in the end zone for the two point conversion, making the score 22-0. The 49ers recovered a fumble on the next series and it looked to be a long half for the Vikings ... but they were FAR from done. The Vikings defense halted the 49er offense attack and took over on downs. Then, Viking tailback Namar Gaynor on a quick out pass from QB Cameron Gregory, beat all 49er inside-out pursuit and found a running lane down the sideline for a fantastic 60-yard touchdown. The conversion was stopped and the score was 22-6. Next, the Vikings executed a beautiful onside kick by Sean Guevara that was one bounce away from working but Nico Mazzocca was able to pull the ball into his hands and keep position for the Niners. The Vikings stood their ground and after a 14-play time-consuming drive by the Niners, the Vikings took over on downs.  With strong will and a “can –do” attitude, the Vikings put together another scoring drive.  Led by wide out Sean Guevara who cut, juked and dashed his way to big gains on several pass plays from Gregory, which the Vikings scored on the last play of the game with a dive by QB Cameron Gregory putting the final score at 22-12.

The 49ers had stand out performances by interior line players like Jackson McDonald at end, Scott LaBranch at guard, and Justin Goldstien and Gurjot Singh at defensive tackle.  The Vikings strong defensive showing was bolstered by Drew Currier with his usual hard hitting, Aarik Rochester, Brennen Ravenberg and Aiden Guzman.

Next week, the 49ers move on to face the Colts, while the Vikings will match up against the Packers.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Patriots 33 – Sports Authority Colts 6

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Patriots leveraged a balanced offensive attack and solid defense to defeat the stout Sports Authority Colts team 33-6 Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

Silas Bridges, Dillon Bent, Kenneth Shazel Jr, and Matthew Keller paced the Patriot offense behind solid blocking from Robert Parrotta, Bryson Denby, Luke Hache, Joey LaSpada, Luke Duzan, and Will Carson.

The Colts received the opening kickoff and launched a solid drive, including a long run by halfback Tommy Sullivan, who was later forced to leave the game due to injury and did not return. The Patriot defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs. The Patriots scored three plays later as Shazel burst through the line for a 6-0 lead. The Colts denied the extra point attempt.

The Colts responded with a long drive of their own, capped by a Nathan Bones touchdown to tie the score at 6-6.

Three plays later, the Patriots went back out on top as Bent broke a 45-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 12-6.

The Colts took to the air on their next drive, but Flaherty’s pass was deflected by George Andrews and intercepted by Jacob Torres to give the Patriots favorable field position. Bridges extended the lead to 18-6 late in the second quarter on a fantastic run, and rookie Brian Kenna found the end zone for the extra point to make the lead 19-6 entering the half.

The Patriots received the second half kickoff and scored three plays later as Bridges scored his second touchdown of the day on a fantastic 50-yard run to push the lead to 25-6.

The Colts once again looked to pick up big gains through the air, but Flaherty was intercepted as Carlos Kerrigan-Mock came up with a great catch to give the Patriots favorable field position.

Three plays later, quarterback Matt Keller followed the lead blocking of Shazel and scored his first career touchdown on a slick 25-yard run to push the Patriot lead to 31-6 to end the third quarter. Quarterback George Andrews connected with halfback Michael Quiros on the two point conversion to cap the scoring at 33-6.

Halfbacks Brian Kenna, Robert Parrotta and Jacob Torres saw extended playing time due to great hustle during the week and had several great runs for solid gains late in the game.

The Patriots received solid defensive play from Parrotta, Bryson Denby, Luke Hache, George Andrews, Torres, Kerrigan-Mock, Bridges, Bent, and Shazel.

The Colts were led by Sullivan, Flaherty, and Samuel El-Sharouby.

The Patriots move on to face the Giants, while the Colts will matchup against the 49ers.  

PONY DIVISION

Wealth Management Group Eagles 40 – Farmington Blue 36

The Wealth Management Group Eagles used a balanced offensive attack to hold off Farmington Blue 40-36 Sunday afternoon.

Thomas Cravedi caught a 20-yard touchdown pass, and later intercepted an errant Farmington Blue pass. Dominic Niman caught a two-point conversion.

Tariq Allah scored three times on runs of 52, 68, and 40-yards respectively.

The Eagles will play Farmington Black next Sunday at Farmington Westwoods, while Farmington Blue will play the Chargers.  

West Hartford Chargers 40 – Beachland Tavern Ravens 6

The West Hartford Chargers defeated the Beachland Tavern Ravens 46 - 6 in the late game Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

The Ravens took the opening kickoff and after a first down, were forced to punt. Spencer Merkel received the punt on the Chargers 40 yard line and ran 60 yards through the Raven defense to score and give the Chargers an 8-0 lead.

On the next possession, the Ravens moved to the Charger 10-yard line before turning the ball over to the Chargers.

On the Chargers next play from scrimmage, AJ Fair went 40 yards down the left side line and then Valentino West went 50 yards around the right end for the touchdown and a 14-0 score to end the 1st quarter.

Ravens took the kick off and moved the ball for a couple of first downs till A J Fair intercepted an Edwards pass and ran 30 yards for the touchdown giving Chargers a 20-0 lead.

Ravens took the kick off again and moved down for a couple first downs before Drew Booth picked off an Edwards pass and ran it back 35 yards for the touchdown and 26-0 leads at the half.  

The second half started with a Chargers holding penalty on the kick off giving the Chargers 1st and 10 from their own 3 yard line.

Spencer Merkel took the pitch and went 97 yards around left end behind Valentine West and A J Fair for the touchdown and a Chargers 32-0 lead.

On their next possession, Ravens punted on 4th and 12 giving the Chargers the ball on their own 40 yard line. On the next play, Cameron Wilson went 60 yards off tackle for the touchdown giving the Chargers a 39-0 lead as the third quarter ended.

Chargers stopped the Ravens on downs starting the 4th quarter getting the ball on their own 30-yard line.

On the next play, Colby Lytle went 60 yards off tackle to Ravens 10-yard line and a first down. Cameron Wilson went off tackle 10 yards for the score and a Charger 46-0 lead.

Ravens received the kick off and returned it to the 50 yard line. Two quick plays later, Josh Onderymba was in the end zone for the Raven touchdown, ending the game 46-6 Chargers.

Next Sunday, the Chargers play in Farmington against the explosive Farmington Blue team which lost a close battle with the Eagles in Sunday's earlier game.

West Hartford Health and Rehab Wildcats 27 - Farmington Maroon 6

Week 4 of the WHYFL season brought the West Hartford Health and Rehabilitation Wildcats to Farmington to play a tough Maroon team.

Farmington received the opening kickoff and immediately established a strong running attack behind tailback Chris Romano. Then a wayward pass was picked off by Wildcat David Torres who ran 49 yards for the opening touchdown. Farmington Maroon again went on the attack and this time Wildcats John Kirklin, Jimmy Sabia and Marcos Cruz stepped up on defense and again thwarted a Maroon drive. Next, Wildcat quarterback Max Main led the team downfield with his own pounding runs and the Wildcats hit pay dirt again on a 5-yard run by Griffin Smith.

In the second quarter, Farmington Maroon went on a methodical drive, again leading with power running by Romano. Farmington Maroon scored and as the half ended cutting the Wildcats lead to 13 – 6.

The Wildcats received the opening kick of the second half. After some fine defensive play by Maroon, and some costly Wildcat penalties, the Wildcats were faced with a long fourth and 25. But the Wildcats converted on a Main to Smith pass that set up a short burst into the end zone. Farmington Maroon tried to respond, but outstanding defensive plays by Wildcats Cullen McCaffery, Nolan Tibball, Brendan Begley and Zander Boehm grounded the Farmington attack. Both teams added scores in the fourth quarter but the Wildcats prevailed with the final score Wildcats 27, Maroon 12.

Next week the Wildcats play Farmington White and Maroon faces off with the Raiders.  

Farmington White 29 - Farmington Black 12