West Hartford Youth Football League Wrap-Ups for Week Ending October 23

Pee Wee Division:

Pee Wee Giants 24 - Pee Wee Packers 19

The Giants outlasted a tough Packer squad 24-19 Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field. The Packers found the end zone first to take a quick 6-0 lead. The Giants Spencer "Sunshine" Merkel scored on a brilliant forty yard dash down the sidelines the last of which with four Packers on his back. Prior to the half, the Packers scored on a screen pass to lead 13-6. The first half was marred with penalties and turnovers. The second half began with both teams making little or no progress. CJ Denson picked off a Packer pass to jump start the punchless Gmen. The Giants found themselves on their own five yard line when Merkel turned on the jets and took off on a 55 run down the sidelines. The play was made possible by two devastating blocks delivered by Drew Booth and Jeff LaRosa. The Packers denied the try and maintained a 13-12 lead. Kam McKain squibbed the ensuing kick off and LaRosa recovered the ball for the Giants. The Giants took control of the game on a 25 yard Jeff Larosa run to give the Giants their first lead of the game 18-13. Jeff LaRosa scored the Giants final touchdown by running through and around several Packers to make the margin 24-13. On the last play of the game the Packers scored on a nice pass to Nolan Tibball to make the final 24-19.

Wealth Management Group of North America Titans 25 – Venora Electric Vikings 6

Week 6 brought a strong Titan team against the undefeated Vikings with both teams competing for a top spots in the final league standings. The Titans received the opening kick and proceeded on a long drive which was highlighted by a Griffin Smith run for a touchdown. A stiff Viking defense stopped the extra point but when the offense fumbled away the first Viking possession, the Titans were on the attack. The big men continued their advance, moving the ball down field but this time Max Main ran it in for the second Titan touchdown. In the second quarter the Titans defense continued to stop the Viking attack. After another Viking turnover the Titans offense again began a march down field. This time Cameron Wilson scored on a nifty end around run, highlighting the Titan drive. After receiving the Titans kickoff the Vikings were again met by the Titan defensive linemen Carter Horton, Cullen McCaffrey, Dario Laria, Brian Renker and Chris Reynolds who forced a Viking punt on downs. Titan Griffin Smith fielded the punt and took it to the end zone in the final seconds of the half leaving the score 25-0.    

The second half was highlighted by a strong performance by Titans Pee Wee rookies who all contributed mightily. Shea Friedman, Matt Sabia, Joey Lemieux, and Max Leyland powered the team on offense. Zander Boem, Aarik Rochester, James Sabia and Gavin Klett led on defense. In a show of total team effort, every Titan played contributed in making tackles making the coaching staff proud. With a bye in their final game of the season, the Titan victory assured them as the WHYFL regular season champion.

49ers over Patriots

Sunday's game between the Pee Wee 49ers and the Patriots was a very exciting and entertaining contest. Since both teams came into the game without a win, both sides were hungry to taste victory. The 49ers got off to a fast start with Ajaye Fair scoring twice within the first few minutes. Tommy Cravedi then got into the end zone and along with his brother Todd who caught the two point conversion, the Niners were off and running. The Patriots never gave up, trading scores from that point on for the remainder of the game. But with tough play by 49ers' Grant O'Connor, Derek O'Connor, Gabe Solomons, Jimmy Shepard and Cameron Morgan, the team was well on their way to victory.

Midget Division:

The West Hartford Rotary Club Raiders 0 – Chargers 6

The Raiders had another great game on defense holding the Chargers to three scoreless quarters. Even though the Raiders lost this game, there were many positives to take away from this game both on offense and defense.

Offensively, Declan Flaherty led the team on several drives which just came up short. Jonathon Lagoy and Silas Rivers both ran the ball with quickness while Joseph Morrissey ran with power through the Chargers’ defensive line. Flaherty also threw several on target passes to his receivers when given time by his offensive line. Connor “Tank” Thomas had an outstanding game on both sides of the ball. Defensively, Evan “Superman” Duzan was literally flying over the Chargers’ offense to tackle players in the backfield and stuffing runs up the middle. Joe Morrissey had four plays for loss yards and two fumble recoveries.

Outstanding players of the game: Silas Rivers, Evan Duzan, Joseph Morrissey, Connor Thomas, James Morrissey, and Colby Jones.

Pony Division:

Colt Defense LLC Raiders 20 – Chargers 0

The Return of the Swag! The Raiders had a slow start against the Chargers with both teams going scoreless in the first half. The game was all defense, suffocating the offenses. Giovanni Garcia had a MVP game with four tackles for loss yards and a sack. Garcia received help from Jordan Baker who also had a sack and Michael Tuite with several tackles in the Chargers backfield. Kyle Pena-Green led the linebackers in tackles and half of a sack. Cameryn Maynard and Tyler Nelson both made defensive contributions in the second half to help keep the Chargers scoreless.

In the second half the Raiders offense led by their captain, Carson Reale, settled down to drive the ball down the field. Reale scored on a long run to give the Raiders the lead and threw a pass to Sequan Small for the extra point conversion. However, it was the return of the swag, Byron Jones, who made the game changing play. Jones sprinted down the field on the kickoff to recover the loose ball for the Raiders which led to a scoring drive. Jones also had several key blocks in the game to spring running backs for long runs. Reale scored again in the fourth quarter and Throy Brown added the game sealing run to end the game 20–0 Raiders. Jacob Ryor, Jordan Baker and William Dicke all blocked well.

Outstanding players of the game: Carson Reale, Byron Jones, Giovanni Garcia, Jordan Baker, Kyle Pena-Green, Throy Brown, Torrie Green, William Dicke, Michael Tuite, and Austin Sheridan.