West Hartford Youth Football: Super Bowl Game Summaries

The 2012 season of the West Hartford Youth Football League (WHYFL) concluded Sunday, Nov. 11 with four Super Bowl games at the Mighty Mite (7-8 year olds), Pee Wee (9, 10, and 11 year olds), Midget (12 year olds), and Pony (13 year olds) divisions at Sterling Field.

MIGHTY MITE SUPER BOWL

(#1 Seed) Macca Plumbing Cowboys 32 – (#3 Seed) Center Orthodontics Browns 14

The #1 Seed Cowboys defended their town championship by defeating the #3 Seed Browns 32-14 Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field.

The Cowboys won the coin toss and chose to defer.  The Browns received the opening kickoff and were stopped on four plays - giving the Cowboys favorable possession inside the 30 yard line.  The Cowboys quickly added a few solid runs by RB Nick Urso, who eventually scored on a bruising run down the middle from five yards out to put the Cowboys up 6-0.

The Browns took their next possession and converted a few first downs before turning the ball over on downs.  The Cowboys mixed in runs by Urso and Chase Fountain and struck on their second touchdown on a touchdown Pass from quarterback Jack Kennedy to receiver Jack Correia. 

On the following kickoff, the Browns were unable to retrieve the ball and the Cowboys recovered it.  On the next play, quarterback Jack Kennedy ran down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown, making the score 20-0 to end the first quarter.  Before the half ended, the Cowboys drove down the field and scored on a great cutback run from RB Nick Urso from 20 yards out to make the halftime score 26-0. 

The Browns regrouped and came out determined in the second half.  The Cowboys received the kickoff and after a few nice runs by Chase Fountain and Steven Mascolo, the Cowboys scored their fifth and final touchdown on a 2-yard touchdown run by Jack Kennedy.  The Browns’ defense denied the conversion attempt, and the score stood at 32-0. 

The Browns would not give up and took their next possession and drove the length of the field and found pay dirt on a 10-yard run by quarterback Jack Brown to make the score 32-6.  The Browns quickly stopped the Cowboys on four downs and again found the end zone on a sweeping run by Dajuan Banks from 30-yards out.  The Browns converted the two-point conversion on a nice pass from Eli Salomons to Matt Farber. 

The game went back and forth on the next few possessions and as time expired the Cowboys were victorious.  Congratulations to both teams on a great season.

PEE WEE SUPER BOWL

(#1 Seed) Walter Hussey Giants 26 – (#3 Seed) Venora Electric Vikings 12

The Giants finished a perfect 8-0 season by outlasting a very tough Viking squad 26-14 in the 2012 Pee Wee Championship game.

The Vikings received the opening kickoff and went right to work. On the second play from scrimmage, Sean Clifford raced around left end on a 30-yard run to put the Vikings up 6-0. The Giants were uncharacteristically out of sorts, and turned the ball over via an interception by the Vikings’ Matt Langevin on their first set of downs. The Giants then dug in and held the Vikings to force a turnover on downs. The Giants culminated a four play drive with a Jeff LaRosa 6-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 6-6.

Once again, the Giants held the Vikings to force a turnover on downs, and later Otis Donaldson and LaRosa took turns carrying the ball downfield. Franklin Robinson found pay dirt on a 6-yard keeper to put the Giants up 12-6.

The Vikings were not to be denied, as they methodically marched down the field. Sean Clifford once again scored on a 9-yard sweep to knot the game at 12-12. The Giants received the ball with little time in the first half, and started their next drive with a no huddle offense. LaRosa guided the Giants downfield. LaRosa hit Skye Dolce in stride with a bullet to put the Giants up for good at 18-12.

The Giants took the second half kickoff and established their running attack. Otis Donaldson scored on a brilliant 15-yard dash. LaRosa found CJ Denson in the back of the end zone to make the final margin 26-12. The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair, featuring tough defense by both squads which yielded zero points.

The Vikings should carry their heads high, as they battled the Giants with more tenacity than any prior opponent. Standing out for the Vikings were Clifford, Alex Dobbins, Tim Cotter, Griffin Van Rye, and Neil Gustafson.

The Giants were led by CJ Denson, Skye Dolce and Otis Donaldson. Special mention is reserved for Jeff LaRosa, who was simply brilliant. LaRosa led the Giants to 4 Championships in his five year career, while experiencing only two losses. All the Giants played their hearts out as they always do. Special Thanks to Ted Mancini and Ken Namnoum, who very ably coached the Giants the last four seasons.

MIDGET SUPER BOWL

(#1 Seed) Sinatro Agency One Wildcats 14 – (#2 Seed) Eastern Rehabilitation Network Chargers 0

The season finale brought the undefeated Wildcats against the Chargers to determine this year’s Super Bowl Champion. Even though this was anticipated to be an offensive showdown, it turned out to be a defensive battle, as the Wildcats outlasted the Chargers 14-0.

The Chargers received the opening kick and on their third offensive play, Wildcat Chris Chukwura intercepted a Charger pass and ran 50 yards for the first score of the game. Now came the Chargers turn with Grant O'Connor handing off to Ajaye Fair who was stopped by Cats defensive end John Kirklin. The Chargers then tried several dives up the middle to Valentino West, but Carter Horton of the Wildcats made a fine solo tackle forcing the Chargers to punt.

Wildcat quarterback Max Main ably moved the Cats downfield. A handoff to David Torres yielded a hefty gain of 30 yards. Main scored a few plays later on a short four yard scamper. Main then connected with Mohammed Codjo, who made a leaping catch, for the two point conversion.

As the second quarter began, the defenses for both teams improved. The Chargers tried running Spencer Merkel around the ends but the Cats answered with stops by Cullen McCaffery and Ryan Orlowski. As the Cats began their next drive, linemen Dominic Mongillo and Elijah Bryan Henriques did a fine job up front but a key fumble and some costly penalties halted the Wildcat drive. 

In the second half, both teams could not get the ball into the end zone. Charger linemen Josh Kursman and Brendan Moore - along with Spencer Merkel at defensive back - held the Wildcats. Mohammed Codjoe led the Wildcats on defense with 10 tackles but Michael Farley also added in the defensive effort as did Griffin Smith who forced a Charger turnover. 

It was a close contest certainly worthy of a championship. Both teams showed determination in pursuit of a victory, but on this day it was the Wildcats who persevered and won the title as 2012 WHYFL Midget Super Bowl Champions.

PONY SUPER BOWL

(#2 Seed) West Hartford Police Association Eagles 29 – (#4 Seed) Sinatro Agency One Wildcats 16

The #2 Seed Eagles defeated the #4 Seed Wildcats 29-16 Sunday afternoon to capture the 2012 WHYFL Pony Championship.