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TOLLAND — Alex Backus had to sweat out the first game of his second tenure as Tolland football coach Thursday, and not just because of the warm and humid weather.

In a one-possession game, Backus' defense came up with three red zone stops in the fourth quarter with Nate Howe knocking away a pass on an untimed play to end it as Tolland held on to defeat Plainville 22-16 in a season-opening CCC Tier IV game.

"I enjoyed it all the way," Backus said with a smile. "But I told the team afterwards that we need wins like this to show that we are battle tested. You can't be a frontrunner. When things don't go your way you can't crumble.

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"There will be games that will go back and forth and you have to build that internal grit to come out on top. You build trust and confidence in those tough situations where the next time they come around you know, 'We've got this.' "

Eamon Sheehan had a pair of interceptions for Tolland and his deflection in the end zone stopped a Plainville scoring bid. Jack Fearney was another defensive standout.

The Eagles gave up 302 total yards but didn't break when they needed to stay together.

"The game's on the line and you have to make a stop," Sheehan said. "There's no option but to make a play. If you don't make it, you lose.

"You have to have that toughness inside of you. You become a new person when you're out there. You try harder than you ever thought you could."

Tolland scored first following Sheehan's first interception as Ryan Caminiti connected with Howe on a 40-yard strike with 2:26 gone. Plainville took a lead in the second quarter on Dom Abarno's 24-yard pass to Peter Bocompani and Marcus Kiley's conversion run. Caminiti's seven-yard screen pass to AJ Cady put the Eagles back in front and Matt Tybor's conversion sneak made it 14-8. It stayed that way until Kyle VanDeventer capped a 67-yard drive on the first possession of the third quarter with a 23-yard burst with Cady's conversion making it 22-8.

The Blue Devils got back within eight with 3:22 left in the third quarter on Kiley's nine-yard touchdown run. The rest of the way, Plainville knocked on the door only to see Tolland turn it away.

"Defense is the heart of our team," Backus said. "We're going to do what we do on offense. There's a learning curve on offense, but the defense has been in place for almost a decade. We ran this system when I was the head coach (2016-17), when Scott Cady was head coach (2018-19), and a little bit when Mitch Egazarian was head coach (2020-22). So they're ready to go in these situations."

Kiley was stopped two yards short of a first down at the Tolland 5 on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Eagles were able to get out to midfield but a holding penalty stalled the drive. Joe Vasquez's 61-yard punt return gave the Blue Devils the ball at the Tolland 9. On fourth-and-goal from the 5, Sheehan stepped in front of a Plainville receiver to knock the ball away and give Tolland the ball back with 6:22 left.

But the Eagles went nowhere and a blocked punt went out of the end zone to make it 22-16 with 4:28 to go. Plainville got the ball back and converted a fourth-and-11 and a third-and-nine to get to the Tolland 30. Two sacks of quarterback Abarno and an incompletion brought up fourth-and-23 with 16 seconds remaining. Somehow, Abarno found Vasquez for 25 yards and a first down at the 18 with six seconds to go. The clock stopped on the first down and then restarted and ran out. But after a discussion between the officials Plainville was given one more play. Howe knocked away Abarno's try to end it and deny the Blue Devils a chance at their first win since 2021.

"Hats off to Tolland, they capitalized when they needed to," Plainville coach Tim Shea said. "But this is the most mistakes I've seen my team make in 14 years as a head coach. It's very frustrating. There were a lot of times we were our own worst enemy. We tried to turn it on late but you can't do that.

"It's a new year and the kids have to want it, they have to do it. We'll prepare for next week and E.O. Smith and we'll get it done."

Kiley rushed for 120 yards on 25 carries for Plainville. Abarno was 11-for-23 passing for 169 yards with the two interceptions. Vasques had six catches for 96 yards and Bocompani had four catches for 68 yards.

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VanDeventer finished with 100 yards on the ground on 20 carries while Caminiti was 8-for-15 for 108 yards and two interceptions. Cady had a team-high three catches.

Tolland takes on Platt at Falcon Field in Meriden Sept. 15.

"This is big because we showed we can compete and we can win," Sheehan said. "We showed we can deal with tough situations and get through them."

Player of the Game

Eamon Sheehan, Tolland: Had a pair of interceptions for Tolland and his deflection in the end zone stopped a Plainville scoring bid.

Quotable

"The game's on the line and you have to make a stop," Sheehan said. "There's no option but to make a play. If you don't make it, you lose." -- Sheehan

Tolland 22, Plainville 16

The Plainville location off Interstate 84 is relatively close to Farmington, Southington, Bristol and New Britain.

Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 5:02 pm ET

PLAINVILLE, CT — A prominent shopping plaza in Plainville will have a major hole filled in the form of an international grocery chain coming to town.

That's because an Aldi supermarket is planned for the Connecticut Commons plaza at 282 New Britain Ave., Plainville. There are currently 31 Aldi's in Connecticut.

The store was announced earlier this month by the real estate broker involved with the deal, Fairfield-based True Commercial Real Estate LLC.

True said the deal was finalized by representatives Tyler Lyman and Jason Wuchiski for the store, which is expected to be 21,070 square feet.

In a statement, Lyman said the location is perfect for the area, given its proximity to a major highway in the area.

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“Connecticut Commons is a regional center, drawing customers from a large territory due to its proximity to I-84," Lyman said.

"The one glaring missing piece was the fact that there was no grocer in the project. We made that use a priority and are excited to add ALDI to the tenant mix.”

The Plainville location off I-84 is surrounded by Farmington, Southington, Bristol and New Britain.

ALDI was represented by Tim McNamara & Kevin Daly of Cushman & Wakefield, while Tyler Lyman and Jason Wuchiski represented the landlord — Site Centers.

True has brokered 13 deals with Site Centers, according to True officials.

The site has been vacant since 2019, when an A.C. Moore crafts retailer shuttered.

The project now goes before town land-use boards for final approval before the store can be built and open.

Aldi is based in Essen, Germany, and has made significant gains in recent years in the U.S. and Connecticut.

The store offers off-brand and brand grocery items at significant discounts and is popular for people on a budget.

For more information on True Commercial Real Estate LLC out of Fairfield, click on this link.

For more information on Aldi, click on this link.

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Plainville's new sweet shop, Lacroix's Homemade Ice Cream, is named for a grandpa in Rhode Island who's a fanatic about the frozen dessert. Specifically, co-owner Lauren Minty's maternal grandfather.

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"He is just obsessed, obsessed with ice cream," Minty said. "Any memories I have of him, he's just an ice cream lover. Every time we go to visit him, he's always going to the local shop and getting quarts and pints to bring back for us."

Minty said her grandfather is "ecstatic" about the central Connecticut ice cream shop that now bears his last name, which she opened with her partner, Sean Williston, in early July. The two have "countless" summers of ice cream scooping experience that they wanted to parlay into their own small business, and they began talking about opening a shop about six years ago, Minty said.

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They went to an ice cream training course shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but decided to wait out the period of uncertainty, Minty said. And later after their plans to buy a home fell through unexpectedly, the couple reconsidered their business plan, after Minty's father found the Plainville space available on a real estate website.

"We sat on it for a little while, and then we decided, it's now or never. We didn't find a house, we don't have a mortgage, we don't have kids yet," she said. "So, now's the time if we're actually going to do this."

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The Woodford Avenue space had been home to The Creamery, and owner Roger Leardi helped train Minty and Williston ahead of their opening, she said. They had hoped to open by Memorial Day, but debuted the first week of July — and business hasn't slowed down since.

"Plainville, after opening a week and a half ago it has been beyond our wildest dreams to have met so many amazing people and sell out twice," they posted on Instagram July 13, informing guests that they would remain closed on Mondays and Thursdays to make ice cream.

Each day, Lacroix's offers about 20 flavors, the couple said, with staples like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, cookie dough, coconut and mint chip. Other popular varieties include coffee Heath bar and peanut butter cup, they said, and the menu has featured options like brownie batter, birthday cake, Butterfinger and cotton candy. A banana ice cream is made with whole blended bananas, Minty said, as she wanted as natural of a flavor as possible.

Dairy-free options are available, including fruit sorbets and creamy flavors made with coconut. The couple plans seasonal flavors heading into fall, like maple walnut and apple pie, but they haven't yet decided if Lacroix's will be a year-round operation.

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Ice cream is available in cups and cones (including freshly made waffle cones), along with milkshakes, floats, sundaes and banana splits. Lacroix's also offers chocolate sprinkles made from real, high-quality chocolate, Minty said, a topping she loved when going out for ice cream with her grandparents in Rhode Island.

The owners have transformed the outdoor patio into a gathering space, with picnic tables, benches, planters with bright flowers and string lights that illuminate the seating area at night. A brick wall is painted with a small pink and white mural, featuring a peace sign, a pink heart and an ice cream cone.

"We wanted to make it fun and hip...a place where you can hang out," Minty said, adding that they play music outside as well. "[It's a] place for the community."

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Lacroix's Homemade Ice Cream is at 161 Woodford Ave. in Plainville. It's open Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. Closed Monday and Thursday. instagram.com/lacroixshomemade.

July 28, 2023

Leeanne Griffin is a senior food reporter for CT Insider, handling coverage of restaurant openings and closings, trends, events and general news about Connecticut food and beverage businesses. She covers statewide food happenings, with a focus on Hartford County, and curates CT Insider’s weekly Taste of Connecticut food newsletter.

Leeanne joined Hearst Connecticut in 2021, but has been working in Connecticut news since 2006. Before joining Hearst, she was the food and dining reporter for the Hartford Courant for a decade.

She has earned several awards over the years from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Newspaper & Press Association, including a recent first-place SPJ honor for a story about lobster rolls. She has also served as a past Northeast regional panelist on the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee.

Leeanne lives in Hartford County with her husband and their three-pound Holland lop rabbit. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, she holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University, where she first learned about the magic of New Haven apizza.

Reach Leeanne at [email protected].

PLAINVILLE — The club is small but it's growing, and members believe that will continue.

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In this case the club is towns in Connecticut that are piloting or committed to four-day workweeks for municipal employees.

Plainville started its pilot program on Monday and will decide in February whether to make the switch to longer days with Town Hall closed on the weekend and Fridays permanent.

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"It's about retention and recruitment and the concept of a work-life balance," Plainville Town Manager Michael Paulhus said Monday.

Paulhus said the town will take the time between now and February to gather input from residents and employees to see if they should make adjustments and the move permanent.

In Vernon the town began its pilot program a year ago and doesn't have a date set for declaring the change permanent, as it implements tweaks that town officials believe will make the move better for residents and employees.

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But Town Administrator Michael Purcaro is very happy with the results for both sides of the equation so far, as residents have extended hours during the day to visit most town departments, and the town has a leg up on attracting and retaining quality workers.

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Purcaro said that what works for one department might not work for another, so the town is taking its time to try and get it right for everyone involved.

"This is an opportunity to to make adjustments and make sure it works for the residents. It has to be organic so that it can evolve," Purcaro said, adding that residents should rest assured that no one is getting paid to work fewer hours.

But the issue of work-life balance in a "fiercely competitive" job market is also at play, and Purcaro believes other towns will have to follow suit or risk losing employees.

"When one town does this others have to consider it automatically," he said. Neighboring Ellington has already implemented a pilot program.

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For Purcaro, that's because for the first time in American workforce history five generations of people — from Boomers to Millennials — are in the work force and while they have differing needs, they all agree on one thing: quality of work-life balance.

"That's why municipalities need to be creative in hiring," he said.

Tolland initially made the switch to a four-day, 40-hour workweek in 2009 to save on energy costs and increase access for residents before- and after-work. But Town Manager Brian Foley agreed that it gives them an edge, too.

"It's also become a competitive advantage in hiring quality candidates, as many more towns are offering the 40 hour, four day week," he said. "Most candidates find that desirable."

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Plans are also in the works for a possible pilot program in Simsbury, where departments are now collecting data on the number of visits. Interim Town Manager Lee Erdmann said that the data collection will continue until February.

But not everyone is on board yet.

In Hebron, Town Manager Andrew Tierney said there are no plans for any changes.

"We're a pretty busy town so we're open five days a week," Tierney said. "I don't think we're going to consider going to four days a week."