GLASTONBURY— Eric Hennessy knew the identity of his Glastonbury team prior to Friday night’s game.
Well, kinda’.
Hennessy knew that his Guardians’ identity was to hand the ball off to sophomore Dante Casdia and let its sizeable offensive line pave the way for him.
How Glastonbury would handle adversity, that he didn’t know.
Glastonbury showed Hennessy its persona against unbeaten Manchester. It scored the game’s final three touchdowns to rally past the Red Hawks, 35-25, in a Central Connecticut Conference Tier I game.
The Guardians trailed 19-7 late in the first half, and 25-14 early in the second half.
“In the past, our history has been when we get down that we kind of hang our heads,” Hennessy said. “We played from behind and we weren’t the same old Glastonbury the past few years that would hang their heads and say, ‘Okay, what are we going to have for dinner (afterwards)?’
More For You
“We got tough. … I know we’re a tough team.”
Casdia ran 23 times for 139 yards and three touchdowns, all in the second half, for the Guardians (3-1, 1-1).
Glastonbury didn’t run much in the first half partly because the Red Hawks (3-1, 1-1) made it a point to take that away. Casdia had just seven carries for 24 yards in that half.
To put that in perspective, Casdia had run 91 times on 160 offensive plays for Glastonbury in its first three games.
Manchester senior defensive end Joshua Kwarteng, in particular, gave the Guardians fits.
“Hats off to Manchester and coach (Roy) Roberts,” Hennessy said. “They came up with a great game plan in the first half to take away our run game.”
The Red Hawks, meanwhile, were turning the game into a pitch-and-catch between senior quarterback Emanuel Sampel Jr. and receivers Joseph Mugovero (senior) and Samuel Mojica (sophomore).
Sampel completed 28-of-35 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns.
Mugovero, who got open at will, finished with 12 catches for 126 yards and Mojica added five catches for 78 yards and a score.
Manchester opened the second half with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Sampel threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior Darrol Young to finish the drive and give the Red Hawks a 25-14 lead with over 7 minutes left in the first half.
“I’ll be honest — we started off pretty flat in the first half like we did against Platt and Maloney,” Casdia said. “We just had to grind it downfield (on the ground) and run the clock out. I think we did amazing with that (after halftime.)”
The Guardians fed Casdia in the second half as he had 17 carries for 115 yards.
Glastonbury seniors Sean Gherard (center), Jameson Barry (guard) and Ryan Jackson (tackle) and juniors Jayce Baran (guard) and Eli Lawrence (tackles) got their mojo back in the second half, too.
Sophomore tight end Myles Harris pitched in to give the Guardians a little extra bulk up front, too.
“We came out in the second half and said, ‘You know guys, we need to get back to our DNA,’” Hennessy said. “What we do is we run the ball. We hand the ball off to Dante. We have the big guys up front leading the way and we’ll pass if we have to.”
Casdia ran for a 29-yard touchdown as Glastonbury cut its deficit to 25-21 with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Casdia’s 1-yard run gave the Guardians a 28-25 lead with 8:44 remaining in the game. It was their first lead since the game’s first drive.
Glastonbury’s defense also toughened up as it both stunted and blitzed more in the second half so that Sampel couldn’t stand patiently in the pocket and throw at will.
The Guardians sacked Sampel on third down and forced him from the pocket and to throw an incompletion for a Manchester turnover on downs with 5:00 left.
Casdia kept getting the ball on Glastonbury’s next drive. The drive was aided by a Manchester personal foul when a defender caught Casdia with a forearm to his facemask as he was being tackled to the turf, infuriating the Red Hawks.
Casdia concluded the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:04 remaining.
“(Manchester) scored on the opening (drive) in the second half,” Hennessy said. “(We were) not hanging our heads and getting distracted. We dug deeper and found a way to win this game. That tells me we’re headed in the right direction. We are a good team.
“It’s kind of a statement to the rest of the state — that we are a good team, and we are somebody that can compete with anybody on any given Friday night.”
Player of the game
Dante Casdia, Glastonbury — He was tasked to shoulder his team’s offensive production in the second half and delivered.
Quotable
“(Casdia) started the last five games of the year last year for us, so we knew what we had. It wasn’t a surprise (what he’s done) but what he did in the offseason with his training, his strength training, his speed training, his diet, that’s what the difference is because he’s a gifted athlete. … He’s turning into a very special individual.” — Eric Hennessy, Glastonbury head coach
(At Glastonbury High School)
MANCHESTER 7 12 6 0 — 25 GLASTONBURY 7 7 7 7 — 35
G—Rocco Meigs 54 run (Nicholas Sinnott kick) M—Chad Agosto 1 run (Richard Aristizabal kick) M—Samuel Mojica 18 pass from Emanuel Sampel (kick failed) M—Agosto 10 run (kick failed) G—Luke Shannon 44 pass from Connor Finnerty (Sinnott kick) M—Darrol Young 10 pass from Sample (kick failed) G—Dante Casdia 29 run (Sinnott kick) G—Casdia 1 run (Sinnott kick) G—Casdia 1 run (Sinnott kick)
Team records: Glastonbury 3-1; Manchester 3-1.