Last year, New Britain edged Southington, 28-25, for their first win over the Blue Knights in 16 years. The Hurricanes won their first seven games and ended up advancing to the Class LL quarterfinals, their second straight playoff appearance, where they lost 27-6 to eventual champion Greenwich.
New Britain (4-1) beat Southington again, 42-14, on Oct. 10. The Hurricanes’ only loss this season is to Fairfield Prep, ranked No. 6 in the Courant’s state coaches poll, by three points.
This New Britain team still has something to prove – for example, on Thursday, they’ll play Glastonbury, the team that broke their winning streak last year – but this year’s group is more confident after last year, and the Hurricanes expect a lot from themselves.
“I think this team (saw) last year’s team and they (saw) the success they had, and a lot of them were part of that success,” New Britain coach Isaiah Boddie said. “They’ve seen what it takes to get there, so their goal is to take it up another level and they want more success. They see the 7-0 start, going to the playoffs, but they want more.”
The 24-21 loss to Fairfield Prep stung, but gave New Britain the knowledge that it could play with a top 10 team.
“Obviously you want to win every game but we knew it was going to be a challenge going up there to Fairfield, taking that bus ride,” Boddie said. “We were happy with the way we competed, we were right there at the end. There was a lot of mistakes that we made throughout the game so we were upset that we lost but we took positives from it, Fairfield’s a top team in the state and we were right there with them. It gave us a boost of confidence that we can compete with anybody.”
It doesn’t hurt to have senior running back Jayden Allen, who has already rushed for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns in five games.
“He has been a leader – he kind of stepped into that role,” Boddie said. “He’s always been a quiet leader, but we talked to him and told him he’s going to have to be vocal because the kids look up to him.
“The offensive line has been doing a fantastic job blocking for him and we’re excited to see what he does the second half of the season.”
Cromwell/Portland had a bye week last week, which was a good thing because the undefeated Panthers have to face Valley Regional/Old Lyme Friday night.
“We’re a little banged up but everybody should be back,” head coach Sal Morello said. “Valley is always a challenge.
“We’re off to a good start. The best thing, I told them is that we haven’t even played our best football. We have a lot of areas still to clean up.”
Senior quarterback Mike Sitaro has been comfortable both passing (32-for-47, 698 yards, 11 touchdowns) and running the ball (469 yards, 10 touchdowns) and senior running back Tyler Cipollo has six touchdowns and has rushed for 526 yards.
Last year, Cromwell/Portland went 9-1 and lost in the Class S quarterfinals in Morello’s first season back in Cromwell since 2010 when he left the program he started in 2001 to coach at Middletown.
“I think anywhere they’re used to hearing one voice, then you come in… but I think this year it’s been smoother of a transition as far as that goes,” Morello said. “I came in late last year, it wasn’t a lot of time but this time, we had an offseason and a whole preseason. I know the kids, I understand what they do well, I know the personnel a lot better.”
Last week was a bye week for many local teams, but some did play. Here are some highlights:
Carmine Rio had three receptions on Saturday, all for touchdowns, and 90 receiving yards in Berlin’s 48-0 win over RHAM and Cody Puzio had four touchdown passes. … Joey Montalvo had three receiving touchdowns (67, 54 and 49 yards) and 11 catches for 174 yards in East Catholic’s 36-20 win over Lewis Mills Friday night. After Lewis Mills went up 7-0 on an 80-yard kick return by sophomore Gryfn Kobylarz, East Catholic scored four straight touchdowns, three by Montalvo, to put the game away. … Kayden Davis had two touchdowns and an inception in Northwest Catholic’s 14-7 victory over Rocky Hill. … Hand’s Bobby Reh completed 11-of-14 passes for 213 yards with four touchdowns as the Tigers beat Xavier 65-16.
Glastonbury (3-2) at New Britain (4-1) at Veterans Stadium, New Britain, Thursday, 6 p.m.: Glastonbury stopped New Britain’s win streak last year with a 49-21 victory at Glastonbury but New Britain gets the home game this year.
Valley Regional/Old Lyme (4-1) at Cromwell/Portland (5-0), Pierson Park, Cromwell, Friday, 6 p.m.: Big Pequot Sassacus game for both teams as Cromwell/Portland tries to extend its win streak and Valley Region tries to knock the Panthers out of the unbeaten ranks.