Another year has come and gone. The local athletic landscape provided championships, incredible individual efforts, and lots of memorable moments that will live on well beyond this year. Here’s a look at the Top 16 (plus a holiday bonus) games and performances from the past 12 months. If your favorite moment didn’t make the list, consider it #18.
 
#1: Cromwell Crowned Champions, Again
 
Cromwell finished another undefeated campaign, defeating Notre Dame-Fairfield 43-20 in the Class M championship game at Mohegan Sun on March 19. The Panthers used a smothering defense to limit the Lancers of Fairfield to a season-low in points, including only four points in the final quarter. The victory marked an end to the extraordinary high school careers of Mya Villard, Alyssa Wright, Araya Lessard and Emma Belcourt, who were the four seniors on Cromwell’s roster. The foursome was part of two undefeated teams and made three championship appearances during their time in C-Town.  
 
#2: National Championship for Wethersfield’s Blazing Four
 
Wethersfield’s track & field foursome of Jae-Quan Brown, Chris Manousos, Pat Hurley, and Elijah Young combined to win the 800 Sprint Medley, capturing a National Championship at the New Balance Outdoor Track & Field competition in North Carolina on June 19th. The quartet of seniors also had great individual and relay showings at the Class L finals and State Open, helping Wethersfield win state titles at both meets. 
 
#3: RCP Defends Diamond Title
 
For the second straight season, both the senior and junior division RCP (Rocky Hill-Cromwell-Portland) baseball teams took home American Legion Baseball championship trophies. Cromwell’s Austin Roy pitched a no-hitter, helping the 17u team defeated Stamford on July 30 and Cromwell’s Tucker Lord fanned 11 in a 2-0 shutout in a series-clinching victory over Stamford in the 19u final on July 31. Pat Riley is already calling for a “three-peat” next summer.  
 
#4: Terriers Softball Boards the ‘Ship
 
On June 6, Jess Greenspan pitched a complete-game shutout and scored the game’s lone run as Rocky Hill advanced to the state championship, defeating #1-seed St. Joseph 1-0 in the semifinals of the Class M tournament. It was the crowning moment for a team that won 18 of 19 regular season games and four postseason contests during skipper Tyler Catlin’s first season in the dugout. The town of Rocky Hill can’t wait to see what Catlin and his Terriers have in store for 2017.   
 
#5: History Made in Rocky Hill
 
On December 5, the dynamic backfield duo of Grant Nieves and Joe Catania combined for 403 rushing yards and five touchdowns as the Rocky Hill football team thumped Seymour 42-7 in the semifinals of the Class S playoffs, advancing the Terriers to their first state championship game. The title appearance and 11-2 overall record cemented the best season in the program’s history.
 
#6: Panthers Shock the Football World
 
Playing with their backup quarterback and against all odds, Cromwell/Portland football defeated Bloomfield 28-14 in first round of the Class S playoffs on Nov 29. The Panthers entered Bloomfield as major underdogs, but handed the defending state champions their first loss in 24 games, dating back to 2014. Kristian Sapp ran for 269 yards and three touchdowns and Ethan Roy had nine tackles and a sack in the upset victory.   
 
#7: Middletown edges Newington in Sensational Semifinal
 
Ahmod Privott scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in overtime as Middletown defeated Newington 73-68 in the Class L semifinals on March 15. The Blue Dragons led by as many as 20 in the third quarter, but needed Privott’s overtime-heroics after the Indians made a fierce rally to force the extra session. Jared Simmons led Newington with 24 points and nearly won the game at the end of regulation, but his 30-footer rimmed off. Dante Phillips sparked the Indians second-half comeback with 10 points, but Middletown prevailed in front of a sold-out Berlin High School.
 
#8: Doherty Makes a Splash
 
Senior swimmer Jack Doherty left a major impression at Middletown, capping his high school career with state records in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events at the Class M finals at Wesleyan University on March 15. The 200-record had stood since 2013 and the record in the 100 had been held since 2007. Doherty, who now swims for Division I William & Mary, also won the State Open in the 100-freestyle, less than a week after his record-breaking performances. 
 
#9: Dewey’s Dagger on Senior Night
 
On Feb 22, Cromwell sharp-shooter Peter Dewey had a Senior Night that he’ll never forget, sinking a go-ahead three-pointer from deep center with only seconds remaining as the Panthers defeated conference rival Coginchaug 45-44 on the final night of the regular season. Dewey’s game-winner sent the crowd at Salafia Gymnasium into hysterics and was the exclamation point on a team-high 22-point night for senior.  The shot extended the Panthers winning-streak to nine games to close out the regular season, a streak that continued through the Shoreline Conference tournament, which culminated with a 52-48 victory over Old Lyme. Dewey has 25 points in the conference championship victory.       
 
#10: Szymecki’s High Five
 
Wethersfield senior Lukas Szymecki scored five goals, including three in the first nine minutes of action, as the Eagles crushed Middletown 10-3 on October 11. It was a thoroughly beguiling one-man show, which helped qualify the Eagles for the Class L tournament. The Eagles would later upset Torrington 4-1 in the second-round of the tourney behind a goal and an assist from Szymecki.
 
#11: Fudge Sweetens Middletown’s Season
 
On Middletown’s final home game of the season, sophomore Amanda Fudge drained a long-range three at the buzzer as the Blue Dragons defeated Rocky Hill 67-66 on Feb 15. Fudge, who finished with 14 points, received the inbounds pass with time ticking down and heaved a high-arching shot, which found nothing but bottom of the net in front of a packed house at LeBella-Sullivan Gymnasium. It was sweet revenge for the home team, after the Terriers had blown out Middletown 64-42 less than a month earlier.     
 
#12: Newington and Wethersfield’s Hardwood Classic
 
Newington outlasted Wethersfield 73-71 in double overtime on Jan 22, improving the Indians record to 12-0 for the season. The rivalry game turned out to be one of the most entertaining games played in the state last season and was an extra memorable game for Newington’s Jared Simmons, who surpassed the 1000-point barrier for his career during the contest. The junior pumped in 25 points and dished out 10 assists in the victory. Christopher Ayers scored a team-high 24 for the Eagles.  
 
#13: Xavier Baseball’s Miraculous Run
 
Xavier won only eight of 20 regular season games and needed to win a qualifying game to get into the Class LL baseball tournament, but they cut some rug once they were in the dance. On May 31, the #34-seed Falcons shocked Hamden, who had won 18 of 20 regular season games and entered the tourney as the second-seed.  Anthony Caramanica drove in three runs and scored another in the 5-3 victory. The next day Xavier’s storybook run continued, upsetting Newington 5-2.
 
#14: Double Whammy for Rocky Hill Girls Soccer
 
The Terriers had an up and down season, but created an unforgettable moment in the first round of the Class M tourney, defeating one-loss Wolcott 1-0 in double overtime on Nov 7. Grace Moore scored off a perfect corner kick from Allison Grover with eight minutes remaining the second overtime. Samantha Steinman was impenetrable in goal and Marisa Anderson led an aggressive defensive charge. The momentous win was a great building block for the young Terriers.   
 
#15: Wethersfield’s Extra Special Baseball Victory
 
On May 18th, Jordan Laske drove in Michael Santiago for the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Eagles rallied and upset the Lancers of Bristol Eastern, who entered the contest with a 15-1 record. The win was part of a much needed four-game winning streak, which included an extra innings triumph over Newington. The late-season push helped qualify Wethersfield for the tournament, where they upset Pomperaug 6-1 in the first round of the Class L tourney.   
 
#16: Newington Stuns Middletown on the Gridiron
 
Newington’s shining moment on the football field this season was a 27-24 upset victory over Middletown on Oct 28. The Blue Dragons came to Newington with a perfect 6-0 record and the Indians had lost four of their first six games, but the home team rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit and dealt Middletown their first loss of the season. A pair of fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns from quarterback Roberto Sanchez, another rushing score from Aveontae Frazier, and a 97-yard kick return touchdown from Corey Pertillar helped shake up the local football landscape. 
 
Bonus #17 for the New Year: Walker and Stefano Save the Day in Wethersfield
 
Trailing 19-17, Tevin Walker made a miraculous one-handed catch on 4th and 18 to extend the drive and Austin Stefano split the upright from 19-yards out, giving Wethersfield a 20-19 victory over Newington on Nov 23. The catch and kick preserved the Eagles fourth straight victory over the Indians and was the final game of the season for both squads.    

The 2016 Rocky Hill football team experienced both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat within a six-day span last week.

The Terriers made history in front of a packed house at McVicar Field last Monday, steamrolling Seymour 42-7 in the Class S semifinals to reach the state championship game for the first time in the program’s history.

The victory marked another exceptional postseason performance from the team, who throttled Bullard-Havens Tech 56-8 in the quarterfinals a week earlier.

Monday’s showdown with Seymour was billed as one of the more anticipated and competitive playoff games in the state because of the team’s familiarity after scrimmaging one another the past two seasons.

Ultimately the game failed to live up to the billing, as the Terriers proved to be the superior team early and often.

“I was not expecting this at all,” Rocky Hill head coach Mark Fritz said of the outcome, “The scrimmage is good because we’re playing a quality opponent to get us ready for the season, but you can’t take too much away from it when you get this late in the season. It was so long ago and both programs have come so far and changed so much.”

From the opening kick the home team was firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 35-0 advantage at the half.

On the offensive side of the ball, the team’s potent ground game was in full effect, but it was yet another dominant defensive display that paved the path to the title game.

For the second consecutive playoff game, the stingy unit blanked one of the state’s best offenses until the final minutes of the contest.

“Our defense was clicking today,” said defensive back Jack Hansen, “We focused in practice all week and we have a lot of heart.”

Hansen was all over the field Monday night and was responsible for ending three of Seymour’s possessions, including the Wildcats initial offensive drive when he deflected a fourth-down pass in the end zone, spoiling the visitor’s best scoring opportunity of the first half.

Seymour entered the red zone twice more in the second quarter, but the Terriers defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs on both occasions.

“I think it’s just the guys not wanting to give up points. As simple as that sounds they take a lot of pride and they take it personally when they do score,” Fritz said of the team’s red zone defense, “When we get an opportunity to keep points off the scoreboard they rise up.” 

Hansen also recovered a fumble in the first half and the heady junior recognized a fake punt early in the third quarter, before making a diving tackle on Seymour’s upback, who had received a direct snap, “I was covering my man and I saw him flaring out, so I just went and made the tackle.”

Defensive captain Ricky Montalvo added two more sacks and, for the second straight week, was responsible for helping contain one of the state’s most dangerous duel-threat quarterbacks.

Seymour signal caller Jaylen Kelley entered the contest with 44 total touchdowns and his backfield mate Bobby Melms had found pay dirt 25 times through the first 11 games.

Kelley tossed a touchdown late in the game, but Melms was held out of the end zone for only the second time all season.

“We knew we had to key and spy on them. Once we got to them we just had to break down and make the tackle,” said Montalvo, who added that the defense kicks it up a notch when the opposing team nears the goal line, “As soon as someone gets in our red zone we get really aggressive and really energetic. We’ve worked hard in practice and come game time we’re ready to go.”

The defense kept the scoreboard clean for the offense, who continued to create “splash plays” on land and aerially.

Grant Nieves rushed for 186 yards and three scores, increasing his touchdown total to six through the first two playoff games.

Joe Catania added 217 yards on the ground and a pair of breakaway scores, from 40 and 34 yards out.
 
Quarterback Danny Cavallaro didn’t have to take to the skies too often, but capitalized when he did, heaving a 41-yard scoring strike to Dante Baker “The Touchdown Maker”.

It was Baker’s second touchdown reception of the playoffs. The junior also continued to wreak havoc defensively, forcing Kelley to fumble in the first half when he ran him down from his blindside. The strip sack set up Nieves’ third touchdown.

The victory over Seymour set up a championship date with Ansonia on Saturday at Veterans Stadium inside Willow Brook Park in New Britain.

Catania rushed for 192 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, including a 93-yarder, and the Terriers took a 14-6 advantage into the final quarter.

However, the Chargers of Ansonia scored a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns to win 28-21, capturing their 20th state title.

“I told them that I was proud of them and that I love them,” Fritz told his team after the championship loss, “They worked had for us all year and unfortunately we came up a little short.”

Fritz will have several starters and key players returning next season, including Catania and Cavallaro, who nearly engineered a fourth-quarter rally in the title game. The junior threw a 19-yard touchdown to Nieves on fourth down, narrowing the deficit to seven with 2:34 left in regulation.
 
“He’s a tremendous worker. He knew we were going to count on him a lot this year and he started putting in the work early in the summer and it’s really showed,” Fritz said of Cavallaro, “He’s done a great job for us all year and to see him step up like that was no surprise to us. He’s one of our leaders and we expect it of him.”

Fritz and the coaching staff will be losing nine seniors, including Nieves and Montalvo. Salman Safdar, Hunter Held, Luke Devine, Krist Veli, Lukasz Zduniak, Damon Lonero, Ernie Mazzarella are the seven others who will be graduating in June.  

Despite the championship loss, it’s a senior class that helped set the highest bar in the history of Ricky Hill football.

“I’m proud to have an opportunity to coach this group. I’ll remember how close they were and how much they enjoyed playing football,” added Fritz, “Practice was fun every day and watching them play on Fridays and Saturdays was amazing. I’ve seen them all come through as freshmen and to see them get this close to a state championship this year was special.”

The 2016 Rocky Hill football team made history last Monday night at McVicar Field, steamrolling Seymour 42-7 in the Class S semifinals to reach the state championship for the first time in the program’s history.

The semifinal-victory marked another exceptional postseason performance from the Terriers, who defeated Bullard-Havens Tech 56-8 in the quarterfinals a week earlier.

Monday’s showdown with Seymour was billed as one of the more anticipated and competitive playoff games in the state this past week, because the teams were familiar with one another after having scrimmaged the past two seasons.

The game failed to live up to the billing. Instead, the Terriers proved to be the superior team early and often.

“I was not expecting this at all,” Rocky Hill’s third-year head coach Mark Fritz said of the outcome, “The scrimmage is good because we’re playing a quality opponent to get us ready for the season, but you can’t take too much away from it when you get this late in the season. It was so long ago and both programs have come so far and changed so much.”

From the opening kick, the home team was firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 35-0 advantage at the half.

As always, the team’s potent ground game was in full effect, but it was yet another dominant defensive display which paved the path to the title game.

For the second consecutive playoff game, the stingy unit blanked one of the state’s best offenses until the final minutes of the contest.

“Our defense was clicking today,” said cornerback Jack Hansen, “We focused in practice all week and we have a lot of heart.”

Hansen was ‘in the zone’ Monday night and was responsible for ending three Seymour drives, including the Wildcats initial offensive possession when the junior cornerback deflected a fourth-down pass in the end zone, spoiling the visitor’s best scoring opportunity of the first half.

Seymour entered the red zone twice more in the second quarter, but the Terriers defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs on both occasions.

“I think it’s just the guys not wanting to give up points. As simple as that sounds, they take a lot of pride in our defense. They take it personally when they do score,” Fritz said of his red zone defense, “When we get an opportunity to keep points off the scoreboard they rise up.”

Hansen also recovered a fumble in the first half and recognized a fake punt early in the third quarter before making a diving tackle on Seymour’s upback, who received a direct snap, “I was covering my man and I saw him flaring out, so I just went and made the tackle.”

Defensive captain Ricky Montalvo added two more sacks and, for the second straight week, was responsible for helping contain one of the state’s best duel-threat quarterbacks.

Seymour signal caller Jaylen Kelley entered the contest with 44 total touchdowns and his backfield mate Bobby Melms had reached the end zone 25 times through the first 11 games.

Kelley tossed a touchdown late in the game, but Melms was held out of the end zone for only the second time all season.

“We knew we had to key and spy on them. Once we got to them, we just had to break down and make the tackle,” said Montalvo, who added that the defense kicks it up a notch when the opposing team nears the goal line, “As soon as someone gets in our red zone, we get really aggressive and really energetic. We’ve worked hard in practice and come game time we’re ready to go.”

The defensive efforts helped set up the offense, who continued to create splash plays on land and aerially.

Grant Nieves ran for 186 yards and three scores, increasing his playoff touchdown total to six through two games.

Joe Catania added 217 yards on the ground and a pair of breakaway scores, from 40 and 34 yards out.

Quarterback Danny Cavallaro didn’t have to take to the skies too often, but capitalized when he did, heaving a 41-yard scoring strike to Dante Baker “The Touchdown Maker”.

It was Baker’s second touchdown reception of the playoffs. The junior also continued to wreak havoc defensively, forcing Kelley to fumble in the first half when he ran him down from his blindside. The strip sack set up one of one of Nieves touchdowns.

The historic team is now on the edge of glory and will battle Ansonia for all the marbles on Saturday, December 10th at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. The Class S state championship game kicks off at 10:30 a.m.

Mark Fritz was an assistant coach the last time Rocky Hill football won a playoff game.

That was until last Tuesday night, when the assistant-turned-head coach and his surging Terriers coasted to a 56-8 victory over the visiting Bullard-Havens Tigers in the quarterfinals of the Class S playoffs at McVicar Field.

“It’s nice, they’re a hungry group. They’ve been talking about this for years, the opportunity to get back to the state playoffs,” Fritz said of his senior class, who were freshman the last time the program won a postseason game, “For them to get here and experience it for themselves is really special. Having been with them for all four years and to see it pay off for them, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Grant Nieves was a freshman on the 2013 team, which defeated Price Tech 51-8 in playoffs. He rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown in the quarterfinals-triumph three seasons ago.

The now-senior tripled those scoring numbers in the victory Tuesday night, rushing for three touchdowns, including a 51-yard jaunt on the first play from scrimmage.

“We practiced our hammer all week, we executed and my linemen opened it up for me. It was an open field,” Nieves recalled of the opening play, “It helped because we were pretty tense coming into the game because we had never played them before and we weren’t sure how they were going to play.”

“It’s always nice when you score on the first play of the game,” a smiling Fritz added, “It allows our defense to fly around and play with even more confidence. They’re a confident bunch as it is, but when you give them a lead they play aggressive. They love to play fast and playing with a lead really suits our style of football.”

The defense forced a three-and-out on the Bullard-Havens first offensive series, and Nieves added his second touchdown a few minutes later when he scooted around the left side of the defense before cutting back and scoring from six yards out.

Quarterback Danny Cavallaro connected with Dante Baker on a 35-yard touchdown strike with 6:16 left in the first quarter and Joe Catania scored the first of his two touchdowns late in the quarter, providing Rocky Hill a 27-0 advantage after the first dozen minutes.

The sizable cushion allowed the Terriers to continue to do what they do best.

Run. The. Ball.

“We were confident in our o-line to do what they’ve been doing all year. They love to run block and they love our style of offense,” Fritz said about mismatch at the line of scrimmage, “It didn’t really matter who our opponent was tonight, we were going to run our offense and it happened to work out that the weather conditions were conducive to our style of football. I think that helped us out a lot.”

With the game well in hand, Rocky Hill’s Will White had an incredible four minutes stretch that ended any doubt of the eventual outcome.  

White intercepted a pass late in the first quarter, and on the ensuing drive hauled in a 35-yard reception on 4th and 7. The junior polished off the drive by plunging into the end zone from two yards out and he also ran in the two-point conversion with 9:07 left in the half.

On the ensuring play following a shanked punt by the road team, Nieves completed the trifecta, scoring from nine yards out.

Catania added his second score less than two minutes later when the locomotive burst around the right side and broke three tackles on his way to a 40-yard touchdown.   

All told, Rocky Hill scored on their first seven possession of the game and led 49-0 at the break.

It was a stunning halftime score for a game that, on paper, seemed to feature two evenly-matched teams.

Both entered the playoff contest with 9-1 records and both had lost to undefeated teams.

The Bridgeport-based Tigers also had one of the state’s most prolific players in quarterback Tyrese Wright, who was responsible for 40 total touchdowns in the regular season.

Tuesday night was a different story. Wright was stymied by the fierce Terriers defense, finding little room to operate on the ground or through the air.

The junior quarterback eventually got into the end zone, but it came with less than a minute to play in the contest.

It was another spectacular performance from the Rocky Hill defense, who a week earlier had shut down the normally fruitful run-oriented offense of Cromwell/Portland.

“Our coaches do a great job preparing our players for the week and we played well tonight,” said Fritz, “We have a very well-rounded group of kids playing on defense. They can adjust to playing the pass or the run without changing personnel that much. Other teams might have to sub in and out guys, but we can keep the same guys on the field. Our defense is conducive to any style of offense.”

“Our defensive coaches trust our players, so we went man and we just practiced man coverage the whole time,” added Nieves, who also starts at cornerback and knocked down three passes, “I trust these guys over anybody and we did a great job deflecting passes and staying on our guys.”

The road team attempted to counter Rocky Hill’s attacking defense with several screen passes, but the Terriers disciplined defenders were up to the task. Defensive lineman Lukasz Zduniak knocked down two passes and Damon Lonero and Ricky Montalvo each had a quarterback sack, all of which ended drives.  

With the game salted away at the half, Fritz was able to rest several of his starters for a majority of the final two quarters.

Prior to kickoff Nieves didn’t expect to be resting for the final 24 minutes, but the senior captain didn’t mind the light load.       

“It’s a good thing. We came out and handled our business.”

Jordan Jones and Joseph Ferreira got a bulk of the second-half carries, and Ferreira scored the team’s final touchdown from 13 yards out.

The program’s second ever playoff victory earned the team a semifinals home date against Seymour.  

Panthers Shock Bloomfield

The Cromwell/Portland Panthers traveled to Bloomfield and stunned the undefeated Warhawks 28-14 in the quarterfinals of the Class S playoffs.

Kristian Sapp rushed for 269 yards and three touchdowns as the Panthers dealt the defending Class S state champions their first loss in over two years.

Jon Siena added 54 yards and another touchdown on the ground and punter Richard Loza was the game’s unsung hero, averaging nearly 60 yards a punt and pinning all four of his boots inside the 20-yard line.

The upset win moved the Panthers into the semifinal round for a date at Ansonia.
 
Middletown Outlasts Platt

The Blue Dragons potent rushing attack amassed 459 yards and eight touchdowns as Middletown defeated Platt 56-36 in the Class L quarterfinals.

Quarterback Tyshaun James ran for five of those touchdowns and Ibn Lombardo grinded out 181 yards and two more scores. CJ Spowl tallied the other rushing touchdown.

Defensively, Stone Belzo tallied 11 tackles and Nico Cavaliere and Justin McMillian each intercepted passes for the Blue Dragons.

The victory propelled Middletown to the semifinal round for a rematch against Windsor.