Eagles Football Soars at Falcon Field

Wethersfield RB Jova'n Hill sheds a tackle during the Eagles 20-0 win over Platt at Falcon Field. Photo credit: Michelle Elliott / WHS Football Boosters

Wethersfield football walked off a cold, dark field at New Canaan High School after being eliminated from the playoffs on December 4th, 2019.

Eagles head coach Matt McKinnon joked that he might start preparing for next season on the long bus ride home from the southern part of Connecticut. Little did McKinnon know at the time that he would have to wait 646 days for the next game.

Following 21 months of contact-less football, McKinnon and his team finally took the field again, blanking Platt 20-0 at Falcon Field last Friday night.

“We’ve been harping all week that there will be lights, there will be a crowd, but we just have to have fun and play football,” said McKinnon, “We started with some nerves but we settled in on offense and our defense brought that energy.”

Junior quarterback Wil Bankowski played with poise, throwing a pair of touchdowns and running for another in his debut under center

“I can’t say enough about him. He’s the toughest kid and I’d have him lead this team any day,” McKinnon said of his first-year QB, “We have pressure in practice every single day. I don’t believe in 7-on-7 for our offense, so we come after him with all different pressures. It showed tonight, he stayed in the pocket and I’m proud of him.”

Bankowski added, “Since it was our first game in two years we had to come out strong. Once we got that first drive going we settled down.”

The team’s traded punts and turnovers in the first quarter before the Eagles offense started to click, driving 79 yards in nine plays, capped off by a Bankowski to Connor Moreau five-yard touchdown.

Moreau, a senior captain, said they practiced the pass play specifically for Platt, “We worked on it just for this game. Their outside linebacker blitzed a lot, and we knew that arrow would be wide open.”

Two possessions later, Wethersfield struck again when Bankowski kept it himself and scored from a yard out. The touchdown was set up by a Bankowski-to-Louie Montalvo 32-yard over the shoulder connection to the one-yard line.

Montalvo was used in a variety of roles on Friday night, catching a handful of passes and was featured on gadget plays. He is also the team’s punter, showcasing a strong leg and running 32 yards on a fake punt in the second half.

“Louie is up and coming and he’ll be a star here at Wethersfield. It was a big offseason for him learning at the next level,” McKinnon said of his playmaker, “He’s an animal in the weight room, he works hard. He can go anywhere on the field and if they leave him one on one, we’ll find him.”

With a two score lead, the defense took over. The Eagles intercepted Platt quarterback Avery Robinson twice in the first half, one each for cornerbacks Ben Caulfield and Tanner Healy.

The bookend corners are leading a unit that has been dubbed Defensive Back University, better known as DBU.

“Tanner and Ben want to win. They want to know who is the best and they want to guard them,” said McKinnon, who game-planned against Platt’s receiving extraordinaire Antwone Santiago, “We tried to jam Antwone at the line and we left those guys on an island. Those two guys are anchoring that outside.”

Santiago was a stud for Platt, hauling in over 100 receiving yards and moving the chains on several drives. The Panthers threatened to score twice in the second half but Wethersfield defense tightened near the goal line on both occasions.

All told the Eagles sacked Johnson four times and forced three turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.

Defensive captain Holden Speed had two sacks, saying the team came in with a chip on their shoulder

“CT Varsity Top 20 list came in and we did not get a single vote, and we took that personally. We wanted to prove that we were up there with the big dogs,” said Speed, “It was great to come out with this shutout.”

Moreau added that that finishing the shutout was important, “It means everything to us. We want to be the top defense in the CCC.”

Defensive linemen Kaleb Garcia and Bryson Evans, along with linebackers T.J. Smith and Evan Christian were instrumental in stymieing Platt’s running game from start to finish.

Sophomore running back Jova’n Hill, who dazzled on the ground, capped the scoring midway through the third when he caught a swing pass from Bankowski before jetting 15 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.

Wethersfield next plays Berlin at home this Friday, September 17. Kickoff at Cottone Field will be 7:00 p.m.

McKinnon wants to see the team clean up some of mistakes, particularly the turnovers and penalties, before they take on the Redcoats, who are coming off a 33-0 victory over Middletown.

At least this time the Eagles only need to wait six days before the Berlin bout, not 646.

​Speed summed it up, “It just feels so good to be back, the whole atmosphere, it feels like everyone is happy again. it’s an amazing feeling.”