Nor’easters Football Drops Wild Game in We-Ha

Nor’easters quarterback Paddy Brown runs for a first down during the first half of Newington’s 36-33 loss to Conard on Sept. 15

In a game that featured ten touchdowns and countless big plays, Newington football suffered a heartbreaking, 36-33, defeat to Conard in West Hartford on Sept. 15.
           
The Red Wolves used a 13-play drive that drained nearly seven minutes of the clock, scoring the go-ahead touchdown when senior captain Declan McCann plunged over the goal line from a yard out with 40 seconds left in regulation. 
           
McCann’s touchdown, which gave Conard their first lead of the game, proved to be the game-winner as Newington mishandled the ensuing kickoff, ending any chance of any late magic from a Nor’easters offense that found the end zone on five previous possessions. 
           
“Games like this are tough to swallow. Games like this show what kind of people we are, the kind of people we have in our program,” Newington head coach Jason Pace said about the loss, which dropped his team to 0-2. “If you want to blame anyone, it’s on me. I have to make sure we are prepared to finish games and we weren’t able to do that in the second half.”
           
Early on, Newington looked like the superior squad thanks to an offense that scored touchdowns on their first four drives. 
           
On the game’s opening possession, the Nor’easters marched down the field in seven plays before Evan Pigott capped the drive by bursting through the heart of Conard’s defense for a seven-yard touchdown run.
           
After the home team countered with a Julian Schneider to McCann aerial connection from 26 yards out, Newington quarterback Paddy Brown hit Akari Rosemond for a 21-yard gain to put the Nor’easters back into the red zone. On the following play, Luca Corvino scored on a three yard rushing touchdown when he spun to the outside before outrunning a handful of defenders to the left corner of the end zone with 5:14 left in the opening quarter. 
           
Following a fumble recovery by Hayden Fish, Newington punctuated the next drive when Brown snuck it past the goal line from a yard out on fourth down. 
           
Wide receiver Josiah Ross then caught a screen pass from Brown and broke a tackle before racing 50 yards down the sidelines, putting Newington up 27-7 with 7:32 left in the half. 
           
Pace credited the guys up front with powering an offense that looked unstoppable over the first 24 minutes. 
           
Senior captains Elijah Smith and Amari Rosemond helped paved the way for the running game and provided ample time for Brown to spread the ball around.  
           
Conard’s comeback started late in the first half when Schneider again found McCann, this time from four yards out to narrow the deficit to 27-13 with less than two minutes to play in the half. 
           
On the opening possession of the second half, Conard’s Santana Edwards scored on a 15 yard run before kicker Conor Mangini hit what turned out to be a crucial 40-yard extra point––because of a pair of penalties—to trim the deficit to 27-21.
           
Ross then returned the ensuing kickoff 33 yards, setting up Corvino’s second rushing touchdown, this time from 31 yards out. 
           
The score remained 33-21 before Edwards again found the end zone in the closing minute of the third quarter when he rumbled in from 20 yards out, narrowing the deficit to 33-28.  
           
In the fourth, Newington then used an eight-play drive to reach the Conard 29-yard line before turning it over on downs when Brown and Ross were unable to connect on a fourth down pass with 7:13 remaining in regulation. 
           
It would be the last time Newington would touch the ball offensively, as Conard held the ball for the next six minutes and 33 seconds, converting a pair of fourth down—including a 4th and 10 from their own 30-yard line—before McCann took a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and scored what proved to be the game-winner. McCann punctuated the scoring sequence by also converting the ensuing two-point conversion.  
           
Pace said the opportunities to close out the game were missed.
           
“We want to make sure we put teams away when we’re up and be able to convert on fourth down situations,” added Pace. “On the flip side, we need to make sure we get off the field in those situations. When it’s third down or fourth down we need to be able to get off the field.”
           
Pace also credited Conard’s halftime adjustments, adding that the Red Wolves zone running scheme was particularly difficult to stop and allowed the home team to dominate time of possession in the second half. 
           
“They came out with a great game plan to keep our offense off the field,” stated Pace. “I need to make sure that we compete and are able to finish games when we’re up a couple of scores.”
           
Despite their struggles in key moments, Newington’s defense did look good at times. Along with his fumble recovery, Fish also made a pair of pass break-ups on screen passes and had a sack. Pigott, Smith, Jayden Williams, Freddie Martinez, and Joel Nazario also made stops in the backfield.   
           
Newington will look to turn things around this Friday, Sept. 23 when they welcome Staples (1-1) to Alumni Field. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m.  

Newington’s #24 Joel Nazario and #54 Jaiden Nunez line up defensively prior to a snap at Conard High School in West Hartford.