Panthers Protect Pierson Park, Eye Title Saturday

Cromwell/Portland head coach Randell Bennett tells junior quarterback Jess Elfreich the next offensive play during the Panthers 26-18 first round playoff victory at Pierson Park on Nov. 28. The team will play for the Class S championship this Saturday in Hartford. 
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​After a pair of playoff wins last week, the Cromwell/Portland football team is headed to the state title game for the second time in three years. 

Cromwell/Portland, the No. 4 seed, will face No. 2 seed Bloomfield in the Class S State Championship game this Saturday, Dec. 9 at Rentschler Field, kicking off at 10:30 a.m.   

The Panthers playoff journey back to the state title game started with a victory a home, defeating Griswold/Wheeler 26-18 in the first round of the Class S bracket on Nov. 28. 

It victory marked the third straight season that the Panthers won a playoff game at Pierson Park. 

Junior quarterback Jess Elfreich threw a pair of touchdowns, while the brotherly backfield duo of Emeka Yearwood and Osi Yearwood each ran for touchdowns as the home team erased three deficits to advance to the state semifinals. 

Head coach Randell Bennett joked that it took his team a little time to “warm up” for the 6:30 p.m. kickoff on a frigid night, adding “we just needed some time to wake up.”

After the Panthers fumbled away the game’s opening possession, the visiting Wolverines capitalized on the turnover by driving 52 yards in 11 plays with the final play being a one-yard touchdown plunge from Joshua Turner.           

Cromwell/Portland countered on the next possession when Jack Nolan high-pointed an Elfreich fade pass in the back left corner of the end zone from 13-yards out, capping a 10-play drive. Elfreich then connected with Emeka Yearwood for the two-point conversion, giving the Panthers an 8-6 lead with 11:24 to play in the first half. 

After trading punts, Griswold/Wheeler recaptured the lead when quarterback Luke Cassidy hit Kiyle Montigny with a 50-yard touchdown bomb midway through the second quarter. 

Again, Cromwell countered on the next possession by driving 84 yards, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Elfreich to fellow junior Matt Gish, putting the Panthers up 14-12 at the break.

Gish wasn’t wearing receiver gloves on the 33 degree night, yet that didn’t stop him from hauling in several key passes. 

“I knew I could beat them over the middle all night,” recalled Gish. “I was open on the play before and we just didn’t connect, but we
definitely connected there.” 

The Wolverines bit back one more time on their first drive of the second half when KinKade Rubino scored from a yards midway through the third quarter. 

But for the final 20 minutes of regulation, it was all Panthers.

Osi Yearwood scored from a yard out with 4:30 left in the third quarter, regaining the lead for the Panthers, before the home team’s defense began to exert their will. 

Gish sacked Cassidy, causing a fumble that was recovered by Matthew Michaud.

On the play prior, Gish was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for suplexing Rubino out of bounds.

Gish, an accomplished wrestler in the winter, said he was upset with himself after the penalty and eyed quick redemption, saying, “That strip-sack was electric, I loved it.”

With 10:50 to play in regulation, Emeka Yearwood broke several arm tackles before scooting down the right sideline for a 38-yard rushing touchdown. 

Emeka Yearwood, who is the older brother of Osi, then had an 80-yard touchdown called back on a holding penalty before he finished the game on the defensive side when he sacked Cassidy on fourth down with three minutes left in regulation.  

Bennett said that Yearwood has a knack for coming up with big pays when the team needs them most, adding, “He understands that it’s on his shoulder now; we expect those plays from him.”

An Elfreich to Nolan 20-yard connection on third down allowed the Panthers to drain off the final few minutes off the clock. 

The playoff victory was also sweet redemption for the Panthers, who had lost their final regular season game at Pierson Park, falling to Granby/Canton 22-6 on Senior Night (Nov. 3).

Following the loss, the team reeled off three straight road wins to qualify for the postseason. 

Senior captain Jack Williams noted that, following the Senior Night loss, the team was determined to play another game at Pierson Park.

“We didn’t want that to be our last home game, so we knew we had to get back here,” added Williams. “We had to win – it was our last [home] game.”

Emeka Yearwood added, “This is everything. We lost on Senior Night and you have to end on a win, always.”

The Panthers followed up the playoff home win with an even more impressive road victory, defeating top-seed Ansonia 28-0 in the state semifinals at Derby High School on Dec. 3

Cromwell/Portland literally dominated from start to finish as Emeka Yearwood scored on the first play from scrimmage, rushing for a 64 yard touchdown, and Osi Yearwood polished off the game with an 80-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter. 

Elfreich again tossed a pair of touchdown, one each to Tyler Cipolla and Vaughn Payne, to round out the scoring.

But it was the Panthers defense that stole the show, shutting out a Chargers offense that entered the semifinals averaging 40 points a game. It was also the first time all season that the Panthers had held an opponent scoreless.

On Saturday, the Panthers will be looking to duplicate the feat from two seasons ago when they beat Bloomfield (21-6) in the 2021 Class S championship game.