rare reminder starting five: Athletes of the week

Big Foot Spotting: Just like the real Big Foot, here is a grainy picture of Rocky Hill kicker Brody Troiano's Big Football Kick - a 57 yard field goal in practice. 

Brody Troiano- Rocky Hill (Football): Troiano made all four of his extra points as the Terriers defeated Farmington 28-7 last Saturday, but it was his big boot in practice that had social media buzzing last week. With a little help from the wind, the senior nailed a 57-yard field goal in practice. To put Troiano’s kick into perspective, NFL kickers (spanning 2009-2019) made less than 50% of field goal attempts from 57 yards or more.

“It felt good. As soon as I made contact I knew it was a solid kick, but honestly I thought I wasn't going to make it,” Troiano said of the kick, “We were practicing our normal PATs and we just started moving back, the next thing. I knew we were pushing 50 yards. I have hit 50 yarders in practice before, but never tried from 57 and then we just tried it, it went well. I also want to thank the holder Tommy and the snapper Chis for setting me up for it.”

In the win over Farmington, Troiano also led the defensive charge by causing a fumble and racking up six tackles, including two for loss. Quarterback Tyreice Dominique ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Dominique also tossed a touchdown to Frankie Guerrera, while running back M.J. Torres had 18 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. The Terriers are now 3-1 on the season with rival Bloomfield (5-0) coming to RHHS for a battle this Friday (10/22). Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Troiano hopes the Terriers can keep the momentum going, “I feel like there are several factors to the success so far. I have to start out by thanking Coach Dance and the rest of the coaching staff. They do so much work from organizing practices to making in-game adjustments. Also I think the team play that we have been able to put together so far has been huge. Everyone does their job and this allows us to be able to move the ball downfield or stop an offense in their tracks. I also have to give credit to the fans, they are able to change the momentum of the game and with not having a full season last year it's great to have them this year. We have so many great athletes on the team and I know we have something special, but we still have several games ahead of us and we need to keep working hard day in and day out.”

Hailey Gaydos- Newington (Field Hockey): Gaydos scored a pair of goals, one assisted by freshman Hailie Broadbent, as Newington defeated Windsor 2-1 last Friday. The junior is one of the main scoring threats for a Nor’easter team that has won two of their last three and enter the week with a record on 5-6, looking to make a push for a postseason berth. 

Charlie Martindale- Wethersfield (Golf): Martindale finished tied for 7th, shooting a 76, at the CCC boys golf finals at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain last Thursday. The senior has had a busy couple of weeks as the Eagles played five matches and the conference championship during a nine-day span, including a win over Bloomfield in which Martindale was the match medalist.  

Lily Kenney- Cromwell (Soccer): Kenney was perfect in goal, shutting out Portland (1-0) last Thursday and Hall (4-0) on Friday. The junior goalkeeper, along with a stout defensive front have been tremendous for the Panthers, who have shutout nine opponent this season and enter the week with a record of 7-0-5.  

​Dario Rigano- Middletown (Soccer): Rigano scored three goals as Middletown blanked New Britain 8-0 last Thursday, improving the team to 7-1-3. The senior is captaining the team with fellow senior Alex Foligno and junior Marshall Butler, and the win over New Britain marked the team’s fourth shutout this fall.