Mineral Ridge overpowers Springfield to stay unbeaten
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WEATHERSFIELD -- Many of the students were dressed in red, white and blue in honor of the 25th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, on Friday night in Weathersfield.
At the end of the evening, the home fans celebrated a 27-7 victory by Mineral Ridge over Springfield. It was the first time the Rams (4-0) defeated the Tigers since 2009.
"All the credit to Springfield," Mineral Ridge coach Andrew Hake said. "They have a really good program over there. Our kids are tough. They played really hard tonight. We still haven't seen them play at their best, but we will."
The Rams got the ball first, and they put a good drive together. They drove all the way to the Springfield 25-yard line before a pass on 4th-and-6 fell incomplete.
Junior quarterback Michael Tuscano connected with senior Steve Morlan for a 35-yard reception for the Tigers. Tuscano tried to go deep to Morlan again, but junior Jesse Rozzi intercepted the pass for Mineral Ridge.
Springfield senior Drake Benson got a sack to push the Rams back, and the first quarter ended scoreless.
The Rams fumbled the ball to begin the second quarter, and Benson was there for the recovery for Springfield (1-3).
The Tigers were forced to punt, and Mineral Ridge got on the scoreboard. Senior Thomas Koniowsky had a big gain on a catch over the middle. Then, Christian Dunlap ran down the left sideline for a 32-yard TD run to make the score 7-0.
Springfield punted the ball away again, and junior Preston Kline ran the ball for a 19-yard gain. Senior Ethan Deley punched it in the end zone from 1 yard away, and the Rams led 14-0 at halftime.
The Tigers received the second half kickoff, and they didn't waste any time scoring a touchdown. Springfield went through the air, and a touchdown pass made the score 14-7.
However, the Rams responded with a touchdown on the ground. Mineral Ridge failed on the extra-point attempt, and the score was 20-7 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Rams used some trickery to add another touchdown in the fourth. Koniowsky took it on an end-around. Then, he tossed the ball into the end zone for a touchdown pass to Deley to make it 27-7.
Late in the game, the Tigers were still battling. Senior Kaden Carruthers had a huge gain, and Springfield drove to the Mineral Ridge 3-yard line. However, the Rams shut the door on the Tigers at the goal line to walk away with the victory.