East Catholic senior Joey Montalvo broke the state’s all-time career receiving record on Senior Night Thursday against Plainville, passing Aaron Hernandez.
Montalvo now has 3,811 yards. Hernandez’s record of 3,677 yards was set from 2003-06 at Bristol Central. Montavo broke the record on a 60-yard touchdown pass in the first half in the 31-24 loss to Plainville.
“It was on Senior Night, which made it extra special,” East Catholic coach Tommy Seaver said. “We ended up losing the game but it was a very special night for him to do it at home, on Senior Night with his family there.
“I feel bad we couldn’t get to the playoffs his senior year but we had a young team and it was a great year for him.”
At 4-5, East Catholic won’t make the playoffs this year after advancing to the Class S quarterfinals last season.
But Montalvo could get another state record in his team’s final regular season game against Northwest Catholic on Thanksgiving. He is five receptions away from the career record set by Nico Ragaini of Notre Dame-West Haven (222, 2013-16).
Rockville earns comeback win
After the Rockville football team lost in the final moments to CREC on Nov. 1, the Rams were not feeling very confident. And they had to play undefeated Cromwell/Portland last Friday.
But Rockville came up big at the end of the game and knocked Cromwell/Portland out of the unbeaten ranks with a 33-29 comeback win.
“The big thing going in was we had lost (to CREC) and a lot of kids were questioning, ‘Can we compete with Cromwell?’” Rockville coach Erick Knickerbocker said. “We had a long time to think about our one-point loss. We went for two (points) to win the game against CREC and didn’t get it, and got the onside kick but couldn’t score. We were definitely a little rattled.
“We knew we had to lay it on the line to beat (Cromwell).”
Knickerbocker said that it was “kind of a crazy game.” The Rams were down 10-7 at halftime and 16-14 after three quarters. They trailed by eight with eight minutes left and came back but Cromwell/Portland scored again and the Rams were down by nine with five minutes left.
But the Rams didn’t fold. Senior Darren Ghostlaw, one of Rockville’s two quarterbacks, led the team down the field and the Rams scored on a Will J. Davis 35-yard touchdown reception. Molly Wilson’s extra point cut Cromwell’s lead to 29-27. Rockville tried an onside kick but Cromwell wound up with the ball.
The Panthers needed a first down and the game would be over.
“They get a couple yards on first down and a couple yards on second down and now it’s third and 3,” Knickerbocker said. “Their quarterback is really good. We tackled him for a one-yard gain so now it’s 4th and two. I burned my first timeout. If they get the two yards, the game is over.
“We put our goal line defense out there. We hit them at the line of scrimmage. Somehow we corralled him and turned him backwards so he ends up being a quarter yard short. It looked like he was going to get it. I have no idea how we got the stop.”
Rockville had the ball with less than two minutes left. Its second quarterback Luca Houle got sacked on the first play.
“We had an incomplete pass. Now it’s 3rd and 10, kind of looking like we’re in trouble and (Houle) throws a 40-yard wheel route to Will J, right on the money and he keeps his feet inbounds and we pick up 45 yards,” Knickerbocker said. “We complete a couple more passes. We’re really trying to get inside the 20 because Molly’s been good in warmups, it’s not windy, we’re down two. Molly is warming up. She was pissed because at CREC, she wanted to kick and we were five yards out of field goal range.
“It was like déjà vu. We’re at third and 2 at the 12. Let’s run the ball and get the ball to the middle of the field. We ran our quarterback and he made a guy miss and ran a guy over and scored.”
And just like that, the Rams were 7-1, with a renewed dose of confidence. They need to win one of their final two games to make the playoffs and two to get home field advantage, Knickerbocker said. They are currently in fourth place in Class M.
Houle completed 7 of 12 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns (one rushing, two passing) and Davis had seven catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns for Rockville.
More Week 10 Highlights
-Sawyer Pequita completed 13 of 15 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns and had 16 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown in Enfield’s 43-21 win over Conard. Conard quarterback Xavier Williams completed 26 of 40 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown while Conard’s Justin Nanayakarra had 12 receptions for 136 yards and the 12 receptions ties the school record with Cole Stabnick (2013) and Aidan Stabnick (2017).
-Ben Beaulieu rushed for 115 yards and four touchdowns, including one in overtime, in Southington’s 35-34 victory over Maloney. With the score tied at 28-28 heading into OT, Maloney scored first in overtime but Southington blocked the extra point. Beaulieu scored on a 1-yard run and Sawyer Trudeau’s extra point won the game. …
-Jake O’Brien scored on a nine-yard run with a minute left to give Sheehan a 26-25 win over Shelton Friday. O’Brien completed 9 of 16 passes for 128 yards and had two passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
-Cody Puzio completed nine of 16 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in Berlin’s 49-7 win over E.O. Smith.
-Haddam-Killingworth’s Chase Lombardi-Bole had one rushing touchdown on offense and had a sack and three tackles-for-loss on defense in H-K’s 27-12 win over the Coventry co-op.
Games to Watch
Ellington (7-1) at Weaver co-op (6-2), Thursday, at Hartford Public, 6:30 p.m.: Weaver is fourth in Class L and has two games left.
Bloomfield (7-2) at Windsor (8-1), Saturday, 1 p.m.: Big rivalry game between the CCC powers.
Berlin (9-0) at Middletown (7-2), Friday, 6 p.m.: With a win, Berlin finishes the regular season undefeated.
