NEW BRITAIN – The Windsor football team lost in the state final last year in the last few seconds, on a field goal by Masuk.
Saturday night, in the Class MM state championship game against Bunnell at Central Connecticut’s Arute Field, the Warriors were determined not to let that happen again.
Top-seeded Windsor scored with less than five minutes left. Bunnell got a touchdown with a little over a minute left. But Windsor (12-1) hung on for a 23-13 victory for its first state title since 2014.
“This means everything,” said Windsor’s interim head coach Quinn Fleeting, who took over for his father Rob last year after Rob became the school’s assistant principal. “I lost in the championship my senior year as a player, then in 2021, losing as an (offensive coordinator), then last year losing again – to come out and to win it, feels great. It feels amazing.”
Windsor senior quarterback AJ Robinson, who was named the state Gatorade Player of the Year last week, ran for two touchdowns and passed for another. He rushed for 99 yards and completed 13 of 23 passes for 140 yards with two interceptions.
“Four years – and we finally got it done my senior year,” Robinson said. “To do it in my last game ever means so much.”
Robinson injured his shoulder early in the game but played through it.
“It hurt a little bit but I just had to get up and make it happen,” he said.
“We came out her with a purpose,” Windsor junior WR/DB Jayden Compton said. “We came out here for the Dub. Last year we didn’t get it done but this year we did.”
Bunnell, which had won seven straight games and lost in the semifinals last year to Masuk, finished at 10-3.
Robinson scored early for Windsor with a 6-yard touchdown run with 9:56 left in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked and Windsor led 6-0.
On its next series, Windsor scored again. Eight plays down the field and Robinson hit Missoni Brown with a 4-yard TD pass with 3:03 left in the first. Brown’s conversion run was good and Windsor led 14-0.
Windsor’s defense stopped Bunnell at the 24 and again at the 12 but on Bunnell’s next drive, with 6:21 left in the first half, the Bulldogs scored on a 21-yard run by Roderick Ricketts Jr. and the kick was good and Windsor’s lead was cut to 14-7.
With less than a minute left in the half, Charlie Lewis intercepted a pass by Jake Garrigan and Windsor ended up in the red zone but could not score before the half.
“The defense played amazing, they kept us in this game,” Robinson said. “We trusted our guys to make plays and they did.”
Robinson scored on a 5-yard run with 4:20 left in the game and the extra point gave Windsor a 21-7 lead. But it wasn’t over yet. Bunnell marched down the field and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jake Garrigan to Keyshon Zimmerman with 1:36 left. Windsor blocked the extra point and led 21-13.
Bunnell had an onside kick and recovered the ball but then fumbled it on the second play and Missoni Brown recovered it.
Two plays later, Windsor had a high snap and fumbled the ball but Robinson chased it down. Brown had a 28-yard run but couldn’t get a first down and Windsor had to punt. Pinned near the end zone, Garrigan fell back and was tackled in the end zone by Windsor’s Raiden Hollman for a safety.
“It feels great, amazing,” said Brown, who will head to basketball practice next this week. “Windsor has a bunch of athletes. This is my second ring. I got one freshman year for basketball.”
Class MM championship
at CCSU
Bunnell 0 7 0 6 – 13
Windsor 14 0 0 9 – 23
First quarter
W-AJ Robinson 6 run (kick blocked)
W-Missoni Brown 4 pass from Robinson (Brown run)
Second quarter
B-Roderick Ricketts Jr. 21 run (Joel Otshudi kick)
Fourth quarter
W-Robinson 5 run (Camryn Wimberly kick)
B-Keyshon Zimmerman 12 pass from Jake Garrigan (kick blocked)
W-Raiden Hollman safety
Records: Windsor, 12-1; Bunnell, 10-3.
Class SS Final: Daniel Hand 37, Killingly 13
The Hand football team won its 15th state title and broke Killingly’s 25-game win streak, with a 37-13 victory in the Class SS state championship game on Saturday morning at Veterans Stadium in New Britain.
Lucca Boyce and Diego Portley each had two touchdowns for second-seeded Hand (12-1), which led 10-7 at halftime. Killingly (12-1) went ahead on 5-yard run by Hayden Allard, 13-10 but that was the last time the Trailblazers would score.
Boyce had his second touchdown on a 5-yard run to put Hand up and Tim O’Malley extended Hand’s lead with an 20-yard interception return and Portley scored twice in the fourth quarter.
Class SS
Veterans Stadium, New Britain
Hand 37, Killingly 13
Hand 7 3 14 13 – 37
Killingly 7 0 6 0 – 13
First quarter
H-Lucca Boyce 4 run (Anthony Bowe kick)
Second quarter
K-Joseph Mackie 1 run (Cooper Logee kick)
H-Bowe 26 FG
Third quarter
K-Hayden Allard 5 run (kick failed)
H-Boyce 5 run (Bowe kick)
H-Tim O’Malley 20 interception return (Bowe kick)
Fourth quarter
H-Diego Portley 55 run (pass failed)
H-Portley 17 run (Bowe kick)