Rocky Hill’s Jack Hansen (1) and Ricky Montalvo (24) look on during the Terriers’ home game against Avon.
Terriers Football Off to a Rocky Start
ROCKY HILL - A 27-0 home loss to Avon wasn’t the way that Rocky Hill’s Mark Fritz wanted to start the season, but the second-year head coach saw several positives that his young team can build on.

       â€"Our effort was great tonight, that’s what I’m the most proud of,” said Fritz. â€"Our guys fought hard. Not one of our guys quit and that’s something that we can build on as a team going forward.”

       For most of the first half it looked as if Fritz and his Terriers and were headed for a classic low-scoring defensive slugfest against the visiting Falcons.

       But that changed with time ticking down in the second quarter.

       Avon had crossed into Rocky Hill territory for the first time in the game, but faced a nearly insurmountable third and 24 after quarterback Ian McDonald was sacked by Terriers linebacker Ricky Montalvo.

       The Falcons coaching staff dialed up the perfect third-down play and McDonald flipped the ball to running back Teddy Allmendinger on a beautifully executed screen pass. Allmendinger did the rest, breaking several would-be tackles while rumbling 45 yards to pay dirt, giving the Falcons a 6-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the half.

       Avon continued to seize the momentum after the break, scoring the game’s second touchdown on the opening possession of the second half. McDonald helped set up the score when he completed on a 35-yard pass down the right sideline, putting his team in the red zone. Three plays later, McDonald called his own number, keeping the ball on a read-option and darting around the left side to finish off a 14-yard scoring scamper.

       McDonald added an eight-yard touchdown run in the third. He finished his dominant evening by intercepting a pass from his free safety position and returning it 41 yards for the game’s final score with 9:50 left.

       The scoreboard looked one-sided, but the game was closer than the final score indicated. The home team looked sharp early, controlling the ball and the clock for most of the first half.

       The Terriers took the game’s opening kickoff and marched downfield behind the one-two punch of backfield mates Grant Nieves and Joe Catania. Sophomore quarterback Daniel Cavallaro looked poised in his first start, completing an 11-yard strike to Diamante Baker and then converting a fourth and nine by connecting with tight end Dante Baker, who made a juggling 16-yard catch to extend the drive.

       The marathon drive ended when Catania lost a fumble at the six-yard line on the 15th play of the series. The turnover thwarted the Terriers best scoring opportunity of the night.

       â€"We made a lot of mistakes today that we have to be able to correct,” said Fritz. â€"We had turnovers and penalties and that’s not going to get it done, but that’s stuff that we can correct and get better from.”

       Despite the loss, the Terriers had several standout performers on Friday night.

       Catania, Nieves and backfield-wingman William White ran the ball with power against Avon’s sizable and physical defense.

       On defense, Montalvo was consistently in the Avon backfield, racking up two sacks and a handful of tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Senior Jovan Colon was also a force along the defensive line.

       Damon Lonero, who plays on defensive line with Colon, made his biggest impact in the kicking game. The junior had three booming punts, all three skyward bombs pinned Avon inside their own 20-yard line.

       The solid individual efforts were not enough in week one, but the young Terriers will only get stronger as the year progresses. This is the second consecutive season that the team has less than ten seniors on their roster and it may take a few weeks for the new faces to get comfortable on the field.

       â€"A lot of our guys are inexperienced varsity athletes and mistake are going to happen. We knew that going out on the field with eight sophomores. That’s something that we’ll have to live with, but we have high expectations for our guys,” added Fritz. â€"We have a good group of kids that will bounce back from this, they’re all great kids. There’s not a doubt in my mind that they can pick up what we’re trying to do as a team. We have to get better everyday if we want to give ourselves a chance to compete, we did a lot of good things that we can build on going forward. The goal is to get better everyday.”

       Fritz is counting on his seniors to help groom the underclassmen. Captains Patrick Sullivan and Jason Carducci are two of the elder statesmen on the defensive side of the ball. The two set an example for their younger teammates by playing hard until the final whistle.

       Next up is Northwest Catholic, who Fritz said would be another tough game. The Terriers have traditionally faced the West Hartford-based Indians on Thanksgiving, but scheduling and conference realignments moved the game up to the early part of the season. Northwest Catholic won last year’s contest, which ended a streak of three straight wins by Rocky Hill in the series.

       Kickoff for the rivalry game is Friday at Northwest Catholic High School at 6:30 p.m.
MORE ROCKY HILL NEWS  |  STORY BY JOSH HOWARD  |  Sep 17 2015  |  COMMENTS?