Week 1 GameTime Players, Teams and Plays of Week, Look Ahead

A look at some of the top performances from last week and what to look for this week in high school football:

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense

Derby Jr. QB Michael Kreiger: Completed 11 of 19 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 160 yards and two scores in a 49-45 win over St. Paul on Friday.

Gilbert/NW Regional Sr. RB Tony Ortiz: Rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass in a 34-27 win over Cromwell on Thursday.

Seymour Jr. RB Joey Salemme: Rushed 38 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-21 loss to Amity on Wednesday.

Masuk Sr. RB Joe DaMota: Rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns in a 71-34 win over New Milford on Sunday.

Defense

Bulkeley Sr. Javon Alston: Made an interception with less than 3 minutes to go in regulation to preserve the Bulldogs’ 12-6 win over Weaver on Friday.

Canton Jr. Sebasatian Gumbs: Recovered two fumbles in a 16-13 win over Avon, which marked the first time the Warriors defeated the Falcons in 10 meetings.

Farmington Sr. Ivan Guadalupe: Scored on a 32-yard interception return in a 26-14 win over Simsbury on Friday. He also rushed for 130 yards.

New Canaan Sr. Cole Harris: Scored on a 32-yard interception return and also recorded a safety in a 50-21 win over Hand on Wednesday.

Special Teams

Bunnell Sr. Justin Townsend: Scored on a 90-yard kickoff return in a 34-26 loss to Brookfield on Sunday.

Southington Jr. Kyle Smick: Kicked field goals of 35 and 32 yards in a 16-9 win over Glastonbury on Friday.

St. Joseph Jr. Lars Pedersen: Scored on an 82-yard kickoff return in a 47-28 win over Notre Dame-West Haven on Saturday. Pedersen also caught five passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilton Sr. K E.J. Sassani: His three extra points were the difference in the Warriors’ 21-20 victory over Guilford on Friday.

Teams of the Week

East Haven: Rallied past Bassick 38-28 on Wednesday to give coach Anthony Lucibello his first win.

Greenwich: Austin Longi scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds remaining as the Cardinals defeated then No. 5 West Haven 22-21 on Sunday.

Hamden: Junior Maliek Williamson rushed 22 times for 203 yards and two scores in a 26-10 victory over Danbury on Friday in Todd Dowty’s debut as the Green Dragons’ head coach.

Harding: The Presidents opened the Jack Cochran era with a 32-14 win over Law on Wednesday. Harding went 8-81 over the previous eight years and no winning seasons since 1996.

Plays of the Week

Greenwich star Austin Longi’s 94-yard missed field goal recovery return touchdown, which gave the Cardinals a 14-13 lead over West Haven in the third quarter of their Sunday game. Longi went on to score the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run in a 22-21 victory over the Westies.

Honorable mention
In order: St. Joseph WR Lars Pedersen’s 82-yard kickoff return vs. NDWH; Tyler Hyde’s 57-yard winning TD vs. Glastonbury; West Haven RB Ervin Philips’ 40-yard TD run vs. Greenwich; St. Paul QB Logan Marchi’s scramble and 40-yard TD pass to Brendan Carroll vs. Derby; Masuk RB Joe DaMota’s 59-yard run vs. New Milford; Glastonbury WR Anthony Anisimov’s 71-yard TD catch vs. Southington; NDWH RB Cameran Tucker’s 71-yard TD vs. St. Joseph; New Milford’s double-pass TD vs. Masuk; Mike Kreiger’s 8-yard winning TD vs. St. Paul.

[Note: To submit a play of the week, send us a YouTube or Hudl link or email it to sbowley@nhregister.com. If you use Tout, tag us at #gametimect ]

A LOOK AHEAD

On the Air

Xavier (1-0) at North Haven (1-0), Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.: WELI 960-AM, 960WELI.com

Greenwich (1-0) at Darien (1-0), Saturday, Sept. 21, 2 p.m.: WGCH 1490-AM, wgch.com

Wolcott (1-0) at Naugatuck (1-0), Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.: WATR 1320-AM, watr.com; CPTVSports (Live – check local listings)

Montville (0-1) at Norwich Free Academy (0-0), Saturday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m.: CPTVSports (Tape Delay for Sept. 25, 8 p.m.)

Get Out and Go

Wolcott (1-0) at Naugatuck (1-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: Craig Bruno’s arrival as the head coach at Naugatuck has the Greyhounds positioned to be one of the top contenders in the NVL. A young Wolcott team put up 61 points against Sacred Heart in Week 1 but will likely face a much stiffer defense against Naugatuck.

East Haven (1-0) at Hamden (1-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: First time since 2006 that both teams won their season openers. One goes to 2-0 after Friday night.

St. Joseph (1-0) at Fairfield Prep (1-0), Friday, 6 p.m.: A matchup of St. Joseph’s potent offense against the Jesuits’ strong defense, which shut out Stamford last week.

Greenwich (1-0) at Darien (1-0), Saturday, 2 p.m.: Greenwich opened against West Haven, visits Darien this week and then hosts New Canaan next week. The Cardinals might run the table if they can survive the season’s first three weeks.

New London (1-0) at Capital/Classical/Achievement (1-0), Saturday, 6:30 p.m.: Capital has the athletes to hang with the Whalers, a Class L school.

FURTHER READING: