High school football Week 10: Glastonbury knocks off Maloney, Rockville beats Cromwell

It was a wild weekend full of upsets in high school football, and two undefeated teams were among the victims.

Glastonbury (7-2) beat previously unbeaten Maloney (which had just handed Southington its first loss 31-28 in overtime the week before), 28-21 in overtime Thursday night.

“We kind of felt all year that we were a lot better than we had been showing,” Glastonbury coach Eric Hennessy said. “We just looked at Maloney as an opportunity for us to play up to our potential. That’s something we hadn’t done in previous weeks.

“We had a great week of practice, the kids were super motivated, we went into the game and from the first snap, we realized we were playing at a different level.”

Rockville (6-2) knocked off Cromwell/Portland 21-14, breaking the Panthers’ 22-game win streak on Thursday night. Late in the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 14, the Panthers drove down the field to the Rockville 25, where the Rams’ defense stopped them.

Rockville’s offensive line, led by Jackson Torres and Jon Kasamba, came up big and running back Malachi Mapp led the offense down field to the Cromwell 1. Mapp had to leave the game because his helmet came off so Lexington Hunter ran the ball in for the touchdown with 14 seconds left and freshman Molly Wilson kicked her third extra point for the final score.

“It was wild,” Rockville coach Erick Knickerbocker said. “We’ve been in a couple games the last five years where we’ve gone in as a huge underdog and our kids play so well with that mindset.”

Knickerbocker said one of the key plays early on was when sophomore Armani Gordon recovered an onside kick and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7 in the first quarter.

“We thought he’d go up and get it and fall down and we’ll take the ball at the 50,” Knickerbocker said. “He went up and caught it and then ran it back for a touchdown. That was the most important play of the game, I think, because it was just a rockfight after that.”

Some top performances from Week 10:

Lincoln Cardillo, Southington: Cardillo rushed for 247 yards on 15 carries and had three touchdowns in Southington’s 49-21 win over Conard.

CJ DiBenedetto, Southington: DiBenedetto was 11 for 16 for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the victory over Conard.

JT Dwire, Rockville: Dwire had nine tackles and a sack for the Rams in their win over Cromwell.

Daniel Hernandez, SMSA: Hernandez had 10 carries for 191 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and was 5 for 8 passing for 66 yards and one touchdown in a 59-14 win over Coginchaug.

Matt Jeffrey, Cheshire: Jeffrey combined for a total of 105 yards rushing and receiving with a touchdown and an interception on defense in Cheshire’s 26-0 win over Xavier.

Malachi Mapp, Rockville: Mapp had 21 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown in Rockville’s win over Cromwell.

Jack Petrone, Glastonbury: Petrone (24 carries, 110 yards) had three touchdowns, including a 10-yard TD run in overtime, in the win over Maloney.

Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.