Maloney has its quarterback, Rockville has conference lead

With Week 3 of the high school football season in the books, here are five takeaways from the weekend:

1. Maloney has found its quarterback in Angel Arce

In addition to one of the state’s largest offensive lines and an All-State-caliber receiver in Victor Marquez, Maloney was led last season by All-Courant quarterback Elliot Good, who will play baseball at Central Connecticut this spring.

It’s often difficult to replace a mainstay at quarterback, though it appears the Spartans (3-0) have found Good’s successor in sophomore Angel Arce.

Arce threw for three touchdowns Friday in an 18-14 win over North Haven. He threw for over 100 yards and a score in a 41-14 win over Bristol Central, and passed for 198 yards and two touchdowns the week prior in a 53-13 win over Farmington. He’s built quite the connection with senior Kam Moreno, who’s already caught a handful of touchdowns from the sophomore signal caller.

With James Tarver, who has nine touchdowns in three games, running as well as he has, adding a potent passing attack makes Maloney a team to beat.

2. Don’t let the score fool you — Wethersfield played Hand well

It’s easy for Wethersfield to look at the box score after a 56-13 loss and focus on the negatives — the major one being a 41-point run by Hand to win by a comfortable margin.

But the Eagles (2-1), ranked 10th in The Courant’s area rankings, were able to do something no team had done in the past two seasons when facing the Tigers (3-0), the top team in both the state and the area. Wethersfield led Hand 6-0 after one quarter of play on Friday. No team had held a lead against the Tigers after the first quarter since Shelton did so in Week 2 of the 2017 season, the last time the Tigers lost.

Hand, a much larger, faster and deeper team than just about every opponent it will face, eventually wore down Wethersfield. Eagles senior receiver Connor Pace caught both touchdowns, pulled down an interception and recovered a fumble in the loss.

“[Coach Matt McKinnon] is doing such a good job with Wethersfield,” said Hand coach Dave Mastroianni. “They came out and they had a good game plan. They came out and hit us, and they got after us.”

3. For now, Rockville is the king of the Pequot Conference

Maybe the two best teams in the Pequot Conference, Rockville, ranked ninth in the area, and Granby/Canton, ranked sixth, played a double-overtime game on Friday afternoon, with the Rams (3-0) coming out on top, 14-7. Rockville senior Chris Mierez, who was pegged as the team’s lead running back in the preseason, scored both touchdowns.

Rockville and Granby/ Canton came into the season regarded as, in any order, the top two teams in the conference, with the likes of Stafford/Somers/East Windsor, Haddam-Killingworth and Valley Regional/ Old Lyme rounding out the top five. Granby/Canton defeated Stafford/Somers/ East Windsor in Week1, and Haddam-Killingworth — Class S runner-up last year — is winless, scoring just 12 points in three games.

That leaves the undefeated Rams at the top. For now, at least.

4. Lewis Mills’ Week1win may not have been a fluke

In its final season in the Pequot Conference last year, Lewis Mills lost all 10 of its games.

Now in the Central Connecticut Conference, arguably a stronger conference, the Spartans have rattled off three straight wins to begin the season.

After beating Bulkeley/ HMTCA/Weaver 46-0 to start the season, Lewis Mills beat Rocky Hill 29-6 in Week 2 and downed Bethel 28-0 on Friday night. Four different players found the end zone for the Spartans in the win, as they ran all over Bethel (0-3).

Now, Lewis Mills hasn’t exactly had the most difficult schedule to begin the season, as its opponents are a combined 0-8. And the schedule only gets harder from here, with Berlin, Tolland, Northwest Catholic and Plainville looming in the second half of the season. But there’s still reason to commend the Spartans for the early season turnaround after a winless campaign last year.

5. Rob Fleeting’s 100th win a testament to Windsor’s consistency

With a 42-0 win over Hartford Public on Friday, Windsor coach Rob Fleeting picked up his 100th career win. His career record in 11 years at Windsor stands at 100-18, good for an average of just over nine wins per year.

Playing in both a competitive conference and class, and qualifying for the state tournament year in and year out is no easy feat, though the Warriors (2-1) have done so seven times in recent years, winning a state title in 2014.

But after back to back trips to the Class L semifinals, the Warriors want more.

“If we continue to get to the playoffs, or semifinals, and we’re not getting over that hump,” Fleeting said in the preseason, “then some message isn’t getting received as far as work ethic.”

Shawn McFarland can be reached at smcfarland@courant.com.