New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Windham’s takedown of No. 4 Killingly sure to open eyes
Travis and Isaiah Mangual were key players on Windham’s run to a Division V state boys basketball championship. You might recall them raising a trophy on the Mohegan Sun floor after a 62-56 victory over SMSA in March.
Seven months later, the cousins were announcing Windham’s arrival on another, perhaps slightly bigger — if not as glamorous — stage.
In a Twitter post on Saturday morning, Isaiah a 6-foot-4, 250-pound twoway lineman, posted a photo with Travis, a 6-3, 175-pound end. Behind them, shining on Killingly’s Morgan Field scoreboard was one of the biggest results of the 2022 season: Windham 41, Killingly 26.
Arguably, it the biggest upset of the season. It snapped Killingly’s 17-game win streak dating back to the start of 2021. Perhaps more significant, it was Killingly’s first home loss since its recent run of dominance began way back in 2015 — a streak of 34 games.
And it wasn’t really even that close.
The Whippets went up 12-0, weathered a Killingly rally and then took the lead for good when junior quarterback Zack RobinsonSmey made one of the state’s biggest plays when he scrambled for a 70-yard demoralizing touchdown as time expired on a 20-13 Windham lead at halftime.
Another TD run by Robinson-Smey and the second and third touchdown runs by back Victor Mejia put the Whippets up 41-20 before Killingly added a cosmetic TD late.
“Mangual cousins !! We putting Windham High on the map. 5-0,” Isaiah announced on his Twitter post, tagging just about every media outlet of consequence.
He needn’t have bothered, but perhaps it was appropriate to slam the point home just in case everybody missed it. Here at GameTimeCT, we spent a good part of last week promoting our Meat Grinder podcast interview with Killingly’s Chad Neal ahead of the big game.
There was plenty of talk about Killingly, which — despite the loss — remains a favorite to repeat as state champions this year, albeit in a new MM division. Toward the end, Windham got a respectable mention of the challenges its players would present Killingly.
Now, all of the focus will be shifted to Willimantic now that its team just knocked off another ranked No. 4.
It is, perhaps, Windham’s biggest victory since coach Randell Prose took over when longtime coach Brian Crudden retired just before the 2016 season. Despite a few 7-win seasons, the Whips haven’t been to the playoffs since 2014.
Windham had an idea it could be something special brewing way back before the season began. “We have a lot of seniors,” Prose said after his team wiped out EO Smith, 56-14 on the road. “We lost one starter from last year and he was injured for most of the season. So these are the same guys we had last year.”
That Windham beat Killingly on the road should come as no big surprise. Windham is playing just about every game on the road this year as its home, Ferrigno Field, is being rebuilt.
“We’re the ‘Road Warriors,’” Prose said. “That’s kind of our mantra this year. We don’t really even have a locker room now. We work out of a storage bin and these kids don’t complain. …We just have to overcome. This is going to be our life.”
So far, so good. At the midway point, Windham is ranked No. 2 in the Class SS rankings behind Barlow (5-0) and just ahead of Foran (5-0), Cromwell/ Portland (5-0) and Valley Regional/Old Lyme (5-0), Ledyard (5-0) and Ellington (4-1). There are a number of strong contenders below, as well.
So a playoff berth is not a foregone conclusion just yet. But it certainly sets up an exciting next couple of weeks, chock with Class SS playoff implications.
Should the Whips get past New London next Friday, they’ll face fellow ECC rivals and SS playoff contenders Waterford and Ledyard in back-to-back weeks. Ledyard topped Waterford 34-22 on Friday night.
But if they weren’t a part of the conversation before Friday night, you can sure bet Windham is now frontand-center.
A look back at Friday night in Week 6 of CIAC football around Connecticut:
FRIDAY NIGHT NOTABLES
Amadeus Betancourt, Law: All-name team candidate ran for the Lawmen’s first two touchdowns, the first for 75 yards, in a 51-6 win over Lyman Hall.
Tyshaun Davender, Hamden: Opened the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown run in a 54-26 win over Amity. He finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries.
Alex Fiala, Staples: Ran for 121 yards on 19 carries with touchdowns of 22 and 15 yards in a 42-21 win over Danbury.
Jeremiah Francis, West Haven: Amid a balanced offense, he ran for a 72-yard touchdown in a 57-6 win over Wilbur Cross.
James Green, Ledyard: Two touchdowns and 283 yards on the ground, your routine day for the senior, in a big 34-22 win over Waterford.
Trevor Herget, Darien: Had a 29-yard touchdown catch to put the Blue Wave ahead, and after Wilton regained the lead, he had several catches on the winning drive in Darien’s 18-15 road victory.
Brice Muller, Fairfield Prep: Blocked a field goal that Mason Frey returned for a touchdown, giving the Jesuits a two-score lead on the way to a 33-10 win over No. 10 Cheshire.
Zachary Robinson-Smey, Windham: Quarterback ran for three touchdowns, including a 70-yard tackle-breaking scramble as the first half ended to put the Whippets ahead for good, as Windham knocked off No. 4 Killingly 41-26.
TWO WAYS TO SEE IT
Jacob Staton, Notre Dame-West Haven: Picked off two passes, one for a 47-yard touchdown, and he ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 34-7 win over Hand.
Cole Tepedino, Pomperaug: Rushed for two scores and had an interception as the Panthers snapped a 14-game losing streak with their 20-0 win over Stratford. Pomperaug had last won on Thanksgiving 2019.
Javion Velez, Thames River: Scored on a 56-yard interception return and a 50-yard pass in the Crusaders’ 61-0 win over Montville.
THAT’S MY QUARTERBACK
Hunter Agosti, Trumbull: Threw touchdown passes to three different receivers in the Eagles’ 42-14 win over Stamford.
Jansyn Booth, Hartford Public: Threw for three touchdowns in a 26-0 win over Tolland.
Jack Cushman, Foran: Was 11-for-18 for 243 yards and five touchdowns as the Lions improved to 5-0 with a 35-14 win over Branford.
Dylan Magazu, Newtown: After announcing his commitment to Elon this week, he scored four touchdowns in a 48-12 win over New Milford.
Justin McCormack, New Fairfield:
Quarterback rushed for four touchdowns, including a 57-yard run to put the Rebels ahead for good in a 26-20 win over Weston.
Danny Shaban, Barlow: Ran for 62 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries, and he was 2-for-2 with a touchdown pass in a 49-8 win over Brookfield.
Jack Wilson, Greenwich: Quarterback was 17-for-23 for 245 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for three touchdowns in the Cardinals’ big 36-26 win over St. Joseph.
HE’S A FRESHMAN
Damon Hibbert, Notre Dame-Fairfield: Caught four passes for 122 yards in a 41-0 win over Bethel.
Joey Montalvo, East Catholic: Scored three touchdowns in a 38-22 win over Lewis Mills.
Jackson Zylick, Masuk: Kicked the winning 37-yard field goal as time expired to beat Bunnell 31-28.
Coaches/stat folks, next week send us your Thursday and Friday stars by Saturday morning at info@gametimect.com. Email us your Saturday stars at the same address on Saturday, as we’ll be doing the week’s fine performances on Monday.
LOOKING AHEAD
The long-awaited Week 7, with just about everybody back at it:
Trumbull (4-1) at Greenwich (4-1), Thursday, 7 p.m.: The Cardinals host a good FCIAC team from Trumbull under the lights. Sorry, that should be “faced.” Who do they have this week? (Should be a good tilt and a game that’ll affect the Class LL standings.)
Shelton (4-1) at West Haven (5-0), Friday, 6 p.m.: The Westies haven’t faced an SCC Tier I opponent since opening night, and their past four scores reflect it. Shelton got back on track Friday against NFA after a loss to North Haven and the bye.
Ansonia (5-0) at Holy Cross (5-0) (Municipal Stadium), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: The Crusaders knocked off defending NVL champion Naugatuck a week ago. Now, can they take down the NVL’s gold standard for the first time since 2009?
Granby/Canton (3-2) at Rockville (3-1), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Both had this week off, Rockville after two wins in a row and Granby/Canton off a onescore loss to Pequot and Class SS rival Cromwell/ Portland.
Southington (5-0) at Windsor (3-2), Friday, 6:30 p.m.: This is four points away from being a battle of the unbeaten.
New Fairfield (5-0) at Barlow (5-0), Friday, 7 p.m.: And this one is a battle of the unbeaten, one that’s been circled for a while between two talented smaller SWC teams.
Killingly (4-1) at Branford (2-3), Friday, 7 p.m.:
This one was also circled for a long time, but, well, this playoff rematch loses a bit of what was left of its luster after they both lost Friday night.
Newtown (4-1) at Bunnell (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m.:
The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker to Masuk on Friday and can’t afford to lose many more. Who’s coming to Mastroni? Just Newtown (W4).
New Canaan (4-0 pending Saturday vs. Norwalk) at Wilton (5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: Imagine if this was Wilton going for 7-0 and a Darien/New Canaan sweep? The Blue Wave took care of that hypothetical Friday, and now the Warriors will be looking to avoid a different kind of Darien/New Canaan sweep.
Notre Dame-West Haven (4-1) at Cheshire (4-1), Friday, 7 p.m.: They have arrived at 4-1 from different directions, the Green Knights from that opening loss to West Haven, the Rams off their first loss Friday night. Hey, speaking of which...
Fairfield Prep (2-3) at Hand (1-4) (Surf Club), Friday, 7 p.m.: ...Well look who’s back. The Jesuits, who gave up one fewer point to Hamden in Week 4 than they had in Weeks 1-3, came back from the bye holding Cheshire to 10. That’s three more points than Hand has scored in its past four.
Northwest United (4-0) at Wilcox/Kaynor (3-2) (Falcon Field), Saturday, 6 p.m.: Wilcox/Kaynor hasn’t been over .500 this late in a season since 2007. It has one more win than it had in its previous two seasons combined; only twice since that 2007 year (5-5) has it won three or more. Next up: a rematch of Northwest United’s 22-6 win on Sept. 23.