Photo credit — Scott Sulkazi
By Robert Gullo
NEFJ Correspondent
NEW BRITAIN, CT — Two of the best teams in the state of Connecticut for high school football squared off Friday night as the No. 1 Windsor Warriors and No. 6 Masuk Panthers battled for the Class MM state championship.
Tied 21-21 with seven seconds remaining in the game, Masuk junior kicker Jackson Zylick hit the game-winning field goal to give Masuk a 24-21 lead with four seconds left in the game.
Third time was a charm for the junior, as Windsor iced his first kick that he missed. On Zylick’s second try, he missed his attempt but got a third try as Windsor was called for running into the kicker. Looking to avoid the game from going into overtime, Zylick came up with the game-winning 27-yard field goal for the Panthers.
“I got hit on the one before but, I knew I could do it, and it was great” said Zylick. “I knew our team would be in it with them, we’ve been working hard all season. It feels great, second time we beat the number one team, [coach Steve] Christy’s last chance, it feels great doing it for them.”
With the win, Masuk has won their first state title since the 2010 season and has earned their second win over the No. 1 team in the state as they previously defeated New Canaan earlier this season when they held that spot. With the loss, Windsor has now lost two state championships in the last five years and had their perfect season spoiled
Masuk head coach Steve Christy spoke about the victory, stating that the fact of becoming state champions hasn’t sunk in. He spoke about how big the win meant for the town of Monroe.
“It was amazing, a great team over there, a great head coach, coach Fleeting is a great guy,” said Christy. “Kids came together, we fought through some adversity. Nobody gave us a chance this game.”
“This is a wonderful night. This is for my family, this is for Scott Christy, this is for all the guys that stuck with it and could have went the other way when we were facing our adversity. There’s a lot of people that get credit for this and especially the boys of course.”
Friday’s game was played as tightly as it could be between the two teams. Masuk struck blood first on the opening drive when sophomore quarterback Aaron Champagne threw a screen pass to senior Shane Walker for a 26-yard score. They led Windsor 7-0.
Windsor evened the score up and make it a 7-7 game on their second offensive drive. Senior running back John Manning punched in an eight-yard run for a touchdown with 10:50 left in the first half.
On Masuk’s next offensive possession, Champagne completed a 56-yard deep pass to senior Ryan Putman that set up the Panthers at the Windsor 5-yard line. Two plays later, Champagne threw his second touchdown pass of the half, as junior Steven Curtin scored on a five-yard slant, giving Masuk a 14-7 lead.
Before the half ended, Windsor got on the scoreboard with 59 seconds left as junior quarterback AJ Robinson threw a 64-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Jaden Langford. Their extra point attempt was no good, and Masuk went into the half with a 14-13 lead.
To begin the second half, Masuk’s defense came up with a fumble recovery at midfield after Windsor had the ball first. They capitalized on the turnover as senior Tariq Al-Hameedi scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give Masuk a 21-13 lead with 6:41 left in the third quarter.
Windsor tied the game up at 21 apiece after an interception by senior Cash Lewis set them up at the 10-yard line. Manning rushed and scored his second touchdown a play later from 10 yards out to tie the game with 4:28 left in the game.
After a few stops from both defenses, Masuk used 4:34 of time on their final drive of the game that was capped off by Zylick’s 27-yard field goal, lifting them to their 24-21 victory.