NEWINGTON – The Newington football team got a second chance against Wethersfield Tuesday night in the Class MM quarterfinal game after losing to its CCC rival the night before Thanksgiving.
And the Nor’easters avenged the Thanksgiving Eve loss with 20-13 victory over Wethersfield and will advance to the Class MM semifinal game against top-seeded and No. 1 Windsor Sunday.
Junior linebacker Heath Weeden picked off a pass by Wethersfield senior quarterback Cam Righi in the end zone with 18 seconds left to end Wethersfield’s chances Tuesday.
Heath Weeden picks off a pass by Righi in the end zone, Newington leads 20-13 18 seconds left #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/sWNkATopFa
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) December 4, 2024
Wethersfield had to win to get into the playoffs and the Eagles beat Newington in overtime by almost the same score, 20-14, last Wednesday.
Newington scored first on a 6-yard run by quarterback Enzo Corvino with 7:30 left in the first quarter but the run failed and the Nor’easters led 6-0. Wethersfield tied the score at 6 when Righi ran in a 6-yard touchdown with 8:09 left in the first half and Newington blocked the extra point.
Evan Pigott scored the next touchdown for Newington on a 5-yard run with 5:09 left in the first half and Weeden’s kick was good and the Nor’easters went up 13-6. In the second half, Josiah Sims scored on a 1-yard run and Newington led 20-6.
But Wethersfield did not go away and Righi led a drive down the field culminating in a 2-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 20-13.
Wethersfield recovered a fumble which led to its last drive but the Newington defense held strong at the end.