Senior Jayden Dougherty had 18 receiving yards in Sheehan’s Class SS quarterfinal win over Granby/Canton.
In the next game, against Windham, Dougherty was able to break free. He had 256 yards on six carries and a touchdown. He had a 73-yard reception. Sheehan won, 49-13.
“It helped with the confidence,” Dougherty said. “The game before, the quarters, they were doubling me a little and I didn’t get a lot of targets. I was OK with it because the rest of the team was dominating on offense, but that (Windham) game really showed who I am and the type of player I am.”
When football is over, after Sheehan’s Class SS championship game Friday night (6:30 p.m.) against Killingly at Rentschler Field, Dougherty will go straight to the indoor track team. He and junior receiver/cornerback Tucker Larson are both track guys, competing in indoor and outdoor. Last year, Sheehan won the Class M outdoor track state title and Larson and Dougherty were key contributors.
Dougherty was the Class M long jump runner-up and helped the 4×100 relay to a third-place finish. Larson finished second in the 200 and fifth in the 100 meters.
“Him and Tucker, those guys do have real speed,” Sheehan football coach John Ferrazzi said. “Tucker’s probably the faster one. You get Tucker’s shoulders square and he’s going to show you a different gear that some teams are not really used to.
“Jayden is fast as well. Shifty, quick and in open space, he’s a problem. He can certainly make things happen. I’m so happy he had the game he did (against Windham).”
Windham struggled to contain him, as Dougherty made big play after big play.
“(Dougherty) is the real deal, that kid was amazing,” Windham coach Randall Prose said. “We had no answer to him.
Larson scored the first touchdown for Sheehan on a 73-yard pass from junior quarterback Jake O’Brien. Then O’Brien connected with Dougherty for the next three touchdowns in the second quarter – a 39-yarder, a 55-yarder and a 73-yarder.
“Two weeks in a row, they were doubling him, he couldn’t get the ball,” O’Brien said of Dougherty’s output the two games before Windham. “He makes plays. When he gets the ball, he’s gone usually. I don’t know how he does that.”
Dougherty, who has 795 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns this season, said he and O’Brien, in his first year starting on varsity, have a good chemistry.
“We’ve had it since Day 1,” Dougherty said. “It’s great having Jake as a quarterback and him being able to make those dynamic plays out of the pocket really helps.
“I’ve always had that side-to-side speed; I’ve been a shiftier guy, being smaller. That has helped my game.”
Dougherty said he’s ready for the state championship rematch against Killingly. The Titans lost to Killingly earlier in the season, 32-26.
“I’m not really nervous,” he said. “I’ve been ready for this moment – it’s something I’ve dreamed about since third grade when I started playing football.”