MERIDEN – Against East Hartford on Oct. 4, Maloney’s Jesus Martell had six touchdown receptions, which tied a state record for a single game. He caught four touchdown passes in a win over Glastonbury. He had over 200 receiving yards in both games, both wins for the Spartans.
But Friday night, Windsor’s defense brought all that to a halt. Martell had one catch, for 11 yards in the third quarter against the Warriors and that was it.
And Windsor, unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the Courant state coaches poll, overcame a slow start to beat Maloney, 40-14 in a CCC football game at Falcon Field.
“The objective was to take out No. 0 (Martell),” Windsor senior Cashmire Lewis said. “That was their best player. We watched a lot of film over the past four games.
“We felt like that was their main threat. We felt like if we take him out, they can’t beat us with nobody else.”
Lewis is mainly a linebacker but he played where he was needed on defense Friday. He also scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Windsor quarterback AJ Robinson in the third quarter.
“Cashmire Lewis and (senior linebacker) Jaden Langford, they’re amazing,” Windsor coach Rob Fleeting said. “We move Cashmire all over the place. Cash is inside, he’s outside. Jaden Langford is all over the place. He don’t come off the field, he plays special teams and everything. They played very well.”
Senior running backs John Manning and Shaun Adams each had two touchdowns for Windsor (5-0). Adams also contributed defensively.
AJ Robinson 22 yard TD pass to Cashmire Lewis, Windsor leads 21-7 2:13 left 3Q #cthsfb pic.twitter.com/b7vLs3w7mn
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) October 19, 2024
“Shaun Adams, he plays running back, he plays linebacker, never complains – it’s just a great effort,” Fleeting said. “It’s also those guys up front, those big boys – we just talk to them over and over. Use your technique, use your skills, believe in your coaches.”
They did. The score was tied at 7 after the first half. A series of penalties hurt the Warriors in the first half and Robinson had an interception.
But in the second half, Windsor’s defense came out and forced Maloney (2-3) into a three and out on the first series and Manning put the Warriors up 14-7 with an 11-yard run. Windsor got two more touchdowns before Maloney quarterback Ethan Nedinsky broke through the Warrior defense with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Messiah Abrahante. But Windsor scored another two touchdowns to put the game away.
“We were just preparing all week,” Langford said. “We have a great defense. Good (defensive backs), they’re young but they’re great. Our D line is great – they’re huge.
“Yeah, we were targeting (Martell) because we knew they love to run slants to him and posts. We knew we had to focus on him a little more than other receivers and it worked.”