Killingly football ready for 'big test' from New Canaan in Class L playoffs
One of the more remarkable streaks entering the 2023 high school football season belonged in the Quiet Corner. Killingly not only qualified for the state playoffs for seven consecutive seasons but had won a game in every one of those postseason appearances.
The amazing run put Killingly in the same company as state powers Ansonia and New Canaan as the only programs in the state to have reached the semifinals during every season since 2015.
Now, Killingly is going to get a chance to see one of those teams up close.
Killingly (7-3) clinched a Class L playoff spot with a Thanksgiving Day victory over Woodstock Academy. Killingly, seeded No. 7, will meet No. 2 New Canaan in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday night at New Canaan High School’s Dunning Stadium. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
“I’m just so proud of these kids,” Killingly coach Chad Neal said. “When we were 0-2 we came in Saturday morning and we really had a heart-to-heart about where are we going to go in the next eight games and those kids just continued to work hard, took it one game at a time, and put themselves in a position to be back in the playoffs.”
New Canaan (9-1) is the defending Class L state champions and one of the state’s true football bluebloods, having won 13 state titles. Rams coach Lou Marinelli is the all-time leader in career wins with 390.
After dropping their season opener against Shelton, New Canaan reeled off nine straight wins, including victories over playoff teams Windsor, St. Joseph, Wilton, and Thanksgiving Day rival Darien.
“It’s a typical New Canaan team. There are no weaknesses,” Neal said. “You look all over the field and they have 11 players on offense and pretty much 11 different players on defense and guys on special teams. They’re an L school that is going to two-platoon.”
Killingly has been to the state finals for three consecutive seasons, and four of the last five while raising championship banners after undefeated seasons in 2017 and 2021.
They moved up to Class L this year and after dropping their first two games against Masuk and Notre Dame-West Haven, and also losing a tough home contest against playoff bound Fitch, Killingly stood at 3-3.
Killingly finished on a roll by winning their last four games.
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“When we were 0-2 there was a lot of weight on their shoulders because we had made the playoffs for seven straight years,” Neal said. “And that was one of the goals that they set for themselves was to get back to the playoffs. We just said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to take it one game at a time and let the chips fall as they may and they did that. They just kept getting better and better.”
Killingly senior running back Soren Rief powered the offense with a state-leading 2,362 yards and 36 touchdowns.
“Offensively he carried us in a lot of games,” Neal said. “He’d get the ball 40 times a game and you have to be pretty special to do that because he plays defense also.”
Also leading Killingly were quarterback Quinn Sumner, linemen Alexis Ruiz-Ortiz, twins Devin and Darin Exarhoulias, end Ryan Barretta, linebackers Anthony Oates and Gabe Torrente, and utility Aiden LaMotte.
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“New Canaan’s a machine and this will be a great test for us,” Neal said. “But this is our eighth year there, too, and we’ve played some pretty good teams each year. I don’t think our kids will be intimidated or anything like that. They'll just come and play and be loose and physical.”
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Killingly football set to meet defending Class L champ New Canaan
