Rosa stays on the ground with 4 TDs to lead Bristol Central past Wethersfield
Senior quarterback Victor Rosa put on a show rushing for 224 yards and four touchdowns to power Bristol Central High to a 28-18 victory over visiting Wethersfield on Friday night.
The Rams (2-1) wasted no time getting going. Rosa handed off to junior wide receiver Tre Blair on the first play of the game. Blair took the sweep to the left and cut back inside for a 45-yard pickup. Rosa, committed to UConn, punched in a rush on 4th-and-goal and then connected with Ashton Zabka for the two-point conversion.
“We’ve been saying we need to step up and take the heat off a little bit, because [Rosa] is obviously the focus,” Bristol Central coach Jeff Papazian said. “We were able to do that a bit, but when the chips are down that’s where we’re going [to Rosa].”
Bristol Central’s run game was helped by a strong showing by the offensive line. Blair and Rosa both exploited large gaps around the line of scrimmage, frequently turning inside handoffs into gains.
Rosa kept the snap for himself on a third-and-short on the team’s second drive, turning upfield for a 16-yard score to give the Rams a 16-0 lead, their largest of the night. Rosa added a third first-half score in the second quarter when he broke through on the left side and ran 38 yards for a 22-6 lead.
Momentum started to swing in Wethersfield’s (2-1) favor midway through the second quarter. Louie Montalvo took a short kickoff into the end zone to cut the deficit to 10, and captain Cooper Moreau picked off a pass from Rosa to give the Eagles the ball back in the red zone.
Bristol Central’s defensive line stayed strong, though, and the Eagles offense failed to capitalize.
Wethersfield punted after a 3-and-out to start the second half, and Rosa punished the Eagles again with his fourth score of the game. The 9-yard scramble gave the Rams a 28-12 edge with 6:28 left in the third quarter.
Justin Despins picked off Eagles quarterback Will Bankowski (17-23, 177 yards) with 10 minutes left, ending the Bankowski’s streak of five successive completions and putting a dent in Wethersfield’s comeback hopes.
But the Eagles showed no quit. Bankowski connected on his next four attempts, including a touchdown to a wide-open Matthew Nieves in the end zone for a 20-yard score with 5:05 on the clock. Wethersfield failed on the must-convert 2-point try, though, and Bristol Central’s run game was able to control the rest of the quarter.
