Soren Rief (6 TDs) runs wild to power Killingly football past Norwich Free Academy
Powered by its bread-and-butter ground attack, Killingly rolled past Norwich Free Academy, 50-21, in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I matchup Friday night at rainy Morgan Field.
Yup, RPO (run-people-over) is alive and well in the Quiet Corner.
Senior running back Soren Rief scored six touchdowns, while Killingly’s defense blanked NFA in the second half.
“We’re back to who we are, our identity,” Killingly coach Chad Neal said. “And we’ve got the perfect back to do it and the perfect line to do it.”
Ryan Cleary scored two rushing touchdowns for the Wildcats, who enjoyed leads of 7-0 and 14-7 in the first half.
“We had to withstand a storm tonight,” Neal said. “They had us reeling early.”
Killingly took advantage of a pair of NFA turnovers and grabbed the lead for good when sophomore Ryan Webster caught a 23-yard touchdown toss from sophomore quarterback Quinn Sumner early in the second quarter. Rief ran for the 2-point conversion for a 15-14 lead.
Rief scored two rushing TDs just one minute apart, thanks to another NFA turnover, late in the second quarter to stretch Killingly’s lead to 29-14.
NFA senior Conor Gaughan caught a 74-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Aaron Driscoll to pull the Wildcats within 29-21 at halftime.
Killingly’s first two possessions of the third quarter were classic RPO (run-people-over) scoring drives that gave Killingly a 43-21 advantage.
“We got worn down again,” NFA coach Erik Larka said. “When the defense is on the field 80 percent of the time against a team like that they’re going to end up scoring.”
What it Means
Killingly improved to 2-2 after opening the season with a pair of tough non-league losses against Masuk and Notre Dame-West Haven.
“Those are very good football teams but we knew we had to bounce back,” Rief said. “We knew we had to get one win under our belt and that was against Windham and that motivated us for this week.”
NFA is off to an 0-4 start for the second straight season. The Wildcats have been just one score behind at halftime in all four losses.
“It’s up to us as a staff to figure it out,” Larka said. “Winning solves everything.”
Key Play
On the opening drive of the second half Killingly faced a third-and-11 from the NFA 29-yard line. Killingly, which was leading 29-21, got pushed back after a holding call and now the Wildcats’ defense was primed for a bend-but-don’t break stop.
Sumner, however, found Rief open in the flat for a 24-yard gain. Rief then carried the ball into the end zone from five yards out and Cooper Logee’s extra point kick gave Killingly a 35-21 lead with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
“I like getting that play,” Rief said. “It was wide open. It was a good call by the coaches.”
Predicting key ECC, CTC high school football matchups in Week 4
Unsung Heroes
Killingly’s Anthony Oates: The junior linebacker spearheaded Killingly’s big defensive effort in the second half with two big sacks and an interception. Killingly shutout NFA over the final two quarters.
Killingly’s Devin Exarhoulias, Darin Exarhoulias, Michael Allen, Thomas Walmsley, Alexis Ruiz-Ortiz, Hunter Allard, and Ryan Webster: Killingly’s offensive line and double tight ends paved the way for another big performance from Rief.
“They put in a lot of hard work,” Rief said, “They are beasts up front. I got on them sometimes but it’s just tough love. And they get on me, and I’m fine with that.”
They Said It
“I’m happy for the kids,” Neal said. “We’re one of those teams with a lot of veteran leadership but we still got a lot of young guys out there.”
What’s Next
Both teams are looking forward to bye weeks this weekend.
NFA hosts Fitch on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. It is Homecoming Day for the Wildcats.
“We’re going to enjoy the bye week and get healthy and this gives us two weeks to get ready for Fitch,” Larka said.
Killingly welcomes Connecticut Technical Conference power Thames River to Morgan Field on Friday, Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Killingly hasn’t played well coming off the bye week the past two seasons - there was a loss against Windham last season - and Neal will be looking for some changes while preparing for the Crusaders .
“I hate bye weeks,” Neal said. “We’re going to take a look at it and change things up a bit.”
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Killingly football rolls past NFA behind Rief's big day
