Middletown outscored Newington 22-6 in the opening quarter, but the undefeated Nor’easters rode a 28-point second quarter to a 54-36 win over the Blue Dragons on Friday night at Rosek-Skubel Stadium.
Quarterback Padraig Brown threw for 331 yards and 6 touchdowns as Newington (4-0), which had a 34-28 lead at halftime, put up 22 points in the second half while holding Middletown (0-4) to one score.
Sophomore quarterback Colin Skene finished 8 of 19 for 168 yards and touchdowns of 32 and 22 yards to Eddie Strong and 48 yards to Matt Steuerwald. Strong finished with 83 yards on 3 catches.
Shaun Gaskins rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns for Middletown, while David De’Leon had a team-high 12 carries for 81 yards.
Austyn Howe rushed for 2 touchdowns for the Nor’easters and Josiah Ross had 108 yards receiving and 2 scores.
Newington outgained Middletown 479-376.
The Blue Dragons host Southington on Friday at 6:30pm.
Scoring
M: Shaun Gaskins 1 run (Colin Skene pass to Chace Petgrave
N: Charles Judge-Blair 40 pass from Padraig Brown (pass failed)
M: Gaskins 45 run (pass failed)
M: Eddie Strong 32 pass from Skene (Skene pass to Petgrave)
N: Austyn Howe 3 run (Josiah Ross run)
M: Strong 22 pass from Skene (run failed)
N: Ross 5 pass from Brown (run failed)
N: Howe 1 run (Howe run)
N: Judge-Blair 11 pass from Brown (kick blocked)
N: Howe 48 pass from Brown (Howe run)
N: Shakir Smith 51 pass from Brown (Brown pass to Ross)
M: Matt Steuerwald 48 pass from Skene (run failed)
N: Howe 24 pass from Brown (pass failed)
Elsewhere around the county on Friday:
Girls Soccer
Mercy 1, Cheshire 0
Kate Donlan, assisted by Julia Nodalski, scored in the 51st minute and keeper Melina Ford recorded the 25th shutout of her career to lead Mercy past Cheshire 1-0 on Friday at Xavier High School.
The big SCC divisional win raised the Tigers’ record to 5-2-1. Cheshire fell to 5-3.
Ford had 2 saves on the day, while Cheshire’s Sophia Bates had 8. Mercy outshot Cheshire 9-2.
Mercy hosts Lauralton Hall on Monday (7pm) at Xavier’s Larry McHugh Field.
Morgan 1, Old Saybrook 0
Highlights: Glenda Zhiminaicela’s goal in the 50th minute off an assist from Rachel Spaziano gave the Huskies (4-0-3) the Shoreline win at Indian River Complex. Rams keeper Abby Colella had 11 saves, while Morgan’s Angelina Comiskey made 4.
Next Match: Morgan (4-0-3) at North Branford, Monday, 3:45; Old Saybrook (3-3-1) at Portland, Monday, 6.
Haddam-Killingworth 1, East Hampton 1
Highlights: Tulanh Criscoulo scored for H-K in the first half. Victoria Schiavone tied the scored in the second half for the Bellringers. Cougars keeper Brianna Nugent had 7 saves, while Jennifer Tripp had 7 for East Hampton.
Next Match: H-K (3-3-1) at Westbrook, Monday, 3:45; East Hampton hosts Old Lyme, Monday, 3:45.
Coginchaug 7, Hale-Ray 0
Highlights: Serena Fournier and Alyssa Woodward scored 2 goals each to lead the Blue Devils past the Noises. Sam Paul had a goal and 3 assists, Faith Corona scored and had an assist, Ally Woodward had 2 assists and Alyssa Woodward also contributed an assist for Coginchaug. Carly Benbow had 1 save on the day.
Next Match: Coginchaug (6-1-1) at Valley Regional, Monday, 3:45.
Boys Soccer
Middletown 1, RHAM 1
Dario Rigano scored on an assist from Marshall Butler and keeper Tyler Hahn had 4 saves as host Middletown remained unbeaten at 5-0-2. Cameron Rhodes scored for RHAM and Eric Buden had 6 saves in net.
Next Match: Middletown at Enfield, Monday, 3:45.
Xavier 3, Shelton 0
Highlights: Nick Cassarino, Ryan Gerry and Dylan Misenti found the net for the Falcons, who improved to 6-0-1 with the road win. Gerry, Jack Polke and Grant Brown had an assist each. Spencer Misenti and Dillon Luke split time in goal for Xavier. Shelton fell to 2-4-1.
Next Match: Xavier hosts NFA, Monday, 4:30.
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Volleyball
Mercy 3, Hamden 2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12)
Highlights: Jasmine Mendez had 24 digs and 2 aces to lead the Tigers’ attack, while Catherine Fay had 18 kills and Winnie Ciccarello contributed 7 kills and 13 digs.
Next Match: Mercy (5-4) at Sacred Heart Academy, Monday.