Maloney’s defense shuts down Bristol Central, Victor Rosa in 49-14 Class L quarterfinals win
Maloney’s defense made life miserable for Bristol Central senior quarterback Victor Rosa Tuesday night in a Class L quarterfinal football game, as new UConn football coach Jim Mora watched from the stands at Falcon Field.
Maloney did not let up on Rosa, who committed to UConn over the summer as a receiver, in the Spartans’ 49-14 victory over No. 6 seed Bristol Central. Rosa came into the game with 39 rushing touchdowns and eight passing touchdowns. Tuesday night, he had two touchdowns, one for 59 yards, but he was also forced to throw more than he liked and was intercepted four times, once for a pick-six.
“We had to get 11 hats to the football,” Maloney coach Kevin Frederick said. “[Rosa]’s dynamic. Best high school player I’ve seen in a long time. We held them to 14 points. The defense has played great all year.”
No. 3 seed Maloney will play seventh-seeded Masuk, a 21-17 winner over Naugatuck, in the Class L semifinal Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Falcon Field.
Quarterback Angel Arce had four touchdown passes for Maloney (10-1) and was 10 for 12 for 159 yards.
“Angel threw the ball really well tonight, made some good decisions,” Frederick said. “He’s got dynamic playmakers. It’s tough to guard our offense. We can run it, we can throw it. We’re pretty balanced.”
Rosa, who ran for 128 yards and passed for 100 for the Rams (9-2), fumbled early in the game and Maloney recovered the ball and scored four plays later to go up 7-0. He was picked off three times by Maloney in the first half, including a pick six early in the second quarter by Rashawn Shelton, whose touchdown gave Maloney a 28-6 lead.
“He’s a great athlete,” Shelton said. “He makes things happen with his feet. I knew it when the ball went in the air, I had to get it, that would change the game.”
Meanwhile, Maloney was having no trouble scoring. Arce hit Ian Graham with a 29-yard pass for the first Maloney touchdown. Maloney got the ball back after Shelton had his first interception and nine plays later, Kenneth McMillan scored on a 1-yard run to make it 14-0.
Bristol Central came right back when Rosa slipped free of the defense and ran 59 yards for a touchdown to put the Rams on the board, 14-6. But it wasn’t close for long. Josiah Gonzalez had a 54 yard kick return that brought Maloney to the 25 and Arce hit Austin Studley with a touchdown pass on the next play to put the Spartans up, 21-6.
Two plays later, Rosa had another pass intercepted, this time by Maloney’s Jack Fitzgerald at the Bristol Central 25. Fitzgerald ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown but it was called back because of a Maloney penalty.
Bristol Central put together a series, including a 50-yard pass by Rosa, and Rosa scored on a 2-yard run and the conversion to cut Maloney’s lead to 28-14 but Maloney got one more touchdown with 1:31 left to go into halftime with a 35-14 lead.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com.
