Rockville football tops Torrington, advances to Class M finals

Dec. 5—VERNON — Travon Edmondson heard all week how strong the Torrington High football team's running attack was with its single wing formation.

That's all the motivation Rockville's running back needed to bring his A-game in the Class M semifinals Sunday afternoon.

The senior ran for 128 yards and four touchdowns as the second-seeded Rams topped the sixth-seeded Red Raiders 42-12 to advance to the Class M championship game.

"Our performance was pretty good," Edmondson said. "Our defense was good. Our offense was solid. But we're not done. We're not done. We've still got the state championship, and we're winning that. We're winning that. We're going to leave our hearts on the field to win that game."

Rockville (10-2) plays No. 1 Killingly in the title game Saturday at Veterans Stadium in New Britain. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

It's the Rams' fourth title game in team history, and first since 1995.

"It means a lot for the program and for us," Edmondson said. "1995, that's a long time. And we're back here in 2021."

Entering Sunday, Rockville hadn't seen anything like the single wing all season.

"I made a lot of calls, talked to a lot of people," coach Erick Knickerbocker said. "We actually talked to people from Daniel Hand, people from Staples that play North Haven, a single wing team, every year. So, I got a lot of help just as far as schematics on how to stop it."

Torrington (8-4) seemingly moved the ball at will on the game's first drive, however. Sean Clinkscales' six-yard run capped-off a 15-play, 59-yard drive that took 8:31 and featured two fourth-down conversions.

Still, Knickerbocker liked what he saw from his team.

"Right there, we saw that physically we could play with them," Knickerbocker said. "You can't replicate that at practice at all. So I think once they realized what they had to do, we were able to turn up the physicality. We haven't played that physical all year."

Rockville tied it 2:25 later when Edmondson rumbled in from five yards out. That score kicked off a run of 42 unanswered points by the Rams.

"We didn't make many adjustments," Knickerbocker said. "We had two defenses, and we rolled with both of them. I think we started making plays. I think the interception by Henry (Tyus) really changed the game."

Edmondson gave Rockville the lead on a one-yard run with 7:19 left in first half.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Tyus intercepted Tyler Semonich's pass at the Torrington 27. Then a 21-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to De'Shaun Perry with 4:52 left made it a two-possession game.

On its final drive of the first half, Torrington drove to the Rockville 20. Senior Juneil Powell batted down Semonich's second-down pass in the end zone, and picked off his fourth-down pass at the 5 yard line with 5.8 left to preserve Rockville's momentum.

The Rams scored on their first three possessions of the second half. Edmondson ran it in from nine yards out 1:34 into the third, Ryan found Perry for a 53-yard score with 3:42 left in the third, and Edmondson added a two-yard touchdown run with 8:10 to play.

"I can't tell you of a kid I'm more proud of where he's come from," Knickerbocker said of Edmondson. "Just to watch his confidence and his belief in himself and what he can accomplish grow, it's been one of the most rewarding things in my coaching career."

In all, Rockville scored on six of its eight drives Sunday. The only exceptions were a five-second drive right before halftime, and the final drive of the game.

Ryan finished 3-for-3 for 83 yards. Perry caught all three passes. Freshman Amir Knighton added 151 yards on seven carries.

Malachi Mapp had 14 tackles, three for a loss. Nathan Palmer added 12 tackles while Tyus had 10.

Clinkscales finished with 142 yards on 17 carries, including a 64-yard touchdown in the fourth to account for the final score.

TORRINGTON (8-4) 6 0 0 6 — 12

ROCKVILLE (10-2) 6 15 14 7 — 42

T — Sean Clinkscales 6 run (kick failed).

R — Travon Edmondson 5 run (run failed).

R — Edmondson 1 run (Michael Naylor kick).

R — De'Shaun Perry 21 pass from Matt Ryan (Edmondson run).

R — Edmondson 9 run (Naylor kick).

R — Perry 53 pass from Ryan (Naylor kick).

R — Edmondson 2 run (Naylor kick).

T — Clinkscales 64 run (run failed).

For coverage of the Connecticut Sun and professional women's basketball, Hartford Athletic pro soccer team, as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.