Bloomfield Snares 9th State Football Championship

NEW BRITAIN, CT — Sophomore quarterback Daron Bryden threw for three touchdowns and 201 yards, and the No. 4 Bloomfield Warhawks (12-1) defeated the No. 7 Haddam-Killingworth Cougars (11-2) by a score of 25-7 to win the Class S football championship Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The championship was the ninth title in school history for Bloomfield, and its second since 2015.

The game could not have gotten off to a worse start for Bloomfield, as running back Ky'Juon Butler fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and the ball was recovered by Haddam-Killingworth's Aiden Maher at the Bloomfield 42 yard line. Haddam-Killingworth would eventually take advantage of that mistake, as James Murphy hit pay dirt on a quarterback sneak from the 2 yard line on 4th and 1 with 8:44 left in the first quarter to give the Cougars an early 7-0 lead following the extra point by Jordan Callahan.

Bloomfield got on the board with 8:42 left in the second quarter after it recovered a fumble by Cougar running back Dalton Modehn at the HK 38. Four plays later, Butler scored on a 2-yard run to pull HK within a point after Sean Dixon-Bodie missed the point after attempt.

Bloomfield would take advantage of another Modehn fumble with 7:35 left in the first half when, on the first play after the fumble recovery, Bryden connected with wide receiver Anthony Simpson on a 56-yard catch and run to give the Warhawks a 12-7 lead. Bloomfield attempted a 2-point conversion to increase its lead to 7, but Bryden's pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

Bloomfield added to its lead with 4:03 left in the third quarter when Bryden delivered his second TD pass of the game on a beautiful throw down the left sideline to receiver Michael Raiford for a 30-yard score to give his team an 11-point advantage. The two point attempt was once again no good, and the Warhawks led by a score of 18-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bloomfield offense would put the game out of reach with 8:45 left in the game, when Bryden tossed his third TD of the game on a 17-yard pass to Simpson to give the Warhawks a commanding 25-7 lead, which proved to be too much to overcome for HK's run-first offense.

Bloomfield head coach Tylon Outlaw said getting out to a lead on HK was key for his team.

"We knew if we took a lead that was big enough they would have to throw the ball, and that would be to our strength," he said. "Take nothing away from HK, they played a heck of a game, they had a great year, but we finished the job."

Bryden, who completed 15 of 20 passes, said that he tried to envision himself having a good game.

"I was thinking about it all last night that I was gonna play good and be able to win this game for my team," he said. "It means a lot. This is my first championship, and I'm hoping to get more."

Butler finished the game with 149 yards on 23 attempts to lead the Bloomfield rushing attack, while Simpson led all receivers with 92 yards on five receptions.

For HK, Dalton Modehn had 141 yards on a game-high 35 carries, while teammate Tobey Callender contributed 70 yards on 15 carries.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen

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