Billy Seymour ripped off a 53-yard game-winning touchdown run with just over three minutes left, lifting New Britain to a wild 21-20 CCC Tier 1 football victory over Maloney on Thursday night at Veterans Stadium. This was exactly what everyone expected from a rivalry game, pure chaos right down to the final cannon blast.
New Britain’s Early Barrage and Seymour’s Explosive Start
New Britain came out absolutely fired up, jumping to a 14-0 halftime lead against their CCC rivals. Senior quarterback Billy Seymour was already doing work, punching in two touchdowns on runs of 79 and 8 yards. The Golden Hurricanes, who are ranked No. 10 in the GametimeCT poll, needed this one bad after getting walloped 35-7 by No. 2 Greenwich last week. A win here would move them to 2-1 and give them some real momentum heading deeper into the season. Everything was looking good, and the crowd was buzzing.
Maloney’s Gut Check and That Jaw-Dropping Finish
But listen, Maloney did not quit. Not even after losing senior running back Devan Bacote to a season-ending knee injury last week. Senior QB Eli Showerda, coming off a school-record 422-yard passing game, led a gritty comeback. He took a keeper 17 yards for a score late in the third quarter. Then, he tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Joel Lopez on fourth down, tying the game at 14-all with 7:30 to play. Maloney even took their first lead of the night after a huge fumble recovery at the New Britain 32-yard line led to Showerda hitting Jaymeir Diaz in the back of the end zone from 21 yards out. However, their extra-point attempt went wide, leaving the score at 20-14.
That’s when Seymour said, “Hold my beer.” He turned on the jets, just like he did for his 79-yarder, and busted open for a 53-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Jonathan Nunez then nailed the crucial extra point, out of Kayden Centeno’s hold, putting New Britain up 21-20 with just over three minutes left. Maloney wasn’t done yet, though. Cayden Simonds Gaskins returned the kickoff to midfield, and Showerda even moved the chains on a fourth-and-5 with a 12-yard pass to Jayden Soto. They got into the red zone, but on third-and-3 from the 16, New Britain defensive end Zion Calvin chased Showerda out of bounds for a 3-yard loss. With only 30 seconds left, Eli Osei trotted out for a 36-yard field goal to win it. The kick was true, on target, but it fell just, *just* short. Unbelievable. Maloney heads home stinging at 1-2, having lost their second straight. New Britain gets to ride that wave of absolute relief and pure joy all week. What a game.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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