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12/08/2018 11:00 PMA tremendous regular season and a thrilling playoff push catapulted the Haddam-Killingworth football team into its second state championship game in program history this fall. While the Cougars weren’t able to take home the crown, they finished off their historic 2018 campaign by battling until the final whistle in a 25-7 loss against Bloomfield in the Class S state final on Dec. 8.
H-K went 9-1 during regular season to earn the program’s first playoff berth since 2011, as well as a division title with its record of 7-1 in the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division. As the No. 7 seed in the Class S State Playoffs, the Cougars posted a 52-0 shutout over No. 2 seed Bullard Havens Tech in the quarterfinals for their first postseason win in program history. After that, H-K edged out No. 3 seed Stafford-East Windsor-Somers by 21-14 score in overtime in the Class S semis to advance to face No. 4 Bloomfield in the championship at Veteran’s Stadium in New Britain. Bloomfield captured the title by notching a 25-7 victory versus Haddam-Killingworth.
H-K grabbed an early 7-0 lead that held up after the first quarter, but Bloomfield took a 12-7 advantage into halftime after scoring two touchdowns following fumbles by the Cougars. The Warhawks, who finished their year at 12-1, added another touchdown in the third quarter and one more in the fourth on their way to claiming the Class S crown. H-K completed its best season in team history with an overall record of 11-2.
“Bloomfield knew they were tested when they walked off the field today,” Cougars’ Head Coach Baklik said. “Aside from [Class M finalist Berlin] shutting them out earlier this year, I believe we gave them their toughest game of the season.”
Even in defeat, the Cougars continued displaying their trademark running game versus Bloomfield by outgaining the Warhawks 256-143 on the ground. Junior Dalton Modehn rushed 35 times for 154 yards, while senior captain Tobey Callender gained 70 yards on 15 carries. Modehn and Callender both finished with more than 1,000 rushing yards this year for H-K, which brought an eight-game win streak into the state final.
“After our loss to Cromwell-Portland, they were determined to not get down on themselves. They didn’t like the feeling after that game,” said Coach Baklik. “If we held on to the ball a couple more times, it might have been a different outcome.”
The Cougars struck first after their defense forced a Bloomfield fumble and then recovered it. On fourth down from the 2-yard line, senior captain James Murphy plunged into the end zone to put H-K up just 3:16 into the game. Junior Jordan Callahan kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Modehn intercepted the Warhawks’ quarterback later in the quarter as H-K held a 7-0 lead through one.
In the second period, Bloomfield recovered an H-K fumble and later scored on a 2-yard TD run to cut it to 7-6 with 8:42 to play until the break. On the ensuing drive, the Warhawks forced another fumble and pounced on the ball. Bloomfield responded with a 56-yard touchdown pass that gave them a 12-7 lead with 7:35 left in the half.
The Cougars then drove down to the Bloomfield 21-yard line, although the Warhawks forced H-K to turn the ball over on downs with 3:25 to go in the half. A little more than a minute later, senior Zach Kauffman snagged an interception to give H-K the ball at its own 46. Neither team could score any more points in the half, and so Bloomfield went to the locker room with a five-point advantage.
“The boys’ mental toughness was outstanding in both halves. We capitalized on a turnover early, and we needed that electrifying play early,” Baklik said. “We put our defense in tough spots early, but Bloomfield usually puts up about 50 against teams, and we held them to half of that. We dominated much of that game. We still moved the ball late, and they didn’t get down. We made the Pequot Conference proud.”
After H-K punted the ball away early in the third, Bloomfield went on a 12-play, 91-yard drive that culminated with a 30-yard TD pass for an 18-7 lead with 4:03 left in the quarter.
Down by 11 entering the final frame, H-K drove to midfield, but turned it over on downs. The Warhawks followed by scoring on a 17-yard touchdown pass that increased their lead to 25-7 with 8:45 remaining in the game. Despite the deficit, H-K didn’t relent. The Cougars drove all the way to the Bloomfield 1-yard line, before the Warhawks’ defense stopped them on 4th-and-goal. From there, Bloomfield ran out the clock to solidify the title.
Senior captain Aiden Maher recorded a sack and recovered a fumble on defense for the Cougars, whose leading tacklers were Callender (7.5) and Callahan (6). Kauffman (4), Modehn (4), Maher (3.5), and senior captain Dalton Brown (3) also contributed to the defensive effort for Coach Baklik’s squad. Baklik said that H-K’s players showed great focus and fought hard every week throughout the team’s remarkable season.
“They followed the coaches’ lead and approached every game the same way. They took things one step at a time,” said Baklik. “Our fans were also great this year, and we had more fans at this game than Bloomfield. They boys won and lost with class this year.”.
From the Sidelines
The Haddam-Killingworth football team’s varsity roster consists of senior captains Tobey Callender, James Murphy, Dalton Brown, Colton Lavoie, and Aiden Maher; seniors Zach Kauffman, Mike Sonski, Mike Barile, Wallace Sample, Chase Mack, and Parker Smith; juniors Jordan Callahan, James Bobbi, Dalton Modehn, Trey Callender, Kevin Giulini, Chris Moore, Evan Ceplenski, and Colin Mack; sophomores Cameron Hines, Aiden Coale, Dan LaRosa, Brandon Bernier, Tristan Hesselberg, Drew Zichichi, Steven Zichichi, Anthony Corda, John Bruder, Antonio Calderoni, Pat Murphy, Matt Carson, Jacob Young, Gavin Barile, Brett Neilsen, and Tom Perry; and freshmen Corey Phipps, Ryan Duncanson, Matteo Piacenti, Jared Frith, Malachi Bourne, and Kevin Cavrell.
Head Coach Mike Baklik is assisted by George Callender, Rob Grasso, Barth Keck, Jared Hickey, Tyler Wilcox, and Pat Dougherty.
The Cougars’ previous state final appearance came in 1994, when H-K lost a 20-14 contest against Putnam in the Class S title game.
During the regular season, H-K earned wins versus SMSA-University-Classical (35-8), Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton (30-6), Morgan (37-22), Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman Memorial (56-13), Morgan (63-22), North Branford (27-6), Lewis Mills (42-0), Old Saybrook-Westbrook (42-12), and Valley Regional-Old Lyme (27-21). The Cougars’ lone loss came against Cromwell-Portland by a 47-19 score.