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10/03/2021 12:00 AMFour games into the 2021 season, the Morgan football team is proving to be a force in the Pequot Conference. After taking a loss against Cromwell-Portland in their opener, the Huskies have rattled off three-consecutive victories to improve their record to 3-1 on the year.
Last week, Morgan squared off against Valley Regional-Old Lyme (VR-OL) for a home game at the Peters Complex on Oct. 1. In a contest that saw the Huskies lead wire to wire, Head Coach Kevin Sullivan’s squad claimed a 20-15 victory versus the rival Warriors.
“First off, Valley played a great game. That coaching staff and their players deserve a ton of credit. They made it tough on us all night,” said Sullivan, who is in his first year with Morgan. “Our defense played fantastic and made plays all night, but we were able to make plays on the offensive side when we needed to.”
Senior captain wide receiver/linebacker Garret Garbinski was a difference maker on both sides of the ball for Morgan in the win. Garbinski returned a fumble 62 yards for a touchdown early in the game to give the Huskies a 6-0 lead. On Morgan’s next possession, Garbinski caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from senior captain quarterback Andrew Nye to put the Huskies up 12-0.
VR-OL responded with a rushing touchdown to cut the lead to 12-7, but Morgan answered back on a 3-yard touchdown run by Nye. Garbinski put the Huskies up 20-7 after running in the 2-point conversion. VR-OL went on to score a touchdown and also force a safety to trim the deficit to 20-15, but the Huskies staved off the Warriors’ late rally and held on for the victory.
Nye went 10-for-15 for 125 yards passing with one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and one interception for Morgan. Garbinski had four receptions for 85 yards and a TD. He also carried the ball three times for 15 yards.
While he knows that it wasn’t a flawless performance, Coach Sullivan felt proud of his Huskies for grinding out a big victory against a familiar foe.
“We need to take this as another step in the right direction. Even though everything did not go the right way for us, our kids were able to fight through and come away with a victory,” Sullivan said. “We need to cut down on giving up big plays, and we need to improve our tackling.”
In addition to Nye and Garbinksi, Morgan’s senior captains are wide receiver Alex Fratamico and center/linebacker Jordan Armstrong. The Huskies’ big senior class also features Nick Schmidt, Nolan Sullivan, Ethan Ranaudo, Cameron Johnson, Connor Loth, Dom Muce, Joseph Ciarleglio, Declan Hayes, Cole Hornyak, and Connor Duffy.
Morgan’s junior corps includes Jake Caprio, Seamus Staunton, Chris Carmona, Aidan Staunton, Luke Bellinger, Darren Abbott, Chris Dowd, Nathan Schumann, Luis Mendez, and Breydan Banning.
Coach Sullivan has great expectations for the veteran players on his roster. Sullivan is expecting each one of his upperclassmen to play a key role as the Huskies try to smooth things out while the season unfolds.
“Offensively, we need to keep getting better and be more consistent and efficient, especially in the red zone,” said Sullivan. “Valley did a great job of stopping the run and making us one-dimensional.”
The underclassmen on Morgan’s roster include sophomores Jake Jones, Tyler Baldwin, Nico Cimino, John Nye, Casey Corrigan, Nicholas Ciaio, and Noah Hussaini. The Huskies’ freshman class includes Dominic Larabee, Hunter Roth, Mike Derenzo, Jalen Bunce, Carson Dowd, Jon Allen, Tyler Farrell, Joseph Noreikis, Connor Baker, Jovanie Molina, Anthony Gwara, Mason Jakober, and Logan Ryan.
Morgan has a bye week for this week. The Huskies will return to the field when they face the Sport & Medical Sciences Academy (SMSA) co-op team at Hartford Public High School on Saturday, Oct. 16 at noon. Morgan also has games against Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton, Coventry-Windham-Tech-Bolton-Lyman, North Branford, Ellington, and Old Saybrook-Westbrook remaining on its schedule this season.
“We just want to keep getting better every week,” Coach Sullivan said. “This time off will give us awhile to work on some fundamentals, and we’ll be ready to go against SMSA. I’m looking forward to our next challenge.”