Wilton dominated the game, but the Bristol Central defense held tough and kept the Rams in it until the final minutes in a 14-6 football alliance loss at Wilton Friday night.
The loss dropped the Rams to 1-2 on the season and they will be looking to get back in the win column at home against Enfield on Thursday night.
Nik Salinas scored the only touchdown for the Rams. That came at the end of a 74-yard drive with 2:20 left in the game. The Rams attempted an onside kick, but the Warriors were able to cover it and run out the clock.
Central managed just 28 rushing yards and were in net negative yardage until the final plays of the first half. Tre Blair who had 11 yards on six carries was the leading rusher for the Rams. He was the only Bristol Central runner with double-digit yardage.
With the ground game stymied, the Rams were forced to go to the air, especially in the second half. Salinas completed eight of 18 passes for 104 yards. Aiden Lamarre, who made his debut in the Central backfield against Wilton after playing primarily defense in the first two weeks, had four catches. One of those was a spectacular one-handed grab on fourth down that kept the Rams’ final scoring drive alive.
Carmelo Thompson caught two passes in the final drive for 33 yards and Cassias Breland had a big catch of 37 yards late in the first half to give the Rams their only first down of the half.
Defensively the Rams had a very strong game. Wilton quarterback Andrew Acosta-Rua put the ball in the air 27 times, but the Central defense was up to the task, disrupting passing lanes and preventing big gains on completions.
Tim Sample had an interception and Lamarre recovered a fumble.
An aggressive front defensive line made it tough on the Warriors all night long. The usually disciplined Wilton squad was whistled for 11 penalties, including two that nullified apparent touchdowns. Central coach Jeff Papazian credited his defensive line’s aggressive and athletic play with forcing the Wilton linemen into holding and foul calls throughout the contest.
Friday night’s game was part of the new football Alliance that matches teams with out of conference foes. It was the first time the Rams had faced a Fairfield County team since 1980. The Football Alliance committee tried to match teams in a competitive balance and the closely fought Central-Wilton match was one of many that proved that the committee did its job in the season’s first full week of Alliance matchups.
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