TORRINGTON: Well, there’s nothing left to do but line ‘em up and play.
The Torrington Football team will be in their first semi-final football game on Sunday at 12:30 as they face off against Rockville on the road with a chance to go on to play in the Class M State Championship game on Saturday, December 11.
Expect a bunch of things.
Fans. Torrington has at least one fan bus and a boatload of cars heading east of Hartford, much like they did last Tuesday in Granby.
Points: Those of you expecting a defensive struggle may be disappointed as both teams scored often during the regular season and the quarterfinals.
Rockville averaged 30.4 points on offense during the regular season while the Raiders put up 29.8.
Big Plays from scrimmage: Bothteams have the ability to bust out big plays but in different ways.
The Raiders may go two yards, three yards and then get loose for a long touchdown run or pass.
Sean Clinkscales, Tyler Semonich and Exodus Rosado (back after missing the quarterfinal game) have each shown that they can put points on the board out of their single wing offense.
Semoinich has a four-touchdown pass game during the regular season and hit the game winner on Tuesday night with a 55-yard bomb to Mason Stannard with under a minute to play.
The Rams run a balanced offense with tall and athletic wideouts.
They like the jet sweep from the ends, can run on the corners or up the middle.
Lines: Like so many games at this level, whichever team controls the line of scrimmage will come out on top.
The Rams have four, 300 plus pound lineman; two seniors, a sophomore and a freshman.
For the Raiders, their line has been one of the best in the Naugatuck Valley League all season and were a major force in the 39-27 win on Tuesday over Granby/Canton.
Senior captain Michael Isczak, Aden Rivera, Josh Coleman, Brendan McGowan and Ashtin Traver have been a big part of the offensive success for the Raiders.
Special Teams: Torrington spent some time Saturday buttoning up their kickoff returns and kickoff coverage.
Against Granby/Canton on Tuesday, the Bears took the second half kickoff 71-yards for a touchdown, knotting things at 14 when the Raiders had a great deal of momentum going into the half.
Directional kickoffs when giving the ball to the Rams and catching the kicks on a fly when it’s their turn will be key.
Punting is not usually a big factor for either team, but Torrington has a good one in Clinkscales.
Turnovers: Always key in any game but in these situations, the importance of holding onto the ball will be key for both teams.
Should be a fun afternoon.
40 degrees and sunny?
Let’s play some ball.