Hall High School opened the 2024 football season at home in West Hartford on Friday night with an 11-6 loss to Ridgefield.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

It was there for the taking for the Hall Titans football team in their home opener against Ridgefield.

A strong second half comeback had put them within one sore of taking the game in the fourth quarter. Trailing the Tigers by five points with 3:43 left on the clock they had driven the ball inside the 30-yard line and faced a fourth-and-10. Quarterback Wells Gengras rolled right and as he looked up he saw DeVonta Gaston all alone near the corner of the endzone. He let the ball fly as defenders scrambled to try to get to Gaston, but the pass needed more air under it than distance, and despite Gaston’s acrobatic efforts, when he hauled in the ball, he landed well out of bounds. Somehow it was fitting for a game on Friday the 13th.

“That was very close, it’s unfortunate,” said first year head coach Steve Markie after the 11-6 loss.

After the two teams exchanged punts to open things, Hall put together a promising drive. Gengras found Gaston for a first down completion, and one play later the Titans were inside the 10. Tyler Wade took a direct snap and went around the left side. He looked like he was about to score, when a Ridgefield defender managed to swat the ball free and the Tigers recovered. Ridgefield managed to move the ball as far as midfield but once again had to punt to end the opening quarter of play.

Hall did not manage much on their next possession, and when Ridgefield got the ball back they faced third down when quarterback Max Keppler found Chris Colsey over the middle and he dragged a Titan defender to the 30-yard line before going down. After a pair of runs, Hall was called for a facemask and the ball was now at the 3-yard line. Grady McGarry – the Tigers’ workhorse running the ball all game – went up the middle for the touchdown with 7:10 to go in the half.

Ridgefield lined up for the point after, but Hall jumped offsides and the Tigers changed up and went for 2 and McGarry delivered to make it 8-0. Neither team would add any points – with Hall seeing a field goal attempt deflected with 32 seconds to go in the half.

The visitors received the second half kick but were shut down on a third down screen pass by Hall’s Carlos Nunez with a strong tackle. A punt would back Hall up to the 22 from where they would begin the next drive. Jackson Bracken carried the ball on three straight plays for a hard earned first down. After two plays resulted in little yardage, Gengras let loose with a well thrown ball down field that Zach Anderson could not hang onto, forcing Hall to punt one more time.

Starting at the 32, Ridgefield looked to add to their lead. On second down, Griffin Margolis and Redden – who played nearly every play on both sides of the ball – combined for a big stop on a sweep. Ridgefield was flaked for holding on the play and after throwing an incomplete pass. Keppler found McGarry across the middle at midfield and it resulted in a 25-yard gain.

The Tigers would get it to the 1-yard line before the third quarter ran out and the teams switched ends of the field. Ayden Gordon made a huge tackle for a six yard loss on second down to push Ridgefield back. They would eventually settle for a field goal and the 11-0 lead early in the fourth.

Hall would then put together its best drive of the night to get on the scoreboard. It started with Redden returning the kickoff across midfield. Ridgefield was also called for a facemask on the play, setting up Hall just 31 yards from the end zone. Bracken carried to the 11, and Hall went with a quick snap on the next play catching Ridgefield off guard. Bracken carried it to the 3, and then pushed the pile – with a little help – into the end zone for the score. Hall went for the two-point conversion to cut it to a 3-point game, but the run was stopped short, making it 11-6 with 10:30 to go.

The Titan defense stiffened again, inspired by what the offense had done, and forced another punt from Ridgefield giving Hall the ball back at the 23. Bracken would pick up a first down and Gengras later found Dylan Hosmer for a big gain and the Titans were in business at the 30. But after a pair of runs were shut down, and a pass to Anderson was dropped, Hall faced fourth-and-10, setting up the penultimate play that did not go in the Titans favor.

Ridgefield took possession and managed to run out the clock to hand Hall the loss in their season opener.

“I told them after the game that we played really hard but left some opportunities on the field,” Markie said.

Markie knows the season will be one of rebuilding for his team, but after preseason scrimmages and a tough loss in the opener, he sees the progress that his players have already made and knows the game could have gone either way Friday. “If we continue to play this way, don’t make those one or two mistakes, we are going to go home happy not sad.”

Next Friday, Hall will travel to Manchester, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

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