Unionville locks up playoff spot with easy win over Sun Valley
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> Curt Schilling made headlines again in Boston this week, but for Unionville High School football fans, Connor Schilling was the hero to be celebrated.
The junior ran for 211 yards and three touchdowns an the Indians posted four scoring runs of over 45 yards en route to a 42-7 Ches-Mont League American Division win over Sun Valley on Friday in the regular-season finale.
“He was super for us last year as a 10th grader,” Unionville coach Pat Clark said about Schilling. “We’ve asked him to carry so much of the burden this year, and it was nice for him to have a breakout game. But, he’s done a lot for us all season and that’s what he’s capable of when we get him the ball.”
The win solidified a District 1 Class 5A playoff berth for the Indians, who finished the regular season at 4-1 in the American and 4-6 overall. They came into the game ranked 13th out of the 16 teams to reach the postseason,
“This team overcome so much adversity this season,” said quarterback Nate Schnaars. “The senior guys, we’ve come together and we’re a real brotherhood. I love every single one of them. We’ve got to keep going. We got playoffs next week. It should be a tough challenge.”
The Vanguards (0-5, 3-7) needed a win to have a shot at postseason play, but star running back Julz Kelly was held in check for most of the evening, and they allowed TD runs of 96, 45, 59 and 63 yards.
“Pat does a heck of a job,” said Sun Valley coach Greg “Bubba” Bernhardt. “We knew they were going to be good defensively, they’re always top notch defensively. We obviously wanted to come out here tonight and try to get a win to get ourselves into the playoffs. That didn’t happen, but I’m proud of my guys. They fight and they battle, but we couldn’t string it together.”
Neither team moved the ball much with their first two possessions, but that changed after a partially deflected Sun Valley set Unionville with excellent field position at the Vanguards 27-yard line. A 20-yard run by Schnaars put the ball at the four. Two plays later, Schnaars faked a handoff to Joseph Fariello, and scampered six yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
Sun Valley had some open receivers in the first, but was unable to connect.
“We missed some big play opportunities in the first quarter that would have got us going,” said Bernhardt. “We kind of came in some different things to throw them off defensively a little bit, and when it was there to make the play, we didn’t get it.”
Those failures came back to haunt them early in the second. With Unionville on its own four, Schilling took a handoff, busted through the middle and sped 96 yards untouched into the end zone and a 14-0 lead.
“I handed it off and pulled off my fake and I looked and saw him running down the field, and I knew he was gone,” said Schnaars. “Connor one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever seen. He’s so fast.”
Sun Valley cut the lead in half just past the midway point in the half. Following an interception by linebacker Don Valente that brought the ball to the Unionville 26, Quarterback Anthony Ellis galloped in two plays later for a 12-yard score.
But, Unionville had a quick counter. Schilling gained 17 yards on a first-down play, then Schnaars, who had a 117 yards of his own, rambled 45 yards for a touchdown.
The Indians grounded out an 11-play, 84-yard drive at the end of the half to bump the lead to 28-7 as Schilling scurried over from the one.
Fariello got into the long-play scoring act, breaking off a 59-yard jaunt in the first Unionville series in the second half. Schilling notched his third score from 63-yards out to end the scoring and send the game into the running clock mercy rule.
Kelly was held to 94 yards for the game. He broke out for a 47 yarder and a 12 yarder in the third quarter, but it was his only double-digit runs in 17 carries.
“That kid is good, boy he’s as explosive as any kid who’s been in our league in the last decade,” said Clark. “That’s was what we focused on. we were going to have them have someone else to beat us than 5.”
While Unionville awaits its playoff future, Sun Valley has one more game of its own, a Thanksgiving Day tussle with Chichester.
