Southington Takes Back Apple Valley Classic Trophy In Win Over Cheshire
- Dan Fappiano
- Nov 29
- 7 min read
Southington football entered their Thanksgiving matchup against Cheshire having lost the last two Apple Valley Classic rivalry games. Between a stout defense and an explosive offense, the Blue Knights reclaimed the trophy with a 31-0 victory.
“The rivalry goes in circles, for both towns. It’s a positive, competitive, good rivalry. Hats off to Cheshire, they have a great team this year,” head coach Rob Levesque said. “That kind of game, records go out the window, playoffs go out the window, we’re coming, they’re coming and we’re going to get after it. It’s what was expected. My kids loved it and played great.”
Game Recap: First Half
Southington’s first score came after three straight runs from sophomore Benjamin Beaulieu, when junior quarterback Luke Prozzo found senior Jaxiel Rivera from 36 yards out to put the Blue Knights on the board. The extra point made it 7-0 with 8:27 remaining in the first quarter.
It wasn’t long before Southington got possession back. Cheshire fumbled the ball on fourth-and-one, with Blue Knights senior Daniel Corrado recovering it. Southington then went on an extended drive that featured a long Prozzo run and another deep pass to Rivera. With 1:49 remaining in the quarter, sophomore Sawyer Trudeau gave the Blue Knights a 10-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal.
Cheshire seemed to be getting some momentum, blocking a Southington punt to start the second quarter. They would then convert a fourth-and-six. However, senior Austin Sirois halted the Rams in their tracks with a tackle for loss that forced fourth-and-11, and Cheshire missed a 43-yard field goal.
On its next drive Southington capitalized on a pair of strong runs from senior Lonnie Green, including one for 13 yards. Prozzo then converted fourth-and-two to junior Leif Renehan. With the receiver breaking tackles deep into Cheshire territory, the Blue Knights tacked on a 23-yard Trudeau field goal to take a 13-0 lead into halftime.
Recap: Second Half
The Blue Knights brought out the fireworks to open the second half, as Prozzo found Beaulieu for a 40-yard touchdown pass with 10:53 left in the quarter. While the kick was blocked, Southington was up 19-0.
Next, Cheshire started driving down the field, converting on fourth-and-11. But a Sirois interception again stopped their momentum. The turnovers weren’t done yet – on the first play of Cheshire’s next drive, junior Connor Orange recovered a fumble.
The ensuing drive saw a Prozzo interception get called back for pass interference. A few plays later, Beaulieu ran in a three-yard touchdown. Orange wasn’t finished recovering turnovers, picking up his second of the quarter shortly thereafter. Southington took a 25-0 lead into the final frame.
Beaulieu put the finishing touches on the victory by scoring a five-yard rushing touchdown with just over 11 minutes remaining. It was the only score the fourth quarter as the Blue Knights put the seal on a rivalry win.
Southington not only took back the Apple Valley Classic, they chalked up their fifth victory in a row, the last four before a home crowd.
“Being in Southington is special,” Levesque said. “Being on the road is hard to do so many weeks in a row. After the bye and a bad loss to New Britain, we had a reset. We had to make some real changes in the way we did things, the way we prepared. We did that, and it was the perfect time in the season to hit the reset button. The kids bought in and they’ve been executing.”
Luke Prozzo Makes His Return
Senior quarterback Prozzo had been out of action since suffering an injury in Southington’s win over Hall, which was later revealed to be a second grade AC sprain in his shoulder. After a lengthy recovery, the quarterback was finally able to get in a couple days of practice leading into the Thanksgiving clash.
Prozzo was informed that he was going to be the starter on Wednesday night. When he learned of that decision, he said, “I knew I was going to lead the team to a victory.” The junior would go on to complete 13-of-26 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and get named Southington’s Apple Valley Classic Offensive MVP.
Prozzo admits he was playing at about 80 percent capacity, but felt that he “had to be out here with the boys.” Once he completed his first touchdown pass to Rivera, he knew he was “on his A-game.” From there, Prozzo was solely focused on winning the rivalry matchup.
“They took it from us two years in a row, so it felt great to take that back,” Prozzo said. “We have the right momentum going into the playoffs, and I think we’re going to get it done.”
While Prozzo may not have been competing come gameday, he remained active in team preparations and was fully involved in Southington’s growing success.
“Luke is a gamer at all points,” Levesque said. “He’s never been gone, he’s been in the huddles, he’s been in the films, in the practices. He’s been doing everything he can. He hasn’t missed a beat in terms of the mental reps that it takes to play this game.”
Heading into the playoffs, Levesque and company will have a decision to make at starting quarterback. In Prozzo’s absence, sophomore Jacoby Roman led the Blue Knights to five victories. Whoever ends up getting the starting nod, Levesque is confident Southington’s quarterback will deliver.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into the decision,” Levesque said. “Obviously Jacoby has won the last four games for us. He’s been tremendous for us. It’s a good, healthy competition between them. We’re going to continue to ride that, that’s a good problem to have. Great character kids and competitors.”
Blue Knights Offense, Defense Both Shine
Defensively, Southington held Cheshire to just 61 yards total. With three fumble recoveries and an interception, the Blue Knights easily won the takeaway battle. That they are ‘takeaways’, not just turnovers, is something Levesque emphasizes, as he wants Southington to be intentional when they attack on defense.
“Sudden change is a big part of the game,” Levesque said. “It’s a game of motion and momentum. We led the turnover battle and it led to some sudden change. We focus a lot on takeaways. We don’t like to call them turnovers, takeaways are on purpose. It worked for us today.”
Orange, who had two of those fumble recoveries, was named Southington’s Apple Valley Classic Defensive MVP. He argued it should be a team award as he wasn’t the only one who stepped up to help set a new standard in the rivarly with Cheshire.
“We really wanted to start a new standard around here,” Orange said. “We knew they were going to run the ball a lot. We really worked hard for our outside linebackers to set the edge. This whole week has just been preparing. 100 percent intensity, 100 percent locked in.”
With three total touchdowns and 155 yards of offense, Beaulieu was named the Apple Valley Classic MVP. The Blue Knights had 134 total rushing yards with Beaulieu contributing 100 of them. Still, for the sophomore, his favorite moments on the field are not individual achievement but soaking in a score with his teammates.
“It feels amazing. After you score, being able to be with your offensive linemen in the end zone. That’s the best feeling in the world,” Beaulieu said. “I feel sorry for people who can’t experience it because honestly it’s amazing. I’m super grateful for it.”
It has been a rollercoaster season for Beaulieu, who began the year as a backup before going on to win MVP. Whatever role he was put in, the running back was ready.
“Offseason it was a lot of, ‘What can I do to help this team the most?’ Whether that would be starting or being on special teams, just to help anywhere in practice,” Beaulieu said. “Being able to get an opportunity was great, I know I’m built for it. I have a great offensive line I can trust.”
All three players kept focused on the Blue Knights’ trusted mantra, ‘1-0 every week’. As they head into postseason play, they know what they’re capable of and are prepared to put the work in to succeed.
“Our mentality is just to keep on going,” Prozzo said. “Whatever is working is working.”
“We just got to keep working hard,” Orange added.
“1-0 every week, keep it rolling,” Beaulieu concluded.
Glastonbury Awaits
With the win, Southington ended their regular season with a 7-3 record. They clinched the No. 4 seed in the Class LL State Tournament and will host No. 5 Glastonbury on Tuesday, December 2. Kickoff is set for 6:30.
It will be a rematch of the school’s regular season matchup, a game that saw Glastonbury come away with a 41-35 victory in overtime. But Southington is now a much different team than they were back in Week 2. With momentum from their win over Cheshire, Levesque and the Blue Knights are ready for playoff action.
“We’ll see who we get. The coaches are going to gameplan, and the players are going to trust us. We’re going to trust them,” Levesque said. “We’re going to go out and play.”
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