By Michael Letendre

NEW BRITAIN – This may come as little solace for the Bristol Central football program but to end an amazing campaign, the Rams lost to the eventual state champions.

On Saturday, December 11, Maloney defeated Windsor by a 35-21 final to take the Class L championship in a showdown from Veterans Stadium at Willow Brook Park in New Britain.

Third ranked Maloney finished the campaign at 12-1 while No. 5 Windsor fell to 11-2.

It was the first state title in the long history of Spartans’ football.

Maloney’s Josh Boganski rushed for 239 yards on 46 huge carries – scoring four touchdowns along the way over an MVP caliber performance.

The Spartans trailed 7-0 in the early going and needed nearly 16 minutes to finally put a dent on the scoreboard.

But over a stretch of about 14 minutes, Maloney scored four times to snare a 28-7 cushion with 6:08 to go in the third tilt.

And the Warriors were never able to play catch-up in the end.

Windsor managed a rally of its own, trimming the deficit to 28-21 with 11:20 remaining but never scored again.

Trailing by seven midway through the second frame, Maloney knotted the score on a 5-yard run by Boganski and with 8:13 left in the first half, it was a 7-7 game.

The ensuing Windsor drive then stalled out on its own 39 and from there, Boganski ran in a TD from six yards out and with 29 seconds left in the second stanza, the Spartans snared a 14-7 push with halftime looming.

Off an interception by Maloney’s Kuron Wiggins early in the third tilt, deep in Windsor territory, Boganski scored on an 11-yard run to propel the Spartans to a 21-7 edge.

Maloney grew the lead to 28-7 via a 5-yard run by Boganski with 6:08 remaining in the third quarter.

The Warriors then scored twice in just over a stretch of 2:20 and on an 87-yard pass play from Windsor QB Elijah Cromartie to Shawn Bell, it was just a seven-point contest at 28-21 with 11:20 to go.

Maloney quarterback Angel Arce (4-for-10, 47 yards) then put together an insurance 15-yard TD run with 8:51 remaining, making it a 35-21 contest.

The deficit was too big to topple in the end for Windsor as Maloney racked up its first CIAC title in football over the 35-21 win.

Saturday officially ended the fall scholastic campaign for the state of Connecticut.

In the other championship games from Saturday:

Class LL – No. 3 Darien pulled off a 42-7 victory over top-seeded Fairfield Prep to take the championship.

Class M – No. 1 Killingly turned away No. 2 Rockville, 28-14, to win the Class M crown.

Class S – In a battle of undefeated programs, No. 2 Cromwell/Portland sank No. 1 Bloomfield, 21-6, in the title bout to spoil the Warhawks’ chance at a perfect campaign. Both squads entered the contest at 12-0.

CIAC Football – CLASS L Championship game

MALONEY 35, WINDSOR 21

from Veterans Stadium, New Britain

Windsor (11-2) 7 0 6 8 – 21

Maloney (12-1)          0 14 14 7 – 35  

Game Scoring

First Period

W – Jaevion Walcott 83 pass from Elijah Cromartie (Miles McMikle kick), 5:31

Second Period

M – Josh Boganski 5 run (Josh Scaramuzzo kick), 8:13

M – Boganski 6 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 0:29

Third Period

M – Boganski 11 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 9:19

M – Boganski 5 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 6:08

W – Shawn Bell 1 run (kick failed), 1:39

Fourth Period

W – Bell 87 pass from Cromartie (Prince Samuels pass from Cromartie), 11:20

M – Angel Arce 15 run (Scaramuzzo kick), 8:51

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Windsor: Shawn Bell 16-41, Elijah Cromartie 8-(-2); Maloney: Josh Boganski 46-239, Kenny McMillian 10-39, Angel Arce 6-3.

Passing – Windsor: Cromartie 9-23, 200 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT; Maloney:  Arce 4-10, 47 yds, 1 INT

Receiving – Windsor: Bell 3-94, Achillius White 3-11, Jaevion Walcott 2-83, Ray Rodriguez 1-12; Maloney: Austin Studley 2-18, Ian Graham 1-17, Joziah Gonzalez 1-12.