The 2015 Version of the Farmington Indians Football Team Is Much Like That of Its Predecessor

Farmington Falls to Wethersfield in Football Opener

The 2015 version of the Farmington Indians football team is much like that of its predecessor. The pieces want so badly to fit together butdo not quite snap into place… yet.

The Eagles from Wethersfield descended on the Tribes turf on Friday night hoping to fly away with a victory in both team’s season opener.

Farmington’s Mike Popolizio caused Eagles QB Devon Smith to fumble on the first play from scrimmage.Although Wethersfield recovered, it gave the home team a spark that desperately tried to catch fire deep into the night.

After stalled drives by each offense, Farmington DT Matt Goralski fell on the Eagles first snap of their next possession and once again, the D provided a spark.

The Indians tried to ignite but on a fourth and six at the Eagles 30-yard line, junior QB Brooks Mihalek (4/8, 15 yds, 1 int)fumbled while trying to escape an Eagles blitz. Wethersfield took over on its own 38 and on the next play, Smith found WR Kyle Klavins for an 88-yard TD pass. After a failed PAT attempt, the Eagles led with 6:45 left in the first quarter.

It took only 18 seconds for Wethersfield OLB Chris Cravero to capitalize on another Indians miscue and take a Brian Buono (14 carries/42 yds) fumble 33 yards for a 13-0 lead.

On the following drive, looking at a 3rd and 7 from his own 42, Mihalek hit his TE with a first down pass but Popolizio was met by three defenders and Klavins took the loose ball to the Farmington 15 yard-line. After a penalty negated a TD run, Wethersfield had to settle for a 35-yard Stefano field goal and a 16-0 lead with 3:10 left in the quarter.

Farmington’s next drive began at its own 30 and on second down, Mihalek heaved a pass that would become Klavins’ second interception of the game.

The Eagles opened the second quarter on the foot of Stefano as the junior kicker nailed his second FG of the game, this one from 40 yards. With 11:49 left in the half, Wethersfield had a 19-0 lead.

The Tribe began their first drive of the quarter by inserting sophomore QB Zac Conrad (10/25, 87 yds) into the lineup. Farmington Head Coach, Chris Machol, would later sum up the QB situation by saying, “Brooks had been performing better in practice. But without much of a running game and (a) tough time dealing with their pressure, we needed to go with Zac because of the ability to create when things break down. Zac played well so he will get more reps to start the week but they will both be ready to play on Friday.”

Conrad’s first series resulted in a Popolizio punt and the Eagles took over on the Farmington 40-yard line. The Indians defense showed some of its expected potential and assisted by a Ben Wogan sack, forced the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs.

Conrad (4 carries/10 yds) went to work with a series of short passes and runs but could not move the ball and Farmington again had to punt. Wethersfield took over on its own 35, but tackles by Kevin Dunst and Xavier Amos ended the drive with a punt.The Indians offense again stalled and handed the ball over on downs at about midfield.

The Farmington D showed signs of stopping the latest Eagles march until RB Jamal Bagley raced 27 yards to the Farmington 28-yard line. Three plays later Wethersfield closed out the first half scoring with a 22-yard TD pass to Kyle Klavins, his second of the half. The teams went to their locker rooms with Wethersfield leading 26-0.

Farmington began the second half at its own 31 after an 11-yard KO return by Amos. Then on 3rd and 10 from their on 43, Conrad hit WR Prince Philip (2 rec/30 yds) across the middle and the Indians were in business at the Eagles 30-yard line. Conrad was sacked on the next play and after a penalty negated his scramble to the 15, Wethersfield took over on downs.

The Tribe’s defense was impressive on the next series, forcing the Eagles to punt with Farmington letting it bounce into the end zone for a touchback.

The Indians set out on what would become their most successful drive of the game. Conrad completed two passes each to Dunleavy (4 rec/27 yds) and Van Buren (2 rec/13 yds) while Dunst (4 rec/14 yds) picked up critical yardage on the ground. With Farmington facing a 4thdown at the 15-yard line, the Eagles were flagged for a pass interference penalty. Instead of Farmington being awarded a fresh set of downs, as indicated by the evaluating referee in the press box, the officials on the field replayed the down at the spot of the foul. The Indians could not convert and had to turn the ball over to the Eagles just 8-yards short of their first TD of the season.

The final scoring drive of the game would begin at the Eagles 8-yard line as the 3rdquarter fading into the fourth. With 10:37 left in the game, Smith connected with WR Brandon Garcia for a 33-yard TD pass. The PAT was good and Wethersfield was up 33-0.

Looking to build on their previous drive, the Indians held the ball for 13 plays but again came up short. Wethersfield took over for the final possession of the game and ran the clock to the final zeroes of the night.

When asked to name a standout performer from his team, Coach Machol commented, “Kevin Dunst played really well on both sides of the ball, and was able to give us a full game playing both ways considering the cramping that many other players were suffering from.”

RB Alexis Walker finished with 15 yds on 5 carries. Kevin Dunst and Miguel Zayas led the defense with 8 tackles each.

Complete game stats can be found at

Farmington travels to Bristol Eastern on Friday for a 7pm kickoff.