ANSONIA – The Ansonia Tigers closed out the regular season in dominant fashion Friday night, rolling past the visiting Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks 66–29 on Pink Out Night in Ansonia.
“The last three weeks we’ve played our best football,” said veteran Tigers head coach Adam Hall. “To start tonight, we were firing on all cylinders — we looked good.”
Mississinawa Valley first-year head coach Brandon Williams acknowledged the challenge of facing the Tigers. “That’s a good football team. We knew it coming in — they’re physical. We did the best we could,” he said. “I think it’s the start of something we’re trying to build here. Had a couple more I thought we could get. That’s all we’re asking for — a chance to win — and that’s an improvement for this program.”
Ansonia exploded for 58 first-half points before Coach Hall rested his starters the entire second half under a running clock.
“We felt good about where we were at halftime,” Hall said. “It’s always good to get the young guys in on Friday nights, and I thought they played well. We moved the ball a decent amount — good for them. It’s always better when everyone gets to play.”
The Tigers scored early and often:
Cainan Robinson opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run, followed by a Jacob Schmitmeyer 2-point run (8–0).
Layne Bowman intercepted a pass, and Schmitmeyer converted it into a 33-yard touchdown run. Bowman added the conversion on a keeper (16–0).
Carson Tobe broke loose for a 27-yard TD; senior lineman Ben Barnt powered in the conversion (24–0).
Schmitmeyer sprinted 78 yards for another score (30–0).
Schmitmeyer intercepted again and returned to the MV one, setting up Tobe’s short TD. Robinson caught a Bowman conversion pass (38–0).
Mississinawa finally got on the board to start the second quarter with a Kyle Wehrkamp to Ashton Amspaugh touchdown pass at 11:48. Ian Tojosemito added the extra point to make it 38–7.
Ansonia answered immediately:
Tobe scored from 11 yards out (44–7).
Bowman added a 19-yard rushing touchdown, with Luke Ressler converting (52–7).
Tobe capped the first half with a 43-yard scoring run, sending the Tigers to the locker room up 58–7.
“MV is a big game for us,” Hall noted. “The guys want to play well, and you could see it tonight. They have multiple good players — No. 2 (Kyle Wehrkamp) is a heck of a player, fast, and able to get loose a couple of times tonight. Credit to them — he did a good job.”
Under a running clock, the Blackhawks added several second-half scores:
Amspaugh caught a touchdown from Caleb Spradling at 8:25 in the third (58–13).
Jake Pierre responded for the Ansonia JV with a 34-yard touchdown run and successful conversion (66–13).
Cole McGlothlin ran 22 yards for an MV touchdown late in the third, followed by a Bryce Watson-to-Kyle Wehrkamp 2-point conversion pass (66–21).
In the fourth, Wehrkamp broke free for a 49-yard touchdown and conversion to close out the game with a 66–29 final score.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Coach Hall expects a home matchup to start postseason play.
“Whoever it is, it’s going to be a tough one, and we have to be ready to go,” Hall said. “The guys have put in a lot of work. The assistant coaches do a very good job, and I’m appreciative of that. Hopefully, we can make a little run.”
For Mississinawa Valley, the night marked the final game for five senior leaders.
“Can’t say enough good about them,” Coach Williams said. “Kyle Wehrkamp is a heck of an athlete — one of the best in the league. Jake Norris, in his position, is one of the better ones. Brandon Manning — great kid, every team needs one like him. Bryce Watson — same thing, great leader. Those guys started us off on the right foot — first class. Moving forward, they were leading the way for us.”
Williams also praised his young coaching staff. “They’ve done a phenomenal job from day one. We learned a lot along the way — I learned a lot personally. We’ll be better in year two.”
