GNH wins Turkey Bowl

QB Owen Stimpson ran in one touchdown and threw for two more against St. Paul Nov. 28.

Photo by Riley Klein

GNH wins Turkey Bowl

WINSTED — Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football ended the season with a 44-8 win against St. Paul Catholic High School Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 28.

Cold, rainy conditions made for a ground and pound game with GNH scoring five rushing touchdowns. QB Owen Stimpson completed three passes, two of which were caught for long-distance touchdowns.

St. Paul's lone score came in the fourth quarter on an 80-yard scramble by RB Jack Dennehy.

GNH's Everett Rigby rushed for two touchdowns Nov. 28.Photo by Riley Klein

The Turkey Bowl marked the end of the season for both teams. St. Paul finished with a record of 2-8 and GNH ended at 3-7.

GNH Coach Scott Salius earned his 101st win with the team and wrapped up his 17th season.

It was about 39 degrees during the game with unrelenting precipitation Nov. 28.

Both teams struggled to hold on to the hard, wet ball, resulting in a combined five lost fumbles and two interceptions. About a dozen more botched snaps and hand offs were recovered by offense.

Fumbles were common in the cold, wet weather.Photo by Riley Klein

Wes Allyn, tight end for GNH, reported the field was "actually not that bad. There are spots that are slippery but for the most part it's not awful." The stadium announcer reported 400 in attendance, most of whom sought shelter beneath raincoats, umbrellas and tents.

To start the game, GNH's defense forced two consecutive turnovers in St. Paul's territory in the first quarter. Both resulted in rushing touchdowns: the first was a five-yard run from Owen Adams and the next was one-yard sneak by Owen Stimpson. GNH took a 12-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, GNH's Owen Riemer rushed down the middle and powered through contact, dragging several St. Paul defenders with him to the one-yard line. Everett Rigby finished the job with a one-yard touchdown. Riemer scored later in the quarter on a 19-yard run to give GNH a 24-0 lead at half time.

GNH's Owen Riemer ran in one touchdown and caught another Nov. 28.Photo by Riley Klein

Rigby added to GNH's total with another touchdown in the third quarter. He faked out the St. Paul defense with a reverse play for a nine-yard rush to the end zone.

GNH scored again in the fourth with a 28-yard passing touchdown to Esten Ryan, extending the lead to 36-0.

St. Paul responded on the next drive with an east-west scramble by RB Jack Dennehy that eventually found daylight and went the distance for an 80-yard touchdown. St. Paul connected on the two-point conversion and brought the score to 36-8.

GNH got the ball back with enough time for a drive. Owen Stimpson threw a screen to Owen Riemer, who sprinted 60 yards past the St. Paul defenders down the sideline and into the end zone. GNH scored the two-point conversion and ended the game 44-8.

St. Paul's jerseys didn't stay white for long.Photo by Riley Klein

The season finale marked the end of high school football for seven GNH seniors: Jeremiah Robles, Everett Rigby, Jackson Campbell, Leif Johnson, Owen Adams, Owens Stimpson and Nick Mambrino.

GNH's 22 juniors played considerable minutes this year and many were present for postseason runs in 2022 and 2023. The experienced roster will have its work cut out in the 2025 season as they look to return to tournament play in the Naugatuck Valley League.

Wes Allyn, no. 6, is among the 22 juniors expected to return for GNH in 2025.Photo by Riley Klein

Latest News

Shelea Lynn Hurley

WASSAIC — Shelea Lynn “Shalay” Hurley, 51, a longtime area resident, died peacefully on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Michael, was at her bedside when Shalay was called home to be with God.

Born April 19, 1973, in Poughkeepsie, she was the daughter of the late Roy Cullen, Sr. and Joann (Miles) Antoniadis of Amsterdam, New York. Shalay was a graduate of Poughkeepsie High School class of 1991. On July 21, 2018 in Dover Plains, New York she married Michael P. Hurley. Michael survives at home in Wassaic.

Keep ReadingShow less
'A Complete Unknown' — a talkback at The Triplex

Seth Rogovoy at the screening of “A Complete Unknown” at The Triplex.

Natalia Zukerman

When Seth Rogovoy, acclaimed author, critic, and cultural commentator of “The Rogovoy Report” on WAMC Northeast Public Radio, was asked to lead a talkback at The Triplex in Great Barrington following a screening of the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” he took on the task with a thoughtful and measured approach.

“I really try to foster a conversation and keep my opinions about the film to myself,” said Rogovoy before the event on Sunday, Jan. 5. “I want to let people talk about how they felt about it and then I ask follow-up questions, or people ask me questions. I don’t reveal a lot about my feelings until the end.”

Keep ReadingShow less
On planting a Yellowwood tree

The author planted this Yellowwood tree a few years ago on some of his open space.

Fritz Mueller

As an inveterate collector of all possibly winter hardy East coast native shrubs and trees, I take a rather expansive view of the term “native”; anything goes as long as it grows along the East coast. After I killed those impenetrable thickets of Asiatic invasive shrubs and vines which surrounded our property, I suddenly found myself with plenty of open planting space.

That’s when, a few years ago, I also planted a Yellowwood tree, (Cladastris kentukea). It is a rare, medium-sized tree in the legume family—spectacular when in bloom and golden yellow in fall. In the wild, it has a very disjointed distribution in southeastern states, yet a large specimen, obviously once part of a long-gone garden, has now become part of the woods bordering Route 4 on its highest point between Sharon and Cornwall.

Keep ReadingShow less