JFK scores late victory over GNH

Mason Sobol rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown against John F. Kennedy High School Thursday, Sept. 19.
Photo by Riley Klein
Mason Sobol rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown against John F. Kennedy High School Thursday, Sept. 19.
WATERBURY — Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic football lost 20-17 in a heartbreaker to John F. Kennedy High School Thursday, Sept. 19.
JFK scored all of its points in the second half and came back from a 17-6 margin in the fourth quarter. QB Jayden Lopez connected with TE Damian Elliot for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 remaining in the game to take the lead.
Penalties and injuries in the second half slowed GNH's momentum offensively. The Yellowjackets had a scoring chance on the final drive of the game with a deep pass on fourth down to Owen Riemer. Considerable contact by the JFK corner went uncalled by the referee, giving JFK the ball to kneel and end the game.
Hundreds were in attendance at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury for the Thursday night game. It was about 77 degrees at kick off as the sun began to set.
Both teams set out looking for their first win of the season. GNH lost to Ansonia in week one while JFK lost to Waterbury Career Academy.
GNH started with possession and scored on the opening drive. Mason Sobol rushed it in for a six-yard touchdown to give GNH a 7-0 start.
GNH added to its lead in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Esten Ryan. The Yellowjackets went into half time with a 10-0 lead.
On the second half kickoff, JFK scored its first touchdown with an 89-yard return to bring the score to 10-6.
Owen Riemer scored a punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter.Photo by Riley Klein
GNH's Owen Riemer responded later in the third quarter with a punt return for a touchdown, giving the Yellowjackets a 17-6 going into the final quarter.
Sobol was sidelined with a knee injury in the second half and Riemer was in and out due to leg cramps. Costly penalties plagued GNH down the stretch, which stalled drives and ultimately gave the ball back to JFK.
RB Julius Caban rushed in a touchdown for JFK with 9:21 to go. A punt by GNH on the next drive put JFK at midfield with time ticking away.
GNH's defense held strong and forced a third down situation. TE Damian Elliot broke away from his defender on a go-route and caught a prayer from QB Jayden Lopez at the five-yard line, stumbling into the endzone for the go-ahead score.
With two minutes to go, GNH lined up near midfield for the final drive of the game. A sack, a recovered fumble and an incomplete pass set up 4th and 11 for the Yellowjackets.
Coach Scott Salius sent the receivers deep and QB Ty Devita went long for Riemer. Tight, physical coverage by JFK's Brendell Kelly prevented Riemer from securing the catch. JFK took over on downs and knelt for the win.
As a team, JFK compiled 201 rushing yards and 53 passing yards. The Eagles moved to a 1-1 record this season.
GNH was led offensively by Mason Sobol who rushed for 59 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Esten Ryan ended with 11 receiving yards, a field goal and two extra points. Owen Riemer scored on a punt return for a touchdown.
GNH returns to Winsted Friday, Sept. 27 to host Torrington High School at 7 p.m.
Wes Allyn, no. 6, place holds for kicker Esten Ryan.Photo by Riley Klein
Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.
SHARON — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.
The call went out shortly after 3 p.m. with an update at 3:20 p.m. reporting one dead on arrival, two conscious. Emergency helicopter transport was requested.
Update Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle veered across the southbound land and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Back seat passenger Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene. Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.