WINSTED — The Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic co-op football team lost 52-14 to Torrington High School Saturday, Oct. 10.
What began as a back-and-forth battle turned into a second-half rout as Torrington scored 36 unanswered points after halftime.The Raiders ran for 416 yards in the win while averaging 9.2 yards per carry as a team.
GNH found success on offense in the first half with RB Airyn Berube, who scored the first touchdown of the day on a breakaway run during the opening drive.
Torrington responded in the second quarter when RB Anthony Ciesco concluded a long drive with a two-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown. Torrington successfully scored a two-point conversion and went up 8-7.
Berube scored again for GNH with 5:30 remaining in the second quarter on a 50-yard run down the far sideline to put the Yellowjackets back ahead 14-8. The lead was short lived and Torrington went up 16-14 before half time courtesy of a 10-yard run by RB Nick Coleman.
Line of scrimmage.Riley Klein
To begin the second half, Torrington coach Gaitan Rodriguez called for an onside kick and his team reclaimed possession. Coleman followed it up with a 45-yard touchdown run and another two-point conversion to give the Raiders a 24-14 lead.
Torrington scored twice more in the third quarter -- RB Carl Salinas took a 40-yard run to the endzone then DE Cameron Roxbury intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. Torrington took a 39-14 lead going into the final quarter.
Salinas started the fourth quarter with a 22-yard touchdown run. GNH fumbled on the next drive, leading to an eight-yard rushing touchdown by Naziah Lopez. The Raiders’ ground game was unstoppable in the 52-14 victory.
Daniel Nolan moves the pile.Riley Klein
GNH ran the ball 27 times for a total of 224 yards. The Yellowjackets passed 11 times, completing five receptions for 58 yards. The long ball of the day was caught by Jacob Robles.
The Naugatuck Valley League game was played at Van Why Field in Winsted with partly cloudy skies and the temperature around 61 degrees. After the result, Torrington’s record advanced to 3-2 while GNH moved to 0-4 this season.
GNH heads out on the road for the next three games: Derby High School (0-3) Oct. 15; Wolcott High School (4-1) Oct. 23; Watertown High School (2-3) Oct. 30. The Yellowjackets will return home Nov. 7 to host Waterbury Career Academy (1-4).
Trevor Campbell throws.Riley Klein
This Veterans Day, say more than “thank you”
Tim Morris
I grew up next door to a great American, the late Captain Thomas E. Zibrofski of Melrose, Massachusetts. Although Tom was a proud U.S. Marine who piloted a UH-34D helicopter in over 200 Vietnam War combat missions, I knew him primarily for his other roles: generous backyard pool owner, family friend, car-lover.
It was because of this relationship that when I reached adolescence and became curious about Tom’s military service, I did not hesitate to ask him. My thirteen-year-old self spent one memorable afternoon with Tom looking at old slide-projector photographs and listening to his stories. As the projector fan whirred in the background, I remember laughing as Tom shared stories that I could picture. He explained how one of his peers brought a bowling ball to basic training (assuming incorrectly they would have time to go bowling) and was made to carry it around everywhere by the drill instructors. He told me about the competitiveness between Marine Corps and Air Force pilots at Da Nang Air Base, and about the South Vietnamese soldiers who would ride in his helicopter carrying “three-times” their body weight in equipment.
To be sure, Tom spared me from the worst of what he experienced. He did not tell me about the day he was wounded extracting a reconnaissance patrol from a hot landing zone (the same wound that left his voice in a hoarse whisper for the rest of his life).Still, I will never forget the generosity Tom showed me that day. By answering my questions Tom made me feel valued –– like he truly wanted me to understand his military service.
Each Veterans Day, you can find articles published about the growing distance in American society between those who served in the Armed Forces and those who did not. It is commonly referred to as the “civil-military divide.” The oft-quoted statistic is that today less than 1% of the U.S. population serves in the Armed Forces, and less than 7% of the adult population are veterans. Whether or not the numbers are the cause of this so-called divide, one symptom is clear: many adults are hesitant to ask the veterans in their lives about their military service.
The reasons for this hesitation are many. We tell ourselves that we “could never understand what they went through,” so we don’t bother asking. We worry that there may be trauma that we could “trigger” by asking a question, so we decide that we better not. We think that we don’t “have the right” to ask any questions because we didn’t serve ourselves. Better just to say “Thank you for your service” and call it a Veterans Day.
While these thoughts are understandable, they are fictional reasons for a curious person to remain silent. Instead of self-censoring, consider instead striking up a conversation with a veteran in your life. Trust that your genuine curiosity about their service will shine through in your questions. Trust that a veteran is completely capable of choosing what they will and will not share with you. You should not ask to hear about a veteran’s worst day in the military, and certainly avoid “did you kill anyone,” but you may be surprised at how well you can relate to many of their experiences.
Questions like, Who was your best friend when you served? What was the hardest part of boot camp? Do you have any funny stories from training? (Prediction: they do.) Who was your most memorable instructor? What are you most proud of from your military service? What was the weather or food like at your duty station or when you deployed? Why did you join the military? can all help you better understand someone’s service.
Contrary to what you see in movies, there are many long, often boring hours associated with military service; there are countless jokes told, deep relationships formed, and positive experiences to go along with the difficult ones. Growing up, I was fortunate to have a friend and a role model who helped me understand that military service is rarely one-dimensional, even for a Purple Heart recipient. In the years since I joined the Marine Corps, I have tried to help others understand the same.
Here in the northwest corner and Dutchess County, we are fortunate to have great Americans like Tom living all around us. And as Veterans Day approaches, it is worth remembering that expressions of gratitude need not be limited to a single-sentence exchange. On November 11th, try honoring a veteran in your life by saying more than “Thank you.” Ask them about their service. You both may be thankful that you did.
Tim Morris resides in Lakeville.