Sep. 21—MONTVILLE — It sounds something like talk radio hysteria to suggest a high school football game in Week Two is a “must win,” but then, reality has this way of being, well, real.
And so Griswold/Wheeler, after a difficult opener against state playoff contender Sheehan and knowing next week is a toughie at Windham, knew that Friday night was as close to a “must win” as the calendar could ever indicate at this time of year.
Turns out there was little to worry about, given that the Wolverines had Kolby Mills and the Wolves didn’t.
Mills did a little (or perhaps a lot) or everything, throwing for 206 yards and five touchdowns — and then picking off two passes on defense — as the Wolverines earned a 42-19 victory.
“We played as a team,” Mills said. “Last week was tough.”
Last week was a 47-6 loss to Sheehan. It was soon a duller ache, though, as Griswold/Wheeler led 20-0 early.
Mills threw touchdown passes to Nick Watters (36 and 50 yards), Brenden Hopkins (8 yards), Aeden Cutter (45 yards) and Luke Cassidy (7 yards). He was also among several Griswold/Wheeler players who played offense and defense.
“We let up 19 points,” he said. “That’s a lot.”
And yet the Wolverines were never threatened.
“Last week was a tough one,” said Griswold assistant coach Pete Aubin, who pinch hit for head coach Gregg Wilcox (family commitment). “I like that our guys played both ways and that some of our younger kids really came along.”
Griswold led 35-7 at halftime, leading to a mostly uneventful second half.
The Wolverines’ first three scores came in the game’s first seven minutes.
“We simplified the offense a little bit,” Aubin said. “I hope the kids take a lot of things we did right from this game.”
Cutter ran for 68 yards for Griswold/Wheeler, while Watters had 62 yards rushing, all in the first half.
Montville’s Kymarny Bossa finished with 134 rushing yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Aidan Johnson threw for 167 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown to Arian Castillo that cut the Wolverines’ lead to 20-7 at the time.
Montville is home next Friday against Waterford.
