Blazers come up short in loss to Rawlins

Andrew Towne
Posted 10/30/19

TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School football team came up short in the final game of the 2019 season with a 32-30 loss to the Rawlins Outlaws.

First year head coach Russell Stienmetz praised his senior quarterback for his play, keeping Torrington in the ballgame throughout the contest.

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Blazers come up short in loss to Rawlins

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TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School football team came up short in the final game of the 2019 season with a 32-30 loss to the Rawlins Outlaws.

First year head coach Russell Stienmetz praised his senior quarterback for his play, keeping Torrington in the ballgame throughout the contest.

“It was just Sam Firminhac throwing the ball to open receivers, and those receivers catching the ball and making plays,” he said.

Midway through the first half, the senior quarterback connected with senior receiver Cameron Murphy to give the Blazers an 8-0 lead.

Three minutes later, Rawlins countered with a score of its own, missing the two-point conversion.

It was the first of four straight touchdowns, spanning into the third quarter, giving the visiting Outlaws a 26-8 lead.

Later in the third quarter, Torrington picked up two defensive stops and turned them into points.

The first coming with 3:58 left in the game when Firminhac connected on his second touchdown pass of the game. The pass went to sophomore running back Trace Floyd, and three minutes later, the two hooked up again to draw the Blazers back within two at 26-24.

“We took care of the ball a lot better and were able to capitalize and put points on the board,” Stienmetz said.

The Blazers turned the ball over once and were only flagged four times in the loss.

“That was the big difference,” Stienmetz said.

In the fourth, Floyd got into the action again. This time it was an 8-yard run putting Torrington back on top 30-26.

However, four minutes later, Rawlins found the end zone on a 3-yard run to go up for good by two.

“We had a chance to win the game. We got back in it. Those kids showed a lot of heart in adversity. They didn’t let the score dictate anything,” Stienmetz said. “It was a pretty physical game on both sides of the ball. At times, we were more physical than (Rawlins) and were able to move the ball through the air and on the ground.”

Firminhac ended the game 16 of 27 passing for 145 yards and three scores, while Murphy caught six passes for 51 yards. Floyd was the top rusher with 41 yards on 11 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Floyd led Torrington with 24 defensive points, including eight assisted tackles, three solo tackles and two interceptions.

The Blazers ended the season 1-7, losing five seniors from this year’s squad.

“We have five dedicated seniors who will be truly missed,” Stienmetz said. “We appreciate what they’ve done for the program the last four years.”