Connecticut
Jeff Jacobs: Plainfield football mourns the loss of Andrew Vincent, its Thanksgiving football hero
Griswold had the soccer on the Plainfield 9-yard line, first-and-goal, with three minutes remaining within the fourth quarter this previous Thanksgiving. Plainfield had a 14-6 lead on the scoreboard, however good issues virtually by no means occur on this annual sequence.
A collective worry stuffed Plainfield followers. After the landing, precisely how would Griswold rating the two-point conversion to drive time beyond regulation?
Griswold was hit with a penalty, one sack, two sacks, three sacks and an unsportsmanlike penalty and, all of the sudden, the Wolverines have been fourth-and-goal from the 50. Logic would say the sport was over. Historical past would say in any other case.
In 2008, the ball on the Plainfield 43 within the closing seconds — Griswold down 29-28 — Sean Brackett dropped again and unleashed a 60-yard Hail Mary go that someway, in some way deflected into the arms of Griswold’s Drew Gardner ultimately zone.
That is how Thanksgiving has been ruined in our city for almost 20 years. That is how a rival beats one other 16 of 17 occasions.
However not Thanksgiving 2021.
Luke Cassidy’s Hail Mary landed within the arms of Plainfield linebacker Andrew Vincent with 61 seconds left. Two kneel-downs from the victory formation later, right here was Vincent sneaking up behind coach Pat Smith to provide him a Gatorade bathe.
“Two issues about Andrew,” Smith mentioned Monday. “The very first thing was his massive, massive smile. He was at all times comfortable. Individuals gravitated towards him due to his character.”
“He would stroll in and his smile would gentle up a room,” mentioned Bryce Carchidi, one in all Vincent’s closest associates. “He was the nicest child. Tremendous happy-go-lucky.”
“The opposite factor was his toughness,” Smith mentioned. “He had knee accidents all through his profession and even this senior 12 months he blew out his ACL once more. He was nonetheless an important teammate, and he obtained medical clearance to play on Thanksgiving. Not solely did he play, he sealed the victory.”
Andrew Vincent talked soccer, he lifted for soccer, he cherished soccer. It was a becoming reward that his interception — the final play of his profession — would full a valuable Thanksgiving win over Griswold.
In the future it’ll make for comfortable city legend.
As we speak it brings solely unspeakable heartache to my hometown.
The interception was additionally the final soccer play of his life.
Smith had fallen asleep when his telephone rang someplace round 12:30 a.m. Saturday. His son Liam, the one passenger in a 2008 Audi A4 pushed by Vincent, was being transported to Hartford Hospital by LifeStar with severe accidents.
Vincent was touring on Water Road in Canterbury, in keeping with state police, left his lane on a curve and struck a utility pole. The pole snapped, downing wires, in keeping with the incident report, and on Monday the lengthy, curving skid marks remained.
Andrew William Vincent, a senior at Plainfield Excessive, was lifeless at 17.
“I cherished Andrew,” Pat Smith mentioned. “I cherished his ardour. I’m devastated. My prayers are along with his dad and mom, Karen and Aaron, and his household.”
“It is a child who had like three ACL surgical procedures,” Carchidi mentioned. “He performed Thanksgiving with a torn ACL, obtained surgical procedure afterward. Having the ability to come again and do what we did in his final recreation, I do know he cherished that.”
Carchidi mentioned his dad and mom woke him up Saturday morning with the terrible information.
“They have been crying once they advised me,” Bryce mentioned.
These should not straightforward phrases to write down. Bryce’s older brother Griffin has been a pal of my very own son for years. He has been to our house. I do know his dad and mom. Pat Smith taught my daughter historical past and coached my son in freshman basketball, simply as he did Andrew and his personal son. Sterling and Plainfield, whose faculty districts type PHS, are small cities. People know one another and in the event that they don’t, they know somebody who does.
Andrew Vincent, from Plainfield, and Bryce Carchidi, from Sterling, began hanging out Andrew’s freshman 12 months. Mario Manella, Elijah Brady, Gavin Hewitt and Jacob St. Cyr, these guys fashioned an in depth group of associates. But that will indicate a clique, and Andrew Vincent didn’t abide cliques.
He cherished to bop. He delivered pizzas for Pizza Pizzazz in Moosup. His mother is our city’s assistant tax collector. He wished to observe in his dad’s footwear and work at Electrical Boat. He belonged to our city.
“Everyone seems to be devastated,” Bryce mentioned. “He was a tremendous individual. He was such an important child to be round. I do know youngsters in our space have handed away tragically, youngsters across the state, however for our college, our age group, that is the worst factor we’ve ever needed to overcome.”
A variety of Andrew’s associates like Carchidi, who works at Frito-Lay, and Smith are from the Class of 2021. Rising up, he had performed at a soccer stage with the youngsters a 12 months older. He performed varsity as a sophomore. His junior 12 months was worn out, like all soccer across the state.
“Andrew was a throwback,” Smith mentioned. “He cherished the ache of soccer. You must actually love the sport to do every part to prepare for it. He had the fervour for it.”
Every week in the past, Smith mentioned he was within the weight room working with the youngsters. Regardless that his senior season was accomplished, Vincent was there squatting, lifting. Smith mentioned they talked about his knee, about subsequent season’s outlook for Plainfield. As they have been strolling out, Vincent requested him the place he was headed. Smith mentioned he was going to his daughter Emily’s observe meet.
“In case you need assistance with something,” Vincent mentioned. “Let me know.”
Every week later, all Smith, his gamers, his faculty, his city know is the ache. Though PHS is off this week, it’s open to supply grief help to college students and households. My spouse brings our Labrador retrievers to PHS every week for pet remedy with college students. Subsequent Monday, she has been requested to deliver them into a couple of of Andrew’s lessons. Our black Lab might be carrying his official orange Panthers kerchief. It’s our small contribution to assist with the incalculable loss.
“Nobody arms anybody a guide on the best way to stay life,” Pat Smith mentioned. “You must do the most effective you possibly can with the circumstances. Our youngsters have such a close-knit household. It is a very tough time. We are going to rally and stick collectively. We are going to get via this.
“We’ve already talked about assembly previous to the service, carrying our jerseys and paying respect to Andrew’s household. We are going to attempt to assist anybody who’s having a tougher time than another person. It’s going to take a group to heal.”
Liam Smith, a quarterback and multi-sport standout at Plainfield, returned house Sunday from the hospital. Simply final spring, Pat Smith invited me to be a speaker at an occasion honoring our space’s Nationwide Soccer Basis Corridor of Fame high student-athletes. Liam was one of many honorees.
“Liam’s actually banged up,” Carchidi mentioned. “However he’s going to be OK.”
And when he recovers, he’ll play soccer at UMass Dartmouth.
Bryce Carchidi might be one of many pallbearers at Andrew Vincent’s funeral Friday morning at All Hallows Church in Moosup.
That might be tough, I say to him.
“It’s an honor,” he answered.
The large, sturdy child began crying.
jeff.jacobs@hearstmediact.com; @jeffjacobs123
Hundreds of people rolled up their sleeves today to get a free flu shot in Farmington.
For the 7th year, NBC and Telemundo Connecticut teamed up with ProHealth Physicians for a free, drive-thru flu shot clinic.
The clinic started at 10 this morning, but people started lining up as early as eight in the morning to get their shots.
“I do it for others because I do not want to give anyone else the flu,” said Marguerite Rose of West Hartford as she waited online for her flu shot. “We figured we could zip in and get our flu shot and that’s why we’re here,” she said.
“Very convenient right around the corner from the house, no hassles,” said Debi Koch of New Britian, who also was waiting online bright and early. “It’s an in-and-out shop,” she said.
ProHealth Physicians had 350 flu vaccines and 100 high dose shots to give out to the community for free and with no insurance needed.
“It’s the safest way to keep yourself safe for the winter,” said Dr. Stephen Traub, CEO of ProHealth Physicians.
The CDC says the flu can spread year-round, but its spreading spikes from December through February.
That’s why experts recommend now is the time to get your shot.
“The flu shot gets updated every year based on predictions of what strains of influenza are going to be,” said Traub.
The shots can cause minor aches and other symptoms, but doctors say that’s just the vaccine building your immunity. They say the flu shot will not give you flu, and any minor side effects from the vaccine are better than the actual virus.
“It’s about 7 days probably of misery fevers aches and chills and missed work if you don’t have the flu shot,” said Dr. Joy Hong of ProHealth Physicians.
People over the age of 65 or those who have preexisting conditions are especially encouraged to get the shot too.
Police shot a man brandishing a knife in Bridgeport early Saturday morning.
Officers responded to the 100 block of Terry Place for a report of an emotionally disturbed person, according to police.
When they arrived, they found a man with a knife. Police shot the man, who was then rushed to the hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.
It is not clear how many officers were involved or how many fired their weapons.
Police have identified the man as 45-year-old Huntly Jackson, of Bridgeport.
According to police, Jackson is under arrest, charged with criminal attempted murder, first-degree assault, assault on a public safety officer, second-degree threatening, interfering/resisting arrest, and carrying a dangerous weapon.
Bridgeport police also said one of the responding officers was stabbed in the shoulder, neck and head by the suspect. The officer was taken to the hospital for treatment but has since been released.
The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the shooting along with the State Police Western District Major Crimes Squad.
The officer or officers involved in the incident have been placed on modified duty, according to police.
Jackie Young scored 24 points and the Las Vegas Aces took control with a 16-point third-quarter run Friday night to stave off elimination with a 95-81 win over the New York Liberty in Game 3 of the WNBA semi-finals.
The Liberty, who lead the series 2-1, will get another shot at closing out the two-time defending champion Aces on Sunday. If Las Vegas wins that, a winner-take-all Game 5 will be Tuesday in New York.
This was the Aces’ 12th consecutive home playoff victory, breaking the WNBA record shared by the Los Angeles Sparks (2001-04) and Sacramento Monarchs (2003-06).
Las Vegas finally beat the Liberty for the first this time year. New York won all three regular-season meetings and the first two games of this series.
In addition, Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, A’ja Wilson had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Tiffany Hayes finished with 11 points and Chelsea Gray totaled 10 points and seven assists. The Aces shot 52.1%, including 40.6% from the three-point line.
Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 19 points, Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally each scored 11 points and Leonie Fiebich had 10 points.
Sabrina Ionescu, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points in the playoffs, was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting. She was shut out until a minute into the fourth quarter when she made a technical free throw.
A back-and-forth first half quickly became one-sided in the third quarter when the Aces turned a 57-53 lead into a 73-53 advantage. New York went 7:36 between field goals and scored just six points in the period. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello called two timeouts to try to stop the Aces’ momentum.
Las Vegas extended its lead to 78-55 early in the fourth quarter to cap a 21-2 run.
The game looked like it could go either way when the second half began. Both teams went back and forth in the first 30 minutes, which featured 18 lead changes and eight ties.
The Aces played without Kiah Stokes, who suffered a concussion toward the end of Game 3.
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić sat courtside next to teammate Dereck Lively II, coach Jason Kidd and general manager Nico Harrison. The Mavericks’ training camp was in Las Vegas this week. Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, one of the Heisman Trophy front runners, also were in attendance.
Minnesota Lynx 90-81 Connecticut Sun
After struggling in the last game offensively, Napheesa Collier wasn’t going to let it happen again.
The Lynx’s star scored 26 points and Minnesota beat the Connecticut Sun 90-81 on Friday night to take a 2-1 advantage in their best-of-five semi-final matchup.
“Everyone has an off night and I try to contribute in other ways to help the team,” said Collier, who had only nine points on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 2.
She has put in the work all season on both ends of the court and the league’s runner-up for MVP had the confidence to know the poor shooting game was a one-off.
With Connecticut making a run late, Collier also made three straight plays to change the momentum and seal the win.
Minnesota led 81-73 with 3:03 left when she scored, then got a deflection on the other end and capped it off by hitting Alanna Smith for a three-pointer to make it a 13-point game.
“It’s crunch time, I knew I had to be aggressive especially in one-on-one coverage,” Collier said. “Then, you know, just being the same on the other side, we really had to be aggressive. They were playing with desperation at the end.”
Game 4 is Sunday in Connecticut with the Lynx looking to advance to the WNBA finals for the first time since 2017. That season ended in the fourth of Minnesota’s championships during a seven-year stretch. Game 5 would be in Minnesota on Tuesday night if necessary.
Collier had 16 in the first half on Friday night and was aggressive from the start. Minnesota led by seven after one quarter and 48-36 at the half thanks to Collier, who made seven of her 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
The Sun tried to rally, cutting the deficit to seven on a three-point play by Marina Mabrey midway through the third quarter. But that’s as close as they got.
“Tough one for us. They do what they wanted to do on the offensive end of the floor,” Connecticut coach Stephanie White said. “We didn’t do a good enough job getting us prepared to play today. We got outplayed, outexecuted and outcoached.”
Brionna Jones, who had just eight points combined in the first two games, led Connecticut with 21.
DeWanna Bonner scored 16 for the Sun to move into second place on the WNBA career postseason scoring list in the third quarter. She passed Candace Parker, who had 1,149 during her illustrious career. Bonner now has 1,159 points, moving ahead of Parker by hitting a free throw with 1:36 left in the quarter. Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi is the leader with 1,455.
All five of the Sun starters scored in double figures, but they got little contribution from the bench. The Sun reserves were outscored 16-4 by their Minnesota counterparts.
The first two games featured a chippiness between the teams, who pride themselves on playing physical defense. They were the two best defensive teams in the regular season – the Sun allowed an average of 73.6 points per game, the Lynx 75.6.
There had been hard fouls on both sides in the two games in Minnesota. There wasn’t much of that at all in Game 3.
“I just thought it was across the board a slugfest,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of the first two games. “And I’m quite sure they felt the same.”
There’s also been a lot of trash talk on the court especially between Courtney Williams and Mabrey. The pair were teammates in Chicago last year and say that it’s just on-court fun and there’s no bad blood between them.
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