Fritz, in turn, repaid his coach for his gesture with a special performance.

With Fritz calling almost every play, Rocky Hill scored six times in the first half en route to a 45-6 victory over the Sports and Medical Sciences Academy on Friday night in Rocky Hill. Fritz threw four touchdowns to senior receiver Jeff Courneen in the first half, including three in the final three minutes of the first quarter, as Rocky Hill pulled away quickly.

"On senior night, the seniors did a great job," Coyne said. "The whole team did a great job. I called the first play of the series, and he did everything else. He called the plays at the line of scrimmage, every once in a while he put them in a huddle. I thought he did a great job. I just told him to have fun. The kid knows what he’s doing.

"Obviously he does a better (job) of it than I do," Coyne added with a smile.

Fritz’s first strike came with 3:29 left in the first quarter. After the rushing of senior Jorrell Rush and sophomore Mark Fritz drove Rocky Hill (4-6) down the field, Fritz found Courneen on the right side for a one-yard score. The two hooked up again with 1:08 left on the first play of the Terriers’ next drive, when Fritz found Courneen on a slant from the right for 33 yards and a 14-0 lead. On the second play of Rocky Hill’s next drive, Courneen broke up the middle and snared a pass from Fritz for a 42-yard score, giving the Terriers a 21-0 cushion before the first quarter was over.

The Terriers kept right at it in the second quarter, scoring three more touchdowns. Rush scored on a four-yard run set up by a 27-yard scamper by senior Matt McKinnon. After Courneen’s stunning, one-handed interception on SMSA’s ensuing drive gave Rocky Hill the ball on the Tigers’ 11, Courneen finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown catch on a rollout by Fritz.

Rocky Hill wasn’t done yet, however, scoring once more with two seconds left in the half, this time on a nine-yard score by Mark Fritz, which Rush helped create with a 26-yard gain.

Chris Tyler added a 39-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the Terriers, who held SMSA (2-5) inside the 50-yard stripe until late in the contest. Rocky Hill hurt themselves early in the contest, but their mistakes and tough breaks weren’t costly.

Rocky Hill blocked the Tigers’ first punt attempt of the game, but SMSA recovered to maintain possession. Rocky Hill held, however, but then fumbled on its first possession. Courneen had an interception called back on a penalty with the game still scoreless, but then finished the game with two picks.

"Fritz and Courneen are just really tough," Coyne said. This was a special night for them and for all the seniors."

Matt Straub can be reached at mstraub@newbritainherald.com

ROCKY HILL 45, SMSA 6