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"We did a great job," said Rocky Hill running back Brent Towle. "Everyone was pursuing the ball and making the hits."
Many of the Terriers participated in a summer conditioning program with strength coach Pete Asadorian that lasted two hours a day for three weeks. "They just ran and lifted. No football," said Rocky Hill head coach Dave Coyne. "They worked on strength and quickness. They are a lot better athletes than they were last year."
"We all trained together and we bonded," said Todaro, who led all rushers with 88 yards on 10 carries. "It showed how much we wanted it."
Plainville's Will Hungerford ended Rocky Hill's first drive with an interception but Dave DeNovellis sacked Devil QB Craig Vincelette for a 10-yard loss to stifle Plainville's first drive. Trailing 7-0, the Devils were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 attempt on the Rocky Hill 37-yard line by Todaro, who broke through the line to stop Plainville captain Mike Giarulo for no gain.
Rocky Hill responded with a nine play, 63-yard drive highlighted by Todaro breaking tackles on a 17-yard gain to the Plainville 23-yard line and Jeff Courneen pulling in a fine 17-yard reception. Todaro easily scored from the five-yard line for a 13-0 Terrier lead.
Plainville's next drive ended when Rocky Hill's T.J. Green intercepted a Vincelette pass and raced 57 yards for a 19-0 lead. Before the interception, Todaro tackled Plainville's Nick Colagiovanni in the backfield a 10-yard loss and made a solo tackle in the open field on Devil receiver Dan Garewski.
Rocky Hill made it 26-0 when Brent Towle raced in from 19 yards away with 1:41 left in the half. Freshman Chris Taylor kicked the second of his three extra points.
Fritz completed 7-of-17 passes for 130 yards, a pair of touchdowns and one interception. Todaro had two receptions for 40 yards while Jeff Courneen had three receptions for 53 yards. Todaro completed the scoring early in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard TD reception.
Rocky Hill's misdirection plays made life difficult for the young Plainville defense.
"We didn't tackle as well as we could have," Plainville coach Greg Styles said after his coaching debut with the Devils. "They came out in some formations that we weren't prepared for. We're a little young mentally and sometimes, it was a whirlwind out there for us."
Vincelette completed 11-of-23 passes for 151 yards and ran well despite being sacked twice for big losses. Giarulo led the Devils with 44 yards rushing and three receptions for 31 yards. Nick Debboli had two catches for 51 yards.
Plainville threatened to score twice. The Devils were stopped on the fourth-and-1 on the Rocky Hill 37 in the second quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Plainville drove to the Rocky Hill 14-yard line but Eric Soto was stopped twice for no gain. On third-and-10, Todaro forced a fumble on an attempted reverse that was recovered by Vincelette for a 20-yard loss.
It was the Devils' most one-sided opening day loss since dropping a 35-0 decision to East Lyme in 1983. Todaro tied a school record with three TDs in a single game.
