Not once, but twice, the Falcons were able to shoot Nadeau for huge real estate off the left side and SPGT, with the defense refusing to give up a big play, had enough to blank slumping Farmington 19-0 Friday.

Nadeau, who went untouched on a 14-yard run in the first quarter, broke free on a 65-yard TD jaunt in the second quarter and a 64-yard TD burst in the fourth to amass most of the yards - 10 carries, 173 yards - in a game where the Falcons failed to complete a pass.

"Farmington found a way to put pressure on us throwing the ball tonight," SPGT coach Joe Cefaratti said, "but when a team takes away something, it also opens up something somewhere else and this group has been able to read that.

"Our line play, especially in the interior, blocked very well," Cefaratti said. "That inside trap, credit (Matt) DePucchio and (Luis) Reyes for helping to spring Nadeau."

Nadeau's elusive running and the defense pitching its second shutout of the year, the Falcons, now 6-3, locked up their first winning season since 1996.

Though catching Berlin for first place in the Nutmeg League race is a longshot, SPGT, with games left against Rocky Hill and Northwest Catholic, has positioned itself to make a run at second place.

"Who would have thunk?" Cefaratti said.

Likewise, who would have thought Farmington, after getting out of the gate at 3-0, would hit the skids. The Tribe, now winless in five (0-4-1) games, can't look at either Plainville or Avon as gimmies.

"It's very frustrating," Farmington coach Jeff Bemis said. "We know there is talent here, no doubt about it and the whole coaching staff is stumped trying to figure out what to do.

"Tonight, we got beat at the line of scrimmage and the team that controls the line usually wins," Bemis said. "We talked about that going into the game and what should be an advantage for us right now isn't."

Though a winning season is still a possibility, Bemis, whose club mustered just 151 yards in total offense - and 45 came on the first play from scrimmage when Brandon Williard (16 carries, 110 yards) broke free - is already planning for next season.

"In my mind, with just a couple of games left, everyone is fighting for a (starting) job," Bemis said.

In the second half, Bemis opted to give freshman QB Steve Harrington a shot to run the offense, lifting senior Todd Marsh (5-for-12, 48 yards) whose woes were either overthrowing receivers or having catchable balls dropped.

Conversely, SPGT's Matt Dumont, meanwhile, needed to throw just four passes thanks to Nadeau's big-play runs. His only completion was a toss picked off by Farmington's Nicholas Bliss.

Late in the second half, Dumont had a chance to watch junior Robert Swanke run the offense, a handful of plays but enough to run out the clock.