No. 3 St. Joseph shuts down defending Class MM champ Windsor behind Daniels, defense

TRUMBULL - Justin Daniels is just two games deep into his time with the St. Joseph football team. Judging by the results on the field, it's been an ideal match.

Daniels scored three touchdowns, running back Michael Charland added two and the defense pitched a shutout when No. 3 St. Joseph overwhelmed defending Class MM champion Windsor 43-0 in a Connecticut High School Football Alliance game on Saturday at St. Joseph.

The Hogs were on point from the start, jumping out to a 36-point lead in the first half and putting the game into running time for the final three quarters.

"We knew from the jump that if we started fast, we played physical and we played our brand of football, that we'd come out on top," said Daniels, a transfer from McMahon. "That's what we did for all four quarters from the first whistle to the last."

It was about as perfect a first half as the Hogs could have hoped for. They scored at least a field goal on each of their first five possessions, and were in destroyer mode on defense, holding Windsor to 27 yards in the first half. Windsor had two first downs before halftime, with one coming on a pass interference penalty.

"Our keys started with the defense," said senior Jake Rios. "If we shut them out, we knew we'd score. We knew we had to come out stronger than we did last week. The way we came out today and just drove down the field and score, score, score, with no punts on the day, that carried us through the whole game."

While St. Joseph is now 2-0 and ranked third in the GametimeCT Top 10 poll , Windsor has dropped to 0-2, the first time since 1997 that the Warriors have started a season with two losses. The defeats have come against top playoff contenders in New Britain and St. Joseph.

The Warriors are the defending Class MM champs, but have had a few changes, including the graduation of GametimeCT Player of the Year quarterback AJ Robinson and the transfer of All-State receiver Missoni Brown. Another All-State wide receiver, Jayden Compton, is back, but he left Saturday's game after a hard hit in the second half.

Windsor coach Rob Fleeting said the frustration comes because the Warriors have the talent in place and haven't put it together through the first two weeks.

"I'm disappointed because, if we weren't capable, I'd say 'we're just young,' but we're capable. We're big up front. We're just not getting the job done and that's frustrating," Fleeting said. "We've got to sit down and really assess where the growth is."

Leading 20-0 early in the second quarter, the Hogs put the game out of reach thanks to some trouble on punts for the Warriors.

Paul Karafa deflected a punt, which gave St. Joseph a short field and led to a touchdown. On Windsor's next punt attempt, the ball was snapped into the end zone, and Karafa made the tackle for a safety.

Daniels then returned the ensuing free kick for a touchdown.

"We talked about it all week that we wanted to jump ahead early and make them play chase," St. Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia said. "They have some dangerous wide receivers and speed, so we wanted to make them have to battle back."

The senior had five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns and added a third score when he returned a punt after a safety 60 yards. An honorable mention goes to junior Michael Charland, who had 109 rushing yards and a pair of scores.

"It's been good. I came over here and I wanted to get closer to God. My teammates have been pushing me to be a better player and better academically. I just want to thank my teammates for everything." - senior Justin Daniels on playing for St. Joseph.

WINDSOR 0 0 0 0- 0 ST. JOSEPH 13 23 7 0-43 SJ-Jake Rios 37 field goal SJ-Rios 33 field goal SJ-Justin Daniels 9 pass from Jack Mooney (Rios kick) SJ-Michael Charland 4 run (Rios kick) SJ-Daniels 15 pass from Mooney (Rios kick) SJ-Safety, Paul Karafa tackle in end zone SJ-Daniels 60 safety punt return (Rios kick) SJ-Charland 37 run (Rios kick) Team records: Windsor 0-2, St. Joseph 2-0