Roundup
T-Day 
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Centaurs
Go out, play football, have fun.
That’s the philosophy the Woodstock Academy Centaurs football team will follow this week.
“There is no pressure at all in this game,” said Woodstock Academy coach Connor Elliott. “We’re just going to go out there and compete, do our very best and, as a coach, that’s all I can ask for.”
Unlike their opponents, this will be the final game of the season for the Centaurs and, for some, the final football game they will ever play in as their senior season comes to a close in Killingly on Thanksgiving Day.
Woodstock will come into the game on Thursday at 10 a.m. with a 3-6 record.
On the other side, the Trailblazers are 9-0 and sit atop the Class SS standings in the state with the CIAC quarterfinal games scheduled for Dec. 2.
 “All I have been asking for as a coach in practice is that we get 1 percent better each day. Let’s not let the opponent or the circumstances whatever it is, change what we do. We’re preparing to go out and win a football game and whatever happens, happens,” Elliott said.
Admittedly, this game will be bigger for some than others.
Junior quarterback Elijah Poh is the best example of that.
Last year, he was wearing a Killingly jersey and standing on the opposite sideline when the Trailblazers posted a 47-0 win in the rain and cold at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
This year, he will be starting his first Thanksgiving Day game against his former teammates on his former home field.
“I think it’s going to be important to keep my emotions in check. It’s obviously going to be a little of a hostile environment. I just have to keep my composure, play like I have the past few games, calm and collected, and just do what I can do to help the team,” Poh said.
He’s already accomplished a lot in that regard. He has completed 136 of his 235 passes for 1878 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Those numbers have him in range of a personal achievement; he wants to surpass the 2000-yard mark in passing this season.
“It’s a big goal,” Poh said. “It’s been in my mind a lot and I’ve been checking the stats when they are updated. It was one of my biggest goals coming into the season.”
Forty of those completions have gone to senior receiver Alec Nunes who has 579 yards in receiving and three touchdowns.
“We just find the connection early in games which helps our offense get flowing and gets everyone else involved too,” said Nunes. “He’s a great quarterback who throws a nice spiral. I’m glad he’s throwing the ball to me.”
Nunes will be one of those Poh may enlist to keep his head in the right place on Thanksgiving Day.
“He’s meant a lot to me. He’s helped me to adjust (to Woodstock Academy) really well. He helped me with the transition and is someone I have been able to rely on both on and off the field. I went to him when I first came here with questions about the school, how classes were and such. He knows the playbook, knows what he has to do, his knowledge of defenses is very good and adjusts well in a game,” Poh said.
Poh has done a good job of spreading the wealth, however.
Sophomore Caydem Herlihy has caught 25 passes and junior Griffen Bloom has hauled in the ball 24 with three other receivers, Elijah Laprade, Aidan Soukaloun and Cooper Harris, also reaching double digits in receptions.
“The yardage number is phenomenal, the completion percentage is good as well for a high school player. He is a phenomenal player and it helps to have some great receivers like we do,” Elliott said of Poh.
It’s an offense that will need to produce some points against Killingly which is, as evidenced by its perfect season thus far, as formidable as ever.
The Trailblazers average 53.2 points per game and give up just under 17.
The key has been the run game where Hayden Allard has 1605 yards rushing with 24 touchdowns.
Joe Mackie has added 606 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Killingly is not a prolific passing team but quarterback Quinn Sumner is effective when he does throw having completed almost 60 percent of his passes (39-for-66) for 1107 yards and 16 scores.
“There are no secrets here,” Elliott said. “If Killingly can run us over, they’re going to run us over. There will be some tricks involved, there always are; that’s what a Thanksgiving rivalry is all about. If we can limit their run and force them into long drives, I might take an eight-minute scoring drive (by Killingly) over a two-minute one. We’re going to try and shorten the game, get us to the second half and fourth quarter and then we will see where we are at.”
For some of the players, like Nunes, this will be the last time to don the Centaurs uniform.
“I am definitely looking forward to it. I hope we have a good game. I am hoping to have a good game since it is my last game and I’m excited to play with the team for one last time,” Nunes said.
It will be a different kind of Thanksgiving morning for Poh.
“The past two years has not been that exciting, I woke up at 6 in the morning, go to the school, just to sit there in the cold and last year, the rain, for two hours, This has been a game that has been circled on my calendar for the whole year and I’ve been building up for this game. We’re trying to get one percent better each day and hope that it will give us a shot at winning this game,” the quarterback said.

Prep Soccer
The Prep 1 soccer team saw their season come to an end in an unusual fashion. 
The two-time defending National and Prep Premiere League champions were hoping for the three-peat on Saturday but fell short in the PPL championship match, 3-2 in overtime, to Hoosac School.
The top-seeded Centaurs fell behind Hoosac, 2-0.
But they rallied to force the overtime on goals by Arthur Masson off an assist from Alex Tevez and Alexavier Gooden.
Unfortunately, Hoosac captured the golden goal victory with a tally in overtime.
The loss ended the Centaurs fall season with a 13-1-1 record.
Woodstock advanced with a 4-0 win over Spire Academy in a PPL semifinal match Friday.
David Cho led Prep 1 with a pair of goals and Nicolae Velicico added a pair of assists. Obama Ngarambe and Masson also scored for the Centaurs while Gooden and Jeongbin Lee also had assists.

Prep 2
The news was better for the Prep 2 soccer team.
It finished off its fall season with an 8-2 showcase victory over Hex FC Saturday.
The Centaurs finished 14-3-1.
Mack Gallagher and Yuki Kato led the offense for the Centaurs as both had two goals and an assist to account for half the scoring.
Donell Chitima, Raul Garcia, Jorge Castellanos and Victor Schougaard also scored in the win.
Haesung Kim had two assists, while Chitima, Jack Buyers and Schougaard all added one.
The Centaurs were coming off a much tougher battle on Friday.
Schougaard scored the only goal off an assist from Buyers as the Centaurs had to settle for a 1-1 tie in their showcase match with Potomac ECNL Friday.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

2025 football: Woodstock Academy quarterback Elijah Poh will be trying to surpass the 2,000-yard mark for the season in passing on Thanksgiving Day versus Killingly.

Woodstock Academy junior quarterback Elijah Poh will be making his first start in a Thanksgiving Day game when the Centaurs travel to his former school, Killingly, on Thursday. 

 Woodstock Academy senior Alec Nunes has been the favorite target of quarterback Elijah Poh as he has reeled in 40 passes this season for the Centaurs.

Woodstock Academy quarterback Elijah Poh will be taking on his former teammates when the Centaurs visit Killingly for their annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry game on Thursday. Photos by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media

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