Allison Fitzpatrick
Reporter
@allisonfcourant
In 1970, New Canaan High School quarterback, Kurt Horton, threw seven touchdowns against Rippowam High School of Stamford, setting a school record for touchdown passes in one game.
45 years later, senior co-captain Mike Collins shattered Horton’s longstanding record, by throwing nine touchdowns against the Trumbull Golden Eagles, leading his team to a 69-26 win. In the process, Mike also matched a state record for touchdown passes in a game, tying Bloomfield High School’s Jason Manson’s mark, set in 2000.
Even though Mike had a historic performance, New Canaan had trailed behind its opponent for the first time this season. Trumbull came out strong, running a touchdown into the endzone with 8:57 left in the first quarter, putting the Rams behind 7-0.
Despite the deficit, New Canaan was able to come back immediately. With just eight minutes remaining in the quarter, Mike was able to throw four touchdowns to seniors Matt Cognetta, Thomas Williams, Andrew Jahns, and Junior, Ryan O’Connell.
During the second quarter, Mike added two more touchdown passes throwing to seniors Kyle Smith and Peter Swindell, making the score 48-14 at the half.
In the third quarter, Mike threw three more touchdowns to Mike Cognetta, Brian Macalla, and to Andrew Jahns again.
However, throughout the game, Mike was not worrying about breaking records.“I was not thinking about how many touchdowns I had. My main focus was on winning the game,” Mike said.
Mike said that he was not informed that he broke the record until later in the game. “Somebody on the sideline had told me during the second half, and I thought ‘that’s kind of cool’ but I didn’t expect it to get this much attention,” Mike said.
This nine touchdown game had not only caught the attention of the New Canaan community, but also gained attention on a national scale, being featured on Fox Sports. “He is a great quarterback and deserves a lot of attention,” fellow Senior Co-Captain,Cass Knox said.“When the rest of the team is relaxing on a Sunday morning, he’ll be at a football field pushing a sled or working one on one with a coach,”Cass said.
Head football Coach Lou Marinelli also commends Mike for his accomplishments.
“He’s a guy that’s worked really hard to get where he is. Everybody sees him now on Friday nights doing all these great things, but very few people have had the opportunity to see him when he comes early in the morning. He comes on Sundays and Saturdays and works hard to get to the point where he is right now,” he said.
Mike however attributes his success to his teammates. “My receivers and linemen did an outstanding job, it’s not like I broke this record on my own,” Mike said
After the game, New Canaan was able to advance to a 7-0 record.
