ANSONIA - The Ansonia High football team had two weeks to stew over a loss to Holy Cross. They also had two weeks to prepare for a Woodland team that beat them for the first time in 20 years in 2025.
Ansonia came ready to play Friday night at Nolan Field, and the result was a 44-0 blowout win over shorthanded Woodland. The Chargers improved to 5-1 while the Hawks fell to 4-2.
Ansonia junior standout running back Tymir Taylor carried 18 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Mykah McNeil threw touchdowns of 31 yards to sophomore Xavier Docteur and 12 yards to sophomore Guel Geter. McNeil also ran a sneak for a 1-yard touchdown. Senior Ethan Blackwell scored on a 44-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Ansonia set the tone for the game on its first two drives, doing so with the run, then the pass. Taylor carried seven times on the opening march, including a four-yard run on fourth and four to the Woodland 29 to keep the drive alive. Taylor ran 22 yards on the next play to set up first and goal, then took two more to go the remaining seven yards.\
A short punt put Ansonia on the Woodland 47 to start its second drive. McNeil completed his first pass attempt of the game for seven yards to sophomore Maurice Augustine. After a nine-yard run by Taylor, McNeil threw a beautiful ball to Docteur for a 31-yard touchdown. Jacob Branch's two-point conversion run put the Chargers up, 14-0, with 2:58 left in the opening quarter.
Woodland stopped Ansonia on fourth and goal from the three, but then went three-and-out and gave the Chargers the ball at their own 47. Three runs, two by Taylor and one by Branch, gained 23 yards. Branch burst through a hole, then carried several Hawks to the one-yard line on a terrific 29-yard run. McNeil's sneak on the next play, and Branch's subsequent two-point conversion run, put Ansonia up, 22-0, with 4:51 left in the second quarter.
On the last play from scrimmage in the first half, McNeil hit Geter in the right side of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Blackwell powered in on the two-point run to send the Chargers to halftime with a 30-0 lead.
After a Woodland three-and-out to open the third quarter, Taylor ran for four yards on the first Ansonia play of the half. On the second play, he broke a tackle and burst free for a 65-yard touchdown run. Antonio Pinto's first of two extra points without a miss put the Chargers up, 37-0, with 9:23 to play in the third quarter. Seven minutes later, Blackwell ran in a 44-yard touchdown to complete the scoring.
Both teams play next Friday. Woodland hosts Wolcott at 6:30 p.m. while Ansonia is at Oxford at 7 p.m.
Player of the game
Tymir Taylor, Ansonia: The junior running back amassed 178 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries before his night was through early in the third quarter.
Ansonia 44, Woodland 0
WOODLAND 0 0 0 0- 0
ANSONIA 14 16 14 0-44
A-Tymir Taylor 4 run (run failed)
A-Xavier Docteur 31 pass from Mykah McNeil (Jacob Branch run)
A-McNeil 1 run (Branch run)
A-Guel Geter 12 pass from McNeil (Ethan Blackwell run)
A-Taylor 65 run (Antonio Pinto kick)
A-Blackwell 44 run (Pinto kick)
Sign up for the Connecticut Briefing from CT Insider. Get the biggest headlines of the day from our network of journalists around the state.
This article originally published at Ansonia football shuts out Woodland as Tymir Taylor rushes for 178 yards, 2 TDs.