TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School football team got back into the win column for the first time in nearly a month on Friday evening.

The Blazers shut down the double-wing run game of the Glenrock Herders in the 24-0 victory at Wiseman Field.

Coach Russell Stienmetz credited the play of the interior defensive lineman as the key to the win.

“When you are playing the double-wing offense of Glenrock, those guys inside, they get no credit, but they are the ones that help you win that game,” he said. “Our nose, our defensive tackles and our defensive ends kept our linebackers free so we could make tackles.”

Stienmetz added the team had to install a new defense just for this game to slow down Glenrock’s running attack.

The end result was the team’s first shutout of the season.

On the offensive side of the ball, senior receiver Juan Carlos Stevens hauled in a 61-yard pass with 9:37 left in the first quarter.

It proved to be the only score of the first half.

“At halftime, we talked about what they were getting us inside, and talking with the older linemen, they were able to talk with us,” Stienmetz said. “Coach (Robb) Nicolay was able to make a couple adjustments on some plays.”

Torrington was able to put on 17 additional points in the second half, including a 19-yard run by junior quarterback Bryce Hager and a 33-yard field goal by Stevens. 

In the fourth quarter, Hager added one more touchdown with 1:47 left in the game.

Hager led the team with 118 yards rushing on 15 carries, while senior running back Dylan Packard added 40 yards on eight attempts.

Defensively, Hager and Stevens led the Blazers with 24 defensive points. Hager had a sack and a fumble recovery, while Stevens picked off a Glenrock pass.

This week, the Blazers host Upton-Sundance at 6 p.m. Friday for Homecoming. The Patriots are coming off their first win of the season on Friday with a 24-7 victory over Wheatland.

“They will throw it a little more than Glenrock. It is another very aggressive running team, but they will throw the ball when they need to. They are a very disciplined team, and they don’t give up big plays much. Whenever we do get a chance at one of those big plays, we’ll have to capitalize on that,” Stienmetz said. “We are more healthy than we’ve been in previous weeks. When we are healthy, we are a lot better. We have a lot more of our guys out there ready to go. You have to take it one week at a time and not worry about next week. You just have to worry about Upton-Sundance. If you take care of business there, we’ll be all right.”