NEW BRITAIN — Jaden Shirden, after his usual big rushing day, smiled when his teammates on the other side of the ball came up in conversation, the defense that led St. Joseph to their third CIAC football championship in a row.
“They’re some bad boys,” Shirden said. “They come out and play. They do their job. They’ve always got our backs, and we’ve got theirs.”
The defense contained second-seeded, top-ranked Hand just about all afternoon, made big plays and led the Cadets to a 17-13 win Saturday in a Class L football final that lived up to season-long hype.