Today’s when the state voters vote for their top 10. I’ve watched every game except the Greenwich-Shelton and Ledyard-Berlin (unfortunate, but no choice)
But having made up my mind about who was No. 1 before that game I was able to send out my votes.
Now it’s your turn.
I tried this at the beginning of the year and got very few responses. I’m going to try it again:
What is your Top 10?
Please feel free to add SHORT comments on why you ranked the teams the way you did. And PLEASE, keep it short and sweet and, most of all civil. People are becoming way too testy and angry on this site, lots of name calling and such, which is unnecessary.
Add: Just so everyone knows, my elite eight isn’t the top 8 teams in the state. It’s the top teams in our area.
1. Greenwich
2. Bunnell
3. Ansonia
4. Seymour
5. New Canaan
6. Shelton
7. Daniel Hand
8. Ledyard
9. New London
10. Masuk
1. greenwich
2. bunnell
3. ansonia
4. shelton
5. staples
6. new canaan
7. hand
8. masuk
9. fairfield prep
10. seymour
1.Ansonia
2.Bunnell
3.Greenwich
4.Seymour
5.New Cannan
6.New London
7.Shelton
8.Masuk
9.Ledyard
10.Hand
Greenwich gets no free pass to #2 just because they played Naples.No matter how risky it was a lost is a lost.
Hats off to Ansonia for laying claim to the #1 team in our state.
Big congrats to Craig Bruno.Proving his team Bunnell could surpass last years team without the likes of Steve Smith.Great year Chris Sloat, which he should prove to be even better next year as a senior.
Final congrats to the rest of the State Title winners for a well played season.
#1 Ansonia- Really showed the state their is no controversy since they shut down NLs high powered offense!
#2 Bunnell- Had a remarkable year with a great ending. They beat all comers and got a well deserved title
#3 Greenwich- Undefeated in CT but i can’t put a 1 loss team in front of a worthy undefeated team.
#4 Seymour- Got all they could handle from Tolland but did what they had to do and won the game. Rob Moir is all state and if it wasn’t for AT State Player Of the Year
#5 New Canaan- Won as the underdogs against the SCCs best team in awesome comeback fashion. They have had a great run these last 8 years.
#6 Ledyard- Coach Mignault if so chooses goes out on top!
#7 Hand- Tough way to go out, but they will be back and better then ever next year behind that very good soph qb!
#8 Shelton- Year of ups and downs but the gaels had greenwich on their heels but couldn’t finish them off.
#9 New London- Again rough way to go out but don’t sleep on the whalers next year they have about 90% of that team back and Hand vs NL next year will be an outstanding game.
#10 Tolland- Why not? No one even put them within 30 points of the wildcats and they had a shot. They could of easily went to Trumbull in those arctic conditions and packed it in but they showed character.
AT MVP
SPB hope you didn’t take offense to our heckling in the far corner at the Ansonia game its all in good fun this blog keeps things interesting in a state that loves high school football.
Also Mr. Parry have you gone bonkers with those rankings? I won’t mention Ansonia at 3 because that is just being unknowledgable. But Shelton in front of hand makes 0 sense because hand beat shelton! Wow the drama never ends on here.
1. Ansonia-some people may not like them because of the fans on his site but give the team credit they deserve this.
2. Bunnell-13-0. one of the toughest schedules in the state. hardest matchup for any team in the state. only if there was a tournament of champions…
3. Greenwich-only loss to Naples and they put in a good showing. Slow start in LL finals but got it done.
4. Seymour-Rob Moir may be the most underrated player in the state, basically does it all(poor mans steve smith).
5. New London-They don’t put the ball on the ground as much and their recievers catch a few passes this is completly different.
6. New Canaan-Great ending to the season title game was alot closer then it shoulda been.
7. Shelton-Had mighty Greenwich on the ropes…
8. Hand-only 1 loss in the finals, soph. QB sure is fun to watch.
9. Ledyard-would rather have masuk here but hey they did win there championship game.
10. Masuk-tough year, 3 losses to Bunnell, very good team. though i think if they play bunnell 10 times bunnell wins all 10.
1.Greenwich
2.Bunnell
3.Ansonia
4.Staples
5.Shelton
6.Hand
7.Central
8.Seymour
9.New Canaan
10.Fairfield prep
In looking at Sean’s “Elite Eight” something really interesting!! Greenwich has beaten 4 out of the top 8 while Ansonia only beat 1 team.
My pick………….. Hands down!!
#1 Greenwich
#2 Ansonia
#3 Bunnell
#4 Shelton
1. Ansonia
2. Greenwich
3. Bunnell
4. Seymour
5. New Canaan
6. Ledyard
7. New London
8. Hand
9. Shelton
10. Tolland
As far as Greenwich’s one loss, remember that this poll is about the best teams in CT. Greenwich went undefeated in the state, so don’t give me this “a lost is a lost” or that you can’t put a one loss team over a worthy unbeaten team. Clearly, the state coaches and writers have agreed by keeping Greenwich consistently at No. 2. I’d love to see how Bunnell or Ansonia would have done against Naples. They too would have one loss.
And Staples pretty much tanked it at the end of the year, so no, it’s not the No. 5 team in the state. And as far as Bunnell vs. Greenwich, Bunnell beat Staples 28-14, but Greenwich shutout Staples 37-0 the week before. You tell me which team deserves a higher rank.
1. Ansonia – although i had doughts about strenght in schedule, i saw them play a formidable Seymour team, and destroy New London. Just cant say no.
2. Greenwich – No doubt that the Ansonia Greenwich game would be the best in the state. I wish the coaches would just schedule it off the record, but that would never happen. Props for going down to Naples.
3. Shelton – STRENGHT OF SCHEDULE…. Great team that slipped up once agaisnt hand, and lost to a better Greenwich. WOULD DESTROY BUNNEL.
4. Bunnel – Sorry Bunnel, but beating an average Masuk three times doesnt impress me (i still think four is a high rank for you). I dont know how good your team is if you keep playing average opponents. I hope you choose your 11th game wisely next year.
5. Seymour – great team that gave its all against ansonia, and dominated states. fits right in at five.
6. New Canaan – Props to westfal and the comback. this team got hot at the right time.
7. Hand – You cant say no to 10-0 in the hardest conference in the state. one quarter cost them their season.
8. Ledyard – not enough credit given to this one loss team.
9. Fairfield Prep – ended the year with five SCC blowouts, and missed the LL playoffs by technicalities. Who knows what magic Nolan would have conjured up if they got in?
10.Bridgeport Central – please central, schedule harder games. you lost only one game and almost gave your playoff spot to a two loss Prep team because of your weak schedule. its hard to judge a team that beat up weak FCIAC teams, but also played #2 Greenwich hard.
Just missed (now i sound like sean)
Staples – I know you beat New Canaan, but you cant end your season with two losses and expect to get good votes. just bad timing
Masuk – spend your entire offseason watching Bunnel film. Please
Law – fair team, but did end with 8 straight wins
Woodland – there are 512 reasons you dont deserve top ten
Stratford – being just above average in the SWC doesnt impress anyone. its a shame because everyone wanted to see you redeem yourself after the mulrooney masacre last year.
just for kicks i ranked the conferences
(you probably already what i think)
1. SCC – hands down best. even the average teams are good
2. NLV – THIS YEAR ONLY! im sorry FCIAC fans but between Ansonia, seymour and woodland this shapes up to be a pretty good conference.
3. FCIAC – two state championships says they are third.
4. CCC – Many stong teams, unlike SWC
5. SWC – Bunnell is the only reason they are this high
6. ECC – Ledyard is good, New London is fair
7. Pequot – two playoff teams and one runner up….but still not competitive
8. Nutmeg – aside from top two teams there is nothin
9. Constitution – Much love to Bullard Havens and coach ciceralla
i now retire as a blogger. ive wasted more time reading this blog than i can remember….but its been fun
Ansonia will be ranked #1 when the final poll comes out. I am not saying this to get people upset, as I think we all pretty much know this will be the case whether you agree with it or not.
I just have questions for the people on this site that believe Greenwich or Bunnel is more deserving.
Why would the actual voters choose to cast their vote for Ansonia if they were not the best team? What do they care? What do they have to gain?
Are they out to “screw over” Greenwich and Bunnell?
If they thought Ansonia was the third best team, why would they still vote them #1?
Why would Sean Bowley, who works for the largest newspaper in Fairfield County, write a feature making his vote for Ansonia public knowledge?
If your claims are true, that it is blatantly obvious that Greenwich or Bunnell would beat Ansonia without question, then we are looking at a conspiracy. Someone needs to investigate this.
Regarding unofficial conference rankings, the SCC’s two best teams were beaten head to head by two of the FCIAC’s three best teams in the state finals. NVL also had two state champs including the overall No. 1 team. So no, the SCC is not better than either conference, regardless of how good those “average” conference teams are.
1. ansonia
2. bunnell
3. greenwich
4. seymour
5. new canaan
6. hand
7. shelton
8. ledyard
9. central
10. prep
i can see people’s opinion on bunnell they had a great year and deserve to be mentioned with ansonia for the top spot, but greenwich??? they made a choice to go play a team in naples and it didnt work out so the get no sympathy here
#1 – Ansonia and/or Bunnell (both went 13-0)
#2 – see #1
#3 – Greenwich – Naples loss should matter. This was a risk taken by Greenwich, for which there should be a poll consequence. IMO.
#4 – Seymour
#5 – Shelton
#6 – New Canaan
#7 – Masuk
#8 – Hand
#9 – New London
#10 – Ledyard
Others – Central (very close), NW Catholic, Staples (as always – close), Bristol Eastern, Conard, Woodland, Stratford, Pomperaug, Tolland, St. Joes (something for beating New Canaan). Prep. – top of the next tier.
1-ansonia
2-bunnell
3-greenwich
4-seymour
5-new canaan
6-shelton
7-hand
8-ledyard
9-new london
10-prep i didnt know technicalities were losses
Bad grammar on my part.Opps….
It should be a loss is a loss.
Rankings, by states best team:
1. Greenwich
2. Bunnell
3. Shelton
4. Ansonia
5. New Canaan
6. Seymour
7. Masuk
8. Fairfield Prep
9. New London
10. No one deserves it (thats right, no class M team, no Bridgeport) fine, #10 is Darien, no, seriously
best conference, clearly absolutely positively, the FCIAC
Wow. I’m shocked at most of these. I’ve seen all three multiple times and have debated the merits of all three with respected people who have been around longer than I.
Ranking Bunnell over than either Greenwich and Ansonia?
[sigh] Give some people a rope…
Hey. Whatever. Your opinions. You’re entitled.
Keep ‘em coming, though. I’m enjoying these.
SPB-
I cannot find the words to say how shocked I am at your lack of professionalism and integrity to not only choose to vote before seeing ALL the state championship games, but then to be proud of it and publicize that fact. Why not just go with your pre-season top-ten? Or perhaps you could pick your favorite birds-eye poster and use their picks.
Only a few short weeks ago you wrote:
“After watching our boys down in football-mad Florida be within two touchdowns and no extra points with 7 minutes remaining, and then witnessing Seymour’s play well and execute a good game plan against Ansonia, I have indeed been swayed to the Greenwich side, joining three others in the state poll.
(Feel free to start throwing your rotten tomatoes now, Ansonia).
But, if it means anything, my sway is not a reflection across the state.
It looks like I traded with somebody in the state media poll since Ansonia still has the same 16 votes as last week. Somebody stopped voting Greenwich No. 1 and changed to Ansonia with the loss.
And, apparently, lot of people in the poll thought the reverse: Greenwich lost 40 points from last week. (Also: Staples picked up 20 votes. Southington picked up 10. Hand picked up 14).
I guess, many voters take the old “a loss is a loss is a loss” adage to heart. To that I say phpppphpt! Under that logic, if everybody loses and Bullard-Havens goes undefeated, do we start voting them No. 1? You’re supposed to vote for who you think is No. 1, not for purely undefeated teams. Besides, as far as we’re concerned, no one in Connecticut has beaten the Cards.”
What happened? How have all your thoughts done a 180? Greenwich came back from FL, ran the table against 3 teams from your elite eight, and NOW you choose to flip-flop again?
You should try running for office..
If anybody else like me gave your articles any credibilty in the past, they certainly shouldn’t in the future.
Bunnell should not be ranked over Ansonia.
However, Bunnell should get the slight edge over Greenwich.
Greenwich lost one time this year.
Greenwich/Naples game counted towards states.So the loss should count against Greenwich.
1. Ansonia-I just wish they would play someone who is good. Next year they have a chance to play an 11th game. Bergen Catholic of New Jersey is looking for a game. Why not call them and see
if we can compete with that team.
2. Greenwich
This team is for real. They have beaten everyone in Ct. soudly-it’s to bad that they can’t play Ansonia to see which team is really the top team
3. Daniel Hand
They have played ,along with Shelton, the toughest schedule in the state-if it wasn’t for a tough loss to a good New Canaan team they would have a good argument for the top spot.
4. Bunnell
Love their offensive play calling-tough to beat in any league. Too bad they don’t line up with the Fciac or SCC teams each week. Still a great team and program.
5. New Canaan
They do it with mirrors-can play with anybody. Who says rich boys aren’t tough. What an offense-hard to stop
6. Seymour
The Valley is the best it’s been in thirty years. Ansonia, Seymour, Woodlands are as good as they come. The bottom teams are terrible though
7. New London
Forget the score against Ansonia-they have tremendous athletes and a good coach. Don’t want to play them in the future
8. Ledyard
9. Shelton
What a gritty team. They looked liked they were going to beat Greenwich but that touchdown pass just before the half turn the whole game and attitude of the players around. I saw Hand destroy this team. Tough schedule and tougher kids.
10. Fairfield Prep
Another team with a tough schedule but lost every big game
1. Ansonia-I just wish they would play someone who is good. Next year they have a chance to play an 11th game. Bergen Catholic of New Jersey is looking for a game. Why not call them and see
if we can compete with that team.
2. Greenwich
This team is for real. They have beaten everyone in Ct. soudly-it’s to bad that they can’t play Ansonia to see which team is really the top team
3. Daniel Hand
They have played ,along with Shelton, the toughest schedule in the state-if it wasn’t for a tough loss to a good New Canaan team they would have a good argument for the top spot.
4. Bunnell
Love their offensive play calling-tough to beat in any league. Too bad they don’t line up with the Fciac or SCC teams each week. Still a great team and program.
5. New Canaan
They do it with mirrors-can play with anybody. Who says rich boys aren’t tough. What an offense-hard to stop
6. Seymour
The Valley is the best it’s been in thirty years. Ansonia, Seymour, Woodlands are as good as they come. The bottom teams are terrible though
7. New London
Forget the score against Ansonia-they have tremendous athletes and a good coach. Don’t want to play them in the future
8. Ledyard
9. Shelton
What a gritty team. They looked liked they were going to beat Greenwich but that touchdown pass just before the half turn the whole game and attitude of the players around. I saw Hand destroy this team. Tough schedule and tougher kids.
10. Fairfield Prep
Another team with a tough schedule but lost every big game
1. Ansonia-I just wish they would play someone who is good. Next year they have a chance to play an 11th game. Bergen Catholic of New Jersey is looking for a game. Why not call them and see
if we can compete with that team.
2. Greenwich
This team is for real. They have beaten everyone in Ct. soudly-it’s to bad that they can’t play Ansonia to see which team is really the top team
3. Daniel Hand
They have played ,along with Shelton, the toughest schedule in the state-if it wasn’t for a tough loss to a good New Canaan team they would have a good argument for the top spot.
4. Bunnell
Love their offensive play calling-tough to beat in any league. Too bad they don’t line up with the Fciac or SCC teams each week. Still a great team and program.
5. New Canaan
They do it with mirrors-can play with anybody. Who says rich boys aren’t tough. What an offense-hard to stop
6. Seymour
The Valley is the best it’s been in thirty years. Ansonia, Seymour, Woodlands are as good as they come. The bottom teams are terrible though
7. New London
Forget the score against Ansonia-they have tremendous athletes and a good coach. Don’t want to play them in the future
8. Ledyard
9. Shelton
What a gritty team. They looked liked they were going to beat Greenwich but that touchdown pass just before the half turn the whole game and attitude of the players around. I saw Hand destroy this team. Tough schedule and tougher kids.
10. Fairfield Prep
Another team with a tough schedule but lost every big game
Sean, Weren’t you the same guy that posed the “open-ended” question to begin with? If you are so “shocked” at the response, then you should have phrased it “Please share your Top 10 thoughts with all of us, except don’t bother with the Top 2 (of course Ansonia and Greenwich) unless you’d like to suffer the penalty of off-handed ridicule by me”. As Coach Bruno would say – “Shocker!”
[sigh] I don’t care who you guys vote for. I’m just shocked at how many fans didn’t go 1-2 with Ansonia and Greenwich. In retrospect.. maybe I shouldn’t have been.
Also, on the other criticism: As much as I wanted to watch the game, CPTV didn’t run it until 10:40 last night and the votes needed to be in by 7 p.m. So there goes that criticism. Nothing I could do.
But I didn’t think I needed to see the Greenwich-Shelton game to vote because I had both teams multiple times already and knew what had happened in LL based on what other reporters told me.
Now, having watched the CPTV broadcast, I’m actually less impressed with Greenwich than I had been going in. Shelton kinda gave them that game.
Shelton gave greenwich that game?!?! What are you nuts? Obviously you didnt see the game. Greenwich came out in the 2nd half and absolutely dominated. Shelton didn’t play bad, but Greenwich showed why they are the best team in CT.
1. Ansonia – they were on another level than New London
2. Greenwich – a great team
3. Bunnell – it is not their fault they had to play Masuk three times, but that is less than ideal when trying to build a case for them
4. Seymour – state champs, only loss to Ansonia
5. New Canaan – because they beat….
6. Hand – because they beat….
7. Shelton – there are no moral victories, but they had a good season
8. New London – a good team that got out played
9. Bpt. Central – made LL playoffs out of the FCIAC
10. Ledyard – head to head not sure how they fare against most other teams, but they won the ring
no order
Masuk – lost three games (all to Bunnell) but cannot include them because of that
Staples – cannot be included based on the way they finished, but could be one of the top ten teams in the state
Stratford – missing playoffs was an injustice
I’m really glad to hear that, SPB, because going into the greenwich game, we thought it was going to be tough for shelton because of how the media made them sound, but as it turned out, greenwich was no where near as impressive as the media had made them out to be. They really didn’t live up to their reputation, and yes, Shelton could have definitely defeated them.
FLIP-FLOP-FLIP-FLOP
If you’re unimpressed with Greenwich because Shelton gave them a fight for a half, why did you have them ranked so high in your elite eight?
just an FYI just got back from ahs and any doubters the camera crew is up there taking the #1 pic now
CG – Because Greenwich beat Shelton and was one of three Connecticut teams to finish their state schedule unbeaten.
I’m not the only voter to change their vote from Greenwich back to Ansonia. It’s obviously a tough call, I wavered, but weighed everything I could, examined everything I could, asked questions of whom I could and made the pick.
Ansonia it is.
1-Ansonia: I’m a FCIAC man, but having seen all three undefeated teams live, Ansonia is stronger physically, they execute better seeming never to miss a tackle or a block,add the magnificent AT, for me they are clear #1.
2-Bunnell: I give them get the nod over Greenwich for being undefeated. Sloat and the WRs are very, very good – but containable, what makes them great and excel is their team speed on defense.
3-Greenwich: Very solid team, which got better every week. But IMHO they are not has strong as Ansonia and not as fast as Bunnell.
4-Seymour: Playing so well against Ansonia is the reason for the high ranking, the Tolland game exposed some defensive flaws but boy is the Moir led offense special.
5-New London: I only saw them play Ansonia, the conditions definitely hurt them but you had to be impressed with their size and athletes.
6-New Canaan: I don’t think they could beat Masuk, they lost a game to St Joes and to Staples in monsoon (Staples was a solid but not great). However the heart they showed in the state championship game earns them the six slot.
7-Masuk: They lose to Bunnell by basically a touchdown in three games. Their defense was terrific which kept them in every game, but for a pioneer of the spread offense in CT their scheme was so vanilla which hurt them against the better teams.
8-Ledyard: The last of the state champs which warrants a top ten ranking.
9-Shelton: Very solid and well coached. For me their pride kept them in Greenwich game, but they just didn’t have the extraordinary talent of years past to beat the elite.
10-Bristol Eastern: They blew out Norwalk, which atones for their soft CCC schedule.
Get a good look at all of these non-ranking comments everyone. They’re being deleted in about 5 minutes along with the few that never made it. They’re mucking up the whole point of the topic.
Anyone who deliberately throws insults around will not have their comments approved.
Let’s face it SPB. You blew it. Your comment doesn’t make any sense AND it’s contradictory. You’re trying to cover your tracks for making a decision – and announcing it – prematurely. Now you have to stick with your choice, even though it’s wrong. You said you “examined” and “weighed” everything – which obviously you didn’t if you made your decision before even seeing all the games. Hope you learned your lesson, having to stick with a bad choice just cause you spoke too soon.
I wish the CIAC would just make a rule that all conferences have to play at least one team out of their own conference.
This would lend to teams who want to play each, but as of now can not.
Sure a better playoff system would work also.Yet allowing teams to decide who they want to play for at least one game or even two games would be a start.
Than you can have these great match ups during the season & never wonder who is really the best.
It would not take away from Thanksgiving games nor would it run an extra week into other winter sports.
I know it’s not the playoffs, but it would be better than nothing.
It’s only one game takin away from conference play.
Facts and strength of schedule
1. Ansonia – They went undefeated and played beat 3 state playoff teams. Also showed they are more than their RB. Very impressed with their defense.
2. Greenwich – If you are going by strength of schedule, They win it. Just my opinion. But they did not go undefeated. That is the gamble with playing out of state team. At least they had the balls. Who else wated to play them in theoir off week? Beat 4 state playoff teams. Shelton Central, Staples, Naples.
3. Bunnell. Undefeated, fast, solid. Well-Coached. Beat the same playoff team 3 times this year. Need a bit more out of conference tests. Staples was excellent win. But Not a 37-0 win.
4. Seymour. A win is a win right? lost once…beat two state playoff teams.
5. New Canaan. If you go by what you saw on TV yesterday, they looked like the best team. Unreal passing attack for highschool. Lost twice. How?
6. Daniel Hand. an excellent team. But they looked like they were playing a college-like passing attack on Saturday. Played a tough schedule. Beat a solid, tough Shelton Squad, and have football players at every position.
7. Shelton. another excellent team. Avenged Southington’s loss, played toe2toe with Greenwich. a couple of injuries early in that game may have changed that outcome.
8. New London. A lot of Talent and a lot of unforced miscues. Defensively, Ansonia forced them out of their game. Watchout next year.
9. Ledyard. Did not think they were as good as some of the other teams, but they did what they had to do. Quietly a great traditional program.
10. Masuk. They are here every year. They will be here again next year. 3 losses to the same great team. A coupe plays here or there, and you never know. All close games.
First Sean you do a great job covering CT High School Football.
My Top Ten
1. Ansonia – Class S Champion- A dominating performance on Saturday against a quality team
2. Greenwich -Class LL Champion- I went to championship game. Greenwich touchdown before halftime was a big boost for them. I also thought injury late in the first half to Shelton-Henderson had an effect on Shelton offense for rest of game. I think Greenwich got to see in 1st half what a game in the SCC is like week in, week out. Have to bring your A game, can’t just show up! With that said, Greenwich is an excellent team and program.
3. Bunnell- Class L Champion, only team beside Ansonia undefeated.
4. Seymour- Class SS Champion- Coach, just teach the kids football, you do THAT well.
5. New Canaan- Class MM Champion- Spread offense was clicking in 4th quarter.
6. Ledyard- Class M Champion-
7. Hand- up 30 to 13 in 4th quarter, if you followed Hand this season you know passing defense has failed them a few times late in games this year. However this time not able to hang on or come back in end.
8. Shelton- As stated earlier I felt touchdown pass by Greenwich before halftime on 4th and 7 from I think Shelton 45 hurt ,and injury to Henderson- offense was not the same.
9. New London- looking forward to game next year against Hand. I hope other teams play out of conference.
10. Tolland- (Sentimental Pick) They showed why the game should still be played. The Town of Tolland should be proud of their team. It also demonstrated why coaches should just coach and keep mouths shut. Let the fans and media do the bulletin board stuff.
Just Missed
Staples
Bridgeport Central- have to strengthen schedule.
Fairfield Prep- learned that in the SCC can’t expect to just show up! ex. Cheshire 42 Prep 7
Berlin- they did beat an unbeaten team on road in state semifinals, and could have won championship.
Finally,
All this discussion about which conference is better. I grew up and played football in the FCIAC and for the past 7 years have been following the SCC. I feel without a doubt the SCC from top to bottom is the toughest conference in this state week in, week out,year in, and year out. With that said the top teams in the FCIAC have shown in the past 2 years they can compete and beat the SCC top teams. I also follow the NVL somewhat, and the top 3 or 4 teams in that conference can compete against any team in the state. The rest of the programs in that conference are poor.
Sean keep up the good work.
Soutlake Carroll of Texas was considered the No. 2 team in the COUNTRY and went and played No. 1 Miami Northwestern to open the year. Carroll lost. No shame, as Northwestern is the best team. Did the loss count in the record? Of course. Did Texas poll voters decide that Carroll was a one loss team that was no longer worthy of being ranked ahead of undefeated big school teams in Texas? Of course not. Until Texas state playoffs began, Carroll was consistently No. 2 in the state, getting about a fifth of the first place votes, to undefeated Katy, which was coincidentally No. 4 in the COUNTRY. Carroll with the one loss was still ahead of other undefeated teams in Texas (including Odessa Permian of Friday Nights Lights movie fame – another team ranked among the top 50 in the country). Carroll just lost this weekend, but that’s neither here nor there.
So point being, an out of state loss for Greenwich should not and does not count for IN-STATE poll rankings so long as Greenwich lost to a team considered higher up in competition. (Same thing would occur if Appalachian State had lost to Michigan to start the year. It would still have been ranked No. 1 in the Championship Subdivision). Ansonia deserves the No. 1 ranking, but it is also evident in the minds of coaches and writers that Greenwich is No. 2 and Bunnell a worthy No. 3. Common opponents? Greenwich shut out Staples 37-0, while Bunnell beat the Wreckers by only 2 TDs. Both teams were undefeated in the state, but Greenwich was considered “more impressive.” Too bad we can’t get the three teams in a round robin to play it out. . .
OK, lets switch gears…heres my pick for the Top 3 Coaches since 2000..
1- Lou Marinelli-NC
2- Marce Petroccio-Staples
3- Steve Fillipone- Hand
These guys get it done every year w/lots division 3 athletes…
I understand that Shelton has not been able to find a team to play in the week one 11th game next year. The NVL will not allow teams to go outside for what ever reason thus a Shelton/Seymour game won’t happen. The FCIAC is using week one as the 10th league game thus Shelton/Trumbull won’t happen either. If Bunnell thinks they are ready for the big time come on up to the Valley week one.
1. Ansonia – the way they handled new london solidifies their spot at number 1
2. Bunnell – defeated everybody that challenges them and looked real good saturday night
3. Greenwich- very good team. if the naples game went their way, there could be opinion they are number 1
4. Seymour – Only loss was to Ansonia and took care of everyone else
5. New Canaan – way they came back vs hand shows team effort and heart.
6. Shelton – great team, and best in SCC, too bad they couldnt hold of the cardinals on saturday
7. New London – things didnt go their way on saturday, but rest of the season was terrific
8. Masuk – only lost to bunnell (3 times) this year, great team overall
9. Ledyard – State champs in class M. great team and great coaching
10. Law – too bad they missed out on playoff spot, think they would have done well. ended year with 8 straight wins.
1. Ansonia…the offseason work this group put in for 4 years should be the standard for all future AHS teams. The strongest, most well-conditioned team in the state in 2007 and the results followed. Awesome job, Coach B.
2. Greenwich…The quintessential fciac team – they win because they understand the game, play as a team, and exhibit levels of mental toughness that most adults including me will never possess. I also loved the fact they took on the out-of-state challenge. I do have question, though: Was the OLine in tact for the Shelton game? They looked MUCH smaller than reported.
3. Bunnell…Craig Bruno’s (statewide) coming-out party. The most creative, ballsy coach you’ll find and he was blessed with stud athletes at the skill positons.
Some random thoughts on #4-8 as I believe all of these teams are interchangable ranking-wise:
New Canaan…mental toughness and a damn impressive passing game enabled them to pull a Hand on Hand.
Seymour…I’m a huge Rob Moir and Mike Oseiski fan…I don’t care what the coach says about having his reasons. It’s always a dumb move to further fire up an opponent throught the press (Coach Brockett, on the other hand, played Cochran and NL like a fiddle). Also, I’ve noticed that other than their win over Darien (which had a lot to do with QB’s Deptula’s improvisation) Seymour seems to always be at a disadvantage in a one-game playoff situation. Marinelli, for example, obviously out-gameplanned them twice in recent years.
Shelton…a team loaded with size, talent, and experience but something to me was missing. I can’t put my finger on it and I don’t think it was the coaching. Could well be a lack of mental toughness? All I know is that Greenwich loss is going to sting for a long time – they had em on the ropes and didn’t finish em off.
Hand…Merullo is Chase Daniels :) and I’m looking forward to watching him perform over the next 2 years. Fillipone is a bit too much of an NVL detractor for my tastes but he deserves credit for the impact he’s had on his players’ lives. I also like that he seeks out tough competetion.
New London…Surprisingly, they exhibited a complete lack of mental toughness in the championship game. This same team put up 41 in the first half vs. Class M champ Ledyard so I was definitely expecting more. Where I differ from many of the posters, though, is that I see Ansonia’s dominant OLine and tough, tough defense as what made them look so bad. AHS literally sucked the life out of a physically very talented team.
Thanks to SPB for the outstanding coverage this year. I truly respect that he makes the effort to be objective and open-minded when covering so many teams year to year. (Unlike the Tim Parry and Ray Brown-type posters who seem incapable of an objective thought.
Greenwich had a choice not to play a game just like Central had to sit out a week.
Greenwich choose to play Naples & lost.
Sorry, but to me & surely most people here it should count against Greenwich.
How can you compare the Staples/Greenwich game to the Bunnell/Staples game.
By most people standards in the state & around here, including you the FCIAC is where the best teams are correct?The SWC is weak correct?
So thats another reason why Bunnell deserves the #2 spot over Greenwich.A weaker Conference team beat a Strong Conference team.This year & last year.
Greenwich should beat Staples.Staples had OWNED Greenwich the pass few years.However Bunnell has beatin Staples 2 years in a row.Things that make you go hummmmm…………
just for the facts here people, greenwich LOST to naples, a game they CHOSE to play. theres no way that they should be ahead of a 13-0 class L championship Bunnell team.
cuatro- i understand where you’re coming from and as you can see from my post above, i’m an ansonia fan…but greenwich can easily make a case for #2…they repeated as LL champs and ran the table in CT…these are CT rankings.
#1- Greenwhich = I think the question was who we thought the best team in the state was, not what team has the better record.** LSU has lost 2 games and is playing for a national championship.Hawaii is undefeated and ranked 10th?? Best teams not best records.
#2- Ansonia = “see above”
#3- Bunnell = Great 2yr run, but SWC stinks right now, worst it’s been in years.
#4- Shelton
#5- New Cannan
#6- Ledyard
#7- Hand
#8- Seymour
“9- New London
#10- Fairfield Prep= Best 2 loss team in state
The LSU and Hawaii situation is not analogous to Greenwich-Ansonia because this year’s Ansonia’s personnel is bigger and stronger than Greenwich’s – do you get that?
#1 Ansonia – proved they are the best despite playing in weak NVL
#2 Greenwich-solid #2
#3 Bunnell- Back to back
#4 New Cannan – great win, great program
#5 Hand- great season
#6 Law – bad system kept out the best team in class M
#7 Shelton- did the SCC proud
#8 Staples- only loss was to 2 state champs
#9 Masuk- solid team but SWC besides Bunnell is soft and win over weak CCC Conard
#10 Seymour- best for a very weak class SS, good reason to combine S and SS
ECC and CCC showed they are weak conferences, Ledyard, New London look good until you view opponents CCC 0-4, Ledyard won Class M without playing the best team in the class and only going 8-1 in reg. season. They were rewarded for confernece opponents with wins over Tourtoulette, Woodstock Academy, Putnam etc….
You know I just thought about how easy the CIAC could reslove this issue with certain Conefernces not bein able to play each other.
Have every year a Conference challange.One Conference plays the other Conference.
Just like in the pros.Certain NFC conferences play certain AFC conferences & it is different each year.Same as inter league play in baseball or College basketball where you have things like the Big East/ACC challange.So on & so fourth.
Example:
NVL plays FCIAC.
Ansonia plays Greenwich, Staples plays Seymour, New Cannan plays Woodland and so on….
SCC plays SWC.
Bunnell plays Shelton, Masuk Plays Hand, Stratford plays Law and so on…..
It than becomes only one game out of conference play tkaes nothing else but one less conference game is lost.
So am I way out in right field?????
I think it could bring in losts of cash also.Who would not want to see a Ansonia/Greenwich game.Place would be packed to the hilts.
That, PBL, is something I am in agreement with you. Kinda like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in college basketball. Now, when the FCIAC is playing the NVL and the SCC is playing the SWC, we can debate when who would be the ACC (the league that dominates the challenge) and who would be the Big Ten. . .
Would not conceivably happen any time soon. I think the closest we’ll get to having more diverse matchups is if SPB gets his way and the state reduces to three state championships while keeping the same playoff rounds. Then you can have the likes of Bunnell and Greenwich squaring off. Or Seymour and New London. . .
Clyde, nice try with the coaches. How about the two guys that have put MANY division 1 guys out there and some NFL guys? Don’t know who they are? Take a minute to find out
1.ansonia
2.greenwich
3.bunnell
4.seymour
5.newcannan
6.hand
7.shelton
8.newlondon
9.central
10.ledyard
Ansonia’s team was the biggest and strongest? Why, because Mr. hs football fan says so? I do get it, again the question was who did we think the state’s top 10 were, not which off season work-out programs of each school was better.
Air Bruno….
tj – Nice to see at least you recognizing a strong CCC team (Bristol Eastern). They did blow out Norwalk and anyone who actually saw them play this year would recognize them as one of the better CT teams. Their only bad game this year was the playoff game against Berlin. They played horribly. If they had performed like the team they were all year, I have no doubt that they would’ve beaten Berlin and Ledyard for the class M state title. One thing though… I wouldn’t call Newington (#5 in class L this year) and Maloney (class MM state contenders last year) soft???
4+32+81=6
Must be a Bunnell fan.
Good One!
1)Ansonia
2)Greenwich
3)Bunnell
4)New Caneen
5)Hand
6)Shelton
7)Seymour
8)Masuk
9)Staples
10)Southington
Honorable Mention:Bpt Central,Fairfield Prep,Law,Tolland,Chesire,Ledyard
Ansonia is #1 I wasn”t convinced until the shut out. I am a Shelton Fan and to the people who are talking about mental strenghth thats garbage. Football is about having well balls so Greenwich lost to Naples plain and simple if Shelton went out there they could of gotten beaten but they would of never of forgotten that day and why should Greenwich deserve respect for that game if anything it is disrespectful to raise money to play out of state when other teams cant and then be compared to it. I was at the game Saturday and Shelton didnt give anything up it just the WAY IT WENT IT WASNT ABOUT MENTAL SKILL IT WAS PURE LUCK AND I WILL NEVER WATCH A GAME ON CPTV BECAUSE TO ME IT WAS DONE DELIBERATLY NOT TO EMBARRASS GREENWICH THEY PUT THE GAME ON SO LATE ON THE NEXT DAY AND THEY WANTED THE VIEWERS MONEY TOO. Ansonia is someting if you compare the 2 Any team in the Ciac can go to Naples and lose.The papers have it wrong Myers team mate is a better running back by far he worked overtime on Saturday.Nobody was talking about Greenwhich on Saturday. The most exciting game of the year was Prep and Shelton Why?because that is football at its best.
1.Ansonia they proved by the shut out
2.Hand they deserve it great year
3.Shelton they can hold ther heads up high
4.Central like Shelton they are the real deal
5.Prep
6.Bunnell terrific
7.Seymour break out
8.Law look out 2007
9.Sratford
10.Bullard Havens
Greenwich not in your top 10, I hear there are some beds available at Silver Hills…
annotto, i love that you rate the SCC so high, trust me. but i dont think bullard is better than greenwich. i dont think anybody thinks that
annotto, seems like you are very bitter. I was at that game Saturday myself and felt that Greenwich let Shelton have the game in the 1st half and they(Shelton) just couldn’t seal the deal. In the end the best team one. They are accustomed to winning and it showed.
Why is everyone favorably impressed (including SPB) that An-slow-nia blew out some team that was not even ranked in the top eight? Why is everyone surprised that Shelton (ranked in top eight all year) gave Greenwich a game?
What a bunch of nonsense!
An-slow-nia, small school, crummy conference, lousy competetion number one? I hope not – for the sake of Connecticut football.
Greenwich is the best team in the state – hands down!
I saw An-slow-nia play, and after Meyers and Dunster knock their over-worked running back (the guy gets 445 carries a game or something) into next week, An-slow-nia has nothing!
This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen – it is like saying the winner of the Alonzo Stagg bowl has a right to claim the #1 title college football because they went undefeated.
#1 – Greenwich – professional, poised, intelligent, hard-nosed football – number 1.
#2 – New Canaan – passing attack and peaking at the right time, AND playing tough FCIAC teams all year (not the little wussy schools from the Valley of the Dolls)
#3 – Shelton – for giving Greenwich a game
I really DO want to see An-slow-nia play someone from out of state – if only to demonstrate the sub-average intelligence of An-slow-nia fans
annoto-
lmao
here’s my top 10
1. ansonia
2.greenwich
3.bunnell
4.BRIDGEPORT RAIDERS JR.MIDGETS
5. KOLBE CATHEDRAL
6. new england patriots
7. la galaxy
t7. Shelton Gaels there the real deal…
8. law
9. stratford high
10. seymour….
big dogg come on now lets be serious my man how can u just disregard a state championship team like greenwhich…they went undefeated in ct…beat 2 teams in ur top 10 and other teams in ur top 10 aint even make the state playoffs
jjj, Please stop. Ansonia’s phenominal, regardless of who they play, just like they are every year. Just like Greenwich is, whose schedule besides Naples is only SLIGHTLY tougher. Shelton fans are crying and want credit for playing a good 1/2 vs. Greenwich. THEY LOST. Bunnell is WAY better than New Canaan, who lost to St. Joe’s and Staples. Imagine Bunnell or Ansonia losing to St. Joes. NEVER. Who are the tough FCIAC teams that New Canaan beat ? They played a good Staples team and LOST. By the way, didn’t Shelton get smashed by Hand ? Who lost to New Canaan. Who lost to Staples. Who lost to Bunnell 2 years in a row. Stop dissing Ansonia and Bunnell, they’re undefeated and state champs, unlike Shelton. Relax
St. Joe’s was a decent team with a legit pass attack. The reason they beat New Canaan because they slept on them just as you are. And trust me I’m not saying St. Joe’s was a powerhouse, but they were capable of beating some good teams.
well said A-ROD WE FINNALY AGREE ON SOMETHING
Ansonia, Bunnell, Greenwich all could beat one another.
These would be dream match up games.
In my humble opinion, Greenwich got the #2 because they are Greenwich which holds more clout than Bunnell.
I would like to see how either Ansonia would fair having to play Seymour 3 times or Greenwich playing Staples 3 times in one seaon OR both those teams having to play Mausk 3 times.
Sure it is possible that they would win, but surely the extra 2 times would be closer than their 1st encounters.
Just a few comments on what jjj said.
First off, using An-slow-nia was just hysterical. It’s funny because it sounds almost like Ansonia, but you put the word slow in it. Genius !
And using it every single time in your post, that made it even better. It was very funny the first time, and by the sixth time, it was still fresh as ever. (wink, wink)
New London was not in the top 8 because that top 8 that you are referencing is only Sean Bowleys personal opinion of the teams in the immediate coverage area of the CT Post newspaper. It is not a ranking of statewide teams. In fact, New London was ranked 4th in the state at the time of the playoffs.
Greenwich is a very good team, so I won’t argue if you want to place them at #1.
But as for New Canaan, it is tough to fall back on strength of schedule when you lose 2 regular season games. A good argument is when you can say, “Look at all these good teams we play, and we beat all of them.”
It does not stack up as well when you say, “Look at all these good teams we play, and we beat half of them.”
I completely agree with A-Rod in his stating that a good team simply does not lose to St. Joes. Say what you want about Ansonia, but they never lose games they should not. Almost every time they lose, it is because the other team is simply better, not because they were caught off guard.
hey Guys here is the deal Ansonia I thought was over rated but they are undefeted and the only team to have a shut out in the championship that says alot.But you have to admit Shelton plays the best of the best in LL everyweek they go and slug just like the rest of the SCC in LL until you play in the LL you wont know. We can say give Shelton Ansonia schedule better yet give them Greenwich. But Bullard Havens ranking 10 was for laughter although they did well we can say who did they play. Guys get the joke this for fun Lighten up.Greenwich is in the top 10 I was just really surprised how they sucked in the championship although they one there was no shut out like Ansonia and to say New London was not a good team lets see where there ranked next year and as far as Hand well there record speaks for itself.They came out of nowhere and did fantastic guys.Central no one expected them to do well.Ansonia is #1 without a doubt. Prep is great also.next year is all differant new talent lets see guys.Murello will be the one everyone will be talking about.
Top Three-
1. Ansonia- Not one team stopped their offense all season. How can they not to be #1? Showed balance later in the season with passing, could have been EVEN BETTER if they threw more. Would dominate Bunnell and beat Greenwich in a closer game. What a defense too! Nite nite New London.
2. Bunnell- Props for going undefeated, but still not impressive vs. Masuk. Give them rank above Greenwich for strong schedule and not losing.
3. Greenwich- Good team, sometimes seemed inconsistent. Love to see them play Ansonia, we would all see how much better Ansonia is.
FYI- Naples won Friday in the Florida State Semi-Finals,they are playing for total perfection next week…
1. Greenwich-top team by far in state-discipline, and D1 talent; actually competed in florida
2. Ansonia
3. Bunnel
4. Bridgeport Central- only team to actually give greenwich a game, 21-12 opening week; lost their QB and had many misques in state playoffs; won state weightlifting tourney against many other teams on this list; loads of talent, give these kids some credit; a little known fact–consistently beats outside fciac oponents in preseason matchups (including west haven, ansonia and seymour)
5. Seymour
6. Shelton
7. Staples- runner up in best conference in state
8. New Canaan- Won weak class title, would lose to 3 or 4 other teams in fciac
9. Fairfield Prep
10. Hand, Masuk, Ledyard- good records in weak conferences
11. Southington
Hey Chris,
What are you on?Bpt Central 4th?If this was basketball their RPI ranking would of been around 300.They played two teams all year[Greenwich] with a winning record and the 2nd Greenwich game got whacked by a media hyped team.I saw Greenwich play Shelton and quite honestly were not as good as advertised.A weightlifting title is great but maybe they should stick with wrestling if they want to win anything?By the way Cadelina has a big mouth and frankly Prep should have been the 4th team in LL.
As for Staples,they had no offense this year and obviously their D was overrated as evidenced by the Greenwich and Bunnell games.Please get out and watch a few games outside of Bpt before comments like this are made.
I am a player for Amtiy High School in Woodbridge and played against Ansonia this year as we had triples with them, and they are no doubt the best team in the state. Followed by Greenwich Shelton Bunnell and others. Another tihng is we played 10 games this year in my opionion the hardest league in the state. Played against two state title finalists, but I thought Prep was the best team we saw. 8-2 and had 4 starting lineman out most of the year. All im trying to say is 6-4 in the SCC and going to watch all these teams in the state playoffs that even mediocre teams in our league can compete with anyone in the state.
Can we stop with the weightlifting crap. Here is how the weightlifting competition works. Large schools like Bridgeport Central have enough lifters for each kid to focus on a specific event. Therefore, they put their strongest kids in each event. Where as a smaller school, like Ansonia, doesn’t have enough kids to stack each event. Ansonia’s kids lift in all three events, while Bridgeport Central’s lift in one, maybe two. this is the same reason New Britain has been successful in the weightlifting competitions. I commend them on the success they have had but it hasn’t translated in state titles on the football field. It helps but there is more to football than weightlifting. The results of these competitions can be a bit misleading. If you look at the results of each individual competing you will find more Ansonia kids putting up better overall numbers, because they participate in all the events. They may not have the team totals to win, but they will place high in each event. Ansonia’s, Erik Kuraczea and Alex Thomas have been state weightlifting champions the past two years in their respective weight classes. Erik has been the overall state champion the past two years as well. The only person even close to putting up the weight he does is his teammate, Rashaad Bass. They have also had kids win individual events. The bottom line, football games are won on a football field through good coaching, execution, and discipline.
If consistently means…once, then you are right Chris. Central beat Ansonia in a scrimmage in 2004. After, Tinney and Ryan Thomas graduated. That was an Ansonia team that went 8-3 and lost to Cromwell in the semis. It was not a vintage Ansonia team and made the playoffs with smoke and mirrors. That was also the last time they scrimmaged each other. Any scrimmage before that Ansonia dominated, but I guess you forgot about those.
peterson right on the SCC beats up on eachother..over the years because of this SCC teams that cud’ve won state championships didn’t even make playoffs the top of the FCIAC is awesome but NOT EVEN CLOSE to as deep and hard hitting as the SCC..Shelton loses alot of seniors next year,but Westies shud get back on track Hand will be better chesire nd xavier hillhouse should be good..and Law and North Haven are turning into good programs SCC should be awesome next year..fans puting the NVL over the SCC are in there own world..FCIAC can have an argument with Greenwich,Staples,NC,and BPT Central..ok,then what? not much..well really no one at all
Hey guys about the weight lifting you all have it wrong I know alot of the coaches and in 2006 Mike Mainero out lifted Kearezea in the benching and came in 2nd over all in the competion and the talk was he was only 15 and in 2007 he lifted 400 and on his 2nd or 3rd lift his coaches stoped him from lifting because he pulled muscle or something that just goes to show you size or class doesn’t matter it is what you dedicate yourself too and then you bring all together as a team and then the rest of the conditioning over the summer is the key to keep your teams pulling week after week.But as far as Central being strong that great but lets not get cocky because the rest it is about the team lets see how ALL these great teams come out next year with all these great Seniors leaving.I dont beleive there has been so much talent over the past years in all postions of the class of 2007
annotto is right..im a big Kuraczea and i’m a huge UConn fan,but Maninero did out lift him in 06′ and was pulled out of bench after hurting a muscle in 07′,(he wud’ve won the overall)im good friends w.Mainero and played w/him,he’s a beast D-1 offers or not he could line up with anyone in the state
Did he out lift Kuraczea in all three events (bench, squat, and clean) or just the bench? You can win the overall without taking first in an event. The overall is given to the person who lifts the most combined weight. That has been Kuraczea the last two years.
——————————————–
Posted March 18, 2006 03:44 PM
Ansonia finished in second place behind Bridgeport Central in today’s weightlifting competition at New London. The meet consisted of about 26 teams. The squad from Bridgeport was very impressive with a team total of around 13,400 pounds. They were followed by Ansonia at 12,900. Shelton and Seymour placed third and fourth respectively. Ansonia’s, sophomore tackle, Eric Kuraczea was the events most outstanding lifter with a total lift weight of 1245 pounds which included a squat of 600 pounds. He also benched 350 and cleaned 295 pounds. Ansonia’s Alex Thomas was also impressive in setting a new state record in his weight class (161-180) with a total lift weight of 1030 pounds. The 175 pound sophomore tailback, benched 300, squatted 450, and cleaned an incredible 280 pounds. Rashod Bass another promising sophomore from Ansonia, and arguably their strongest competitor, did not compete due to an injury.
——————————————–
Posted March 29, 2007 08:14 AM
• Bridgeport Central won the 2007 Connecticut State Weightlifting Championships on Saturday at New London High School, a competition that featured the football programs of 21 state schools. Central, the defending, finished with a combined weight total of 14,425 pounds, shattering the state record of 13,765 set by New Britain in 2004.
In fact, second place New Britain (13,890) and third place Ansonia (13,790) also finished above the previous state record. The top local school was New London I in sixth place with 12,530 while Bacon Academy finished 11th (11,435) and New London II was 17th (9.490). East Lyme, Killingly, Old Saybrook and Windham also competed.
The lone individual local winner was New London’s Anthony Basilica, who broke a state record in the 181-200 pound power clean by lifting 290 pounds.
Following is a list of winners and local finishers in the top 20:
160-under division — Bench: 1. T. Krolikow (Bristol Eastern), 260; 8. Sam Guiney (NL I), 235; 11. Jordan Rando (EL), 225; 17. (tie) M. O’Leary (Bacon) and Herman Vazquez (NL I), 215; Squat: 1. Ramos (Bpt. Central), 420; 7. Guiney, 370; 16. Vazquez, 335; Clean: 1. Ramos, 260; 9. Guiney, 215; 11. (tie) Lowen (Bacon) and Rando, 210.
161-180 division — Bench: 1. Alex Thomas (Ansonia), 330; 6. C. Dube (Bacon), 265; 11. Richie Vitale (NL I), 235; 15. Seth St. Jean (Killingly), 230; 17. (tie) J. Chandler (Bacon) and Zach Deford (EL), 225; Squat: 1. Kenny Buxton (New Britain), 550; 13. Isaiah Dixon (NL I), 375; 16. Dan Hill (NL I), 355; 18. Dube, 350; 19. Vitale, 345; Clean: 1. Thomas, 290; 7. Vitale, 245; 15. Chandler, 230; 17. (tie), Dube, Deford and St. Jean, 225.
181-200 division — Bench: 1. Fazio (New Britain), 275; 5. J. Rojos (NL I), 270; 9. (tie) Hodgson (Bacon), A. Rojos (NL I) and Anthony Basilica (NL I), 265; Squat: 1. L. Pittman (Ansonia), 500; 12. Kevin Miao (EL), 395; Clean: 1. Basilica, 290; 7. A. Rojos, 250; 11. (tie) Eddie Sierra (NL) and Tom Hammerschmidt (OS), 240; 14. James Gordy (EL), 245; 17. (tie) Hodgson and Hussey (Bacon), 225.
201-220 division — Bench: 1. Lamart (New Britain), 345; 8. (tie) Lucas Bowman (EL) and H. Rodriguez (NL I), 285; 12. J. Ogden (Bacon), 275; 17. (tie) Earl Wilson (NL I) and Chaz Partosan (Windham), 265; Squat: 1. Lamart, 535; 8. Rodriguez, 425; 11. Bowman, 405; 18. Jordan Reed (NL I), 400; Clean: 1. Papo Boebel (Bristol Eastern), 275; 7. Ratliff (Bacon), 250; 10. (tie) Wilson and Rodriguez, 245; 16. Ogden, 230; 19. (tie) Pierre (Bacon), Bowman and Partosan, 225.
221-over division — Bench: 1. Erik Kuraczea (Ansonia), 380; 7. Ken Capers (NL I), 325; Squat: 1. Robert Aldea (New Britain), 660; 17. Capers, 460; Clean: 1. Alfieri (Woodland), 310: 5. Capers, 275.
Mainiero out benched Kerazea and came in 2nd overall but he won the bench award 2006 over Kearzea and like I said he benched alot in 2007 and was forced out.But when you put Kearezas height and weight and compare the 2 there is a big differance and the bigger the kids on the team the more they can lift squat etc, so the bigger team definetly gets the higher # if they are all dedicated with ther trainers.But when you see those high lifts and squats with someone under the size of the one who likely should bench more you definetly see the hard work and dedication to out beat the one evryone knows should be better.Kearazea benched 380 and mike was warmup at that before he was pulled out.from what i heard he needed to warm up better and things didnt go his way and he always was lifting high all the time.that why that kid is so hard nosed (LOL)
Mainero got hurt in 07′ and Aldea (NB) squated 660?! wow whats the record?..and my senior year spitzo (shelton) broke the clean record i believe he was in the (161-180) but i think he beat the overall record for any weight does anyone kno if he still holds this record?
and Mainero came 2nd overall 2 years ago..as a junior dont have the stats but just read it on the internet
in 2006 the official stats go like this mainiero benched 355 which the word was he did it very easily and kuraczea did 350 mainiero got 2nd overall kurzea got first because his squat was rediculous. in 2007 kurazea did 390, mainiero was maxing out at a state record 410, he pulled his pectoral muscle warming up with 385 and his coaches pulled him. yes kuraczea is a brute who cane squat and clean the world, but mainiero is a small kid who does too. it just shows the heart the kid has, but on any day he will out bench kuraczea, and its just a natural thing the word is. im around alot of the coaches at shelton and they say that hes the 2nd strongest and best o lineman to ever play for the school behind mihalko . they jus dont tell him so he doesnt have to think about that kind of stuff. but second best in his schools history sounds pretty good.
hands down to kurczea though he was a great player………but mainero was just as good…..the word is in the scrimmage mainero handled him all night. its a even fight a good one i whichc we could have seen more of.
You want a Top Ten, you got it (imagine how many spots the Valley would have if Derby was still “alive”)…..
#1 Ansonia – No question. DOMINANT again
#2 Seymour – Only loss was Ansonia. Strong #2
#3 Bunnell – Give ‘em their due
#4 New Canaan – Them too
#5 New London – Top Offense & “D”, then Ansonia!
#6 Woodland – Undefeated (except #1 and #2)
#7 Hand – Yeah, Yeah –What happened ??
#8 Masuk – Valley folks with money had kids ???
#9 Greenwich – They don’t play anyone.
#10 Shelton – Gave MIGHTY Greenwich a game.
What gives everyone the idea that Greenwich is so damn tough? Who do they play? When Shelton can play Greenwich THAT tough for 2 full quarters, it’s a JOKE to mention them as #1. They had a hard time putting away the FOURTH BEST TEAM in the Valley.
NEWS FLASH… regardless of their attempted disclaimer, the only reason Shelton jumped to the “prestigious” SCC is that they couldn’t handle 2-3 losses every year in the Valley. It was a tough life having to play Ansonia, Seymour, and (YES) Derby every year. And now there’s Woodland up in Beacon Falls. Shelton finishes 4th in this year’s NVL. I’m not sure Greenwich or Staples does any better. Last time I checked, Armani doesn’t coach football.
I had a college dorm mate from Staples-Westport in ’65-’66 who was whining the same down-state blues we’re hearing this year from Greenwich. Well, nothing has changed. If you want advice on how to downshift a Beemer, go to Greenwich. If you want advice on how to execute a trap block, or stuff a high-powered offense (you listening, Cochran?), come on up to Ansonia.
GAME – SET – MATCH !!!
ANSONIA — We HAUL Ours, and we KICK Yours !!!!!
Well all this talk about the weight lifting competition. How about that boy from windham. He benched 275 his freshman year, then sophmore year 315, and is currently getting 335. Strong boy to be coming from Windham i must admit
Time to give the Stratford Red Devils and coach Sheridan some well deserved recognition.A mear 10 points or so seperated this team from what might have been an undefeated season.An overtime loss to a good pomperaug team and a thanksgiving day loss to an OUTSTANDING Bunnell team (22-12)were the only negitives on an otherwise outstanding season.The town of Stratford can be very proud of these two programs.Not many towns can produce two schools with a combined record of 21 and 2 with the Bulldogs going 13-0.Ansonia and Greenwich take notice.I repeat 13-0!!! Should Bunnell be number 2 or perhaps 1? Should Stratford have gotten a bit more recognition? You could make a good case for both schools.Any way you look at it the town of Stratford can be very proud.Looking foward to the 2008 edition of both teams. It should another banner year for the town,the fans and most importantly the ‘Dawgs and the Devils.
Dan,
I agree with the recognition for both teams from Stratford. Can you imagine if Stratford was one school, instead of two? Sloat handing off to Torrey and Octavious and passing to Easley, Harrison, Jackson and Baptiste? A defense full of playmakers from each team? If Stratford was one team, Ansonia, Greenwich and all of your other power house teams would be quality teams overshadowed by an all around better football team. However, we can only dream of what would happen. Even with 2 teams, Stratford has put together a 20-3 record the past 2 years, and a 25-1 Bunnell record a long with 2 time state and swc champs. One day all the haters will shut up and realize Stratford is one of the best football towns in the state.
It should be noted that the one loss the bulldogs suffered over the past two seasons was to none other than Stratford.Can’t wait to see what these two do in 08.
An awesome accomplishment by them Bunnell ‘Dawgs ,going 25-1 over the past two seasons!! Guess who the one loss was to.
Combining these two schools could be considered cruel and unusual punishment for the S.W.C..(and perhaps the rest of the state)
#1. BUNNELL-THEY BEAT STAPLES AND STRATFORD AND WON STATES 2 YEARS STRAIGHT…
#2. ANSONIA- THERE NICE BUT IF IN FCIAC OR SWC THEY WOULDNT BE THAT GOOD…
#3. GREENWICH- ONLY BECUZ THEY BEAT CENTRAL TWICE AND TOOK OUT SHELTON…
#4. STRATFORD- BEST BACK FEILD WITH THE YOUNGEST O’LINE…1 SENIOR 2JUNIORS AND 2SOPHOMORES ON THE LINE… GOT CHEATED 4 PLAYOFF SPOT
#5. CENTRAL- WILL BEAT GREENWICH NEXT YEAR…THE ONLY THING THAT NEEDS 2 BE ACCOMPLISHED BESIDES A CHAMPIONSHIP…
#6. SHELTON- WAS TAKIN IT 2 GREENWICH…
#7. MASUK- THERE DEFENSE ALMOST RELENTLESS…
#8. LAW- 9-1 SEASON AND DIDNT MAKE PLAYOFFS…HUH
#9. HAND- THEY CAN BALL ASWELL…
#10. NEWTOWN SLEEPER….POMPERAUG…NAUGUTUCK…CROMWELL…NEW BRITAIN….SEYMOUR SHOULDA PLAYED STRATFORD….
Hmm .. Excuse me but all this hype about who should be 1 or 2 is very interesting and all. But can we give credit to where credit is due??? The great small town of Stratford, CT home to about roughly 60,000 has put the state of Connecticut on the map recruiting wise. We send out more D-1 prospects than any other town which is a fact! Shannon James-Umass Drafted to Ravens, Robert Drish-Temple, Dudley Laporte-Utah, Torrey Mack-UVA, Steve Smith-CCSU, Marcus Easley-Uconn,Octavias McKoy-Undecided(JC), Mike Easley-CCSU, Mark Harrison-Rutgers.. and many more!.. without a doubt Stratford has the best athletes around! If there were 1 school, maybe that would of been us making the trip to Naples? Maybe!
1. ansonia
2. bunnell
3. greenwich
4. seymour
5. new canaan
6. hand
7. new london
8. ledyard
9. cromwell
10. sheltom (honarable mention:law, woodland beacon, newington, hyde, bullard haven, hillhouse, masuk)
1. ansonia
2. bunnell
3. greenwich
4. seymour
5. new canaan
6. hand
7. new london
8. ledyard
9. cromwell
10. sheltom (honarable mention:law, woodland beacon, newington, hyde, bullard haven, hillhouse, masuk)