SPB's High School Football

[EDIT: July 20, 9:24)

It's another hazy, lazy day here in Connecticut. The two senior all-star games have come and gone (CT over Rhode Island 29-7; New Haven over Fairfield 16-13) and we are T-minus 29 days to the first official start of the 2010 Connecticut High School football season.

It doesn’t feel like it, but the season will be here before you know i.

(I actually caught a “Back to School” commercial on TV the other day. True story!)

Anyway, to satiate your pigskin palate, let’s give you a run-down on all the off-season happenings.

To start, it’s been pretty quiet here in Fairfield County. Outside, not so much.

The largest tremors came from Middletown, where coach Eric Marszalek became former coach Eric Marszalek following the sudden resignation of  two coaches. Marszalek says he was forced to resign.

Then, not a week later, came an off-season conditioning flap that resulted in a student taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion and two lower-level assistant coaches arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment.

You can’t make this stuff up. (In fact, I thought it was all the same thing. But no, it was pointed out, two separate incidents).

Just a couple of days later, state championship coach Sal Morello rode into town like a white knight and hitched his horse to the Middletown stable. He was hired July 8, almost two weeks after Marszalek’s dismissal, bringing and end to the whole debacle, for now.

Morello, who graduated from Middletown in 1987 and had been working toward earning a teaching certificate in Middletown, resigned at Cromwell in March after spending nearly 10 years building the program from scratch into a perennial state power in Class S.

His pedigree (a 69-12 record at Cromwell, including the 2008 Class S championship) surely has Middletown fans thrilled about their team’s future in the rough CCC.

ELSEWHERE…

In late May, former UConn quarterback and Bristol Central standout D.J. Hernandez snared one of the state’s biggest high school jobs when he was hired to take over for Bill Mella at Southington.

Hernandez had spent one year as a Southington assistant and was coaching and playing professional football in Austria (yes, Austria) when he got the job. It’s an intriguing hire for a program that pretty much has the pick of the litter anytime a coaching vacancy opens. Hernandez has been a successful player (he was a three-year captain at UConn and played a variety of positions), and he certainly has name value. But the 2009 UConn graduate is still very young and new to the high school circuit.

That’s not to say he won’t succeed at Southington. It’s a football school brimming with talent throughout its halls. But it’s not a place that looks kindly on the phrase “rebuilding.” It’ll be worth watching what changes D.J. may or may not bring to the Blue Knights.

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Of course, we’ve also seen coaching changes at the following local schools…

STAMFORD  – Brian Hocter in for Kevin Jones

HAMDEN – Former coach Tony Martone returns in place of Scott Benoit

STRATFORD — John Svatik in for Duane Shirden

AMITY — Bert Mozealous in for Mike DeVito

McMAHON — A.J. Albano in for Joe Santa Lucia

FAIRFIELD PREP – Tom Shea in for Billy Pinto

IMMACULATE – Gary Bellagamba in for Roger Hancock

NEW FAIRFIELD — Anthony Fata in for Andy Buchsbaum

DERBY/O’BRIEN TECH — George French in for Carmen DiCenzo

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BASSICK DOCUMENTARY ‘PRIDE OF THE LIONS’ AT NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

Expect to see some familiar football faces Saturday in New York City.

A student-produced and staff directed documentary about student athletes at Bassick called, ‘Pride of the Lions’ will be screened at the New York International Independent Film Festival in the East Village of Manhattan.

The documentary, guided by Bassick media teacher Kathy Silver, chronicles the plight of Bassick football and soccer players who must overcome multiple hurdles both on and off the field just to compete in the FCIAC, a conference known for its lavish towns, immaculate facilities and deep athletic pockets, a stark contrast to Bridgeport’s West End.

The documentary — which I’ll be watching later this afternoon — will be shown at approximately 2:40 p.m. at the City Cinemas Village East, Screen 3.

Tickets are STILL on sale. It’s just $15 dollars and includes three other independent films. CLICK HERE to order.

I’ll be back with an expanded entry on the film once I see it. Knowing all too well about what many Bassick students go through daily, I guarantee it will be worth watching.

WTIX (MyTV9) FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Here’s the schedule of games that will be broadcast on WTNH’s sister channel WCTX (colloquially referred to as “MyTV9″ by the WTNH brass). Nothing in the way of local Fairfield County games (there will be plenty of those on MSGVarsity. Schedule TBA).

Plenty of SCC games, though. Here it is:

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AND FINALLY …

The CIAC’s 2010 High School Football rules packet has been released. Lots of info in there, including the enrollments and divisions of the new 4-division playoff system. Click here to view it.

If there’s anything else worth mentioning here, let me know. Until the next post…