Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome
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DEFENDING CHAMPION
NAUGATUCK (9-2, Class L quarterfinalist)
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Nov. 17 at Municipal Stadium, Waterbury
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Local NVL Preview Capsules
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TOP 5 PLAYERS
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- ARKEEL NEWSOME, RB/DB, Ansonia – The heir apparent to Montrell Dobbs chipped in with 800 yards and 12 TDs last season.
- BRENDEN LYTTON, RB/DB, Torrington – One of the state’s best tailbacks after rushing for 2,502 yards and 29 touchdowns, including a state record nine touchdowns vs Wilby last season. gives the Raiders high hopes.
- RAY KRIEGER, QB/DB, Derby – Threw for 1,939 yards and 21 TDs in coach George French’s spread. But his favorite target, Jake Tomczak, was lost to an ACL tear.
- JAKE YOURISON, RB/LB, Naugatuck – With the graduation of QB Erich Broadrick, the Greyhounds’ rest their hopes on the versatile back to produce.
- MATT ZACCAGNINI, RB/LB, Woodland – Same goes for the heir to graduated playmaker Jack DeBiase. Ran for 406 yards and 5 TDs last season.
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KEEP AN EYE ON…
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TIM ADANTI, TE/DE, Derby; DEVANTE BONVILLIAN, RB/DB, Wolcott; DEMETRIUS DAILEY, CB, Torrington; DWAYNE ELLIS, WR/DB, Sacred Heart; DAVID DIGIORGI, RB, Holy Cross; TOM GENDREAU, OL/LB, Woodland; LUKE GRABOWSKI, QB, Seymour; ANDREW MATOS, WR/DB, Ansonia; MIKE GIUGNO, OL/DL, Naugatuck; JUSTIN GONZALEZ, WR/DB, St. Paul; ZACH PLOURDE FB/LB, Woodland; DYLAN SADICK, OL, Seymour; TYLER WOOD, OL/LB, Ansonia; JEFF HOLDER, OL/DL, Torrington; TYLER WILLIAMS, OL, Ansonia.
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5 CAN’T-MISS GAMES
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- Torrington at Ansonia (Week 1, Sept. 15) – The boys at the NVL Blog have been pumping up this “non-league” clach since it was scheduled. Are the Raiders worth of their preseason praise? Contenders usually go to Jarvis Stadium to die.
- Ansonia at Derby (Week 3, Sept. 30) – Derby lost a heartbreaker last season at Jarvis Stadium. The Red Raiders only shot at a Brass Division title starts here.
- Torrington at Holy Cross (Week 3, Sept. 30) – The Copper Division is expected to be a dog fight between four teams. These two are at the top of the list.
- Woodland at Naugatuck (Week 7, Oct. 28) – Sandwiched around dates with Torrington and Holy Cross, this is the height of a brutal three-game stretch for the Hawks and Greyhounds. The Hawks were Naugy’s only blemish last season.
- Naugatuck at Ansonia (Week 10, Nov. 24) – The granddaddy of Thanksgiving Day games, the Greyhounds famously upset Ansonia to win the NVL championship and punch their ticket to the playoffs. Payback time.
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EXTRA POINTS
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For the first time in 25 years, Ansonia will be competing in the Class M Division alongside such favorites as New London, Hillhouse and Brookfield. …Higher enrollment forced Derby to ditch its four-year co-op with O’Brien Tech. The school is competing as a singular entity for the first time since 2006. Derby/O’Brien Tech was 15-26 during the run, which includes two seasons in the SCC. Derby has dropped to Class S from Class M as a result. …The league’s overall talent took a hit when star receivers Jake Tomczak (Derby) and David Coggins (Sacred Heart) suffered season-ending injuries in the first week of preseason practice. Tomczak led Derby/O’Brien Tech in receiving last season; Coggins was the Connecticut’s leading receiver and a MaxPreps.com National Top Sophomore last season with 1,417 yards and 9 TDs. …After some confusion last season, NVL has changed its criteria for determining division winners. Head-to-head results are now the first tiebreaker instead of overall record. …The NVL allows one week for scheduling non-conference games, although some league teams still pair up. This year’s Week 1 “non-conference” games between league schools are: Ansonia-Torrington; Crosby-Holy Cross; Kennedy-Wolcott. Outside of the NVL, Watertown at Montville; Seymour vs. O’Brien Tech (at Derby); Naugatuck at East Longmeadow (Mass.); Wilby at Lyman Hall. Other non-league matchups are Woodland-Jonathan Law (Week 3), and St. Paul vs. Hamden Hall (which doesn’t count toward CIAC playoff points since Hamden Hall isn’t a CIAC member school) and Derby-Shelton on Thanksgiving. Sacred Heart is the only NVL school not playing a 10th game.
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PREDICTIONS
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CHAMPIONSHIP — Ansonia over Holy Cross
PLAYOFF TEAMS – Ansonia (M); Holy Cross (S); Torrington (L).
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THE BOTTOM LINE
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As much as we’ve been intrigued by some of the hype surrounding Brenden Lytton and Torrington (especially from the folks at the NVL Blog), let’s be honest: this is Ansonia’s league to lose. The Chargers bring back everybody except UConn commit Montrell Dobbs (now starring at Milford Academy). But his backup, Arkeel Newsome, is more than ready to carry the load. The Chargers aren’t quite Masuk-dominant, but in the NVL they’re in a class above anyone else and have their sights on bigger goals — like competing with the likes of Hillhouse, Brookfield and/or New London in their new home in Class M. The remaining 13 teams are fighting for Ansonia’s table scraps. But don’t fret, NVL fans. After the Chargers, the league is wide open, especially in the Copper Division where Torrington, Holy Cross, Naugatuck and Woodland will duke it out. That race should provide plenty of intrigue for players and fans. Just don’t expect the last team standing to get anywhere.
Thanks to Remmy and Kyle of the NVL Blog for helping this poor reporter tackle this league’s preview. Their collective knowledge of the Route 8 corridor is without peer.
Awesome.
Who said you didn’t know much about the NVL? Nicely done. Looking forward to all the rest.
@Kyle Brennan – Huh. Yeah. Thanks for the input.
Looks like AHS is loaded. Who ever thinks a team from Litchfield count is gonna come down and win against a valley team let alone at Ansonia is smoking crack.
Would be nice if Ansonia could play a talented team from either FCIAC or SCC…Like a Gweenwich or Cheshire in the non-league game.