Boston College recruit Tim Boyle takes over as the sole QB for two-time defending champion Xavier.
Ah, the mighty, mighty SCC.
Diamonds runneth over in the SCC’s chest of swag. And nobody swaggers quite like the SCC.
Why shouldn’t they?
The conference staked its claim as the best in the state in 2012. It features a two-time defending Class LL champion and state No. 1 in Xavier, the defending Class L champion in Hand. It has a Boston College-bound QB in Tim Boyle of Xavier, a UConn-bound linebacker in Hand’s Matt Walsh, three of the state’s best junior tailbacks in Hillhouse’s Harold Cooper, West Haven’s Ervin Phillips and North Haven’s Jalon White. And, it has a bunch of powerful football programs and recent state champions (Cheshire and Notre Dame-WH in 2009, Hillhouse in 2010) anxiously hoping to ascend the mountain again.
So, are we in for another smashing season from the SEC of Connecticut high school football?
The answer, of course, is yes.
Lets take a look, shall we?
1. Let’s cut to the chase: Who do you got Oct. 12? Hand or Xavier?
Woah.
Let’s pull the reins back on the Hand v. Xavier talk. Can we at least get there first?
2. OK… Now, is Hand-Xavier for the unofficial SCC championship? No. 1 in the state?
Hand LB Matt Walsh
Awright, awright. It does seem like every SCC maven is just itchin’ to hit that fast-forward button. So let’s first take a look at what the SCC’s top two teams have.
Let’s start with the incumbent No. 1 Xavier.
First off, the X-Men won’t be the same team in 2012 that they were in 2011 or 2010. They lost some players, Ryan Jacobucci, Pat D’Amato, Sean Marinan, Ryan Murphy, Jovan Santos, Mike Mastroianni, Austin Wesinski… They lost a lot.
If this were a TV show it would be called, X-Men the Next Generation.
Hand lineman Peter Gerson
New captain: QB Tim Boyle, who’s played about a season’s worth of football over two seasons as D’Amato’s backup and is committed to Boston College. Now he gets the bridge to himself.
New first mate: RB DeAngelo Berry, who was Mastroianni’s understudy for the last season.
And a new crew, among them LB Max Tylki and Kris Luster and a bunch of other guys who mostly played second fiddle to the superstars of state championships past.
Xavier’s got the skill guys, but needs to replace a few all-state players on the front lines. That might be pose a problem. The word from Middletown is that it won’t be. The newcomers are huge and, worse, just as talented.
Slipping down the Connecticut River to the shoreline, Hand took a few hits as well. The Tigers lost a huge graduating class, including QB Henry Foye, receiver Nick Vitale, lineman Joe DeMichele, back Kevin Frey, and LB Dan Ives.
Ah, but all is not lost. They bring back an equally huge senior class, including LB Matt Walsh, DL Peter Gerson, WR/DE Kyle Anderson, CB Andrew Tuccero, WR Hunter Mahew. Hand also added to its coffers junior back Dan Rogers and his twin brother Pat from Weston.
There’s no reason to think both schools won’t be the two best teams in the SCC. Are they 1-2 in the state right now? Maybe. Though we think Staples will have something to say in Class LL, we can at least say two of the state’s top three teams reside in the upper division of the SCC.
3. Is there anybody capable of derailing that train before Oct. 12?
Xavier senior back DeAngelo Berry
Er… not that we can see. Given what we know now, it’s very likely the two powerhouses will meet undefeated at Palmer Field.
Xavier’s toughest tests might be its opener at Notre Dame-West Haven or vs. North Haven at Palmer Field in Week 2. Xavier follows with what could be a feisty Fairfield Prep team at Palmer before a road game against Hamden.
Hand gets Amity and Cheshire at the Surf Club in weeks 1 and 3. In weeks 2 and 4, the Tigers face Harold Cooper and Hillhouse and, later, Wilbur Cross in dreaded Friday afternoon games in New Haven.
Of the two, Hand seems to have the toughest road to unbeaten in Week 5. But unless something unforeseen happens, both squads will be heavy favorites in all of their opening games.
So, yes. Get your tickets now.
4. Gah!!! C’mon. Is the entire SCC season just about Hand and Xavier?
Shelton senior WR/DB Will Karcher (back from an injury) returns to lead a talented group of juniors.
Well, no, but… yes.
Look, this is how we start football seasons. We take what we know of the past and apply it to the future. They were both state champions in 2011 and (as we’ve discussed) have a pretty fair amount of talent returning.
But if you want to know who might overturn the applecart, we’ll give you a few of teams to look at, two of them might be legit state playoff contenders (the SCC doesn’t do conference titles).
The two best candidates play both Hand and Xavier in the second-half of the year, but not each other.
West Haven junior back Ervin Phillips ran for 1,100 yards in just six games last year.
Your first contender is West Haven. The Westies return sterling junior back Ervin Phillips, bigger and stronger than before, and a bunch of senior linemen tasked with letting him bust loose. “We’ve got a good team,” says coach Ed McCarthy. “A good team.”
The second candidate: Shelton. The Gaels return a massive and talented junior class — QB Connor Wallon, WR Ed Kochiss, RB Jagger Kallagian, to name just a few — and senior WR Will Karcher (back from a knee injury). All of the juniors will be starting. Shelton’s only weakness is that its replacing a few starters on the front lines.
Outside of those two? Cheshire and Notre Dame-West Haven suffered greatly from graduation and look as if they’re rebuilding.
Cheshire lost quite a few seniors, not to mention longtime head coach Mark Ecke, who resigned after an off-season altercation at a Glastonbury lacrosse game. The Rams replace Michael John Ecke with Vincent Sansone at quarterback and return Sam Pascale at tailback. Their strength may lie in a large junior class. Until we see otherwise, jury’s still out on the Rams.
The same can be said for Notre Dame-WH lost a massive and talented senior class from last year’s 8-3 playoff run. This year’s senior class features unknowns. Notre Dame’s top returning star is junior LB/RB Cameron Tucker.
We’re still waiting for Fairfield Prep to burst from anonymity. The Jesuits return backs Dillon Ryan and Joe McBride who missed the second half of last year due to an injury vs. Xavier. Update: McBride will not play this season.
Amity (which is looking to find a do-it-all playmaker like graduated star Tyler Vallie), Wilbur Cross and Hamden are unknown at this point in the season.
Of course, there are the two heavyweights in Division II…
5. Who’s gonna be boss in Division II? North Haven? Hillhouse?
North Haven halfback Jalon White (left)
Both. Even if it doesn’t look like it in the standings.
A favorite last year before losing the infamous Week 1 Ain’t No Way! game at Bowen Field thanks to the nimble feet and hand of North Haven’s Jalon White, Hillhouse should be as good or better in 2012.
Senior Quarterback Je’Vaughn Moore and a large senior class returns to help awesome junior tailback Harold Cooper, who’s already picked up an offer from Boston College.
North Haven, fresh off its second state playoff berth in three years — and an impressive show against Masuk, to boot — lost quite a few pistons from its singe-wing engine, notably Joe Schwab, Mark Zurlis, Jake Mikos and Andrew Savenelli. But White’s back along with a large senior class, both in numbers and size.
There’s been some talk about Guilford and maybe Foran on the rise, but for the most part no other SCC D2 team seems to compare to these heavyweights.
The North Haven-Hillhouse rematch is Oct. 12 at North Haven. Yes, the same night as Hand-Xavier.
Let’s call it SCC Judgement Night. You heard it here first.
Whoever wins on Judgement Night will have an edge in its state playoff race, Hillhouse in Class M and North Haven in Class L. Like Hillhouse last year, the loser is likely sunk unless it can win one of its two SCC crossover games.
Let’s talk about that for a moment: Both North Haven and Hillhouse play Xavier and Hand on the crossover weeks of Sept. 21 and Oct. 26. Also North Haven also picked up — get this — New London as its bye game on Week 4 (Oct. 5).
No one can accuse North Haven coach Tony Sagnella of ever ducking anyone. Ever.
No one should be holding their breath for North Haven to go 9-1 this season, either.
So unless the Indians can somehow surprise Hand or Xavier (ehh…), it’s crucial that North Haven beat Hillhouse and New London if it wants a remote shot at returning to the Class L playoffs.
Meanwhile, the equation is simple for Hillhouse: Do what you did last year and beat North Haven this time. That should be enough reach the Class M state playoffs, regardless of how it fares vs. Hand or Xavier. (If the Acs want to beat Hand or Xavier that would suffice, too).
Good lord, this league is nuts.
Bon voyage, gentlemen. And good luck with all that.
Hand looked over-matched by both teams in that scrimmage …
Thank you SPB — just what I’ve been waiting 8 plus months for. Two and a half weeks until we get started for real! Oct 12 is a special treat that has to stay in the background for 6 weeks. Lots of work to do before any of us get there — fail to do the work, and the treat won’t be the same.
Even before the Rogers brothers transferred in I thought Hand was the favorite. Their defense this year is going to be on level of Xaviers and Masuks from a few years back.
Xavier will still be good. Still be a state qualifier, but are definitely beatable. Shelton has a very good crop of juniors that might be able to put a scare in them. West Haven will be good as will Hillhouse. Hamden may have some friskiness to them for the first time in years. Other than that everyone else will be left fighting for scraps.
Rumor has it Shelton put a good whipping on Seymour yesterday.They play Masuk Wednesday night at SHS so you should get a better gauge on them….Also,I heard WH beat up St.Joes on Saturday……Please advise if anyone has anything on these two scrimmages….
WH AND ST. JOE’S scrimmage was great. they tied 2 touchdowns each and the hogs had 1st and goal from the one and did not score. SJ is much improved with tons of underclassmen playing.The westies looked great when phillips had the ball but the defense is not good(used to be the staple at west haven)
Thanks LOL…..Like I said rumor had it…LOL…..Anyone have anything on the Shelton/Seymour scrimmage?????
I was at the Shelton/Seymour scrimmage Paul. I think in first team v. first team Shelton outscored Seymour 6-2. They definitely moved the ball with relative ease at times. I wouldn’t describe it as a “whipping” as the CATS certainly held their own at times as well.
Seymour has much more speed and height in the secondary than previous years.
I have gone to the Seymour/Shelton scrimmage the past 3 years and this was the closest I have seen Seymour match up in that time.
Shelton definitely “won” the scrimmage, but pass skeletons and lineman drills were 75% of the day…and the scoreboard wasn’t on.
Smart money in the SCC is still on Hand in L and Xavier in LL. I’m an FCIAC guy who roots for Greenwich but I respect Shelton. Maybe living in lower FFLD county I’m oblivious to it but I never hear Shelton having recruiting or coaching issues. They do things the right way year in and year out without the “recruiting” these other schools do. Atleast it seems that way. Would anyone agree?
Shelton got a WR from St. Joseph.
@Brian yes. Xavier has players from 25 towns on its roster. not exactly what i would call a high school team… “AAU” football seems appropriate.
ok but does the kid reside in Shelton?
Yes.
I was at the Shelton vs Seymour scrimmage and I echo the words of JonnyRibbs. At no point was it a whooping, I would say you could just tell that Shelton was more polished on offense. As a first scrimmage you never wanna play a team who runs the spread, especially in Seymour’s case they may play one team that runs the spread during the year. I don’t see any reason why Shelton is not an eight win team unless ND and Chesire are better than I believe. It’s early obviously, but Hand on video did not look as crisp as they did at this time last year. The SCC is outside my forte of the NVL and FCIAC but I think Xavier will be hands down best in the league.
SPB:
The WR who came home to be a Gael actually xfered last December and served his CIAC penance on the basketball team.
The video is short, edited and misleading. Hand did not play defensive starters Matt Walsh, Peter Gerson, Hunter Mayhew, Hunter Reynolds and others due to injuries. Nothing major, just pre-cautionary. I am sure if they played they would have had a noticeable impact. On offense, dual threat senior QB Brendan Bilcheck was limited to just throwing and did not run. I am sure a coach’s decision. Senior, Junior and Sophomore receivers were being rotating in and out at mind boggling speed so Hand staff could see what they have. Same for O-Line and D-Line. It look like many starters had limited playing time. No different than NFL preseason games. Why chance an injury to a proven starter. The starters have yet to play as a complete unit both on offense and defense. Remember, its a PRE-SEASON scrimmage and not a beauty contest. Don’t take it so seriously. I think scrimmages are nothing more than to get the coach’s voices in shape for the regular season. Last year no one (especially in this blog and in polls) was talking Hand football until late in the season. Hand coaches like it that way. Just far enough way from the Bpt., NH and Hrtfd. media to avoid being noticed. Scrimmages are a learning experience where coaches teach fundamentals not only to their players but opponents as well. At scrimmages, the coaches agree to compete but place limits on who is not to be touched. However, players have to be constantly reminded to save their mad dog aggression for the up coming season. A better indication of Hand’s talent was seen at Yale camp were they pretty much beat up on every team they scrimmaged. Yes, even outplayed Ansonia and West Haven, for the most part, and that was with many starters resting or not present due to prior commitments. I am sure I will hear differently from those two camps. Maybe someone has some video from the Yale camp too. Looking forward to this fine blog as it unleashes 8 months of pent up football mania!
was any one at the notre dame ansonia scrimmage?
Ansonia vs ND Scrimmage was pretty even.They started a little early so I missed an Ansonia Varsity TD.Notre Dame scored midway through the game not sure if JV’S were in or not at the time.I left ND was getting the better of the play at the JV Level.
As I said in an earlier post Shelton will find out a little more on where they are vs Masuk……They found out they are not even close to where they should be……Small inexperienced lineman were pushed around all day by the Masuk defensive front….Good thing Shelton has rotating Q.B’s this yr because both of them got punished all nite….As far as their skilled kids go rumor has it they put no work into the summer and their play on the field last night sure backed up that claim….Defense especially the secondary looked like they never saw a spread offense in their lives…..Bottom line is unless the offensive line comes along quickly the Gaels will be 6-4 this season…Final score Masuk 4-1…BTW, it was a pleasure watching Thomas Milone play yesterday…..The Gael D looked they were in awe too…..
@Paul – Yeah, Shelton got pushed around yesterday. Jeff Roy was pretty upset. And the size issue will be a factor in the SCC. Masuk, on the other hand, looked pretty good for a “gutted” football team. And Milone is something special. Now free to bust loose on his own.
On another note, just wanted to give all you downstate guys a heads up. I watched Windsor scrimmage Northwest Catholic yesterday. While NWC may struggle this season with an undersized line and its usual small school lack of depth, Windsor looked very impressive. Big athletic line. Speedy skill guys. Head coach Rob Fleeting’s son returning for another year at QB after a very solid performance last year. Windsor is the only team I know of up North that regularly participates in 7s leagues and tournaments in the offseason and it shows. Windsor is going to score a ton of points this year. Dont be surprised if you see Windsor standing there at the end of the year facing Hand at the Rent.
Yesterday, Hand scrimmaged at Waterford still without many starters playing due to nagging minor injuries. Underclassman got plenty of valuable playing time. Junior RB Connor Dodd ran well and senior Kyle Anderson was great at TE. Coaches finally took the reins off senior QB Brendan Bilcheck and boy was he impressive both passing and running the ball. Had one run of 40+ yards through the left, center and then the right side of Waterford’s defense! Could give Boyle a run for top QB in the SCC since he is more than just a passer. Defensively, seniors Padelli and Wivell played well clogging the middle and stopping the run. Looking forward to getting seniors Ewald, Gerson, Mayhew and Walsh back on the playing field before the season starts. Their presence and play are noticeably missed. Two more scrimmages before the start of the season.
@CT Fan – that is a good early season call … Hand vs Windsor for the L crown. Clearly, anything can happen between now and then, but it looks a bit like destiny this year. Wild card is Masuk … can they find the right chemistry in the post-Casey era? So far, hearing great things about Milone. Good early indication will be the Greenwich scrimmage.
Danny did you really just say Hand best up on Ansonia at Yale? Not that it really matters, but was anyone else there? Ansonia looked very good against Hands D during the final day scrimmage. They scored a few times and moved the ball consistently during their period. Either you didn’t attend or your confused as to who was who. Good luck.
I attended the main scrimmage day. No one beat up Ansonia, but West Haven looked the best of the teams at the Yale camp. Most impressive single player that day was Matos of Ansonia.
Ansonia/WH scrimmage tonight at 6:00 at Ken Strong…..Another Waterbury product Jai’Quan McKnight takes over at Q.B for the Chargers…Please post a final and highlights if anyone attends….
Will there be any live blog feeds for Ansonia and West Haven tonight? I hope so….
There will be some twitter updates at right
Thanks SPB,but I can’t get those on this pc.blocked out.
You’re in luck! We provided a sample of the best ones.
And ‘blocked?’ why on earth…? (nevermind. I just noticed your email address)
I think we can find a way around that in the future
I can’t wait to see what’s in the future…till then my only access to the games are the live feeds(shh).I’ve been to one West Haven scrimage a few years ago and listening to Macarthy well, he put real effort into his annual scrimmage against Ansonia,seems the players (some)didn’t buy into him though and West Haven lost the game.Oh, buzz around here is every one will be shut down from the internet…I’m one of a few left up and running…for now