Archive for the ‘CIAC’ Category

Goodbye Rentschler? CIAC exploring venue change for state championships (again)

Thursday, January 24, 2013 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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The NFA crowd at Rentschler Field moments before kickoff of the 2012 Class LL championship vs. Xavier on December 7, 2012. The game drew a total of 4,576 (the Xavier side was similar). The CIAC is considering moving its championship games out of Rentschler Field after three seasons. (Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley)

The North Branford crowd moments before kickoff of the Class S championship game with Ansonia on December 8, 2012. (Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley)

Too few fans. Too much overhead. A big shortfall.

That’s what the CIAC says is the problem with The Rent.

After just three years, the CIAC is thinking about abandoning East Hartford’s Rentschler Field as a football championship venue Marc Allard of the Norwich Bulletin reported today.

CIAC associate director Paul Hoey apparently dropped this bomb on the football committee’s monthly meeting on Wednesday at CIAC headquarters.

According to Hoey, the organization lost $38,000 from the four state title games and

The Ansonia crowd moments before kickoff of the Class S championship game against North Branford on December 8, 2012. More fans eventually would show up, but the side remained relatively sparse throughout the game. (Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley)

“the bills are still coming in,” the Bulletin writes.

Update: And now a follow-up report from the Hartford Courant quotes Hoey saying the figure is $20,000.

Either way, Hoey says, the organization is losing money on hosting the site at Rentschler Field.

“We rely on football to be a revenue-producing sport for us to help with those sports that don’t produce revenue, and we need to make money,” Hoey told Allard. “The management at Rentschler Field has been wonderful, but it just might be too big.”

With the Rentschler Field contract up for renewal this year, the CIAC is looking elsewhere. Central Connecticut State’s Arute Field, which recently expanded its capacity to 5,800, is the leading candidate, the Bulletin Reported.

The Class LL championship between Xavier and NFA, played Friday night, drew 4,576 fans, according to game statistics.

Significantly less attended the Class S and Class M championship games on Saturday morning and afternoon.

The Class L title game drew the second-best crowd of the weekend. Total attendance for the Saturday games was 5,189, according to figures.

The CIAC charges $10 for tickets for the two state championship days, suggesting the organization took in approximately $100,000 on ticket sales alone.

Benefits to making the switch is Arute Field’s artificial turf. Rentschler Field’s surface is grass, which is typically beat up by the UConn football season.

The Bulletin reported the committee members would tour Central’s facilities. No decision would be made until at least the next committee meeting, March 6.

The CIAC moved all of its state championships to Rentschler Field in 2010 when it revamped its state playoffs, reducing the championships from six to four but expanding the field to include a quarterfinals round (and 16 more teams).

Previously, the organization annually shuffled its sites between local high schools (like West Haven’s Ken Strong Stadium, Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium and Trumbull’s McDougall Stadium) and state colleges.

Central Connecticut State, which originally had just one side of stands, hasn’t been used as a site since it hosted the Class M title game between Ledyard vs. Berlin in 2007.

That year was also the last time the CIAC used Southern Connecticut State’s Jess Dow Field.

Read the full story in the Norwich Bulletin.

Newly refurbished Arute Field on the campus of Central Connecticut State in New Britain. Opposite field stands were recently added to increase capacity to 5,800.

Connecticut coaching carousel 2013: Here’s where we stand in mid-January [Updated]

Friday, January 18, 2013 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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***

A small sampling of coaches who will no longer be at their 2012 posts in 2013. Clockwise from top left: Dave Cadelina, John Murphy, Bryan Hocter, Peter Stokes, Chuck Lynch, Craig Bruno

It’s been a crazy, topsy-turvy offseason for high school football programs and coaches. And we’re barely halfway through January.

Big names, small names, big programs, little programs… no one, it seems, is immune from the bug that has plagued our regional coaches’ psyches.

The reasons have varied: Many “want to spend more time with their families,” or just have too much responsibility to keep up with the rigorous demands it takes to be successful. Some were fired, or about to be fired, or thought they might be fired. Others just felt, “it was time.”

Whatever the reason, there are immense vacuums to be filled across our fair state. And they just keep coming.

So with the latest bombshell news of Craig Bruno jumping Bunnell for Naugatuck, we here at football central felt it was time to take stock of what we know and don’t know about the many vacancies across Connecticut.

Let’s recap all of the movement madness, shall we?

Update: We’ve added Wilby, Bacon Academy, East Lyme, Ellington/Somers, Old Saybrook/Westbrook and Woodstock Academy. Whew. Anyone else?

May 21: Cheshire

The first casualty was actually last offseason when longtime Cheshire coach Mark Ecke resigned, apparently under pressure, following an incident at a Glastonbury High School lacrosse game.

The interim coach, Don Drust, got the job full-time on November 30 after coaching the Rams to a 6-4 record.

August 3: Wilby (added)

Just before fall practices began, Pat Russo resigned at Wilby unexpectedly after coaching one season. Russo told the Republican-American that he decided to leave to coach is two sons in youth football.

Gino Capuano, a business teacher at the school, took over as interim coach, saying he hoped “I am the head coach until the day I retire as a teacher.” He guided the Wildcats went 5-5 in the NVL this season.

As of January, Capuano remains the interim coach.

August 24: Naugatuck

Naugatuck lost its head coach Rob Plasky in August stemming from a scheme to get Sacred Heart receiver and then-Boston College commit David Coggins and a few of his teammates to Naugatuck. Assistant Shawn Kuczenski took over as head coach and took the team to a 6-4 record.

The job was posted shortly after the season concluded. (More on this later).

October 3: St. Bernard/Norwich Tech

Just a few weeks into the 2012 season, Scott Cook was told to resign or be fired as head coach at St. Bernard/Norwich Tech, over what Cook said was an incident on a bus the previous year, according to The Day of New London. His players briefly considered walking out of the season in protest, but eventually decided to carry on under interim coach Bob Burnside while Cook’s status upgraded to ‘paid administrative leave.’

Athletic director Brendan Case told the Norwich Bulletin he hoped to have a new coach hired within weeks after the season ended. But that was pending a resolution on Cook’s personnel issue, which as of January 18 doesn’t seem to be resolved.

Former Bloomfield/New Britain/New London coach Jack Cochran seemed like he was interested in the job. But earlier this month Cochran told us “right now” he had no plans on coaching in 2013 because he felt it would impede in following his son’s career at UConn.

October 26: Ludlowe

News that Ludlowe coach Matt McCloskey would resign at the end of the season hit the press and is confirmed by athletic director Dave Schulz. The Falcons were 1-5 at the time, having lost 25 of the team’s previous 27 games.

Yet, the Falcons rallied by winning all four of their remaining games to finish 5-5, giving McCloskey a memorable send-off.

Last week Schulz said interviews would being toward the second half of January. No word on who might be the candidates.

November 28: New Milford & Bridgeport Central

This was the first of a few interesting days, regionally.

Two coaches resigned because they felt “It’s time.”

First, Chuck Lynch resigned at New Milford after 10 seasons, saying he was “ready for a new chapter in my life.”

Then came the first first true shock of the 2012-13 offseason, a move that signaled that we were entering new territory: Central coach Dave Cadelina resigned after 16 years.

Cadelina, who took the once-downtrodden program to a pair of FCIAC championship games and two state playoffs during his tenure, said he simply believed he needed to take a break.

“I feel it’s time,” he said. “Throw Excalibur back into the lake, if you will, and let somebody new come on in.”

The Bridgeport board of education had yet to post the position as of last week. Citywide athletic director Neil Kavey said he hoped to get that squared away soon and begin vetting candidates.

As for New Milford, athletic director Lance Pliego said Monday his school has whittled a list of “about 10 worthy candidates,” down to three. But he said he couldn’t offer the job until New Milford’s school budget is hammered out. That could come before the end of January, Pliego said.

Former Masuk coach John Murphy is supposedly one of the school’s prime targets.

December 2: Avon

Avon’s Brett Quinion resigned unexpectedly on December 2, simply saying, “It’s time.”

Quinion had spent 10 years with the program.

Two of his last four years yielded a pair of 10-0 records and a pair state playoff appearances.

December 5: Bacon Academy (added)

Just a month after naming him interim coach when Duane Miranda resigned to take the head coach job at New London, Bacon Academy officially hired Brian Enrique on August 4.

But shortly after the 2012 season ended  a few weeks after the end of the season, the school decided it would re-open the job and asked Enrique to apply again.

Superintendent on Jeff Mathieu told the Norwich Bulletin every coach in the district had to reapply. The difference in this case is that they were advertising the job. “The reason why they are re-opening it is because they hadn’t had a chance to advertise last time and they want to see what the available talent pool is,” he said.

Enrique told The Bulletin he hoped to reclaim the job. “I can only say right now that I absolutely want to coach that group of young men in the offseason and on the football field next fall,” he said.

December 7: Maloney

Bob Zito, who had spent nine seasons as head coach and took the Spartans to the state playoffs in 2007, wasn’t rehired by the Meriden board of education. Zito, who went 46-46-1 overall during his stint there wasn’t exactly pleased with the board’s decision.

“I’m just disappointed with the way the whole thing played out,” Zito told the Record-Journal. “I was there for the kids and I thought I did everything I could for the kids.”

Zito won two state championships while coaching Joe Lato and Steve George at Newtown in the early 1990s and also helped kick-start John Murphy‘s coaching career. Moved on to Stratford (for one season) and Weston before taking over at Maloney in 2004.

December 11: Trinity Catholic & Masuk

Within minutes of each other, two more regional coaches called it quits.

Peter Stokes resigned at Trinity Catholic after guiding the team to its first state playoff berth in 19 years. His vacancy was quickly filled by assistant Don Panapada on January 14.

Minutes after Stokes confirmed he was leaving Trinity, the region was hit with an much larger bombshell (Sorry, Pete):

John Murphy quit at Masuk after 15 seasons, 159 victories and three state championships. “This is what’s best for me and my family,” he said. “I feel like I’ve accomplished everything I can do here.”

Murphy hinted his reasoning as a dissatisfaction with his school’s support of the football program.

The school has yet to conduct interviews, though interested parties include Ridgefield defensive coordinator David Brennen, a Masuk teacher, former Ludlowe coach Mike Forget (now an assistant at Darien), Monroe Lions coach Steve Christy and (maybe) Weston coach Joe Lato.

December 17: Fitch & Rockville

Fitch coach Mike Emery‘s second stint at the school he built into a powerhouse in the late 1990s ended at the team’s postseason banquet.

Emery said his resignation had to do with his duties as an assistant principal.

Up in Vernon, coach and Rockville alumnus Rob Scholtz resigned after just one year.

We actually have no idea exactly when this happened or how or why because Vernon apparently exists in some anti-Internet shield which is impenetrable to anything except short Vernon Patch articles that seem to have stopped covering the team in November.

Go ahead and Google it.

(Aside: What, exactly, do you people read for football news in the CCC?)

Whatever. It’s significantly of our domain and far beyond of the Oort Cloud of our interest. (Google *that!*)

This we do know: The job opened December 17 and closed January 2. Anybody apply?

December 18: Stamford

We were again hit regionally when Bryan Hocter resigned as head coach at Stamford after three seasons. Hocter’s decision came just 30 minutes before a scheduled meeting with athletic director Jim Moriarty.

There had been rumors that Hocter would have been fired at the meeting. Though Moriarty did little to dispel that notion when asked by our own Dave Ruden (“He had 11 years on the staff and three years as head coach and because of inconsistencies in the program he decided to resign,” Moriarty said.), Hocter said he had made his decision to leave a few weeks earlier.

“I didn’t think I was going to get fired,” he said. “They brought up some concerns they had. Halfway through the season I thought it was time to explore other options.”

While Hocter says he hopes to hook on somewhere else, a source has said Darien defensive coordinator Idris Price is applying for the job. We’re not sure when interviews will commence yet.

December 21: East Lyme (added)

We missed this one earlier: Just before Christmas, East Lyme’s Paul Tenaglia resigned because the school wanted to hire a coach within the school system, partially to help boost dwindling numbers. He was offered to stay on as an assistant but decided to leave.

The school reportedly had their sights set on Old Saybrook/Westbrook coach Rudy Bagos, a physical education teacher at East Lyme. Sure enough, East Lyme bagged him on January 10.

January 4: Torrington & Branford

Saying he was burdened by the 45-minute commute and expecting a second child, Dan Dunaj unexpectedly resigned after five relatively successful seasons. He will remain a physical education teacher.

“After 17 years of coaching, taking a break would probably be OK,” he told the Republican-American. “I don’t think I am done altogether, but right now everything is put on hold.”

Also revealed by the Republican-American was a hazing incident involving Torrington’s football players that apparently took place in September. Not much is known of it or how much it could have contributed to Dunaj’s resignation, if at all.

Later that day it was revealed that Mike Tracy had stepped down at Branford after four seasons.

Tracy’s reason, according to the New Haven Register, was to spend more time with his kids.

But we weren’t done quite yet…

January 5: Ellington/Somers (added)

At the team banquet, Ellington/Somers’ successful coach Keith Tautkus resigned after 13 seasons.

Tautkus took the co-op program to its second-consecutive state playoff berth last season, where it was defeated by Weston 29-22 in the Class M quarterfinals.

He leaves with a career record of 84-41.

January 10: Old Saybrook/Westbrook (added)

When Rudy Bagos decided to take the job at East Lyme, Old Saybrook/Westbrook suddenly found itself without a coach.

Old Saybrook/Westbrook was 10-10 under Bagos in two seasons.

January 14: Abbott Tech

Chris Mascolo, who started the Tech school program in 2008, called it quits on Tuesday after five years. Mascolo wanted to focus on continuing his education.

“Abbott Tech gave me an opportunity to be a head coach when nobody else would,” Mascolo said. “…I loved the challenge of coaching at a technical school. For a lot of the kids, it was their first year playing, so it was a challenge for us to get them to love football.”

He certainly did that. After an expected 0-9 start when program’s began its first varsity season in 2010, Mascolo’s team went 6-4 last year.

Athletic director Jon Nadeau said the job is posted and a search will begin immediately.

And, finally…

January 17: Bunnell & Woodstock Academy

Shortly after the New Year, two-time state championship Craig Bruno‘s name came up often with sources while we were attempting to pin down candidates for the Naugatuck coaching job.

Naugatuck’s search, which began in December, quickly narrowed to four candidates: the current interim coach Shawn Kuczenski, Post University offensive coordinator Steve Croce, Woodland offensive coordinator Tim Phipps and  Bruno.

Initial reports said this week Phipps’ appointment was a mere formality. But a day after the announcement was put on hold due to a snow storm, Bruno usurped Phipps and got the job.

Bruno’s move north surprised some. Why leave a good thing at Bunnell, where Bruno had won two state championships and coached at least two NFL caliber players?

“I felt that I’ve accomplished all my goals in a place that I built,” said Bruno, who said living “10 minutes” away in Oxford factored into his decision. “I’m leaving this situation on good terms. I have a lot of great feelings and memories there, but I felt at this point in my life I had to make a change.”

The Bruno news usurped news from way upstate when Woodstock Academy coach Jesse Pimental resigned after one season.

Pimental intended to continue with his second season, but recently he decided coaching put too much strain on his family. “…That was more than I was willing to sacrifice,” he told the Norwich Bulletin.

Woodstock Academy, a Class L school, went 0-10 last year and is 6-34 over the last four seasons while shuffling through three different coaches and petitioning the ECC to play in its small division.

Update: Lewis Mills

Lewis Mills’ school district posted a vacancy for head coach, though it was uncertain when and why.

Present Day

So that’s 17 19 20 23 24 jobs open overall and four filled by mid-January: one by hiring the interim coach, another by promoting in-house, and two by pilfering another school’s coach.

So that’s 19 20 jobs technically open.

Round and round this Merry-Go-Round we go.

When will it stop? No one knows.

Semifinal Sunday: NFA wrecks Staples’ mojo, Fairfield County silenced

Sunday, December 2, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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CLASS LL – NFA 30, STAPLES 28 | XAVIER 30, GLASTONBURY 13
CLASS L — HAND 42, MASUK 23 | WINDSOR 27, NEW CANAAN 21
CLASS M – BERLIN 21, WESTON 7 | HILLHOUSE 48, MONTVILLE 26
CLASS S – ANSONIA 41, HYDE 13 | NORTH BRANFORD 62, WOODLAND 27

Jared Levi and the Wreckers walk solemnly off the Ken Strong Stadium field following their stunning 30-28 loss to NFA in the Class LL semifinals

With big smiles, massive hugs, and emitting a cacophony of whoops and hollers that echoed across the state, the entire football team gathered in the southern end zone of Ken Strong Stadium for a photo. It could have been West Haven in August, gathering for its annual team photo.

But this was December. These were the state playoffs. And the photographers weren’t contracted shutterbugs from the local studio, they were equally happy and proud parents and inquisitive newspaper reporters. This wasn’t West Haven.

This was Norwich Free Academy.

Jubilant. Victorious. Posing below the scoreboard, emblazoned on it, their birthday gift to coach Jemal Davis.

NFA 30, Staples 28.

By all accounts, it was a stunning result.

This was supposed to be one of, if not the best Staples teams in the Marce Petroccio era. It was supposed to be invincible. It was going to take care of these upstarts from way out east and get a championship rematch with mighty Xavier.

Instead, junior back Marcus Outlow, quarterback Matt Paparelli and a massive and determined NFA front held the FCIAC’s best team in check, took command in the second half while Staples wilted with several critical second-half errors.

There was an errant punt that resulted in a safety (and gave NFA the lead for good), an option pitch at the goal line that was batted away and recovered by NFA with 7 minutes remaining and then, just when it looked as if the Wreckers would make a valiant comeback, the punt that fatefully bounced upfield and off a Staples player and recovered by NFA.

Staples’ offense, which didn’t score less than 42 points throughout the entire season yet uncharacteristically committed three turnovers and had just over 100 yards in the second half, never saw the ball again.

Their dreams were crushed.

“It’s awful,” stunned coach Marce Petroccio said. I’m going to try and pick up some of the greatest seniors we’ve ever had at Staples High School. But today was not our day.

“We just found a way to lose.”

NFA’s dreams lives on.

In retrospect, everything we heard about NFA ever since it hammered Stamford 51-0 back in October, and everything we saw from the Newtown game turned out to be spot-on. They were big, they were talented, they were determined.

“We know we can play with anybody,” Davis said.

NFA's Marcus Outlow falls through the Staples defense in a 30-28 upset victory over the Wreckers in the Class LL semifinals (Photo: Mike Ross)

And, my oh my, junior Marcus Outlow is legit.

Outlow has been a key player for NFA since getting significant time on the 2010 semifinal team that lost to Trumbull. This is confirmed: He has “full-ride” offers from Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State… you name it, since impressing a ton of scouts at an NUC combine over the summer. At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, “he definitely passes the eye test,” said MSG Varsity’s Mike Quick.

But it was quarterback Joey Paparelli, who carried the Wildcats in the second half. He scrambled for first downs. He found receivers, particularly Khaleed Exum-Strong, for third-down conversions. Staples’ strong defense eventually found a way to contain him, giving the offense a chance to rally. But that wasn’t until the Wildcats

had 9-point lead. His long run set up the eventual clinching touchdown late in the third quarter.

“To knock off the No. 1 team, we knew we had it in us,” Paparelli said. “We just went out and got the job done.”

Staples was just as good as NFA, but on this afternoon, in the state playoffs, it had to be perfect. It wasn’t.

Junior Airec Ricks made the biggest play of the game when he batted away an option pitch from Jack Massie at the goal line and recovered by NFA. Later, with Staples in full rally mode, he recovered the punt that bounded up the turf and hit Staples captain Kevin Kearney in the leg.

“You can’t win in a game like this playing the way we played,” stunned Staples coach Marce Petroccio said. “I’m just upset that we waited until today to play the way we did.”

So there will be no rematch. NFA ran out the clock to set up a date with No. 3-seeded Xavier at Rentschler Field. Staples, which has seen more than its share of crushing, state playoff losses of the last six years, goes home empty handed.

“Like I said earlier in the week, we were underestimated because we play in the Eastern Connecticut Conference,” Outlow said. “But people look at it and say, oh your conference is weak, blah, blah, blah. But we just come out here and we try to pursue what our coaches meant for us to do, we came out and we executed as well as we can, and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Their talent and their efforts are now preserved forever, in record books and — more importantly for these players — in photographs. A moment frozen in time.

Fairfield County: Denied.

Michael DiCosmo picks up a fumble that he raced 76 yards for a touchdown with less than a minute remaining vs. Windsor. It turned out to be New Canaan's last gasp in a 27-21 loss.

Super Sunday was not a good day for Fairfield County football teams.

First Staples went down in a gutwrenching finale. Then New Canaan lost its first state semifinal game since 2005.

Those losses erased the last FCIAC teams from state championship contention — something that’s never happened in the 36-year history of the CIAC playoffs.

Weston and Masuk lost.

No one from Shangri La will be playing for a state title.

Just like Staples, New Canaan came oh, so close.

For the second straight season, New Canaan found itself down big. But visions of a season ago began dancing in the Rams’ heads in the fourth quarter. Cole Turpin’s long catch set up a Louis Hagopian touchdown run to cut a 27-7 defcit to 28-14.

Trying to run out the clock, Robert Quinn Fleeting fumbled and Michael DiCosmo returned it 79 yards with just under a minute remaining.

Not again? Nope. Not again. Windsor corralled the onside kick and hung on to win 27-21, ending New Canaan’s string of state championship games at six.

“It just goes to show the game’s never over,” Windsor coach Fleeting said. “The difference from last year is we didn’t panic. The kids have grown up.”

“They’re just a gutsy group of kids,” New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said. “They never gave up. We didn’t play well. We lost to a better team. They’re a team that deserves to go play in a state championship. We did not play well enough.”

Weston's Zach Cannon attempts to bat the ball away from Berlin's Tyler Bouchard in the Class M semifinals at Bunnell.

Tyler Hassett and Weston played valiantly, but fell to No. 2-seeded Berlin, 21-7.

Down 14-0 after a half, Hassett pulled the Trojans within a touchdown. Later, with the score 21-7, just as the Redcoats appeared they would put it away, Erik Dammen-Brower picked off a pass and was headed for the end zone.

But he was chased down, fumbled the ball back and the Trojans were eventually eliminated. Berlin advances to face No. 4-seeded Hillhouse, a 48-26 winner over Montville, in the state championship. This is Hillhouse’s sixth state championship game in school history.

Little Weston, meanwhile, finishes 9-3, including a state playoff victory. This was their best season in 23 years.

“Our kids fought hard,” Lato said. “I’m proud of their effort.”

“This isn’t the finish line. We want to get here every year. It’s always toughest the first time you do something and now we’ve done this and got this far. The underclassmen gained experience and got to see what it’s like to play in playoff games. I’m really proud of what this team has done for Weston football.”

As for Masuk, they were never in it vs. top-seeded and top-ranked Hand.

Hand took its time getting onto the field, but took very little time dismantling Masuk 42-23.

And this wasn’t even that close. In a heavy fog, Caleb Ewald took a flat pass from Brendan Bilcheck and raced 74 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first play. “They throw a screen, the kid that was supposed to cover it never saw the ball in the air,” Masuk coach John Murphy said. “But they took it to us on both sides of the ball in the first half.”

Hand rolled to a 35-0 halftime lead, piling up over 400 yards of offense to reach its second straight state championship game.

This was Hand coach Steve Filippone’s 200th career victory. “I didn’t win a game,” Filippone said. “I’ve never won a game. … I really take no great satisfaction in it. I take satisfaction in that this team has won 26 games in a row.”

Only some heroics by outstanding senior back Thomas Milone, who returned a free kick for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and also had an interception, kept the score from looking too lopsided.

But his career, which included a state championship in 2010, now shifts to baseball season and Hand will face Windsor in the state final.

“I’m proud of my kids,” Murphy said. “After what we lost last year, nobody said they could get back here. I’m proud of them.”

Newsome, Chargers roll into final

Ansonia was our only regional team to reach a state championship game.

As expected, there was no doubts about this one.

Newsome ran for 215 yards and four touchdowns and, in the process broke former Ansonia standout back Alex Thomas’ career state record of 115, as the Chargers reached their third-straight championship game and 27th overall with a 41-13 victory over Hyde. |  [CPTV VIDEO]

The Chargers, who have won a state-best 27 consecutive games (Hand has won 26 straight), will play North Branford in the Class S championship.

The T-Birds hammered Woodland 62-27 to reach their first state final since 2001.

S-C-C! S-C-C! S-C-C!

Guess which conference will be playing for three state championships this weekend?

Look no further than Al Carbone’s official Southern Connecticut Conference Twitter account. The Commish’s nimble fingers quickly let everyone know that his league is dominating the proceedings thus far.

Xavier (11-1) will play for its third consecutive Class LL title. Hand (12-0) will play for its second consecutive Class L title. And now, joining the fray, is Hillhouse (10-2), which will be playing for its second Class M title in three years.

After spending the last two championship weekends on the sidelines, the CCC has two representatives. Windsor (11-0) plays Hand in Class L; Berlin (11-1) plays Hillhouse.

The ECC went 1-1 in the semifinals, sending NFA (12-0) to take on Xavier in the Class LL final.

The NVL-Pequot challenge ended 1-1 for each league. Ansonia (13-0), the NVL’s final representative, takes on North Branford (12-0), the Pequot’s last representative.

Overall, the NVL is 3-2 in the state playoffs. The Pequot is 3-3.

And of course, the FCIAC (0-2, 2-5 overall) and the SWC (2-3) will send no state championship representatives.

WATCH the full highlight reel from WFSB’s Friday Night Football crew

That’s a Wrap! Thanksgiving 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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A look as who did what on Thanksgiving Week 2012. Compiled by executive sports editor Gary Rogo and the Hearst CT sports staff.

BULLDOZERS

Joey Zelkowitz, Staples: Ran for FCIAC-title game record 317 yards on 20 carries and scored three TDs, as Wreckers won the league championship for second straight year.

John Shannon, Bullard-Havens: Helped the Tigers finish off an 8-2 regular season with 274 yards and five TDs on 23 carries in a 49-24 defeat of Bassick.

Cooper Gold, Newtown: Torched two-time defending league champion Masuk for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns to propel the Nighthawks to a 21-14 victory in the SWC championship game.

Andrew Louis, Central: Gained 100 yards and scored three TDs on 11 carries as Hilltoppers hung on to beat Harding 30-22.

Arkeel Newsome, Ansonia: Ran for four TDs and caught a 9-yard pass from Jai’Quan McKnight for a fifth score in 48-27 victory over Naugatuck.

Collin Cioffi, New Fairfield: Stepping in for an absent Joe Pacheco, junior finished with 205 yards from scrimmage and a TD in 31-13 pasting of New Milford.

Sam Gravitte, Ridgefield: Ran for 158 yards and three TDs in 42-6 rout of Danbury.

Shaquan Howsie and Shawn Brown, Trinity Catholic: Howsie ran for 155 yards and a pair of scores while Brown added 131 rushing yards with three TDs, including one on a 76-yard pass from Danny O’Leary, as the Crusaders clinched a Class S playoff berth with a 42-32 defeat of Wilton.

Davell Cotterell, Westhill: Workhorse carried 32 times for 195 yards and one TD as the Vikings subdued city rival Stamford 20-6.

Kyle Jordan, McMahon: Broke free after slow start for 130 yards and TD runs of 20 and 61 yards.

GAMEBREAKERS

Connor Cadrin, Foran: Scored five TDs, two on passes from Jake Kasuba, two on runs and one on a 66-yard kickoff return in a 56-29 defeat of Law. For good measure, he intercepted a pair of passes and forced a fumble.

Joe Piatnik, Bethel: Quarterback ran for 249 yards and three TDs on 25 carries and threw scoring passes of 39, 68 and 25 yards in a 48-28 defeat of Brookfield.

Nick Lombardo, Darien: Caught TD passes of 35, 30 and 30 yards from Henry Baldwin as the Blue Wave beat New Canaan for the first time since 2001.

Terrence N’dabian, Bunnell: Insertion of senior as starting QB turned the pass-happy Bulldogs into an option team. Responded with 224 rushing yards and two TDs on 30 carries. He also threw a TD pass and returned an interception 70 yards for a score.

Justin Schaffer, Weston: Ran for a touchdown and caught the winning TD pass in Weston’s state-tournament clinching victory over Barlow.

GUNSLINGERS

Jordan Vazzano, St. Joseph: Sophomore threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns as the Cadets clinched a state playoff berth with a 55-20 victory over Trumbull.

Jake Kasuba, Foran: Sophomore finished with 257 yards passes and four TD tosses, two each to Connor Cadrin and Nick Weissauer.

Tanner Kingsley, Woodland: Set a state record with 615 passing yards while throwing for eight TDs in a 62-26 rout of Seymour.

Tyler Hassett, Weston: Threw for 126 yards and two TDs in 21-14 victory over Barlow, earning the Trojans their first state playoff berth in 23 years.

Jai’Quan McKnight, Ansonia: Soph had TD runs of 65 and 59 yards in win over Naugatuck and added a TD pass to Arkeel Newsome.

Mark Piccirillo, Shelton: Soph threw a 38-yard TD pass to Kyle Drost, capping a four-play, 72-yard game-winning drive in 27-21 victory over Derby. Finished with 126 yards on 8-of-16 passing and 111 yards rushing and two TDs on 14 carries.

Brennen Diaz, Oxford: Completed 10-of-16 passes for 197 yards and two TDs — both to Chris Vankamerik — in 42-22 beating of Pomperaug. Capped effort with a late interception.`

BRICK WALLS

Kyle Dammeyer, Jimmy Gasper and Benjamin Brzoski, Fairfield Ludlowe: Dammeyer recovered fumble and had 1 1/2 sacks in 31-13 victory over Fairfield Warde as the Falcons won their last four games to finish 5-5. Gasper blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Brzoski scooped up a Warde fumble and went 92 yards for a TD.

William Kelly, Notre Dame-Fairfield: Blocked a punt and returned it five yards for a score in Lancers’ 26-22 victory over Immaculate.

Justin DeVellis, Newtown: Picked off a pass to seal Newtown’s SWC Championship victory over Masuk.

Jack Hamilton, Weston: Made several late stops, including a batted down pass on 4th down to preserve Weston’s state playoff clinching victory over Barlow.

VALIANT IN DEFEAT

Marc Cesare, Trumbull: 137 yards rushing and two TDs in loss to St. Joseph

D.J. Smith, Harding: Went 74 yards for a TD on the Presidents’ first play and finished with 197 yards on 13 carries, scoring a second time on a 51-yard run in the third quarter.

Thomas Milone, Masuk: 165 yards of total offense and two TDs and an interception in a 21-14 loss to Newtown in the SWC championship game.

Alex McMurray, Greenwich: Scored three TDs on runs of 6, 1 and 4 yards in 48-30 loss to Staples in the FCIAC championship game.

‘About Last Night…’ Week 10 Friday: Down goes Pacheco, in goes New Canaan

Saturday, November 17, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

New Canaan QB Nick Cascione drives the ball to the end zone for a touchdown, during boys football action against Trumbull in Trumbull, Conn. on Friday November 16, 2012. Photo: Christian Abraham

We don’t root for teams here at Hearst Football HQ. We root for stories.

And late in this nutty 2012 high school football season, we were really pulling for New Fairfield to reach the state playoffs.

Why? Because the Rebels’ sterling back Joe Pacheco is a great story.

We won’t get into the specifics, we’ll save it for later. Let’s just say we love to see young men rise above their challenges. Pacheco is one of those players.

Alas, the road to redemption remains fraught with disappointments and Pacheco, who came out of nowhere to establish himself as one of the state’s best tailbacks, and New Fairfield won’t be making postseason plans this year.

This time it was Pomperaug which came out of nowhere.

The Panthers, who have struggled all season, rode a pair of touchdown runs by Dylan McAllister to take down New Fairfield with a thorough 18-6 victory at Arum Field in Southbury.

New Fairfield was felled, not just by McAllister, but by its own doing: five turnovers in all.

“I’m sure when we look at the film it’s going to make us sick, but we have to bounce back,” New Fairfield coach Anthony Fata said. “The kids have played too darn tough all year to let this one bother them but it’s going to, because we knew what we had riding on this game.”

So while we bid farewell to Pacheco (we hardly knew ye), we give a hardy ‘Welcome Back’ to Pomperaug. Despite all of its trials, including a nightmarish start vs. SWC championship participants, Masuk and Newtown, Pomperaug is one victory over Oxford away from finishing the season 5-5.

“It feels great. And we want to keep the momentum going into next week and hopefully take it to Oxford as well,” McAllister said.

One story ends, now will another begin?

Crazy eight for New Canaan

Here’s a story that never seems to end: New Canaan’s run of state playoff excellence.

We used to marvel at the Rams’ run of four-straight state championships. Then we stood agape at their six-consecutive appearances as a finalist, even in the new and improved, four-class state playoff format.

Will we stand in awe again?It’s a distinct possibility.

In a game and a place that typically gives them trouble, New Canaan hammered Trumbull 49-7 to clinch a spot the state playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.

In the upper CIAC divisions, that’s rare.

It looked like New Canaan of playoffs past against Trumbull. With quarterback Nick Cascone leading the way, New Canaan amassed 565 total yards, 333 on the ground, and 28 first downs. The defense held Trumbull to just over a C-note.

“I never expected this,” coach Lou Marinelli said.

“We heard that Trumbull said they looking forward to playing us up here. They were happy we were coming. I guess they’re happy we’re leaving now.”

Now they’re Class L’s problem.

The way things are shaking out in that division, the Rams probably won’t have enough to get a home playoff game. They will likely get a No. 5 seed with a victory over Darien. A Masuk win over Newtown would reward New Canaan with a trip to Avon or (slightly less likely) Masuk.

Only if Middletown beats Xavier would the Rams really fall to No. 6. Either way, Hand would likely loom in the semifinals. A loss to Darien would likely send them to see Windsor, their buddies from last year’s wild semifinal won by New Canaan on a field goal.

Wrapping the Region

We’ve just about wrapped up Week 10. Just two games on the docket today. Stratford hosts New Milford at BRAND NEW PENDERS FIELD. And Oxford plays Bunnell.

McMahon whupped up on Stamford thanks to a 281-yard, 4 touchdown rushing day. McMahon is 5-4 heading into Thanksgiving, looking for a winning season. …Darien beat Bassick to keep its slim, slim playoff hopes alive. …Much was made of Wilton being down to 27 players, but the Warriors still defeated Warde 14-0.

Here’s the full schedule for the final day of Week 10.

Then it’s Turkey time.

The Redcoats are coming, and other playoff musings

Berlin (8-1) earned the second spot in Class M when a few bonus games broke its way Friday night, leaving six more spots that will be decided on Thanksgiving Week.

CLASS LL boils down to this: Glastonbury’s a lock to join the field if Hartford Public loses to Windsor, or if it just wins. That leaves one spot, which West Haven will corral by beating Fairfield Prep on Thanksgiving.

The only way Ridgefield can swipe the spot is if Fairfield Prep beats West Haven. That would put the Tigers in direct competition with Fairfield Prep.

Conservatively, Ridgefield will get to at least 1,000 points, meaning Prep will need most of its four bonus games. They’ll be rooting for Cheshire, Hamden, Shelton and Wilbur Cross.

If everything goes according to conservative estimates, you’re looking at a possible field of: 8. West Haven at No. 1 Staples; No. 7 Newtown at Southington; No. 6 Glastonbury at No. 3 Xavier; No. 5 Greenwich at No. 4 NFA.

As discussed, CLASS L is set except for the final spot. Platt can clinch that by beating Maloney on Thanksgiving. If there’s an upset in Meriden, Farmington’s in line to grab it. Darien and North Haven are longshots.

Conservatively, that field will look like this: No. 8 Platt at No. 1 Hand; No. 7 Middletown at No. 2 Windsor; No. 6 Fitch at No. 3 Masuk; No. 5 New Canaan at No. 4 Avon.

CLASS M (as always) stands for ‘Mess.’ But not as much this year if the top teams keep winning.

Berlin and Wolcott are in. Ellington/Somers (two games remaining), Barlow, Hillhouse, St. Joseph and New London are all in with victories. Ellington should fulfill that destiny. So should Hillhouse (unless Wilbur Cross shows up, as it usually does, in the Elm City Bowl). So should St. Joseph, but, again despite Trumbull’s struggles, that game isn’t a gimme.

New London plays unbeaten NFA, so that’s uncertain at this point. Barlow faces Weston in a virtual win-or-go-home clash, and the odds increased in Weston’s favor with shifty Barlow QB Jack Shaban out due to a shoulder injury.

Waiting in line is Montville, Bullard-Havens, Weston, Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton and Ledyard. All of these teams will be in a good place with victories and losses by those further up the leaderboard.

We won’t even begin to make predictions for this class, it’s too close to call.

And, finally, CLASS S, as we’ve outline hinges on a couple of key games.

First, Ansonia is in and will get the top seed by beating Naugatuck. Capital Prep/Classical will get a home game by beating Prince Tech. Hyde must beat 1-7 Nonnewaug Saturday to get in. Thanksgiving rival North Branford must beat winless Lewis Mills (done and done). Their Thanksgiving game is for a home playoff game somewhere else.

Rocky Hill is in with a victory over Northwest Catholic. It’ll probably still get in with a loss. Prince Tech has enough points that it could lose and still qualify.

Trinity Catholic will get in with a victory over Wilton.

That would leave one spot open for Woodland to clinch with a victory over Seymour. A Northwest Catholic victory over Rocky Hill would complicate things.

The Hawks would be in a footrace for bonus points with both schools for the last possible spot.

Stonington will need to win and get help, like NWC and/or Woodland and/or Trinity Catholic to lose.

The rest of the teams, Derby, Oxford, Holy Cross and Canton are begging for all of those teams to lose.

Again, not going to predict an order. The race is too close to call.

Onward…

‘About Last Night’ Week 10 Thursday: Deja Vu all over again

Friday, November 16, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

Greenwich players celebrate a recovered fumble in their 54-8 FCIAC and state playoff-clinching victory over Danbury Thursday. The Cards will face Staples for the FCIAC championship on Thanksgiving.

Through rain, snow, gale-force winds, hurricanes/superstorms, Nor’easters, you name it we’ve been through it this high school football season. We’ve also seen the attack of the creatures from the pits, those typically downtrodden clubs who suddenly rose from the wreckage of it all to produce some memorable moments this year.

Barlow, Trinity Catholic, Weston, Westhill, Derby, Oxford, New Fairfield…

But in the end, the more things changed around here, they all wound up the same.

It’s Greenwich vs. Staples in the FCIAC championship.

Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome drags Woodland defenders on his way to 222 rushing yards and four TDs in the NVL Championship game Thursday night. Newsome won his second title game MVP award.

It’s Masuk vs. Newtown for the SWC title.

Ansonia won the NVL championship behind some guy named Arkeel Newsome.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Anybody remember how we fretted about how our poor local leagues would somehow fit in enough games on the off-chance Trinity Catholic or Barlow earned the right to play for league titles.

How naive we all were.

Not only are the same teams lining up for league championships, they’ve all clinched playoff berths as well.

Greenwich flirted with ‘Score Management’ while hammering Danbury, 53-8.

Staples overwhelmed Westhill 49-7.

Like Newtown and Masuk before them, Greenwich and Staples have both clinched playoff berths. The FCIAC and SWC title games are for seeding purposes only.

[Here's the latest from Matt Fischer's H.A.L. Supercomputer playoff calculations] In addition to Greenwich and Staples in Class LL, Fitch (8-1) clinched a Class L playoff berth, leaving two spots in both playoff classes. See ‘The Clinch’ graphic, below.

Meanwhile, our small-school underdogs and heroes are fading fast.

St. Joseph's defense swarms over Trinity Catholic's Randy Polonia in their 49-14 victory Thursday night. St. Joseph kept its Class M playoff dreams alive in Class M, while Trinity Catholic must beat Wilton on Thanksgiving to grab a berth in Class S.

Trinity Catholic has now lost two straight since beginning the season 7-0. The Crusaders were hammered by determined St. Joseph, 49-14, and now must (m-u-s-t) beat Wilton to reach the state playoffs for the first time since the 1993 championship season.

St. Joseph, meanwhile, stayed in the Class M playoff race with this eye-opening effort (600 yard of offense!). The Hogs must beat Trumbull to qualify in a Class M field that would be pretty upset to see them there. (Unless I’m Hillhouse, I wouldn’t want to play the Hogs).

Weston was no match for determined Masuk, losing 49-0 and dropping below the fold of Class M.

Barlow, the Trojans’ Thanksgiving Day rival, fared better Thursday night. Alex Lockwood ran for 175 yards and a pair of scores as Barlow knocked off Brookfield 29-22 to keep its dreams of a first state playoff berth alive.

But the Falcons (8-1) remain in a precarious spot, especially now that we understand sterling junior quarterback Jack Shaban is lost for the remainder of the season thanks to a shoulder injury suffered in last week’s loss to Masuk.

Both teams must win on Thanksgiving Day or their playoff goose is cooked.

Two teams enter. One team leaves.

Forget Greenwich-Staples. Masuk-Newtown.

Barl0w-Weston IS the biggest Thanksgiving Day game in Shangri-La.

(Does this game have a name? Somebody come up with one quick.)

Beyond the region, Platt Tech couldn’t do a favor for teams like Woodland, Derby, Oxford, even Trinity or themselves. They had a 14-12 lead, but lost to Prince Tech, further tightening the Class S playoff race.

Fairfield Prep set up a big Thanksgiving Day showdown with West Haven by beating up on Branford. The Jesuits snapped a 2-game skid. …Ludlowe (Ludlowe!) won its third straight game by nipping Norwalk 21-20. The Falcons haven’t lost since coach Matt McCloskey announced he’d be resigning at the end of the season. Master Motivator. …McCloskey’s old haunt, Jonathan Law, buried Plainville 60-27.

Read all about those games in the regional roundup.

Oh, by the way New Fairfield fans! Your Rebels, who play Pomperaug tonight and finishe with New Milford, remains very much alive and kicking in Class M. Could we possibly see Joe Pacheco in the playoffs? Two wins, and enough help from above (the standings, and the clouds) could make that a reality.

Finally, we leave you with the NVL Championship. Arkeel Newsome is back, baby, and the Chargers warmed up for their Thanksgiving Day clash with Naugatuck with a 56-26 victory over Woodland. Newsome, who’s been injured for a majority of the year, looked like his old self, chugging 222 yards and scoring four times to win the MVP award and Ansonia the title for the second straight season.

With Newsome back and the rest of the gang making their usual plays, Ansonia is just chugging along as normal.

It is the first and only team to reach 10-0 (this doesn’t count in the playoff standings, though, kids). They’ll host a state quarterfinal game. They’re the favorites to win it all in Class S.

Life’s pretty good in Ansonia, eh?

Onward…

The Clinch Is In: Masuk, Southington, Wolcott (now Xavier) among new playoff qualifiers [Updated]

Monday, November 12, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

UPDATE (Tuesday): Xavier has clinched a spot with its 42-7 victory over West Haven on Monday night.

UPDATE: Apparently we jumped the gun and HAL wasn’t ready for a roll-out until after O’Brien Tech and Wolcott Tech officially ended Week 9. We’ve been properly scolded by CIAC. The link’s information may or may not be completely accurate (It looks good to us, however).

Seven teams unofficially joined the 2012 CIAC state playoff field after Week 9, according to the “H.A.L. Supercomputer” at the CIAC, named here for the late Shoreline Newspapers sports editor, Hal Levy, who meticulously labored over these statistics for hours back before there were such things as ‘COM-PUT-ORS” and “INTER-NETS.”

We’re pretty sure ol’ Hal used a slide rule back in the old days. Cheers to his memory.

Anyway, as first reported by “H.A.L. Jr.,” a.k.a. Kyle Brennan of the Rep-Am, 11 of 32 spots have been decided, half of which reside in Class L. (Get your tickets now, Class L footballers. The train is a-leavin’.)

Here, again, are the hard statistics from H.A.L.

Anyway, barring any unforeseen mistakes, here’s the quick breakdown, just by glancing at each of the teams’ maximum and minimum point averages.

Every team mentioned is mathematically alive. Anyone not mentioned has been eliminated.

CLASS LL (3-of-8)

  • CLINCH: Southington (9-0); Norwich Free Academy (9-0), Xavier (8-1).
  • DESTINY’S DARLINGS (Win & In): Greenwich (7-0), Staples (7-0), Newtown (8-0), Glastonbury (8-1).
  • ON THE BUBBLE (Win & help):West Haven (7-2), Hartford Public (6-2), Ridgefield (6-2), Cheshire (6-3), Fairfield Prep (6-3), Westhill (6-3).
  • LONGSHOTS (Statistically alive): Manchester (6-3), Naugatuck (6-3), Simsbury (6-3)… Trumbull (4-4).

Class L (5-of-8)

  • CLINCH: Hand (8-0), Windsor (9-0), Avon (9-0), Masuk (8-0), Middletown (8-1).
  • DESTINY’S DARLINGS: Fitch (7-1), New Canaan (7-1), Platt (7-2).
  • ON THE BUBBLE: Farmington (7-2), North Haven (5-3), Darien (5-3).
  • LONGSHOTS: Wethersfield (6-3), Platt Tech (5-3).

CLASS M (1-of-8)

  • CLINCH: Wolcott (8-1).
  • DESTINY’S DARLINGS: Berlin  (8-1), Ellington/Somers (7-1), Weston (7-1), Barlow (7-1).
  • ON THE BUBBLE: New London (7-2), Hillhouse (7-2), St. Joseph (6-2), Bullard-Havens (7-2), Montville (7-2), Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton (6-2), Ledyard (6-3), New Fairfield (5-3), Brookfield (5-3),
  • LONGSHOTS: Gilbert/Northwestern (5-3), Windham (5-3), Foran (5-3).

CLASS S (2-of-8)

  • CLINCH: Ansonia (9-0), Capital Prep (9-0).
  • DESTINY’S DARLINGS: Hyde (8-0), North Branford (8-0), Trinity Catholic (7-1), Rocky Hill (8-1), Prince Tech (7-1).
  • ON THE BUBBLE: Woodland (6-2), Northwest Catholic (6-2), Stonington (6-2), Derby (6-3), Oxford (6-2), Cromwell (6-2), Holy Cross (5-3), Valley Regional/Old Lyme (5-2).
  • LONGSHOTS: Bloomfield (6-3), Canton (5-3), Seymour (5-3), Plainfield (5-3)

‘About Last Weekend’ Week 9: Answered prayers in Stamford and other craziness

Monday, November 12, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Darien celebrates its 26-20 victory over Trinity Catholic won in the final seconds | Photo by Lindsay Niegelberg

So that happened Saturday afternoon.

Nick Lombardo hauls in the winning touchdown pass from Henry Baldwin in Darien's 26-20 victory over Trinity Catholic Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 | Photo by Lindsay Niegelberg

It was delicious, poignant high-stakes moment in the narrative of the 2012 high school football season. As we endlessly discussed through two football-free weeks, Trinity Catholic needed to beat Darien and St. Joseph to stake a claim to the FCIAC championship and, by extension, tick off the guys in Westport and Greenwich hoping to play for the whole shebang.

They never got past phase 1.

But, oh man, if Trinity was going to go down, Darien showed everyone how to do it right.

Darien was all but dead going into the game and we were chiseling the Blue Wave headstone when all-stater Peter Gesualdi — who’s had somewhat of a nightmarish season, all things considered — fumbled the ball on the 28-yard line with just over a minute remaining.

The Wave held and, on fourth down, Trinity Catholic coach Peter Stokes declined to have New Canaan hero John Benalcazar kick what would have been a long field goal on the sloppy Alumni Field turf.

It all went to shreds from there.

Freshman (yes) Mark Evanchick sacked Trinity quarterback Danny O’Leary on fourth and long, giving the ball back to the Blue Wave with a minute left.

Gesualdi atoned for his fumble with a big catch down the sideline. Nick Lombardo followed that by leaping beyond three defenders, catching the ball and falling into the end zone with, perhaps, the greatest play of the 2012 FCIAC season.

Maybe even the entire year.

It’s gotta be top 10, at least in terms of the situation and the significance.

Darien 26, Trinity Catholic 20: It aligned the stars for a potential Staples vs. Greenwich FCIAC championship on Thanksgiving.

[I was, of course, at my best friend's wedding on Avery Point in Groton. Anyone want to upload a video of the final play?]

And when they read the news via Twitter on the bus heading back from their 49-14 victory over McMahon, the Greenwich players rejoiced.

Seriously, watch them rejoice.

Did I hear a ‘Danbury’ in there? Yeah, someone remembered: Greenwich still needs to beat Danbury. Staples still needs to take care of Westhill and star back Davell Cotterell (338 yards, five touchdowns last week, yow!)

It’s not over yet.

But… still. It’s looking mighty good.

(By the way, these types of late-season shenanigans is a major argument in favor of holding league title games. Like I said, I don’t mind the games. This is why. We just have to fix that criteria nonsense.)

Moving on…

Meanwhile, in the SWC: Milone, Masuk ends Barlow win streak

In a not-so-carbon-copy carbon copy of the Trinity-Darien game, Barlow’s unbeaten season came to a climactic close with a game 42-23 loss to Masuk Saturday at Bunnell.

Because Benedict’s Field is a disaster area, Masuk was playing at Bunnell for the second time this season and it was the ninth time in the last five years Masuk was playing a home game on the road.

And, at least early on, it didn’t feel like a home game. Barlow and tricky triple-option actually had a 10-7 lead and Masuk on the run, no thanks to a myriad of penalties.

But, of course, Masuk has Thomas Milone and Barlow doesn’t. Didn’t help that standout quarterback Jack Shaban left the game with a shoulder injury, but nevertheless Masuk whowed it is still boss in the SWC and clinched a playoff of spot in the process.

One more week remains and, like the FCIAC, we’re close to having ourselves a legit SWC championship.

Newtown rolled Bunnell Friday night to keep its unbeaten season going. But the Hawks might have lost standout back Danny Hebert. The senior all-state senior was carted off the field and taken to the hospital after severely injuring his wrist.

No word (yet) on what Hebert’s status is as of Sunday, but it would be a devastating blow to Newtown’s title aspirations to be without their awesome senior leader.

Update: Hebert broke his arm and will have surgery. His outstanding football career at Newtown is over. Our best to Dan as he begins his recovery.

The Legend of Pacheco grows

In a game I actually attended Joe Pacheco went ape on Brookfield. He ran for two long touchdowns and then returned a kickoff 88 yards for a back-breaking score in New Fairfield’s 34-19 victory.

The two long touchdowns were typical Pacheco. He found the hole, made a juke and was gone. The second one came just seconds into the second half and put New Fairfield in control 21-7.

The kickoff return touchdown, which followed a 5-yard strike from Brad Westmark to Boeing Brown that made the score 21-13, was ridiculous. Brookfield had been attempting to kick away from Pacheco. But with Brookfield within 21-13, the senior and one-year wonder took the kickoff, zigged and zagged through a several defenders, got some key blocks from his teammates and danced into the end zone.

Why, oh why do we only get one year of this kid?

New Fairfield’s playoff hopes were carted off when the Rebels lost to Oxford a couple of weeks ago. So enjoy Pacheco while you still can. He’s easily one of the state’s best tailbacks, closing in on a 2,000-yard rushing season with two games to play, hoping to break the single-season school record of 2,156 set by Rich Comizio in 1982.

He took a good measure of joy squashing Brookfield’s playoff hopes, as well. “We’ve been battling these kids since we were little kids,” he said. “This feels amazing. I don’t want to get into it — because we might get out of control.”

Earth to Fairfield Prep. Come in, Jesuits.

Prep’s state playoff hopes were knocked silly with its second-consecutive loss, this time to struggling rival Notre Dame-West Haven.

Though the Class LL field is already packed with (unofficial) qualifiers and near-qualifiers, the final spot remains up for grabs.

The Jesuits still have a slight chance to qualify. It would help if West Haven loses to Xavier on Monday night. The Westies would drop back to the pack with a loss to Xavier. Then Prep would have to beat the Westies on Thanksgiving.

Then they’d have to get into a chapel and pray.

Plenty of other crazy stuff happened in and around Shangri-La. [Week 9 Schedule/Results]

Davell Cotterell, the FCIAC’s version of Joe Pacheco, ran for 338 yards and five touchdowns (!!!) as Westhill hammered Wilton to guarantee itself a .500 season. Pure insanity. …Trumbull outlasted archrival Central in a wild affair at Kennedy Stadium. …Bullard-Havens was no match for Capital Prep, which won the Constitution State Conference championship and clinched a Class S playoff spot. …Weston beat Bethel to keep its playoff dreams intact. …Oxford did the same with a 40-20 win over Stratford on Sunday. The 6-2 Wolverines will officially be a winning team for the first time in its short history. …Derby crushed Crosby to clinch its first winning season since 1996. …Staples hammered Warde to stay abreast in the FCIAC race. …Abbott Tech earned its first three-game win streak. …New Canaan won its sixth straight game, 35-0 over Stamford. … Jake Kasuba and Foran blasted Branford in the SCC.

Just outside the region, Wolcott bludgeoned Woodland 54-12, to clinch the first playoff spot in Class M. By the way, Woodland, not Wolcott, is playing Ansonia in the NVL Championship game this Thursday.

We haven’t crunched the numbers, but here were your state playoff qualifiers in Week 9 according to Kyle Brennan of the Republican-American:

Here are your playoff standings.

Xavier plays West Haven tonight. A win will clinch a spot for the two-time defending champs. West Haven needs this one badly.

See everyone at Palmer Field.

 

The Clinch Is In: The Week 9 CIAC Playoff Situation (Hand, Avon, Windsor, Ansonia qualify)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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CIAC_PLAYOFF_MAP title=
easel.ly

Between Superstorm Sandy, Monday Night Football at Seymour, Election Night in American, and the postponing and re-postponing and rescheduling of the FCIAC, we’ve been pretty busy with local concerns here in Hearst Connecticut Football Bunker.

Meanwhile, colleagues and football friends Ned Griffen (of The Day) and Kyle Brennan (of the Republican-American and NVL Football Blog) have been diligently keeping tabs on on where we stand in the CIAC playoff picture through Week 9.

We thank them for that, saves us some trouble. But expect to see the mad scientist in action come Thanksgiving Week. For now, just look at the cool graphic above. We think it gives you a reasonably cool look at what’s what.

Kyle Brennan was the first to project that Ansonia, Hand, Avon and Windsor have all clinched state playoff spots.

Ned was the first to present a full picture through eight weeks. Here’s Ned’s full playoff breakdown. We’ll post Kyle’s when he posts his.

We’ll just deal with (unofficial) qualifiers and our local teams here:

In Class L, Hand (8-0), Windsor (8-0) and Avon (8-0) have all clinched berths.

There are five spots remaining. Locally, Masuk (7-0) and New Canaan (7-0) are in good shape heading into their final two games. Platt Tech (5-2) can get in by winning its final two games, but one of those games includes CSC power Prince Tech.

In Class S, The Ansonia Chargers (8-0) have clinched.

Seven spots remain. Locally, Trinity Catholic (7-0) will clinch a playoff spot with one more victory. They finish with Darien, St. Joseph and Wilton. Oxford (5-2) is a longshot.

Nothing has been decided in Class LL or Class M yet.

In Class LL, Staples (6-0), Greenwich (6-0) and Newtown are in good shape and will likely qualify. West Haven (7-1) will come close to clinching if it defeats Xavier on Saturday (the game was ppd. due to the Nor’easter), but might have to beat Fairfield Prep (5-2).

The Jesuits are in trouble. They have no margin for error and must win all three remaining games vs. Notre Dame-WH, Branford and West Haven to have a chance. They should win the first two, so it looks like Thanksgiving is going to be huge.

In Class M, Barlow (7-0) is in with one more victory. Even if Barlow loses to Masuk or Brookfield (5-2) the Falcons might still make it. They play Weston (6-1) on Thanksgiving. Weston will need to win at least two more games. They finish with Bethel, Masuk before playing Barlow.

Once, again Thanksgiving will be huge for both teams. (When could we ever say that about Barlow-Weston?)

Bullard-Havens (7-1) is sitting pretty at No. 5, but the Tigers will have to win out in order to secure a berth. The Tigers play Capital Prep for the CSC Championship on Saturday. They finish with Bassick.

St. Joseph (5-2) must win out to qualify. The play Bassick, Trinity Catholic and Trumbull.

Brookfield (5-2) has New Fairfield, Barlow and Bethel remaining. If they win out, the Bobcats should qualify.

‘About Last Night…’ Week 8: Showdown? Showcase in Ansonia

Saturday, November 3, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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In Football Friday’s only big game played in the region, Ansonia mopped the Jarvis Stadium turf with 7-0 Wolcott in a 41-12 NVL Brass Showdown. Showcase.

Did we really think it would be anything but?

Arkeel Newsome ran for 200 yards, Andrew Matos flexed his big-play muscles and the Ansonia defense stifled Wolcott’s gamebreakers, Mike Nicol, Joe Lynch and Co.

Granted, the 20-6 halftime score was Ansonia’s closest of the year. Wolcott’s good enough. It wasn’t going to lay down. This was a 13-6 game in the second quarter.

But after Ansonia took a 14-0 lead on its first two possessions, the general feeling on the sidelines was, ‘This game’s over.’

Took another quarter and change to make sure, but yes… yes it was.

And so Ansonia is your NVL Brass Division Champions (yeay!) and will play in the NVL title game for the umpteenth season.

They await the winner of the Holy Cross-Woodland game tonight.

ELSEWHERE, the only other big result of the night was that Platt-Meriden ‘upset’ No. 10 Berlin pretty handily in a game that has significant CIAC playoff ramifications. Justin Potts ran for 202 yards as Platt (6-2) scored 27 unanswered points and moved to No. 9 in Class L. Berlin (7-1) dropped to No. 4 in Class M.

Here’s Mr. Polecat’s view of the events at Sage Park.

Glastonbury won, Windsor won, Manchester won. Ledyard won. NFA won. …All’s well.

Hillhouse also mopped up Lyman Hall in the SCC’s only game.

Real strange not seeing any Fairfield County games played. We’ll get one tonight when Shelton hosts Xavier (and that really isn’t a Fairfield County game), but that’s it.

Friday Results

  • CCC: Glastonbury 47, South Windsor 0 | E.O. Smith 40, Fermi 26 | Windsor 49, Maloney 7 | Plainville 41, Rockville 12 |  Platt 34, Berlin 14 | East Hartford 35, Conard 29 | Manchester 32, New Britain 8 | Rocky Hill 55, Bristol Central 21
  • CSC: Capital Prep 42, Cheney Tech 0 | Prince Tech 36, Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech 14
  • ECC: Ledyard 47, Bacon Academy 7 | Killingly 66, St. Bernard/Norwich Tech 36 |  Norwich Free Academy 40, Griswold 14
  • NVL: Ansonia 41, Wolcott 12 | Wilby 46, Crosby 14
  • PEQUOT: Hyde Leadership 56, East Hampton/Vinal Tech 6 |  Canton 42, Stafford/East Windsor 22 | Avon 26, Enfield 6
  • SCC: Hillhouse 46, Lyman Hall 0

Saturday Schedule

  • SCC: Wilbur Cross at West Haven, 6:00 p.m.| Xavier at Shelton, 7:00 p.m.|  East Haven at Cheshire, 6:30 p.m.
  • NVL: Torrington at Kennedy, 11:00 a.m. | Sacred Heart at St. Paul Catholic, 5:00 p.m. | Holy Cross at Woodland, 6:00 p.m. | Watertown at Naugatuck, 7:00 p.m.
  • CSC: Abbott Tech at Whitney Tech, 1:00 p.m. | Platt Tech at Wilcox Tech, 6:00 p.m.
  • CCC: Southington at Simsbury, 4:00 p.m. | Wethersfield at RHAM, 2:15 p.m. | Bulkeley at Hartford Public, 6:30 p.m. | Middletown at Farmington, 6:00 p.m. | Bloomfield at Weaver, 2:00 p.m. | Newington at Hall, 2:00 p.m. | Bristol Eastern at Northwest Catholic, 3:00 p.m. | East Catholic at Tolland, 3:00 p.m.
  • ECC: Fitch at New London, 7 p.m. | Montville at Stonington, 2 p.m.
  • PEQUOT: North Branford at Coginchaug, 2:00 p.m. | Valley Regional/Old Lyme at Lewis Mills, 3:30 p.m. | SMSA/University at Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby, 1:30 p.m. | Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton at Housatonic/Wamogo, 2:00 p.m. | Gilbert/NW Regional at Granby Memorial, 2:00 p.m.
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