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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 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.

 

Foran 50, Notre Dame-WH 35 (The Movie!)

Monday, October 22, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

This Monday, we’re all agog over the man who said Big Foot attacked his RV in the woods of Pennsylvania, hundreds of miles from Sasquatch’s normal stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest.

Psst. Want to see a real rare sight?

Let’s try Foran’s 50-35 victory over Notre Dame-West Haven Saturday night, courtesy of ‘RickVolk21‘ on YouTube.

Not only was it the Lions’ first victory over an SCC Division I team since 2004 (their first year in the league and the first year of the SCC’s two division alignment), it was also Foran’s *first* victory over Notre Dame in school history. We’re told that last part is incorrect. Foran beat Notre Dame in 1995 (see comments). Verification? Update: Yes, we have verification. Foran beat Notre Dame 16-15 in 1995.

Anyway…

It was so exciting for the Foran players, Foran coach Jeff Bevino was forced to buy a ‘celebratory’ iPhone5.

His old phone was destroyed during the delirious postgame celebrations when his players dunked him with water.

Foran (4-2) has a bye and plays North Haven in a suddenly big SCC Division II game next week.

Watch! St. Joseph 35, Darien 28 – The [double overtime] Movie!

Thursday, October 4, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Finally, our last high school football video of the week. Phew. Took us long enough, right?

We saved the best for last: St. Joseph’s big 35-28 double-overtime victory on homecoming day in Darien.

Thanks to some big plays from the highly-regarded Blue Wave, the Hogs found themselves down 28-14 early in the second half. But watch as St. Joseph rallied behind Mufasa Abdul Basir, Jordan Vazzano and Jake Pelletier to tie the game.

After some craziness in overtime No. 1, Abdul Basir scored and the Hogs’ defense held to put them into a crowded house of FCIAC and state contenders.

As for Darien, some disappointments. But at least the Darien kids could look forward to their homecoming dance.

Here’s the video. Below, read reporter Jon Chik‘s final recap as we head into Week 4.

Jon Chik:

In what was arguably the game of the year thus far in FCIAC football, St. Joseph got out of Darien with a huge 35-28 win in double overtime, leaving both teams with a 2-1 mark.

Where do we start?: Three lead changes, two overtime periods and a game-winning two-yard touchdown plunge by St. Joseph’s Mufasha Abdul Basir in double overtime were just the tip of the iceberg. Earlier in the week, both teams indicated that they were fully prepared for a down-to-the wire clash, and low and behold, the Cadets and Wave needed two overtime periods to settle the score.

Overtime rules: Regardless of whether we’re talking high school, college or pro, there seems to be a never-ending debate over overtime football rules. High school football follows the same rules as college with one exception: The ball is placed at the opposition’s 10 instead of the 25
.
Having also covered Darien’s double-overtime win at home against Wilton last season, I can say that this is the way to go for high school football. Both teams have an opportunity to possess the ball, the teams start their possession in field goal range and both offenses have four plays to put some points on the board. Under this format, there also does not appear to be any sizable advantage for an offense or defense.

Seven in a row: After Darien quarterback Henry Baldwin hit Ian Vanderhorn for a 41-yard scoring strike on its first possession of the second half, the St. Joseph defense took over and didn’t permit another Darien score the rest of the way. Darien’s next four possessions ended with three punts and an interception by St. Joseph’s Jon Prutting, and its fifth possession ended as the fourth quarter clock expired.

Even in overtime, with the ball spotted at its own 10, St. Joseph continued to shut down the Darien attack. The Cadets forced the Wave to settle for a 25-yard field goal attempt that never got off the ground in the first overtime, and they got a turnover on downs by forcing three straight incomplete passes in double overtime to seal the game.

Seven straight Darien possessions and no points? That’s something that conceivably may not happen again this season, and it’s a testament to a strong second half effort by the entire St. Joseph defensive unit.

Kicking on third down: After Darien was unable to score on its overtime-opening possession, St. Joseph only needed a field goal to pull out the win. Two running plays moved the ball to the Darien four, setting up a third-and-goal and a difficult decision for St. Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia.

Della Vecchia opted to send out his field goal unit for a 21-yard chip shot for the victory, but the kick sailed wide left. Della Vecchia had watched kicker Jake Pelletier make all four (eventually five) of his extra points dead center. As a result, Della Vecchia passed on the opportunity to run one more play from the Darien four, and the missed kick produced double overtime.

Despite the miscue, the Cadets never wavered in their belief that the day would eventually be theirs.

“I just believed that we were going to pull through. We were playing so good on defense late in the game and I just believed in our kids,” Della Vecchia said. “The offense said they were going to score. You’ve got to have confidence in them.”

St. Joseph’s resiliency: It would have been easy for the Cadets to believe they were “playing with house money” on Saturday. That is, a win over Darien would be a great accomplishment, but even a competitive loss would have reaffirmed that St. Joseph had turned the page on last season’s disappointments. It was obvious right from the start that this wasn’t a team that was looking for a moral victory by keeping it close.

St. Joseph shook off multiple setbacks that could have been the back-breaker for a lesser team. The Cadets allowed Darien to take a 21-14 lead into the locker rooms after a 61-yard touchdown run by Christian Bognar with only 57 seconds remaining in the half, Darien scored 22 consecutive points to turn St. Joseph’s 14-6 lead into a 28-14 deficit, and St. Joseph missed the potential game-ending 21-yard field goal in the first overtime.

“We all stuck it out. I never had my doubts. I kept my faith. These players will never stop fighting,” Basir said.

WTNH: Friday night Week 2 highlights

Monday, September 24, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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You saw the roundup, now watch the highlights via WTNH of the Week 2 Friday games. Noah Finz mostly has the goods on the SCC — including How Guilford built a shocking 14-0 lead on West Haven, and the Top 10 battle at Bowen Field between Hand and Hillhouse.

WTNH also threw the SWC a bone with some Bunnell-Brookfield in from the CPTV broadcast. You can see the full highlights from CPTV Sports here.

Still, some good footage of Shelton-Foran, Cheshire-Branford as well.

Watch the WTNH Friday Night highlight reel here:

CPTV Sports highlights: Brookfield squashes Bunnell

Monday, September 24, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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There were plenty of insane results from Week 2′s games, not the least of which was Brookfield’s dismantling of Bunnell Friday night in an SWC game.

As we’ve mentioned, it was a coming out party for junior quarterback Brad Westmark and new-look Brookfield, which was practically unstoppable on offense and tough on defense.

The Bobcats play New Millford on Saturday. They get Newtown after that. Buckle your chinstraps.

Watch the highlights from CPTV Sports below.

We’ll have more from this game later.

Greenwich 20, Ridgefield 7 (The Movie!)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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The Hearst CT cameras headed up to Lancaster Field at Tiger Hollow to catch highlights from the Greenwich-Ridgefield extravaganza that had been built up all summer.

Greenwich, which came to Ridgefield with starting quarterback Liam O’Neil in a cast and backup quarterback Jose Melo in a knee brace, needed this one badly to have any shot at the state and FCIAC postseason.

The Cards didn’t disappoint. They didn’t waste any time. They built a 17-0 lead before Ridgefield knew what had happened and then turned to its defense in the second half for a 20-7 victory.

So dim the lights and grab some popcorn and see what transpired in, perhaps, the biggest FCIAC game of Week 1.

Thanksgiving Eve Primer and Live Scoring Blog

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest 24-hours of the Connecticut sports calendar.

Tomorrow, thousands of Nutmeg state residents will get up, rub the sleep out of their eyes, grab a cup of coffee or some breakfast and head over to their favorite Thanksgiving Day rivalry game.

It is a day where records are thrown out. Where everybody is undefeated. And a day where memories that will live eternity are created.

It is a day where advanced algebra becomes a pastime as everybody tries to figure out who is in, and who is out of the state playoffs.

But first, we start with the Wednesday night appetizers and there are plenty of these to whet your Thanksgiving Day appetite.

Here’s the regional schedule for Wednesday night:

SWC Championship Masuk at Newtown, 7 p.m. [Preview video above] | Danbury at Ridgefield, 7 p.m. | Abbott Tech at Wilcox Tech (Falcon Field, Meriden), 6 p.m.  | Woodland at Seymour, 6 p.m.

There are also a few big games going on around the state, many with playoff implications.

Here’s what to look for

CLASS LL: Ridgefield needs to beat Danbury to get into position for a possible playoff berth in Class LL. Also huge tonight is Glastonbury’s game vs. Simsbury. Like Ridgefield, the Tomahawks need to win to get into position. Glastonbury is also counting on tonight’s New Britain-Berlin game. A New Britain win is a must if Glastonbury wants to reach its max of 112.0. A Berlin victory might cook the Tomahawks if Ridgefield also wins.

CLASS L: Tolland plays E.O. Smith in a key game for North Haven and Notre Dame-WH in the Class L race. A Tolland win would significantly decrease Farmington’s chances to qualify for the field with a victory, meaning North Haven and Notre Dame’s chances will drastically improve with victories.

Of course, Masuk needs to beat Newtown tonight to clinch a spot in the field. While a loss won’t quite kill Masuk, the Panthers will certainly take to the road for the playoffs.

CLASS S: Valley Regional (9-0) has already clinched in Class S, but their game vs. Haddam-Killingworth (7-2) tonight is massive for Weston’s Class S playoff hopes. As is Cromwell (7-2) vs. Coginchaug (6-3). A win by either Valley or Coginchaug or both will open the door wider for the Trojans. They’ll still be looking for bonus help, but without of those game, the field will be nearly complete and Weston’s hopes will be all but snuffed. Bloomfield is also looking for the same help.

Don’t expect much movement in Class M since all of the key games are on Thanksgiving.

Here’s the statewide Thanksgiving Week schedule

To follow along on all the action, click the window below. It is a live Twitter feed from all across the state.

You can listen to George DeMaio‘s Thanksgiving Eve Extravaganza – Live reports and updates from Wednesday night’s games – WELI 960-AM. He’ll be in the studio getting Wednesday night updates from his cadre of correspondents all across the area.

And, of course, follow all the scoring action on the live blog below.

If you’re at a game, and want to participate in the live blog, just get a Twitter account and send updates from your game through your mobile phone. Remember to add #ctfb to the end of your Tweets to have your update show up on this space.

Our HUGE Thanksgiving Day live blog will begin tomorrow at 7 a.m. Thanks and enjoy the games.

Ansonia wins NVL Championship (with video) and your latest playoff musings

Friday, November 18, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Arkeel Newsome bulls through Holy Cross defenders on his way to an NVL MVP award. Ansonia captured the league title with a 33-0 win at Municipal Stadium Thursday night | Photo by Christian Abraham

From the outset, it appeared if every notion about Ansonia-Holy Cross II would come to fruition.

Holy Cross punt. Arkeel Newsome. One carry. One touchdown.

By the time the Holy Cross coaching staff had finished screamed “C’mon! That was too easy!” at their players, Newsome added another touchdown on the Chargers’ second possession.

The rout was on.

Or was it?

To their credit, the Crusaders didn’t throw up their hands. They didn’t lie down. They played with passion and pride befitting a team that’s already on its way to the state playoffs.

Though Ansonia never scored again in the first half, though Holy Cross buckled down, though people like me (48-7) started to squirm a bit for being so rash, the scoreboard was what everyone expected: Ansonia 33, Holy Cross 0.

Ok, so yeah it was in a way.

You could argue this was a much closer game than Week 4. Newsome busted loose for only one of his patented long touchdowns (as opposed to four the first time). The Cross defense never allowed another one. It was only a 14-0 game at halftime thanks to a goal line fumble by Newsome.

Then again, as Ansonia’s players have been quick to remind every one all season, it takes 11 guys to make a football team.

So, while Newsome only wowed the crowd on one long run, the rest of the Chargers made sure he didn’t need to go nuts. They kept Cross’ dangerous skill players out of the end zone while Newsome simply churned his way to a somewhat deceptive 286-yard, 5 TD, MVP performance.

Captains Jake LaRovera, Tyler Wood and Hakeem Martin hoist the NVL Championship trophy after Thursday

“We were never concerned,” standout linebacker Tyler Wood said. “We knew the defense would pick it up and the offense would do their part. The defense was pretty good tonight. We played hard. We had fun.”

Jh’mel Trammell was a brick wall. Jake LaRovera had a sack. Newsome intercepted a pass. Wood topped it off with fumble recovery and a sack. All and all, a good day on the football field.

“We just talked about staying patient,” Ansonia coach Tom Brockett said. “We were in control. You can’t blow everybody out early. Holy Cross is a tough team and is very capable of winning Class S.”

They are. But so is Ansonia in Class M. Perhaps more so. They’ll tune up for the playoffs against Naugatuck on Thanksgiving Day (a game that Brockett said Naugy has an edge, at least because it had the week off) and then they’ll go to work in capturing its first state title since Alex Thomas roamed the end zone.

(Incidentally, Thomas is about to play his last game at Yale this week in ‘The Game’. Where does the time go?)

Elsewhere on this light but busy Week 10…

The state playoffs added two more participants. Ledyard rallied to beat Branford 28-21 to punch its ticket in Class M. Northwest Catholic dominated Bristol Eastern to claim a spot in Class S.

In Class LL, Glastonbury won and Norwich Free Academy won to add their names to an already crowded list of contenders (alongside the likes of Ridgefield, Shelton, Greenwich, Norwalk and Pomperaug).

In Class L, crushing news for Bunnell. Though Middletown dominated the stat sheet, it failed in the turnover department, losing 18-12 to Farmington. New London took care of Griswold 15-0.

That all but eliminates the Bulldogs from playoff contention and makes it even more imperative for teams like Notre Dame-WH, North Haven, New Canaan, Darien and Masuk to win on Thanksgiving Day.

North Haven and Notre Dame might even have to turn an ear to Plainville on Thanksgiving Day. A Farmington win will edge it ever so closer to a playoff berth and — in the event Masuk and New London win — will have ND and North Haven praying for enough bonus points.

It’s going to be thisclose between Farmington and Notre Dame-WH if all holds to form. Both teams would love an NFA win over New London to help matters.

It also assures the loser of New Canaan-Darien a ticket home for the holidays. New Canaan will clinch with a win, but Darien (like ND and North Haven) needs to win and hope enough bonus games come through.

Still another slate of games today and tomorrow with playoff implications. Including Hall vs. Conard in the Class LL race. A Hall victory gets it in. A loss will drop it into the already crowded Class LL mix.

We’ll continue to break it all down for you as we go along.

More OT Madness: Foran’s 47-41 2 OT victory over Guilford

Monday, November 14, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Newtown-Bunnell wasn’t the only crazy OT game in Week 9.

Though it didn’t pack the playoff intrigue as Saturday’s heavyweight fight in Stratford, Thursday saw a tit-for-tat battle between SCC Division II combatants Guilford and Foran, won by the Lions on Dave Yerxa’s TD run.

This game was filmed by rogue cameraman RickVolk21, who’s gone to a quite a few state games this year capturing highlights from the stands and then Tweeting out links to his YouTube channel. He’s been to a few Foran contests this year. Thankfully, he was at Saturday’s game and treats us to a good one.

Enjoy.

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