Archive for the ‘Hartford County’ Category

State Polls Week 4: Flip flop, flip flop

Monday, October 3, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Here we go again.

Xavier recaptured the top spot in the NHR Media Poll today, returning to the top for the first time since Week 1. The Falcons defeated Cheshire 42-20 and snatched two first-place votes away from Masuk and claimed the top spot by a measly two points.

Masuk 50-pointed Stratford, scoring 42 points in a quarter and a half, but lose two 1st-place votes.

Crazy stuff. Until something drastic happens, get used to the flip flopping. It’s going to happen all year.

Elsewhere, Ansonia leapfrogged New Canaan. New London jumped three spots to No. 9. Windsor jumped two to No. 8 and Bunnell joins the poll at No. 10. Cheshire, which was No. 8, falls out after its 42-20 loss to Xavier.

Updated with the CSWA and Day Coaches polls. And look who got a first-place vote in the Day. (Hint, it’s not Masuk or Xavier.)

NHR

Rank Team (1st Place) Record Points Last
1. Xavier (13) 3-0 724 2
2. Masuk (12) 3-0 722 1
3. Ansonia 3-0 590 4
4. New Canaan 3-0 548 3
5. Hand 3-0 532 5
6. New London 2-0 469 9
7. Staples 3-0 426 6
8. Windsor 3-0 374 10
9. West Haven 3-0 326 7
10. Bunnell 3-0 282 NR

Others receiving votes: Trumbull (2-0), 224; North Haven (3-0), 194; Cheshire (2-1), 192; Middletown (3-0), 168; Darien (3-0), 148; Pomperaug (3-0), 101; Berlin (3-0), 58; Montville (3-0), 50; Conard (3-0), 49; Norwalk (3-0), 40; Norwich Free Academy (2-0), 37; Southington (3-0), 35; Valley Regional/Old Lyme (3-0), 24; Naugatuck (3-0) and Northwest Catholic (2-0), 19; Cromwell (3-0), 14; Holy Cross (3-0), 10.
The following voted: Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Bob Barton, New Haven Register; Bill Bloxsom, Hersam-Acorn; Sean Patrick Bowley, Connecticut Post; Don Boyle, Sporting News CT; Jim Bransfield, Middletown Press; Bryant Carpenter, Meriden-Record Journal; George DeMaio, WELI; Mike DiMauro, The Day of New London; Matt Doran, MSG Varsity; Kevin Duffy, Danbury News-Times; Tom Evans, Norwalk Hour; Noah Finz, WTNH-8; Ned Griffen, The Day of New London; John Holt, WFSB-3; Mark Jaffee, Waterbury Republican-American; Ken Lipshez, Patch/West Hartford News; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Joe Morelli, New Haven Register; Dave Phillips, Shore Line Newspapers; Mike Pucci, New Haven Register; Dave Ruden, Stamford Advocate; Tom Yantz, Hartford Courant; Mike Wollschlager, New Haven Register; Jimmy Zanor, Shore Line Newspapers.

DAY COACHES

Rank Team (1st Place) Record Points Last
1. Xavier (6) 3-0 376 1
2. Masuk (6) 3-0 368 2
3. Ansonia 3-0 301 3
4. Hand 3-0 292 4
5. New Canaan 3-0 272 6
6. New London (1) 2-0 232 T10
7. Windsor 3-0 213 8
8. Staples 3-0 192 7
9. Bunnell 3-0 156 9
10. Cheshire 2-1 121 T4

Also receiving votes: West Haven (3-0), 116 points; North Haven (3-0), 96; Pomperaug-Southbury (3-0), 74; Conard-West Hartford (3-0), 53; Montville (3-0), 52; Berlin (3-0), 49; Tie, Newtown (3-0) and Trumbull (2-0), 45; Middletown (3-0), 39; Darien (3-0), 34; Naugatuck (3-0), 28; Northwest Catholic-West Hartford (2-0), 26; Ledyard (2-0), 25; Holy Cross-Waterbury (3-0), 20; Norwich Free Academy (2-0), 18; Cromwell (3-0), 17; Southington (3-0), 10; Bloomfield (2-0), 9; Hartford Public (3-0), 8; Hall-West Hartford (3-0), Norwalk (3-0), Notre Dame-West Haven (2-1) and Wilton (3-0), 7.
The following coaches voted: Tom Brockett, Ansonia; Jim Buonocore, Ledyard; Craig Bruno, Bunnell-Stratford; Dave Cadelina, Bridgeport Central; Steve Filippone, Hand-Madison; Rob Fleeting, Windsor; Tanner Grove, Montville; Jude Kelly, St. Paul-Bristol; Tim King, Valley Regional-Deep River; Sean Marinan, Xavier-Middletown; John Murphy, Masuk-Monroe; Marce Petroccio, Staples-Westport; Bob Zito, Maloney-Meriden.

CSWA

Rank Team (1st Place) Record Points Last
1. Xavier (19) 3-0 452 1
2. Masuk (12) 3-0 446 2
3. Ansonia 3-0 374 4
4. New Canaan 3-0 359 3
5. Hand 3-0 315 %6
6. New London 2-0 298 9
7. Staples 3-0 261 5
8. Windsor 3-0 240 8
9. West Haven 3-0 151 10
10. Bunnell 3-0 120 NR

Also Receiving Votes: Trumbull 2-0 108; Cheshire 2-1 106; North Haven 3-0 103; Middletown 3-0 72; Conard 3-0 57; Pomperaug 3-0 46; Montville 3-0 39; Darien 3-0 33; Berlin 3-0 30; Northwest Catholic 2-0 23; Norwich Free Academy 2-0 19; Valley Regional/Old Lyme 3-0 19; Southington 3-0 14; Farmington 3-0 7; Cromwell 3-0 6; Glastonbury 2-1 4; Naugatuck 3-0 4; Norwalk 3-0 4; Notre Dame-West Haven 2-1 4; Newtown 3-0 3; Hall 3-0 2; Coventry/Windham Tech 2-0 1
Voters: Marc Allard (Norwich Bulletin), Brian Barreto (NVL Blog), Bob Barton (CT H.S. Football Record Book), Bill Bloxsom (Hersam Acorn), Don Boyle (Sporting News CT), Jim Bransfield (Middletown Press), Kyle Brennan (Waterbury Republican-American), George DeMaio (WELI Radio), Gerry deSimas (Collinsville Publishing Co.), Bill Donovan (WXLM 980 AM), Mark Fijalkowski (CT Sports Network), Ted Glanzer (The Granbys Patch), Dave Greenleaf (Bristol Press), Mike Guerrera (Southington Citizen), John Holt (WFSB Channel 3), Larry Kelley (SE Conn Patch), Bob Lazzari (Valley Times), Greg Lederer (Cheshire Herald), Ken Lipshez (Farmington/W. Hartford Patch), Robert Mayer (Berlin Patch), Eric Montgomery (Minuteman Newspapers), Sean Patrick Bowley (Connecticut Post), Dave Phillips (Shoreline Newspapers), Pat Pickens (Fairfield Citizen-News), Mike Pucci (New Haven Register), Paul Rosano (Meriden Record-Journal), Dave Ruden (Stamford Advocate), Mike Suppe (Hersam Acorn Newspapers), Peter Vander Veer (Hersam Acorn Newspapers), Rich Zalusky (Willimantic Chronicle), Jimmy Zanor (Shore Line Times)

Weekly Football Links: Ansonia-Derby preview; New London travels to Greenwich

Thursday, September 29, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Derby's Ray Kreiger intercepts a pass intended for Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome during Friday's game at Jarvis Field in Ansonia on October 29, 2010.

A quick roundup of what’s good around the state as we inch closer to Week 3.

Ansonia, Derby resume rivalry Friday night

Our first preview of the week, Jason Sonski takes a trip across Division Street for a preview of Friday night’s border rivalry between Ansonia and Derby. The Chargers, of course, rallied from 26-13 down at halftime to win last year’s clash 33-32 — a game that ended with Arkeel Newsome‘s red zone pick with no time left. (You catch last year’s second half, at right)

The Chargers of 2011 are starting to look like a freight train. What will Ray Kreiger and the Red Raiders bring to the table, especially after losing late to Naugatuck last week? You decide:

Paola wins SWC player of the Week

In our new feature, run by Kevin Duffy, Pomperaug back/receiver/kicker Matt Paola has been voted SWC player of the week (for all sports) by fans. Congrats to Paola for his strong day in the Panthers’ 45-7 win over Bethel. Duffy also gives his thoughts on who earned his vote.

New London agrees to come to Cardinal Stadium

Ned Griffen of the Day of New London reports that, after some wrangling over playing at a possible neutral site, New London’s football team will be playing at Greenwich’s Cardinal Stadium in this intriguing Week 3 non-conference matchup. As we’ve said before, kudos to New London and Greenwich for making this game happen. Very few state teams (read: none) ever willingly drop Greenwich onto their schedules, which is why we usually see exotic matchups like Greenwich vs. St. Joseph-Montvale (N.J.) or at Naples (Fla.).

New London actually called Greenwich looking to hook up. The matchup should give us a good look at how each of these teams stand in the statewide hierarchy. New London is ranked in most state polls, Greenwich hasn’t been ranked since 2009.

The Lonesome Polecat Week 2 – Greenwich, score management, the coaches Top 10 and other stuff

Also coming to you from Ned at the Day, his weekly column ‘The Lonesome Polecat.’ This week, Ned examines Greenwich on the eve of the big game with New London. He also offers his take on this week’s violation of the score management policy: let’s try a running clock, eh?

Says Ned:

Reckon it’s better to have a running clock, though, then a rule that has resulted in headaches, meetings and paperwork.

We completely and utterly, thoroughly, emphatically agree. We’ve said as much before on this space. A running clock in the second half would publicly cure this state of this rule’s PC ills. Get past 35-0 at some point the third quarter, keep that clock a-runnin’ and let’s get everyone out of there. No harm, no foul. No fans, coaches and media screaming about the absurdity of this policy. No forms to fill. No committees. No embarrassment for the players and coaches … on both sides of the ball.

Related: Weaver’s Quinn defends Northwest Catholic’s Tyler

Yes. We need a running clock so this won’t be necessary: The losing coach having to publicly speak about being on the losing side of a blowout and how glad he was his opponents were so merciful, as Weaver coach Robert Quinn did this week.

But… hold on, didn’t Quinn just say he declined a running clock? He did because he’s a football coach trying to make his team better so it won’t lose games by more than 50 points in the future.

Quinn is both honorable and practical. But since these second halves are A) pointless and B) played against JV players anyway, why not leave this to actual junior varsity games. Besides, it may be a running clock, but you still get plenty of snaps.

As much as I respect Quinn’s decision to play on regularly, I’ll take a running clock instead of the laborious 50-point ‘score management policy.’

Legacy and loss drive Sheehan’s quarterback Gannons

Finally, we’ll end on a semi-positive note, Bryant Carpenter‘s wonderful piece on the family trials of Sheehan’s Gannon brothers, Billy and Jeremy. It’s both a sad and uplifting story. It’s a must-read.

The ‘Death Panel’ has spoken: NWC’s Tyler won’t be suspended

Monday, September 26, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Short and sweet: The CIAC “Score Management” committee — henceforth referred to here as the ‘Death Panel’  — has ruled that Northwest Catholic coach Michael Tyler will not be suspended for violation the 50-point policy in a 52-0 victory over Weaver on Saturday.

From the CIAC statement:

After a review of reports received from both schools involved and the game officials in regards to Northwest Catholic High School’s 52-0 varsity football victory over Weaver High School on Saturday, it has been determined that the proper sportsmanship protocols were followed, and that there was no violation of the CIAC Score Management policy by the winning school’s head coach.

Due to this fact the review committee will not take any action against Northwest Catholic High School in regards to Saturday’s game.

Well that’s a load off.

UPDATE: The Hartford Courant spoke to Weaver’s Kevin Quinn, who agreed with the ruling.

The world is safe from tyranny.

Sitcom pitch: Kid moves to Southington, takes in his father… hilarity ensues

Friday, August 19, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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So I’ve got this idea for a sitcom once ‘Two and a Half Men’ mercifully folds.

This 20-something kid, former football player, all-state wrestler, gets one of the plumb coaching jobs in the state at Southington. To help him out we’ll bring in his dad — a hellraiser in his day (we swear!) — and they try to build a championship team together. The kid’s the boss, but, see, he’s gotta deal with his dad’s (um… ego? stretch) as they navigate the 2011 season and try to win that trophy together.

Throw in a crazy next-door neighbor from the old town to help, a bunch of football players, their parents and (BAM!) you’ve got yourself a sitcom!

Think ‘Coach’ meets ‘Frasier’ meets ‘The Odd Couple’ (sorta).

Cue the campy music.

We’ll call it: ‘Meet the Drurys’

Whaddya think? Have we got a deal?

OK, so you’ll get no ego from great, former Pomperaug coach Chuck Drury. But, man, he’s full of great one-liners. Great delivery. Great timing. Perfect foil for our straight man, Southington coach Mike Drury.

And you’ll loooooove assistant coach John Periera as the crazy neighbor. He’ll mix things up a bit.

You can get an episode out of every kid on that team, too. All kinds of stories.

It’s gold, Jerry. Gold!

(Sorry, I couldn’t get this idea out of my head when I watched this video posted by the Record-Journal of Meriden yesterday.

No, this is NOT the pilot. But fine work from RJ’s Sarah Nathan.

Aside. For all of you Pomperaug fans out there, this has gotta be bittersweet. It’s like somebody else is taking your car for a drive, yeah?

Day One Links: Bad news, good news and worse news

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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News, news, news and more news. Some good, some bad, some just terrible.

…And we’ve only just started high school football practices.

Here’s the quick rundown on what’s been going on the last day or so.

Cover your eyes if you must. Good stuff is at the bottom.

Derby's Jake Tomczak, right, catches a ball for a touchdown during vs, Ansonia on October 29, 2010. He's reportedly out for the year with a torn ACL.

1. Derby’s Jake Tomczak out for the year? – The sterling WR/DB and keystone to Derby’s 2011 season was apparently lost for the season with a torn ACL, according to a report from Mike Pucci of NHR.

Beginning with a Tweet from @CTFootballLive (otherwise known as “Bay” in this space), rumors of a Tomczak injury had been floating around for almost a week.

Finally, the grim prognosis was confirmed by coach George French to Pooch Wednesday night.

Out for the season.

Tough, tough break for the Red Raiders this early.

“We were prepared for it (the bad news),” French told NHR. “It hurts but we have to get it past it.”

Just far, far too many kids are getting ACL injuries. Too many to count last season, now one already in the books after Day 1.

Let’s hope Tomczak, a senior, will make a full recovery and that this is the last we hear of torn ACLs this year.

♦♦♦

2. The NVL ditches insane league tiebreaker rule: First reported by the Republican-American, the NVL has dumped the silly tiebreaker record that caused so much confusion last year over who qualified for the NVL title game.

Thank God.

At first we thought Woodland, which beat Naugatuck head-to-head, would play Ansonia in the final a week before Thanksgiving. Then the athletic directors stepped in and said no, overall record (not head-to-head) was the first tiebreaker. That gave Naugatuck a second shot to clinch. The Greyhounds did and turned their annual Thanksgiving game with Ansonia into the de facto title game.

The original rule made absolutely no sense (what’s the point of divisions then?). Now, thankfully, they’ve restored sanity. Head-to-head is now the first tiebreaker for ties atop the division.

And there was much rejoicing. (yeay…)

♦♦♦

3. Danbury and Norwalk lose family members: Tragedy struck two local teams this week. Danbury lost Jay “Big Jay” Pegues, the father of Danbury senior Jevon Pegues, who served as the team’s bus driver for away games. He died of complications from diabetes, according to coach Dan Donovan.

Danbury’s football team announced the sad news via Twitter Tuesday night.

Norwalk lost former player Alan Nunez, 19, who died while swimming at Candlewood Lake in New Milford.

Nunez graduated this year. The Norwalk Hour posted reaction from former coach Pete Tucci.

New Norwalk coach Sean Ireland posted this message Wednesday.

Thoughts and prayers to both programs and families.

♦♦♦

4. Keeping up with the Drurys: The Record-Journal of Meriden immediately went to work with — what else? — a profile of former Pomperaug football coach Chuck Drury and his son, Michael Drury on their first day coaching together at Southington.

Lots to digest here. There were some nice anecdotes and a couple of poignant quotes detailing their relationship, its effect on Mike’s development as a player and coach and how it’ll work at Southington.

The answer: Mike’s the boss.

Of course.

“It’s amazing,” Mike Drury told the RJ. “I don’t know how someone can be in that position for (30) years and then come in and take a more back-seat role. Day 1 he said, ‘I’ll never overstep a boundary and whatever you say I’ll go with.’”

Said Chuck: “When he asked me to come over here, I told him I’d be a good Indian. I will do my job; I will not interfere with him. If he asks me a question, then I will help him. But I won’t question anything on the field. I’ll be a good assistant; I’ll work very hard for him.”

Also detailed in the story is Chuck Drury’s feelings about leaving Pomperaug.

“It was very hard for me to leave Southbury,” he said. “I left a lot of good people there. They were all in favor of me leaving because I was going to coach with my son.”

But, he added, Pomperaug is in good hands with new coach Dave Roach.

Former Pomperaug defensive coordinator John Pereira has joined the Durys in the CCC. We’re anxious to see how these guys fare in that league. We’ll miss them down here but wish them the best of luck.

♦♦♦

5. Trinity Catholic keeps it in-house: Our own Dave Ruden wrote his first football story of the year. A profile of the alumni coaching staff at Trinity Catholic.

Dave also has a blog post on New Canaan’s brand-spanking-new $80,000 scoreboard.

Yeah.

My question: Will they have instant replay on this thing? Out-of-town highlights?

♦♦♦

6. Hey, who’s that at Nonnewaug? – Why it’s former Derby coach John Oko!

He’s baaaaack.

The Chiefs, who tried varsity in the SWC a few years back, then tried again in the Pequot only to forfeit their 2009 season, have been quietly building a program as a junior varsity outfit since then. The numbers have doubled since then and Oko believes they’re ready for the big time.

More tidbits from the Pequot: 2010 Class M playoff semifinalist Gilbert/Northwestern wants to prove 2010 wasn’t a fluke.

♦♦♦

That’s all for now. Let’s calm down with the news the rest of this week, eh?

The (somewhat) definitive Connecticut Class of 2012 recruiting list

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Masuk quarterback Casey Cochran is widely considered the top recruit in Connecticut for the class of 2012.

With some fanfare, top college recruiting website Rivals.com unveiled its state-by-state recruit rankings a couple of weeks ago. So we here at Connecticut Football HQ thought it would be nice to take those and compile a comprehensive list of the state’s top recruits heading into the 2011 season.

This is purely a list based on website reports. None of it has come from actual reporting on our end. This list designed to give fans a comprehensive look at our state’s prospects in the eyes of the recruiting world. And what you see on those sites is what you’ll get here.

Also, this is just for the Class of 2012. So you won’t be seeing any reports on Brookfield QB Boeing Brown, or Sacred Heart WR David Coggins, etc.  or Masuk’s Shawn Flynn, etc. (Brain freeze on Flynn. He’s a part of this mix.)

We’ve added links to each players’ junior year profile page on MaxPreps.com.

If we could find them (and we usually did), we added recruiting videos below each profile.

Here are the actual Connecticut recruiting pages: Rivals.com | Scout.com

REGIONAL CIAC RECRUITS

Casey Cochran

CASEY COCHRAN, QB, Masuk
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT Rank No. 1) – Boston College*, UConn, Harvard, Princeton, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Yale
Scout – Alabama, Boston College, Connecticut, Duke, Harvard, LSU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford, Texas A&M, Virginia, Yale
ESPN – Boston College, Michigan State, Duke, UConn, North Carolina State
Highlight Video

Mike Money

MIKE MONEY, OT, Fairfield Warde – 6-4, 275
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT Rank No. 5) – No schools listed.

TAREK BRUCE, LB, Stamford
Reported Interest
Scout: UConn, Maryland, Rutgers
Note: Scout.com lists Bruce as A) a quarterback; B) from Westhill. Maybe I missed something? He has no listing on Rivals.

Shane Nastahowski

SHANE NASTAHOWSKI, LB, Greenwich – 6-2, 210
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT No. 9): No schools listed

AUSTIN CALITRO, LB, Danbury – 6-2, 220 | COMMITTED: Villanova
Rivals.com CT No. 3
Highlight Video

AMIHR BESS, RB, Notre Dame-WH – 5-9, 165
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT No. 10): No schools listed
Highlight Video

ELIOTT CHUDWICK, QB, Ansonia – 6-1, 200
Reported Interest
Scout: No schools listed
Highlight Video

Brandon Williams

BRANDON WILLIAMS, DE, Bassick – 6-2, 220
Reported Interest
Rivals: No schools listed
Scout: Maryland
Highlight Video

DAVID CAMILLE, CB, Bunnell – 5-9, 166
Reported Interest
Rivals: No schools listed
Highlight Video

JAKE TOMCZAK, WR, Derby – 6-1, 200
Reported Interest
Scout: No schools listed

JAWAD CHISHOLM, CB, Bunnell – 6-1, 175
Reported Interest
Scout: Penn State
Highlight Video

ARDIAN SAHINOVIC, P/K, New Fairfield – 6-5, 190
Reported Interest
Scout: No schools listed
Highlight Video

CIAC STATEWIDE RECRUITS

AARON BERARDINO, WR, Windsor – 5-10, 180
Reported Interest
Rivals: Boston College, UConn, Duke, Penn State, UCLA
Highlight Video

TAYLOR WRICE, ATH, Bristol Eastern – 5-9, 165
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT No. 8 ) – Boston College, Cincinnati, UConn, Northwestern, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple
Scout: Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, West Virginia
Highlight Video

RYAN MURPHY, TE, Xavier – 6-3, 215
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT No. 9) – No schools listed
Highlight Video

TOMMY UNDERCUFFLER, DB, Berlin – 6-1, 185
Reported Interest
Rivals: Boston College, UConn
Highlight Video

JONATHAN SNYDER, ATH, Newington – 5-10, 175
Reported Interest
Rivals: UConn
Scout: UConn
Highlight Video

NICOLAS VITALE, WR, Hand (Madison) – 5-9, 183
Reported Interest – No schools listed
Highlight Video

JOVAN SANTOS-KNOX, OLB, Xavier – 6-2, 220
Reported Interest
Rivals.com – No schools listed
Highlight Video

KELLY DOBBINS, WR, Putnam – 6-1, 175
Reported Interest
Scout: No schools reported
Highlight Video

CHRIS RECKMEYER, DE, Conard – 6-3, 220
Reported Interest
Scout: No schools listed
Highlight Video

BOBBY SOLECKI, WR, Glastonbury — 5-10, 180
Reported Interest
Scout: UConn, Maryland, Massachusetts, Yale
Highlight Video

NON-CIAC RECRUITS

DONQUATE ROBINSON, WR, Brunswick (Greenwich) – 6-2, 210
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT No. 4) – Boston College, UConn, Duke, Temple
Highlight Video

HAKI DENNIS, DB, Canterbury (New Milford)
Rivals: No schools listed
Highlight Video

JONATHAN PIETERSE, QB, Salisbury School
Reported Interest
Rivals: Buffalo, Montana
Highlight Video

MALIK GOLDEN, ATH, Cheshire Academy (Newington) — 6-1, 185
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT Rank No. 2) – Akron, Boston College, Bryant, UConn, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Towson, Tulane.
Scout: Akron, Boston College, Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Central Michigan, Connecticut, Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, Stony Brook, Syracuse, Towson, Tulane
Highlight Video

KESHAUDAS SPENCE, Taft School (Watertown)
Reported Interest
Rivals: No schools listed
Highlight Video

BUNTU BIYANA, DT, Canterbury School – 6-2, 285
Reported Interest
Rivals: Boston College, UConn, Temple
Scout: Bucknell, Cornell, Fordham, Georgia Tech, UCLA
Highlight Video

MICHAEL GRADY, LB, Canterbury School – 6-1, 220
Reported Interest
Scout – Boston College, Bucknell, Colgate, UConn, Holy Cross, Villanova, Wake Forest
Highlight Video

CURTIS ANTRUM, RB, Hamden Hall – 5-11, 175
Reported Interest
Rivals (CT Rank No. 6) – No schools listed.
Highlight Video

TEVAUN SMITH, WR, Kent School – 6-0, 185
Reported Interest
Scout: Boston College, Connecticut, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Temple
Highlight Video

ROMAINE NICHOLSON, DT, Forman School – 6-1, 340
Reported Interest
Rivals: No schools listed

ESPN.com’s RECRUITING LIST

ESPN’s recruiting site is decidedly more liberal than any of the two big recruiting sites. Lots of names, little substance and somewhat inaccurate. Danbury’s Austin Calitro, for example, is listed as undeclared. Who knows how this list is compiled and curated.

Still, it adds a lot more names. So take these as just an expansive list of other prospects/good players who may or may not end up playing in college.

Again, by no means is this an all-encompassing list, just what the internet bots at ESPN have collated for our fair state.

Players in bold are not found on either Rivals.com or Scout.com rankings. We’ve thrown in a few recruiting video links for local players.

Update: We’re going to cheat a bit and add players we know are being recruited, but not on the ESPN recruiting site to this list. They’ll be given an asterisk. We’ll post info as necessary.  (I’ve changed this. See below.)

CIAC PLAYERS

  • Casey Cochran, QB, Masuk (ranked 38 in QBs)
  • Demetrius Bailey, CB, Torrington – 5-9, 174
  • Adedayo Bakre, DE, Glastonbury – 6-0, 194
  • Shawn Baldez, QB, Fitch – 5-11, 150
  • Amihr Bess, RB, Notre Dame-WH – 5-8, 151
  • Frederick Burgos, CB, Newington – 5-6, 124
  • Brandon Caires, LB, Newington – 5-11, 183
  • Michael Campbell, QB, Bloomfield – 5-11, 161
  • Austin Calitro, ILB, Danbury — 6-2, 220 [COMMITTED: Villanova]
  • Don Cherry, FB, Trumbull — 6-2, 200
  • Kobey Coburn, LB, Waterford – 6-0, 195
  • Jonavan Colon, WR, New Britain — 5-8, 152
  • Pat D’Amato, QB, Xavier — 6-1, 187
  • Joe Desandre, RB, Lyman Hall — 5-10, 182
  • Brett Director, WR, Cromwell – 5-8, 166
  • Aaron Dixon, S, Danbury — 6-0, 179
  • Matt Duignan, LB, Masuk — 5-9, 209
  • Michael English, WR, Farmington — 6-3, 188
  • Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, S, Valley Regional — 5-9, 165
  • Patrick Farrell, LB, Manchester — 5-11, 193
  • Louis Fennarolli, RB, Newtown – 5-9, 206
  • Myles Gaines, RB, Fairfield Prep — 5-4, 129
  • Larry Garcia, QB, New Britain — 5-10, 165
  • Leaon Gordon, RB, Brookfield — 5-10, 173
  • Ryan Jacobucci, CB, Xavier — 5-10, 166
  • Chris Jerome, RB, McMahon — 5-11, 184
  • Ryan Lumpkin, WR, Windsor — 5-7, 141
  • Jay’len Mahan, WR, Wilby – 5-10, 150
  • Davante Mallard, LB, Notre Dame — 5-9, 173
  • Sean Marinan, G, Xavier — 5-10, 229
  • Jonathan Marks, QB, Platt — 5-11, 185
  • Carlos Martinez, LB, Stamford — 5-10, 165
  • Mike Mastroianni, RB, Xavier — 5-8, 169
  • Mike Money, OT, Fairfield Warde – 6-4, 280
  • Shane Nashtahowski, OLB, Greenwich – 6-0, 190
  • Ryan Nobile, DT, Notre Dame-WH — 5-11, 306
  • Adrian Sahinovic, K, New Fairfield –
  • Nick Salza, OT, Bunnell – 6-4, 306
  • Mike Sineiro, LB, Fitch — 5-8, 175
  • Bobby Solecki, WR, Glastonbury — 5-8, 159
  • Isaiah Thomasson, ILB, Maloney – 5-10, 208
  • Jake Tomczak, WR, Derby – 6-0, 196
  • Tommy Undercuffler, S, Berlin – 6-0, 185
  • Nick Vitale, ATH, Hand – 5-9, 185
  • Giovanni Viven, LB, New Britain — 5-10, 206
  • Andrew Vollaro, RB, Haddam-Killingworth — 5-8, 162
  • Zachary Voytek, DT, Trumbull – 6-5, 295
  • Derek Ward, QB, Griswold – 5-10, 178
  • Jonathan Ware, DE, Fitch – 6-2, 217
  • Shaquille Watkin, DE, Stamford — 6-0, 212
  • Brandon Williams, DE, Bassick
  • David Wolff, LB, Fairfield Warde — 5-8, 200
  • Taylor Wrice, ATH, Bristol Eastern – 5-8, 165

NON-CIAC

  • Malik Golden, ATH, Cheshire Academy — 6-1, 185
  • Bunta Biyana, DT, Canterbury — 6-2, 285
  • Kevin Carey, DT, Taft — 6-0, 181
  • Darnell Davis, LB, Avon Old Farms — 6-2, 228
  • Herbie May, QB, Salisbury — 6-0, 190
  • Kevin Peabody, QB, King — 6-1, 180
  • Bryce Peters, WR, Avon Old Farms — 6-0, 200
  • Keshaudas Spence, FB, Taft — 5-10, 230
  • Billy Weyrauch, LB, Cheshire Academy — 5-9, 194

BRAND NEW!
THE RECRUITING WRITE-IN PAGE

OK, since everyone’s anxious to add their favorite player (or son ;) on the list, I’m creating the write-in section below. Players who did not appear on any of the big recruiting lists (as of July 21) will appear here. I’ve added a few of my one from the previous list.

Nutmeg domination again in the Governor’s Cup football game

Sunday, June 26, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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I think we can sum up this game in one photo:

Connecticut players surround head coach John Murphy and celebrate with the Governor's Cup Trophy following their 37-6 victory at Fontana Field Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Lindsay Niegelberg / Connecticut Post

Any questions?

OK, If you must know any more read our man Mike Cardillo’s recap of the game, the ninth straight victory for Connecticut over Rhode Island.

Or if more photos are your thing, check out our massive slideshow. See if you can spot your favorite player.

Guys who did lots of things for Connecticut, especially in the second half, Connecticut Post MVP Montrell Dobbs (TD run) and fellow Post all-stars Brian Kelly (two TD catches), Joe Della Vecchia (two TD passes) and Willie Maxen. Other guys doing things: Morgan’s Nainy Bah (TD catch), Woodland’s Jack DeBiase (INT), St. Joseph’s Tyler Matakevich (sack), Stratford’s Markey Desruisseaux, Shelton’s Mike Georgalas and Stamford’s Mark Robinson. There were others, UConn recruit Max DeLorenzo (TD run) of Berlin, Wethersfield’s Chris Lesure (sack), Bristol Eastern’s Tyrell Holmes, New London’s Carlos Lozada (fumble recovery), Branford’s Kyle Nolan (TD pass), Conard’s Jonathan Esposito (Princeton recruit), Southington’s Tyler Dube, and the team Connecticut offensive line which was ordered by coach John Murphy to start knocking Rhode Island players over for Dobbs and Co. in the second half.

They did.

The rest was history.

St. Joseph's Tyler Matakevich (left) and Ansonia's Montrell Dobbs (right) give Connecticut coach John Murphy an ice bath following a 37-6 victory over Rhode Island in the Governor's Cup, Saturday, June 25, 2011.

This picture's worth three touchdowns: Brookfield's Brian Kelly (2) and Montrell Dobbs (1) pose for a photo late in the second half of the 13th Governor's Cup. Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley

Play of the day: Montrell Dobb’s electric 77-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second half. It was vintage Dobbs. A juke, another juke, another juke…

Then blast-off. 17-6 Connecticut. And it was pretty much game over.

Second place goes to Temple recruit Bah’s 59-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Took a short pass from Della Vecchia, cut across the field and raced down the opposite sideline for Connecticut’s go-ahead score in the second quarter.

Hit of the day: Willie Maxen’s smack of a Rhode Island player on the kickoff following Bah’s TD.

Valiant in defeat: Doesn’t say a heckuva lot when your kicker’s the star of your team, but Rhode Island’s Chad Bacon shined pretty brightly. He kicked two field goals (as it turned out, Rhode Island’s only points). But the beaut was at the end of the first half. A 49-yarder. Yes he had the wind at his back, but still… Tremendous kick. Had the uninitiated among us wondering how many times we’ve seen high school players kick that far.

Not many.

Quote of the day: “I didn’t see that one coming I usually outsmart them. In our three state championships I had the water dumped out before they could do it.” - John Murphy on getting a victory ice bath from Dobbs and Matakevich.

Tweet of the day: @CurrenSCC on Twitter suggesting Rhode Island could use some reinforcements:

Can we suggest New Hampshire, too?

Photo of the day: The one below, a snapshot of Dobbs on his 77-yard touchdown run. Some lucky college is going to love this kid once he gets through Milford Academy. This was a thing of beauty.

Ansonia High School's Montrell Dobbs carries the ball as he avoids Rob Delgado and runs for a touchdown during the Connecticut High School football all-star game against Rhode Island on June 25, 2011, at Southington High School. Photo: Lindsay Niegelberg / Connecticut Post

Photo of the day runner-up: I saw Dobbs and Matakevich were up to no good when they were obsessively filling up the water coolers with any and every bottle they could get their hands on.

Tyler Matakevich (center, left) helps Montrell Dobbs (with helmet) fill up a water cooler to dunk on coach John Murphy late in the 13th Governor's Cup All-Star Game Saturday, June 25, 2011. Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley

Hoo boy! Ansonia jumps to Class M and other (less significant) 2011 playoff division shuffling

Friday, June 17, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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The Ansonia football team races onto the field during the 2010 season. The Chargers will be competing in Class M this season -- its highest playoff division in 31 years.

They haven’t been officially posted by the CIAC, but anyone with a brain can discover the 2011 high school football playoff divisional layout.

Just not me, apparently. On Friday, one of our loyal posters mentioned he noticed that perennial small-school contender Ansonia had been bumped to Class M this season. Thinking CIAC had released the new numbers today, I leaped to my computer to check them out. Of course, nothing was doing.

That is, until I looked at the composite schedules posted last week. Sure enough, they were all laid out differently than the year before. After cross-checking with last year’s divisions, and confirming the new teams (like O’Brien Tech) were indeed on the schedule, I can say that — yes — the 2011 divisions are done.

We still await the 2011 packet with the official numbers. They should be out soon. But we can now take a look at who’s competing with who for the four state championships this season.

First, the composite schedules: CLASS LL | CLASS L | CLASS M | CLASS S

Here’s the breakdown:

CLASS LL

Gained: Bristol Central (from L); Bristol Eastern (L); Crosby (L).
Lost: Wilbur Cross (to L)
2010 playoff teams: 9
Total: 36 (up from 34)

(2010 playoff teams in bold)

AMITY, BRIDGEPORT CENTRAL, BRISTOL CENTRAL (up from L), BRISTOL EASTERN (up from L), CHESHIRE, CONARD-WEST HARTFORD, CROSBY (up from L), DANBURY, EAST HARTFORD, FAIRFIELD PREP, GLASTONBURY, GREENWICH, HALL-WEST HARTFORD, HAMDEN, HARDING, HARTFORD PUBLIC, MANCHESTER, McMAHON, NEW BRITAIN, NEW MILFORD, NEWINGTON, NEWTOWN, NORWALK, NORWICH FREE ACADEMY, POMPERAUG, RIDGEFIELD, SHELTON, SIMSBURY, SOUTH WINDSOR, SOUTHINGTON, STAMFORD, STAPLES, TRUMBULL, WEST HAVEN, WESTHILL, XAVIER (2010 state champion).

CLASS L

Gained: Coventry Windham Tech (M); East Hampton/Vinal Tech (jv in 2010); New London (M); Platt-Meriden (M); Wilbur Cross (LL).
Lost: Bristol Central (LL), Bristol Eastern (LL), Crosby (LL), Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby (M).
2010 playoff teams: 9
Total: 36 (36 in 2010)

AVON, BASSICK, BRANFORD, BULKELEY, BUNNELL, COVENTRY/WINDHAM TECH (up from M), DARIEN, E.O. SMITH, EAST HAMPTON/VINAL TECH (junior varsity in 2010), EAST LYME, FAIRFIELD LUDLOWE, FAIRFIELD WARDE, FARMINGTON, FERMI, FITCH, GUILFORD, HAND-MADISON, KENNEDY, MALONEY-MERIDEN, MASUK (2010 state champion), MIDDLETOWN, NAUGATUCK, NEW CANAAN, NEW LONDON (up from M), NORTH HAVEN, NOTRE DAME-WH, PLATT (up from M), PLATT TECH, RHAM, ROCKVILLE, TORRINGTON, WETHERSFIELD, WILBUR CROSS (down from LL), WILBY, WILTON, WINDSOR.

CLASS M

Updated (6/20)*
Gained: Ansonia (S), Montville (S), SMSA/University (S), Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby (L), Woodstock Academy (L)
Lost: Coventry/Windham Tech (L); Derby (S)*, New London (L); Platt-Meriden (L), Plainville (S)
2010 playoff teams: 7
Total: 37 (36 in 2010)

ABBOTT TECH, ANSONIA (up from S, state finalist), BACON ACADEMY, BARLOW, BERLIN, BETHEL, BROOKFIELD, BULLARD-HAVENS, CHENEY TECH, EAST HAVEN, ELLINGTON/SOMERS, ENFIELD, FORAN, GILBERT/NORTHWESTERN, HILLHOUSE (2010 state champion), LAW, LEDYARD, LEWIS MILLS, LYMAN HALL, MONTVILLE (up from S), NEW FAIRFIELD, NONNEWAUG, PUTNAM/TOURTELLOTTE/ELLIS TECH, SHEEHAN, SMSA/UNIVERSITY (up from S), ST. BERNARD/NORWICH TECH, STONINGTON, STRATFORD, TOLLAND, WATERFORD, WATERTOWN, WILCOX TECH, WINDHAM, WINDSOR LOCKS/SUFFIELD/EAST GRANBY (down from L), WOLCOTT, WOLCOTT TECH, WOODSTOCK ACADEMY (down from L)

CLASS S

Updated (6/20)*
Gained: Plainville (M); O’Brien Tech (new); Derby (M)*
Lost: Ansonia (M), Montville (M), SMSA/University (M)
2010 playoff teams: 7
Total: 37 (37 in 2010)

BLOOMFIELD, CANTON, CAPITAL PREP/CLASSICAL, COGINCHAUG, CROMWELL, DERBY* (down from M), EAST CATHOLIC, GRANBY MEMORIAL, GRISWOLD, HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH, HOLY CROSS, HOUSATONIC/WAMOGO, HYDE, IMMACULATE, KILLINGLY, MORGAN, NORTH BRANFORD, NORTHWEST CATHOLIC, NOTRE DAME-FAIRFIELD, O’BRIEN TECH (new in 2011), OLD SAYBROOK/WESTBROOK, OXFORD, PLAINFIELD, PLAINVILLE (down from M), PRINCE TECH, ROCKY HILL, SACRED HEART. SEYMOUR, ST. JOSEPH (2010 state champion), ST. PAUL, STAFFORD/EAST WINDSOR, STAMFORD ACADEMY, TRINITY CATHOLIC, VALLEY REGIONAL/OLD LYME, WEAVER, WESTON, WOODLAND.

Quick Synopsis

Clearly, the biggest change is Ansonia, which moves from its traditional home of Class S to Class M. Though there might have been a few times Ansonia might have competed in a higher division, it hasn’t competed in a playoff round higher than Class S since the 1994 Class SS championship vs. Bloomfield. Before that, Ansonia’s last playoff season in a larger division was in 1980′s Class LL.

Montville, which lost to Ansonia in the 2010 Class S semifinals and St. Joseph in the Class SS state championship game, has also moved up to Class M. With defending champion Hillhouse, Brookfield and Berlin still embedded in this division, Class M looks markedly tougher than it did a year ago, at least at the top.

As for Ansonia, it’s a change — but it doesn’t make their road to a championship any more or less hard. The four-division playoff format took care of that. Last year’s Class S field was pretty tough. This year’s M might not be of the same caliber, but it certainly looks harder than this year’s Class S.

With Ansonia and Montville out of the way, Class S looks weaker than in years past — especially with St. Joseph and Woodland suffering significant  graduation losses. The division’s only 2010 playoff team pickup is Plainville. Sacred Heart, Cromwell, Hyde and (maybe) Valley Regional/Old Lyme with Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn back, stick around.

Class LL and L actually gained playoff teams from a year ago.

Class LL will feature playoff qualifiers Xavier, Staples, Glastonbury, Trumbull, West Haven, NFA, etc., and then traditional heavyweights like Greenwich, Southington, New Britain, Shelton, Cheshire, Bridgeport Central, Ridgefield, etc. The division added Class L playoff qualifier Bristol Eastern and crosstown rival Bristol Central (which should provide some extra intrigue come Thanksgiving). But, for the most part, no earth-shattering changes.

Class L endured the most changes from 2010. But the usual suspects are all in attendance: Masuk, New Canaan, Darien, Hand, Bunnell, Notre Dame-West Haven, Fitch, East Lyme, Naguatuck. The class lost Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central, but added Class M playoff teams New London and Platt-Meriden, which probably gives it slightly more weight than a year ago.

*Updated: Derby had been included in the Class M division when this was first published, but was dropped into Class S over the weekend. Presumably now that the enrollment does not include O’Brien Tech.

Chuck Drury makes it official, steps down at Pomperaug

Thursday, May 26, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Chuck Drury

UPDATED, Friday, 1 a.m.

Chuck Drury has ended his outstanding, championship career at Pomperaug. Athletic director Joe Velardi first confirmed the to the News-Times of Danbury Thursday afternoon, then Drury himself later in the day.

Drury, 62, said he is indeed stepping down to join his son Mike’s football staff at Southington High School.

He has been at Pomperaug since 1974, mostly as the head coach. His teams reached the state playoffs six times, the finals twice and won the Class MM state championship in 2004. Pomperaug also won three SWC championships in three appearances under Drury’s watch. Drury, a Bristol resident, retired as a full-time teacher last year.

From my perspective, Chuck Drury is one of the most respected coaches in Connecticut high school sports — not just football. A class act, through and through. His 2004 Class MM state championship team, led by Mike Kielt, went 13-0 and crushed heavy favorite Branford 30- 7 to help validate his program and the rest of SWC beyond Masuk.

We’ll miss him down here in Southwestern Connecticut.

Meanwhile, Mike Drury, 28, was named head coach at Southington on Wednesday. He was introduced in a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Here’s the introductory video of Mike Drury from Southington Citizen reporter Michael Guerrera on his Knight Time Southington sports blog.

Report: D.J. Hernandez leaves Southington

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Southington coach D.J. Hernandez

D.J. Hernandez, the former Bristol Central and UConn star who became embroiled in nationwide controversy during his rookie season as the head coach of the Southington football team, has resigned, the Knight Time blog reported Tuesday evening.

According to a press release from the school, Hernandez is accepting a job as quarterbacks coach at Brown University:

The Southington Athletic Department is announcing that Dennis “D.J.” Hernandez has resigned as head football coach for Southington High School. He has accepted a position as quarterback coach at Brown University. Coach Hernandez leaves after completing one year as head coach with an 8-2 record. The search for a replacement will begin immediately.

Southington went 8-2 and fell just short of a Class LL playoff berth in Hernandez’s only season. Earlier in the season, Manchester coach Marco Pizzoferrato accused Hernandez of cheating for using a lost wristband against Manchester during a 28-14 Southington victory on Oct. 22.

Southington suspended Hernandez, who ultimately admitted to using the wristband for four plays. The CIAC later fined Southington $1,000 and placed the football team on probation for the 2011 season.

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