Archive for the ‘New Haven County’ Category

“About Last Night…” Week 6: Wreckers roll, Falcons rally, Trojans fall

Saturday, October 20, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Weston quarterback Tyler Hassett (right) sits spent on the bench in the late stages of New Fairfield's 42-21 victory Friday.

Weston's Zach Cannon walks off the turf as New Fairfield players celebrate their 42-21 victory behind him.

First thing’s first.

RAIN? WHAT RAIN? Some of you athletic directors and coaches have to ease your fingers off the button and slowly back away from your telephones.

There were a few drops Friday night, but nothing really past kickoff. Yet just hours before many games were postponed. (The SCC almost went whole hog on postponing games. And we thought you guys were tough). Schools with turf fields have no excuse.

I’m not the only one angry. Cue Mr. Polecat.

Second, I did a silly thing on Friday night.

While Staples was making Trumbull uncomfortably numb with a deluge of points, I hopped into the car, pointed the compass north and jetted up route 53, to 7, to 39 and inexorably to New Fairfield. I had to see Tyler Hassett and Weston. I had to see New Fairfield and back Joe Pacheco. It was only 21-14 Rebels at halftime.

Which way to New Fairfield?

The iPhone said 1 hour, 3 minutes.

I made it in 45.

…or at least would have made it in 45 had the dumb map not dropped me onto a road spur that goes near New Fairfield High School, not into it. (Yes, this was my first time at Rebels Stadium.)

So I had to backtrack and wound up missing Pacheco’s clinching score, a short run that put New Fairfield up 35-14 with just over 9 minutes remaining. No worries. I did get to see gorgeous Rebels Stadium and a couple scores, including Nick Guardi’s scamper for a touchdown. New Fairfield won 42-21.

So Weston’s miraculous five-week unbeaten run is over. New Fairfield celebrated a 4-2 record. Weston slinked away 5-1.

And now there are three unbeaten teams left in the SWC.

Miraculously, one of them is Barlow, which moved to 6-0 for the first time in school history by rallying past Bunnell, 28-14. This is the Falcon’s best start in Rob Tynan’s 22 head-coaching career. It’s the best start since the 1974′s team began 9-0 under coach Gary Engler. (hat tip to high school football historian Bob Barton for correcting me and providing the correct information.)

Elsewhere, in the FCIAC, Staples finished off Trumbull 57-14 and moved to 5-0.

Darien whupped up on Wilton. The Blue Wave are now 4-2 heading into their home match vs. the Wreckers. Ridgefield and McMahon also won.

In the NVL, Derby proved no match for Wolcott. The Red Raiders will likely have to settle on a getting that winning season. Wolcott faces Watertown in a prep before its — ahem — big game vs. Ansonia in Week 8.

And, finally, in the SCC, Wilbur Cross put a huge scare into Cheshire — up 21-6 at halftime! — before succumbing to a fierce Cheshire rally, 28-23.

Staples' James Frusciante hauls in a touchdown pass in Staples' 57-14 win over Trumbull.

Anyway, that’s the news from Shangri La. Below is the scoreboard and the schedules for today.

There are few huge games. Two, unfortunately, are going on almost at the same time: West Haven at Hand at 1 p.m., then New Canaan at St. Joseph at 2:30. Later tonight, we’ll see Masuk travel to Brookfield for another SWC showdown.

(Believe it or not, this will be my fourth time seeing Brookfield… My first seeing Masuk outside of a scrimmage.)

More excitement in store today. Follow the live blog for all your updates. Let the good times roll.

Friday’s results

  • CCC: Simsbury 21, Hall 14 | Windsor 40, Middletown 35 |  Platt 30, Tolland 19 | Berlin 47, Rockville 0 | East Catholic 56, Weaver 26 | Northwest Catholic 20, Plainville 0
  • CSC: Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech 38, Abbott Tech 22
  • ECC: Montville 54, Waterford 20 | Stonington 47, St. Bernard/Norwich Tech 0 | New London 41, Plainfield 0 | Ledyard 48, East Lyme 7 | Griswold at Fitch (Ppd. to Sat., 7 p.m.)
  • FCIAC: McMahon 27, Fairfield Ludlowe 7 | Ridgefield 46, Norwalk 13 | Darien 34, Wilton 7 | Staples 57, Trumbull 14
  • NVL: Wolcott 41, Derby 7 | Wilby 52, St. Paul Catholic 50
  • SCC: Cheshire 28, Wilbur Cross 23
  • SWC: Barlow 28, Bunnell 14 | New Fairfield 42, Weston 21 | Pomperaug 42, Immaculate 0 | Oxford at New Milford (Ppd. to Mon., 6 p.m.)

Saturday’s schedule

  • CCC: Manchester at Newington, noon | East Hartford at South Windsor, 1 |  New Britain at Conard, 1 | Fermi at RHAM, 1 | Wethersfield at Hartford Public, 6:30 | Glastonbury at Southington, 7 |
  • CSC: Bullard Havens Tech at Prince Tech, 11| Capital Prep at Platt Tech, 1 | Whitney Tech at Wolcott Tech, 1:30
  • ECC: Windham at Bacon Academy, 10:30
  • FCIAC: Fairfield Warde at Trinity Catholic, 2:30 | New Canaan at St. Joseph, 2:30 | Westhill at Danbury, 1:30 | Central at Greenwich, 2 | Bassick at Harding, 2:30 |
  • NVL: Sacred Heart at Kennedy, 11
  • PEQUOT: Coginchaug at Old Saybrook/Westbrook, 1 | Morgan at Cromwell, 1:30 p.m. | Hyde at Lewis Mills, 2 | Ellington/Somers at Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby, 1 | Enfield at Housatonic/Wamogo, 1 | Avon at Granby Memorial | Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton at Canton, 2 | Stafford/East Windsor at SMSA/University, 2
  • SCC: Hamden at Fairfield Prep, 5 | North Haven at Sheehan, 6
  • SWC: Notre Dame-Fairfield at Newtown, 3:30 | Masuk at Brookfield, 7
  • OTHERS: Stamford at Norwich Free Academy, 1

Live Update Blog

‘About Last Weekend…’ Week 5: The Changing of the Guard

Saturday, October 13, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

Hand's Matt Walsh scores the last of his five touchdowns in the Tigers' 40-20 victory over Xavier at Palmer Field Friday night.

With keen and wisened eyes, a number of Xavier High School football alumni grouped together in shallow right at Palmer Field Friday night.

It was a who’s who of Xavier’s recent, glorious past: Ryan Murphy, Jovan Santos, Austin Wezenski, Sean Marinan, Ryan Jacobucci, Graham Stewart.

Their alma mater was leading Hand 20-14 at halftime in Connecticut’s high school football game of the year.

The game was still in doubt. The alumni, all of whom had been the architects, foremen and builders of two state championships and all but last four of Xavier’s previous 30 victories, were edgy, but confident.

“We got this,” said Ryan Murphy, the former all-state end and back. “They’re not going to be able to keep Tim down. …I’m pretty sure (coach Sean) Marinan gave them lashing in the locker room.”

‘Tim’ is quarterback Tim Boyle, the Boston College-bound quarterback who helped Xavier rally twice in the first half to take their lead.

Outside an unfortunate punt snap and, later, a trick play that helped Hand score its two touchdowns, Murphy’s assessment of the second half seemed to be on-target.

But even he and his band of brothers could tell: Their understudies aren’t as polished as they were a season ago. This wasn’t the same Xavier. This was 2012, not 2011.

Someone said they’d love to see Staples and Class LL championship game. “Yeah,” said Santos, his teammates nodding around him.
“But you know what?” he added. “…It’ll be a much closer game.”

This was before Hand turned the game upside-down. This was before the Tigers marched 95 yards in 23 plays to tie the game. This was before Hand’s defense smothered Xavier on three plays and then marched right back down the field and scored again.

Forget Staples-Xavier fighting for No. 1 in a potential Class LL championship game. UConn recruit Matt Walsh and Hand proved what everyone wearing black feared: Xavier’s reign atop the Connecticut football world is in dispute, if not over already.

Hand's Caleb Ewald scores on a touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter of Hand's 40-20 victory over Xavier Friday night.

Boyle and Xavier managed just eight plays to Hand’s 48 in the second half. Though outsized on the lines, the Tigers weren’t out-toughed, outclassed or out-played. Hand churned its way up the field, converting a pair of huge fourth downs — one on a tipped-pass catch by offensive lineman Cam Gravina, the other a pass-interference call — to score the tying and go-ahead touchdowns.

Then Xavier flubbed the ensuing kickoff. Hand got the ball back and that was that.

“I didn’t have to say a whole lot (at halftime),” Hand coach Steve Filippone said. “It was just a matter of us playing our game and getting into rhythm.”

Hand outgained Xavier 305-39 in the second half and by the fourth quarter, Xavier’s notorious fan section — The Black Hole — had been drowned out by the legions of Hand fans who paraded up Route 79 in a caravan Ray Curren described as “Hickory-esque.”

From the start, their presence reverberated across the complex. The Hand band, not the Xavier band, performed on the field at halftime.

The Hand student body jeered, ‘OVER-RATED’ at Xavier … when it was just 7-0.

Late in the game, they cheered, ‘START THE BUSES!’ … at the home team.

Yeah.

The Xavier student body, meanwhile, sat in stunned silence.

“They call their fans the Black Hole, but it felt like the Surf Club out there tonight,” said Walsh, who scored five touchdowns on five carries before a garbage-time run at the end of the game.

Heh. An an opponent working with garbage time. …At Palmer Field.

“They out-physicaled us up front, on both sides of the ball in the second half,” said Xavier coach Sean Marinan, who tasted defeat for the first time since the 2009 Class LL semifinals vs. Staples, and for the first time at Palmer Field since a 37-19 loss to Wilbur Cross in Week 1 of that year. “We couldn’t get anything going with offense. We couldn’t stop them defensively.”

We didn’t make a pregame prediction, but quietly I had it pegged 35-24, Xavier.

I saw a few Hand predictions floating around. But most, if not all, said Hand would win in a close game.

Not 40-20.

“We know we’re a second-half team,” Walsh said. “We were last year. I don’t know if any of you were at the Masuk (Class L semifinal) game, but it was 14-14 and we came out of (halftime) and we just exploded and we did the same thing today.”

Now we enter new territory as the second-half of the 2012 high school football season.

For the first time since Xavier toppled Notre Dame-West Haven on opening night of 2010, we’re looking for a new No. 1.

It’s a brave new world.

Xavier has lost its mojo — for now. Hand has an extra swagger. Meanwhile, Ansonia is rolling in the NVL. Staples is rolling in the FCIAC. Masuk is dominating the SWC. Windsor, Glastonbury and Southington are taking care of business in the CCC… etc.

Lest we forget the teams we cover southwestern Connecticut, here’s what was what in Week 5. While everyone had their eyes fixed on Palmer Field,  we same some surprising results down in Shangri La:

To wit:

Trumbull coach Bob Maffei pumps his fist as his team scores in their upset of Darien on Friday night.

Whew. Crazy week.

Here are your recaps and links to all of Week 5′s proceedings.

Friday

Saturday

Week 5 Primer and Live Updates: The Storm Arrives

Friday, October 12, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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…

It’s judgement night in the SCC: Hand and Xavier will kick off in the Rumble at Palmer Field. Hillhouse and North Haven tangle in the fray at Vanacore Field. Fairfield Prep takes on Cheshire in the fight at the Maclary Complex.

There’s so much to say, so much to talk about. Elsewhere Liam O’Neil is back at quarterback for Greenwich as the Cardinals take on Ludlowe. Joe Pacheco and New Fairfield head into the Panthers’ den of Benedict Field in Monroe. Barlow’s looking to go 5-0. And Trinity Catholic hopes to keep its state playoff drive intact when it hosts rival Stamford on Saturday at an Alumni Field that should be packed with alumni.

Ooooh, baby. Can you feel it in the air?

We’re almost halfway through the 2012 season. It’s Week 5.

Buckle up.

Welcome to football central, where you can get all the info you you need as we begin this pivotal week of games.

Here we go.

The Nuts & Bolts of Week 5

On The Air

Live Update Blog

Sunday Crunch: Attack of the Creatures from the Pits!

Sunday, October 7, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Prepare yourself!

Prepare to scream in TERROR!

Deep! Deep from the depths of the nether regions, come creatures to vile, so merciless, so unrelenting, they threaten to ruin the season of your favorite high school football team!

You’ll experience Thrills! and Chills! as these nightmares come to a football field near you.

You grab your girlfriend or boyfriend tight! You won’t want to let go!

You’ll be petrified in sheer terror as these dark creatures run amok across this land!

They are, the Creatures from the Pits!

This is no B-Movie.

This is real.

Here at high school football central, we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop — heavily, like in some Monty Python skit — on long-dormant, often muddling programs.

Yet these teams, most of whom have served as fodder for the traditional powers over the years, don’t look like they’re going away any time soon.

Trinity Catholic handled Norwalk. The Crusaders are unbeaten. Westhill crushed Central 40-0 to move to 3-1. Barlow hammered Stratford, they’re 4-0. Weston defeated Immaculate. They’re 4-0. Fairfield Prep crushed Shelton. They’re 3-1. Derby, New Fairfield and Oxford are all 3-1.

It’s been quite a year for the underdog programs in southwestern Connecticut.

Sure, the usual suspects still rule. Masuk and Newtown are ruling the SWC. Staples, Greenwich, St. Joseph, Darien and New Canaan (for the most part) are in control in the FCIAC. Xavier, Hand, Hillhouse and North Haven are handling the SCC. Ansonia, the NVL.

But these underdogs — many of whom have been down on their luck recently (Prep), or haven’t had a winning season in a long time (Westhill) — are adding some extra spice to the 2012 season.

They’re giving us reason to be excited about the possibilities — the possibilities of seeing new names and faces playing big games entering the second half of the 2012 high school football season.

But who among these teams are legit?

Who among them are just passing fads?

Let’s take a look at these creatures from the pits who have risen up and are running wild among the citizenry.

Trinity Catholic

Last winning season: 2008 (7-4)
Record: 4-0.
Signature win: 35-28 (OT) over New Canaan.
Why they’re winning: The FCIAC’s top tailback in Shaq Howsie, and a class determined to win.
What’s their limit?: The Crusaders have answered the bell. A huge game with rival Stamford is up next. Win that, and Trinity Catholic will be set up wonderfully for a legitimate run at a postseason berth in Class S. Monster games with Darien and St. Joseph in Weeks 8 and 9 will determine their postseason fate.

Barlow

Last winning season: 2006 (7-3)
2012 Record: 4-0
Signature win: 34-14 over New Fairfield
Why they’re winning: The triple option has been unstoppable under the direction of star QB Jack Shaban and HB Alex Lockwood. 1,700 rushing yards in four games? Yow.
What’s their limit?: We can’t see this freight train grinding down anytime soon. They’re looking good at least until November, when the Falcons finishe with big games vs. Brookfield and Masuk. They’d have to beat both to reach their first league title game since 1987 (when the SWC was the WCC). That’s a tall order. Then there’s a suddenly huge Thanksgiving Day game with Weston, which figures to have major Class M playoff implications.

Fairfield Prep

Last winning season: 2008 (8-2)
Record: 3-1
Signature win: 42-3 over Shelton
Why they’re winning: Third-year coach Tom Shea has mined his roster of 80 players, found the right pieces and has them in the right spots, especially sophomore back John Moten.
What’s their limit?: Prep’s only loss was to Xavier. It avoids Hand. The only heavy hitter left on the schedule until Thanksgiving is Cheshire. That’s Friday. Win, and the Jesuits can start thinking big — like state-playoff big, like old school need-to-beat-West-Haven on-Thanksgiving big. This is not in dispute: After last week’s result, we can say Fairfield Prep is back.

Westhill

Last winning season: 1986 (8-2)
Record: 3-1
Signature win: 37-30 (OT) over Trumbull
Why they’re winning: Davell Cotterell has given the Vikings a weapon they haven’t had in years. Now, team confidence after its 40-0 win over Central is at a level unseen in almost two decades. While their victories to date have been against struggling programs, Westhill is taking care of business. That’s something, oh, about 26 predecessors could never say.
What’s their limit?: Expect Westhill to continue its rise in the standings for at least two more weeks. They’ll be favored vs Franklin, Mass. and Danbury. Then Greenwich comes calling at the end of October and Staples two weeks later. Hard to believe Westhill is ready to play at that level. But they do have a great shot at winning at least seven games, which would be an incredible feat for this program.

Weston

Last winning season: 2011 (7-3) … but before that, 2003, 8-3.
Record: 4-0
Signature win: 22-21 victory over Pomperaug
Why they’re winning: As expected, QB Tyler Hassett (900 yards total offense) is having a great season. His teammates have elevated their games to match. The Trojans have yet to play any of the SWC’s heavyweights. That’ll change this week.
What’s their limit?: It gets tougher, of course. Weston takes on struggling, but cornered Bunnell on Friday. New Fairfield, Masuk and Barlow loom in the season’s second half. If Weston wins the first two, they’ll be in a good place to make their Thanksgiving Day game vs. Barlow for a playoff spot.

Derby

Last winning season: 1996 (6-5)
Record: 3-1
Signature win: 21-20 over Naugatuck
Why they’re winning: The Red Raiders have relied on a nice roster of talented playmakers, Dillon McMahon, Jordan LaRue and Tyrae Small (to name a few).
What’s their limit?: Derby hasn’t had a winning season since 1996. Winning a Week 6 game at Wolcott would be huge step toward making that a reality. The Red Raiders also have tough opponents remaining in Torrington, Seymour and Shelton. They haven’t beaten the Gaels since 2003. They’ll need to beat at least two of those teams to reach those elusive six victories.

New Fairfield

Last winning season:2009 (6-4)
Record: 3-1
Signature win: 41-24 over Bunnell
Why they’re winning: Joe Pacheco has given the Rebels a bona fide star at tailback. He’s second in the state (behind North Haven’s Jalon White) with 787 yards rushing. They haven’t had a player of his caliber in… over a decade? Maybe?
What’s their limit?: As good as this feels, New Fairfield’s road gets significantly harder. It heads to Masuk on Friday (yipes), then it plays Weston, Oxford, Pomperaug and Brookfield, before wrapping up with New Milford. The Rebels probably won’t beat Masuk (sorry, guys), so that means the they must win out to have a decent shot at a Class M playoff berth. As fun as this team has been since losing its opener to Barlow, that’s a lot to ask.

Oxford

Last winning season: Never (program began in 2008).
Record: 3-1
Signature win: None
Why they’re winning: Give them credit, QB Brennan Diaz and Wolverines have rallied around the memory of Brandon Giordano and have taken care of the SWC’s lesser squads.
What’s their limit?: They’re solid. But the Wolverines may not be ready for prime time, as a recent 32-14 loss to Weston showed. They host the Newtown juggernaut on Saturday and still must play New Milford, New Fairfield, Bunnell, Stratford and Pomperaug. A winning season is not too much to ask, but the Wolverines have work to do to secure the program’s first one.

Platt Tech

Record: 3-0
Signature win: Cheney Tech 24-14
Why they’re winning: In the realm of the Tech schools, Platt Tech has been the surprise of the CSC so far. The pitch, catch and run combo of QB Anton Graham and RB Lamont Barham have been solid.
What’s their limit?: The Panthers have all three of the CSC’s top teams yet to play: Bullard-Havens, Capital Prep and Prince Tech. They’ll need to beat two, if not all three of those teams to make a significant dent in the Class L playoff standings (and make a few Class L coaches pretty unhappy, to boot).

Seymour

Last winning season: 2008 (11-2)
Record: 3-1
Signature win: None
Why they’re winning: Undefeated after facing three teams that are a combined 1-11, the Wildcats faced their first strong NVL squad in Wolcott last Week and lost, 48-19. The Cats have been getting solid play from its few seniors, QB Mike Conlan and RB Jimmy Vartelas (7 TDs), in particular.
What’s their limit?: The Wolcott loss was a wake-up call. The Cats will get a slap in the face when they play Ansonia on Thursday night. Luckily, the schedule gets significantly softer afterward. Seymour have a good shot to squeeze three more wins against the likes of Crosby, Watertown and Wilby for a winning season. They also must play Derby and Woodland.

A bit late, but here are Saturday’s results and links:

‘About last night…’ Week 4: Blowout City

Saturday, October 6, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Fairfield Prep's Strecker Backe looks to pass during a 42-3 victory over Shelton Friday night.


Jeez, kids. What got into your pregame pasta dinners this week?

As the scores rolled across our ticker Friday night, it was blowout, after blowout, after blowout.

“Look at all these points being scored,” WELI’s George DeMaio cooed as the night’s action was read to him on his Friday night broadcast. “Unbelievable.”

They came in all shapes in sizes. They developed in a variety of ways.

You had supernovas, like Hillhouse scoring 27 points in the first quarter in a 47-0 win over Law, or Masuk hammering Bunnell with a 28-point second quarter in its 63-14 victory.

You had rolling thunderstorms like Barlow’s 40-6 win over Stratford, in which the Falcons hammered away with three-consecutive 20-point quarters.

You shootout blowouts, like Amity’s 61-43 victory over Guilford, where the teams trade scores until one of them finally asserts its offensive dominance.

You had see-saw blowouts, like Greenwich’s 62-31 victory over Trumbull. The Cards took a 42-0 lead in the first half. Then Trumbull went into blowout mode, outscoring Greenwich 25-7 to make it a 48-25 game in the third quarter before Greenwich turned on the jets again in a 62-31 win.

And there were shocking blowouts, like Fairfield Prep’s 42-3 victory over Shelton. Well, that one was shocking to everybody who isn’t a Fairfield Prep fan.  Yes, we know you believe Prep is good. But I think that result really jarred the rest of us. Now we’re convinced. Welcome back.

Bassick's Vochan Fowler hands off during Friday night's 29-28 loss to Fairfield Warde.

Anyway, blowouts, blowouts, blowouts ruled in Week 4.

Except in Fairfield where Warde defeated Bassick in a contentious and controversial 29-28 victory. Connor McGuinness kicked a 20-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Mustangs the victory.

But was it legit? Reports say Warde was tackled in-bounds with approximately 7 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Apparently the clock didn’t run, which allowed the Mustangs to set up for McGuinness’ field goal.

Bassick coach Derrick Lewis said late Saturday he would protest the result to the FCIAC and CIAC on Monday. “My kids are crushed,” he said in a text message. “That game was ours.”

Here are the results and links from Friday night’s regional games:

* Games summaries included in Friday night’s high school football roundup.

Light schedule for Saturday. Check here for the statewide scores and Saturday’s results.

Sunday Crunch: Mufasha, St. Joseph states their case

Sunday, September 30, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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St. Joseph's Mufasha Abdul Basir busts loose during St. Joseph's 35-28 2OT win over Darien on Saturday.

They call him the ‘Lion King,’ an endearing reference to his name, “Mufasha,” and the namesake of the titular character from the popular Disney franchise.

Like his namesake, Mufasha Abdul Basir grew up before our eyes Saturday at Darien High School. Called upon to make the biggest play of the young season, Abdul Basir, his legs pumping, his shoulders churning, squeezed through the Darien defensive front and fell — just barely — over the goal line to write himself into St. Joseph’s 2012 season highlight reel and lift the Hogs into contender status.

Of course, St. Joseph’s defense had to do some work to secure the exhilarating 35-28 victory. But it was Mufasha’s hard yards in double overtime, necessary after St. Joseph had shanked what would have been the winning chip-shot field goal in OT 1, that secured St. Joseph’s contender status.

“If you don’t want to play this game, you can’t play this game,” he said. “This is a hard-hitting game and you have to want to be great to play this game. And our team wanted to be great, I wanted to be great. I came in with a mindset that I wasn’t going to go down, no matter what. I’m going to keep my feet moving and whoever dares run toward me, I gotta go get it.”

His clutch, 1-yard plunge was reminiscent of the team’s last great running back, Tyler Matakevich, who helped St. Joseph win back-to-back state championships only two years ago. (Aside: Matakevich probably would have leaped over the pile, though).

With a week off from Temple, Matakevich was on the sidelines to watch his former teammates earn their biggest win since he played in the 2010 Class S championship over Ansonia. Mufasha was just an eight-grader then, but the presence of his idol had an effect.

“He’s a great guy and a great inspiration,” Abdul Basir said. “He works hella hard. I kinda wanted to win for him.”

Darien #35 Tommy DiMauro draws the defense as Darien High School hosts St. Joseph High School in varsity football in Darien, CT on Sept. 29, 2012. Photo: Shelley Cryan

The Blue Wave fell to 2-1 and coach Rob Trifone lamented his team playing without star back Peter Gesualdi for the second time and attributed its ineffectiveness during St. Joseph’s comeback to the limited availability of standout lineman Matt D’Andrea. “Put simply, it killed us,” he said. “He’s the best offensive and defensive player we have and when he got tired, it made it difficult.”

But he took some positives out of the close loss.

“…Playing the way we did without Peter Gesualdi, who will be back next week, shows we can play with anybody,” Trifone said.

And so St. Joseph-Darien lived up to its billing. It added St. Joseph, which went 4-6 a year ago, to a crowded house of early FCIAC contenders alongside Darien, Greenwich (2-0) Trinity Catholic (3-0), New Canaan (2-1), Ridgefield (2-1), Stamford (2-1), Westhill (2-1), Wilton (2-1) and Danbury (1-1, 2-1 overall). Staples (3-0) remains the hunted team. And, based on Week 4′s schedule, it doesn’t seem as if there will be much change as we head into midseason.

Same goes for the SWC, which saw little change from last week’s surprises. Barlow, Oxford, Masuk and Newtown won big. Brookfield beat New Milford to set up its grudge match with Newtown on Friday. Masuk at Bunnell is another game to watch.

In the SCC, Fairfield Prep earned some stripes by hanging tough with No. 1 Xavier despite allowing D’Angelo Berry to score two touchdowns on his first two touches of the day. It had the earmarks of a blowout, but Fairfield Prep kept the margin within two touchdowns until the fourth quarter.

“Maybe we had stars in our eyes,” coach Tom Shea said. “But we have to learn that games are 48 minutes long, not 46, unfortunately.”

Though they eventually lost 35-14, Fairfield Prep suddenly doesn’t look like it will be a pushover against some of the other squads on its schedule. The Jesuits don’t play Hand, get West Haven late. Hmm…

Shelton beat back a strong challenge from David Attolino and Amity to earn a critical 34-28 victory.

One of the league’s most surprising results from Friday was West Haven’s 34-13 victory over Notre Dame-West Haven. The score wasn’t surprising, but ND back Cameran Tucker’s performance was downright shocking. He blasted off for 323 yards and Notre Dame only scored 13 points. However it happened, Notre Dame is 1-2 and West Haven is 3-0.

And, finally, in the NVL, the only result of note was Torrington’s big, 24-21 upset victory over Holy Cross. The Crusaders will not be 3-0 heading into Friday’s game vs. Ansonia. Has the luster faded on the last great NVL hope?

EXTRA POINTS: Congratulations to Trumbull coach Bob Maffei for getting win No. 100 in Trumbull’s 35-7 win over Ludlowe. The Eagles snapped a 9-game losing streak dating back a week before program patriarch Jerry McDougall died. …Central quarterback Xavier Hardison suffered a concussion and was carted off the field during his team’s wild, 36-30, loss to Danbury. He was up and about Tweeting on Sunday morning that he was OK. His return to the field is doubtful for next week vs. Westhill.

Saturday’s Regional Roundup

ALSO: Ned Griffen of The Day has your Weekend ‘Polecat’ roundup for statewide news.

Week 3 Primer and live updates: Rain, postponements galore (updated)

Friday, September 28, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Weston's #4 Erik Dammen-Brower crosses into the endzone for a touchdown, during football action against Pomperaug in Southbury, Conn. on Friday September 28, 2012. Photo: Christian Abraham / Connecticut Post


Week 3 began as a mess with rain, rain and more rain fudging with the schedules.

But there was football played Friday night and there were a few intriguing results, especially up north, where nary a drop fell after kickoff.

Along Route I-84, Tyler Hassett and Weston hit a landmark victory when they rallied back to defeat Pomperaug for the first time in school history.

Ridgefield suspended quarterback Connor Rowe, but still defeated Stamford 24-7.

Staples had no trouble with McMahon 55-14.

Meanwhile, in the underwater league (aka, SCC): West Haven defeated Notre Dame-WH. Hand handled Cheshire. Foran defeated Sheehan. Guilford hammered Lyman Hall. Hillhouse took care of Branford.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS/POSTPONEMENTS

  • CSC: Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech at Platt Tech, Saturday, 4:30
  • FCIAC: Ridgefield 24, Stamford 7 | Wilton at Bassick, ppd Saturday, 10:30 | Danbury at Central, ppd Saturday, 11 | Staples 55, McMahon 14 | Fairfield Ludlowe at Trumbull, ppd Saturday, 10
  • NVL: Wolcott at Crosby | Holy Cross at Torrington, ppd. Saturday, 10 a.m. | St. Paul Catholic at Naugatuck, ppd Saturday, 7:30
  • SCC: Hand 35, Cheshire 7 | West Haven 34, ND-West Haven 13 | Amity at Shelton, ppd. Saturday, 1:30 | Fairfield Prep at Xavier, ppd Saturday, 7 | Foran 26, Sheehan 7 | Hillhouse 32, Branford 18 | Guilford 56, Lyman Hall 7 | Law at Hamden, Saturday, noon
  • SWC: ND-Fairfield at Barlow, ppd. Saturday, 4 | Bunnell at New Fairfield, ppd. Monday, 6 | Immaculate at Masuk, ppd. Saturday, 7 | Newtown vs. Stratford at Bunnell HS, ppd. Saturday, 10 | Oxford at Bethel, ppd. Saturday, 7 | Weston 21, Pomperaug 20

For a full schedule that updates automatically, check the CIAC here.

Plenty of games Saturday, follow the live blog for more.

Live Blog

Hillhouse’s Dyer won’t miss games as result of grade-tampering suspension

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer

According to a report in the New Haven Independent, the suspensions handed down by New Haven Superintendent Reginald Mayo will not keep Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer from missing any games as head coach.

An investigation found that Dyer and four others attempted to mislead the NCAA and/or others by tampering with grades and course descriptions.

Dyer, part-time administrator Ed Scarpa, Hillhouse assistant principal Ed Nguyen and Riverside school principal Wanda Gibbs, each met with Mayo and given two-day, unpaid suspensions from their jobs.

Hillhouse principal Kermit Carolina, who maintains he’s innocent of the charges, will not learn his fate until he meets with Mayo, the New Haven Indy reported.

Update: Carolina was given a three-day suspension Wednesday, according to New Haven Indy.

Dyer’s suspension will be served Monday and Tuesday.

Dyer has been the Hillhouse coach since 2007. He won a state championship in 2010.

Update: CIAC media director Joel Cookson said the CIAC’s position on these matters is that if any CIAC violations took place, it’s up to the school district to report it.

Derby at Ansonia game moved to Thursday

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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The 90th meeting between Derby and Ansonia at Jarvis Stadium has been moved to Thursday (tomorrow!) at 6:30 p.m.

According to Derby coach George French, Ansonia has said the threat of rain on Friday and Saturday would be too much for its newly-sodded field to handle. The original turf was destroyed by a nighttime joy-rider before the season began.

The game would have had to been moved to Thursday or Monday. The rivals chose Thursday.

Plan accordingly.

Vote now! What’s Week 3′s Game of the Week?

Tuesday, September 25, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Trinity Catholic-New Canaan was overwhelmingly voted Week 2′s ‘Game of the Week’ by you, the ever wise high school football fans, players and coaches.

That turned out to be the correct response. (Though it might have got a few write-in votes, we didn’t include Westhill-Trumbull as an option. Silly us. But, based purely on meaning as well as excitement, we still think TC-NC was the big winner).

Anyway, so you picked that one right. Hooray.

Let’s see how smart you guys are now.

What’s the game of the week for Week 3? Not as many choices this time, but there are some good candidates.

Whaddyagot for us, knaves?

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