Archive for the ‘NVL’ Category

Weekly Links: Ned talks Xavier, Duffy talks Masuk, IBD talks Boeing and video clips

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(1)
|
|

The Day's Ned Griffen (at left, if you didn't know)

The Lonesome Polecat: The Day’s Ned Griffen catches up with Xavier

The hardest working writer in all of football took a trip to Middletown to check the Game of the Year of the Week, Cheshire at Xavier.

Among the discussions, Xavier’s new offensive coordinator and its suddenly not-so-impotent offense. There’s also a note about the last time Greenwich allowed more than 50 points in a game

(Hint: It’s been a long, long time).

Brookfield QB Boeing Brown


School Sports Stars Tackle Recruitment Game Online

Brookfield quarterback Boeing Brown is the cover boy on this article from Investors Business Daily. Yes, IBD.

We’re as shocked as anyone, but the story is definitely apropos. It’s about how recruits use various social media outlets — Facebook, Twitter, what have you — to help boost exposure to college football programs.

Brown has certainly been proactive in that department, perhaps more than any high school football player I’ve ever seen.

ADDED/UPDATED: Berks Catholic cancels Stamford trip… without telling Stamford

Late add from down Stamford-way, the planned Oct. 21 meeting between Stamford and Berks Catholic (Pa.) is apparently off. Berks Catholic booked a home date with Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia that same day. It only came to Stamford coach Bryan Hocter‘s attention because he just happened to randomly check out Berks’ schedule. Stamford AD Pete Samperi got in touch with the Berks Catholic coach, who told Samperi he made informed his principal of the change, but not his athletic director.

Samperi:

“I’m really upset now I was counting on the team as our 10th game. It makes a big deal in the standings, for the whole state, not just us. Now we are basically short a game and I’m waiting to hear from the CIAC what to do.”

The answer is, most likely, nothing. Stamford’s out of luck just two weeks from the scheduled date. It will probably be ruled a no-contest and the Black Knights will be stuck with just nine games.

This comes not long after Trumbull’s out-of-state game with Catholic Memorial (Mass.) was canceled after the lights went out in the second quarter of their Week 1 meeting. That, too, was ruled a no-contest.

Ah, the strange but true stories of bye week. Anybody wanna join the FCIAC as the 20th team? They’ll be your best friend.

Duffy: Masuk No. 2 again

Nothing we didn’t cover here, just a little more in depth from the News-Times’ Kevin Duffy. He starts with a cute story about New Milford coach Chuck Lynch‘s daughter and her take on the SWC juggernaut. He also chimes in on the fickle pollsters.

Around the SWC: Vote for SWC Player of the Week

More Duffy as he takes a closer look at the SWC. You can also vote for your SWC football player of the week.

Newsome wins CTPost Male Athlete of the Week

401 yards rushing, 5 touchdowns? No shock here.

NVL Football Blogguys on Week 4

Kyle and Remmy, your favorite semi-non-newspaper bloggers (semi, because Kyle freelances for the Republican-American) have been posting weekly video previews of the NVL season. If copious amounts of NVL news and analysis isn’t your thing, at least tune in to see what threads our boys are wearing this week. Very chic.

♦♦♦

Video: Fairfield Prep vs. Wilbur Cross and Rich Magdon ceremony

Fairfield Prep’s media department was hard at work this week compiling a video from last weekend’s victory over Wilbur Cross at Alumni Field. Lots of atmosphere captured, particularly the ceremony to honor former coach Rich Magdon for his decades of service to the Fairfield Prep program.

The dedication portion of the video begins at the 4:46 mark.

♦♦♦

Birdseysports Play of the Week

Of friends from Birdseye Sports covered the Darien-St. Joseph game. This week’s highlight is Peter Gesualdi’s acrobatic touchdown leap that gave Darien a 28-7 lead in the second quarter.

Included is yet another catch phrase, Oh my God, I don’t…. Yes! Yes! which, frankly, doesn’t ring as much as ‘Ain’t No Way.’

Keep trying Effusive-Fans-on-BirdsEye-Sports-videos. Keep trying.

♦♦♦

New London at Greenwich… THE MOVIE!

Our coworkers at the Greenwich Time have attempted to get some extra game highlights to help out yours truly. The equipment is limiting, but staff writer Scott Ericson did a fine job of capturing many of the touchdowns in Greenwich’s 51-33 loss to New London. So we helped him out by packaging all the highlights and postgame interviews onto an official video.

And, finally a couple of more football notebooks from elsewhere around the state:

NHR: Sheehan proving its doubters wrong

Despite just 31 players on its roster, Sheehan of Wallingford is 2-1.

ADD: Also curious quote from Woodland coach Tim Shea on about the NVL mindset before the Woodland-Law game.

“All week some of the other NVL coaches were e-mailing me, telling me to show what our league is made of. …”

Really?

Record-Journal’s Tuesday morning quarterback: It’s getting late early for Meriden teams

Story on the struggling Platt and Maloney football teams, plus notes from around here.

Hartford Courant: State and area rankings

The Courant’s state and area rankings. Funny how the state rankings includes just two of their local teams.

The Elite 8 for Week 4

Monday, October 3, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(27)
|
|

None of the Top 8 from last week lost, but we do have some movement based on performances and results around the region.

TRENDING UP

ANSONIA — Arkeel Newsome is awesome, no doubt. Perhaps the state’s best tailback. His anticipation and field vision are without peer, and enable him to turn big gainers into long touchdowns. There’s a reason why his path to the end zone is so wide open. Seven, actually:  Tyler Williams, Matt Hall, Arkadiusz Osiecki Kaszuba, Dylan Vano, Hakeem Martin; Dennis Danley and Jake LaRovera. They’re Ansonia’s bone-crushing offensive line, fullback and tight end. The Chargers slide into the No. 2 spot behind Masuk. Next up: vs. Holy Cross, Friday, 7

BUNNELL — To anyone thinking it’s all Bryan Castelot hucking deep passes to Jared Vazquez and Jawad Chisholm, David Camille torched Oxford’s defense with over 200 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Moving a spot up to No. 4. Next up: at Weston, Thursday, 3:45 p.m.

NOTRE DAME-WH – The Green Knights looked out of sorts vs. Xavier and may have lost them style points. In retrospect, Xavier isn’t exactly the Little Sisters of the Poor. Since then Notre Dame has won two straight, including an impressive 28-0 victory over Shelton Friday night. ND’s defense is strong — it accounted for the team’s only score vs. Xavier and the first score of the Shelton game — and backs Amhir Bess and Javon Grey are beasts when they get into the open field. ND can really make a statement on Friday night vs. you-know-who. Next up: vs. West Haven, Friday, 7

TRENDING DOWN

NEW CANAAN — The Rams keep winning, which is all coach Lou Marinelli can ask for. But have the last two opponents exploited some weaknesses? New Canaan has also been prone to penalties. It’s growing pains, we’re sure, after losing a few veterans from last year. Luckily, QB Matt Milano is a gamer and programs always seem to win the close ones. But someone’s bound to make the Rams pay… Like, maybe these guys:  Next up: at McMahon, Thursday, 6:30

WEST HAVEN — Let’s get this out of the way: Hamden clearly isn’t the easy out it was last season. West Haven found that out the hard way. After building a 10-point halftime lead on Friday night, the Westies saw it melt and then almost slip away. But QB Nick Nieves and Co. dealt with the adversity well with a quick-strike touchdown with just a minute remaining. Character win, for sure. But Notre Dame-WH won’t be so kind. Up Next: at Notre Dame-WH, Friday, 7.

SHELTON — I only caught the second half, but the Gaels could do nothing offensively against Notre Dame’s front. Considering that and that Shelton struggled to put away Sheehan and Wilbur Cross means it will drop from this list’s honorable mention for the time being. The Gaels will have to work to get back, but the signs aren’t encouraging. Next Up: at Hamden, Thursday, 7.

WESTON — Played one of its best games under the Joe Lato regime a week ago. Followed that up with a turnover-plagued clunker at Newtown. They’re 2-1 and still worth watching, but for now, they’ll drop from mention. Doesn’t figure to get any easier this week. Next up: vs. Bunnell, Thursday, 3:45 p.m.

STAYING PUT

MASUK We really wish they could play Xavier. Provided that they win their respective state championships, how’s New Year’s Day at West Haven sound? Next up: Barlow, Friday, 3 p.m. … NORWALK did was was expected by routing Westhill. They’re close. They’re very, very close. Next up: at Trinity Catholic, Friday, 3 p.m. … STAPLES Guess the McMahon game wasn’t a repeat of last year. It was much, much better. Enjoy the week off, Wreckers. Next up: Bye week. … POMPERAUG Didn’t learn much from its overwhelming win over Immaculate. We’ll find out plenty over the next two weeks. Next up: vs. Newtown, Thursday, 7. … NEWTOWN Overshadowed a bit by some of the league’s big names, but Dan Hebert is as good as players come.  Next up: at Pomperaug, Thursday, 7. … DARIEN Same goes for Wave junior Peter Gesualdi. By the way, this week’s matchup looks like a good one. Next up: at Danbury, Thursday, 6:30. … TRUMBULL Any word on QB Brendan Moore? The Eagles could use him. Next up: vs. Greenwich, Thursday, 6. … GREENWICH Any word on QB Liam O’Neil? The Cardinals could use him. Next up: at Trumbull, Thursday, 6. …WILTON Turns out the first three games of the season was just a warmup. We think Ridgefield is a bigger measuring stick. Next up: vs. Ridgefield, Thursday, 6. … RIDGEFIELD Nice win vs. Stamford. Looking better every day. Next up: at Wilton, Thursday, Thursday, 6.

State Polls Week 4: Flip flop, flip flop

Monday, October 3, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(53)
|
|

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)

That’s a Wrap Week 3: Status Quo (kinda)

Monday, October 3, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(15)
|
|

Staples James Fruscaiante leaps up to catch a ball for a touchdown in Saturday's 24-21 victory over McMahon. Photo: Christian Abraham / Connecticut Post

They almost pulled it off.

New Canaan's Louis Hagopian muscles through the defense with help from Nick Pelli as New Canaan defeated Fairfield Warde 28-14 Friday night. Photo: Shelley Cryan

Fairfield Warde on Friday night, then McMahon and Hamden on Saturday night almost gave us the shakeup we were looking for.

But their established opponents, New Canaan, Staples and West Haven, respectively, pulled off wild, come-from-behind victories to keep the status quo in the region. New Canaan beat Warde 28-14 in a Friday thriller. Staples topped McMahon 24-21 on a last-second field goal.

While chaos rained [sic] upon the region Friday night, everything seemed to tidy up nicely, if not bizarrely, on Saturday.

Watching Derby and Ansonia play their second half at Shelton’s Finn Stadium riled up a few old-timers, I’m sure, but it did nothing to stop Ansonia from burying Derby 55-19. …Fairfield Prep kept its foot on the gas and defeated Wilbur Cross 35-18. …Hillhouse pulled away from Foran 50-26 [this and more from the Saturday Roundup].

Of all the teams forced to suspend play and return to the field Saturday, Hamden was the only one that looked rejuvenated by the day off. Down 24-14, the Dragons rallied to take a 31-24 lead behind quarterback Tim Dube, only to see if disappear quickly thanks to a 66-yard TD pass from Nick Nieves to Tahir Manning with just seconds remaining. Almost, Hamden. Almost.

In the SWC, it was a pretty tame week. We saw Newtown and Pomperaug both won handily and moved to 3-0 heading into Thursday’s mega SWC matchup. Bunnell is 3-0 after rolling Oxford, 55-20, behind a huge day from David Camille.

Casey Cochran broke the state record for touchdowns and Masuk broke score management against Stratford, 56-0. If the information we have is correct, coach John Murphy will not be suspended. Brandon Schmidt helped Bethel win a shootout vs. New Fairfield. The Wildcats are 2-1 along with Weston in the SWC. Brookfield (over Notre Dame-Fairfield), New Milford (over Barlow) also got their first wins of the season.

Darien's Peter Gesualdi sails over St. Joseph's Jon Prutting to score a touchdown during Saturday's game at Dalling Field. Photo: Autumn Driscoll

In the FCIAC on Saturday, Norwalk (yes, Norwalk), Wilton (yes, Wilton) and Darien joined New Canaan and Staples as the league’s remaining 3-0 teams. Ridgefield dumped Stamford, Danbury crushed Central, and Trinity Catholic took care of Harding to reach get to 2-1.  Trumbull, meanwhile, is 2-0 heading into a big game at home vs. 2-1 Greenwich.

The Cardinals played, perhaps, the craziest game of Week 3, falling to New London 51-33. Kyle McKinnon torched Greenwich for 236 yards and three touchdowns. New quarterback Rob Key threw for 302 yards three touchdowns. The game also featured three interception return TDs, including (officially) a 99-yarder Greenwich’s Ryan Kelly scored from five yards deep in the opposing end zone.

[You can see highlights from that game here: second half | first half. We'll have a full version later.]

What does it say about New London? What does it say about Greenwich? (over 500 yards of total offense? Bananas.)

Quick notes, provided by Dave Ruden of The Advocate: Trinity RB/DB  Shaquan Howsie is done for the year, as is Fairfield Warde WR Kevin Krug. Both suffered knee injuries in week two.

All and all, some interesting results, if not completely shocking. Are there some pretenders among the 3-0 teams. We’ll try to break it down in the coming days.

TOP PERFORMERS

  • Arkeel Newsome, Ansonia — 401 yards, 4 TD rushing, 1 TD receiving vs. Derby
  • James Harrington, Danbury — 225 yards, 4 TD rushing vs. Central
  • David Camille, Bunnell — 201 yards, 5 TD vs. Oxford
  • Connor Shanahan, New Milford — 263 yards, 3 TD passing
  • John Shannon, Bullard-Havens — 230 yards, 4 TD rushing vs. Wolcott Tech
  • Matt Aspinwall, Foran — 23-41, 315 yards, 2 TD passing vs. Hillhouse.
  • Lou Fenaroli, Newtown — 189 yards, 4 TDs rushing vs. Weston
  • Peter Gesualdi, Darien — 2 TDs, 2 INT vs St. Joseph
  • Delshawn Wilson, Norwalk — 14 of 16, 191 yards, 3 TDs passing vs. Westhill
  • Dan Hebert, Newtown — 85-yard punt return TD, 2 INT vs. Weston
  • Casey Cochran, Masuk — 185 yards, 2 TDs, became state’s all-time leader in career passing touchdowns (86) vs. Stratford

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I’ve been a head coach a long time and I’ve never seen a play just not count.”  –Barlow coach Rob Tynan, believing officials during a 28-9 loss to New Milford incorrectly moved chains during a play. The ensuing argument lasted approximately 10 minutes.

“You can’t take us lightly anymore.” – Norwalk quarterback Delshawn Wilson.

“The kids were fired up to be home. I saw passion that we didn’t see before.” – Fairfield Prep coach Tom Shea

“It was Ansonia football weather. We wanted to get down and pound the ball. We wanted to get muddy. It was awesome.” – Dylan Vano, Ansonia lineman

“Even when we’re not blocking people, he runs them over. It’s a real nice thunder-and-lightning combination we have with (Fenaroli) and (Dan) Hebert.” – Newtown coach Steve George

“We just wanted it a lot. No one wanted to go home with a loss. It just wasn’t going to happen.” – Jack Massie, Staples QB

“We’ve got to walk out of here with our head held high and realize that we can play with a team like this. I knew we could. The kids knew we could. It hurts.” – A.J. Albano, McMahon coach

TWEET OF THE WEEK

This from @CTFootballLive, otherwise known as Bay on this space, responding to an update from @CurrenSCC at the Xavier-Cheshire game. Cheshire was down 14-0 at the time this came over:

GAMES TO WATCH WEEK 4

Remember, short week for most teams. A good portion of the schedule will be played Thursday night.

  • Bunnell at Weston, Thursday, 3:45 p.m. – The honeymoon’s over for Weston as Air Castelot comes to town.
  • Ridgefield at Wilton, Thursday, 6 — OK, now we get to see what Wilton’s really all about.
  • Greenwich at Trumbull, Thursday, 6 — The jury remains out on both of these FCIAC contenders. Don’t look now, but this might be Greenwich’s highest hurdle until the FCIAC title game.
  • Newtown at Pomperaug, Thursday, 7 – Huge matchup in the SWC title race. Lou Fenaroli and the Hawks take on Eric Beatty and the Panthers in a clash of 3-0 teams.
  • Hand at Cheshire, Thursday, 7 — Hand finally gets to play an opponent of its caliber. Cheshire still licking its wounds from last week’s 42-20 loss to Xavier.
  • West Haven at Notre Dame-WH, Friday, 7 – Notre Dame’s rounding back into form after its 28-0 victory over Shelton. The Westies were just lucky to survive Hamden.
  • Holy Cross at Ansonia, Friday, 7 — Possible preview of the NVL title game?
  • Norwalk at Trinity Catholic, Friday, 7 – The big game before the big game. Can the Bears actually get to 4-0 heading into Week 5′s game vs. New Canaan?

ANSONIA AT DERBY … THE MOVIE!

We’ll leave you with the first-half carnage from Derby’s DeFilippo Field from Friday night. I’ve gotta say the last momest of the first half looked like the opening scene of ‘The Last Boy Scout.’ We didn’t shoot the second half at Shelton (camera troubles… I wonder why), but we got post-game interviews. Enjoy.

Week 3 Friday: Biblical Proportions

Saturday, October 1, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(58)
|
|

Fans at DeFilippo Field in Derby run for cover as a thunderstorm unleashes a deluge of rain late in the first half of Ansonia-Derby. The game, like many others, was postponed and resume tomorrow. Photo by Christian Abraham

The first sign of trouble came well before anyone really kicked off Week 3.

A Tweet, simply, from our pals at the Greenwich Time, all the way at the other end of the state:

It didn’t sound too ominous. Games all across Connecticut kicked off without a second thought.

Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome busts loose for big yardage in Friday's 36-20 postponed game vs. Derby.

But anyone with a smartphone tuned to a weather website (as I did) knew better. A short time later, the carnage made its way across the state like a tidal wave. Reports of thunder, lightning and rain … so much rain. Ominous weather updates in New Canaan (“nasty storm clouds brewing”), then Newtown (“sky is pitch black here”), then Waterbury (“lightning delay at Municipal”) all came across the feed. Then, “stands cleared 5 minutes before biblical storm arrived”). Games were quickly postponed, even the ones that had started.

Meanwhile, in Derby we saw a storm of another kind. Storm Arkeel.

Ansonia’s super sophomore Arkeel Newsome ripped off a 69-yard touchdown run on Ansonia’s first play and then added two more during a deluge of 36 Ansonia points. By the time the rain — buckets of it that cleared the packed stands at DeFilippo Field — finally hit the Valley, Newsome had amassed 200+ yards rushing.

The Chargers and Red Raiders played the last minutes of a 36-12 halftime in a monsoon. The last score was a short TD pass from Ansonia’s Elliott Chudwick to Jake LaRovera (clip at right).  I gamely stayed outside to capture footage, and by the time I’d retreated to the press box, I looked like I’d jumped in a pool. The game didn’t last long after that. Postponed, like so many others, to Saturday.

He wasn’t the only one. New London’s Kyle McKinnon, meanwhile, was putting on a show down in Greenwich in a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad game that saw the Whalers defeat the Cardinals 51-33. You can watch game highlights here.

They also finished down in New Canaan, where the Rams scored 21 unanswered in the fourth quarter to rally past Fairfield Warde, 28-14. They finished in Shelton, where Notre Dame scored 21 points in the second half to beat the Gaels 28-0. They finished at Fairfield Ludlowe, where Trumbull routed the Falcons. The rain didn’t get to Middletown, where Xavier moved up and down the field to down Cheshire 42-20 in the “Game of the Year of the Week,” according to Ned of the Day.

Video highlights from Cheshire-Xavier

And, of course, they finished an onslaught at Stratford, where Casey Cochran broke the career TD passing record and Masuk broke ‘score management’ with a 56-0 win over the Red Devils. Masuk’s John Murphy says he did everything he could to keep score down in our Roundup | Friday’s postponements/results.

So this is where we stand on Saturday. Games. Games. And more games on tap today and tonight. So don’t turn that dial.

Week 3 Primer and Live Scoring Updates: Less 2010 and more 2011, please

Friday, September 30, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(32)
|
|

Something’s not right here.

We’re about to begin Week 3 of the 2011 Connecticut high school football season, but, I’ve gotta be honest with you, it still has that 2010 taste to it.

Don’t get me wrong. 2010 was fun. Plenty exciting. But I’ve already seen that movie. We’ve already lived that day.

Paraphrasing Phil Connors: “Once again the eyes of the nation have turned here to this … TI-ny village in [southwestern Connecticut]… blah blah blah blah blah.”

A couple upstarts aside, New Canaan is still king of the FCIAC, Masuk still rules the SWC, Xavier is still bludgeoning the SCC, Ansonia the NVL.

Both Masuk and Xavier remain embroiled in a never-ending battle of public opinion for the top spot in the polls, which, by the way, haven’t significantly differed much from last year, either.

Pomperaug’s good. Bunnell’s good. Staples is good. Darien is good. Newtown is good. Hand is good. West Haven is good. We’re still wondering about Trumbull. Hillhouse is down, but not out. Greenwich is on the fence, as are a number of others. OK, yeah, St. Joseph isn’t in the picture, then again they were 1-2 around this time last year anyway.

What, pray tell, is really different? I’ll tell you: nothing.

Is this all you have to offer, 2011? 2010 II? Didn’t we do this last year? Have you run out of ideas?

Many of our preseason dark horses have already “been taken to the glue factory,” as Bay so succinctly put it in our comments section. We’re running out of trendy picks. The usual suspects are still standing.

So who’s left?

Weston takes on Newtown tonight in an intriguing SWC matchup that could tip the scales if the Trojans somehow pull it out. …Seymour? The ‘Cats are 2-0, but they haven’t really played anyone yet. TBA. …Norwalk? TBA until they host New Canaan as an undefeated football team. …How about you, Wilton? Looking good so far, but let’s see you take on New Canaan or someone.

What about the boys from Cheshire? They’re gearing up to take on jilted No. 2 Xavier tonight at Palmer Field. Taking out the defending No. 1 team in the state? Yes, that would be the significant switch we’re looking for. (OK, it would be a switch back to 2009, but a switch nonetheless.)

Shelton? The Gaels are 2-0, take on Notre Dame-West Haven. They haven’t been boss in the SCC since at least 2007. Football’s not the same around here without a strong Shelton club. We’ll keep an eye on them. …What about Derby? The Red Raiders had us excited for a spell, but then lost to Naugatuck. They won’t help our cause without beating Ansonia. …New Fairfield? Bethel? That’s a big game up there. Let’s see something. …Oxford? …McMahon? …Ridgefield? …Greenwich? (actually, I’ve gotten used to Greenwich being out of the mix.)

If I wanted 2010, I would just post all of last year’s videos and call it a day.

Somebody. Do something.

And fast, before we actually relive yesterday today.

WEEK 3 FEATURES/NOTEBOOKS

WEEK 3 GOODIES

ON THE AIR

Live Scoring Blog

The Guide to Week 3′s Games

Thursday, September 29, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(46)
|
|

Here is your Guide for Week 3′s regional high school football games.

FRIDAY

VISITOR HOME TIME SKINNY
Bassick (0-2) Wilton (2-0) 6 Get excited for your Warriors, Wilton
O’Brien Tech (1-1) Capital Prep (2-0) 6:30 Honeymoon’s over, Condors
Warde (1-1) New Canaan (2-0) 7 TV show ‘Traditions’ wants a happy ending
Trumbull (1-0) Ludlowe (0-2) 7 Trumbull just praying Moore can return
Ansonia (2-0) Derby (1-1) 7 Can’t see this topping 2010’s game
Kennedy (0-2) Seymour (2-0) 7 Can you see 3-0, Seymour? Can you feel it?
Wilbur Cross (1-1) Fairfield Prep (1-1) 7 Feel free to join the discussion, Prep.
Hand (2-0) Amity (1-1) 7 Amity’s Vallie can’t do it all by himself
Hillhouse (0-2) Foran (0-2) 7 Yes. These were two of our SCC favorites
ND-WH (1-1) Shelton (2-0) 7 Try going down 17-7 to ND, Gaels
West Haven (2-0) Hamden (0-2) 7 Hamden usually plays WH tough. Usually
Masuk (2-0) Stratford (0-2) 7 Not what Stratford needed right now
Barlow (1-1) New Milford (0-2) 7 Green Wave have had a rough six quarters
New Fairfield (1-1) Bethel (1-1) 7 Huge swing game for both clubs
Notre Dame-FF (0-2) Brookfield (0-2) 7 Can you handle this, Brookfield?
Weston (2-0) Newtown (2-0) 7 Trojans have the SWC’s rapt attention
Law (0-2) Woodland (1-1) 7 This’ll say more about NVL than SCC
New London (1-0) Greenwich (2-0) 7 Take notes. Lots to learn from this game

♦♦♦

SATURDAY

VISITOR HOME TIME SKINNY
Bullard-Havens (2-0) Wolcott Tech (1-1) 1 Tigers are now the favorite in CSC
Darien (2-0) St. Joseph (0-2) 2 Darien’s grown up. How ‘bout St. Joe?
Abbott Tech (0-2) Platt Tech (1-1) 2:30 Abbott will get their ‘W’ sooner or later
Trinity Cath. (1-1) Harding (0-2) 2:30 What’s Trinity without Howsie?
Westhill (0-2) Norwalk (2-0) 3 You’re entering uncharted territory, Bears.
Oxford (1-1) Bunnell (2-0) 3 We’d like to think Oxford will show up
Pomperaug (2-0) Immaculate (0-2) 3 Pomperaug’s been eating its Wheaties
Central (0-2) Danbury (1-1) 4 Hilltoppers ripe for the plucking
Ridgefield (1-1) Stamford (1-1) 6 Tigers can end Stamford talk for good
Staples (2-0) McMahon (1-1) 7 Don’t expect a repeat of last year, MSGVarsity

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

Thursday, September 29, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(20)
|
|

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.

Seymour at O’Brien Tech (The Movie!)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments
|
|

Part two of many videos we’ll show you from last week, Seymour’s 42-14 victory over O’Brien Tech.

You’ll see plenty of Seymour’s Jon Wilson, both in highlights and interviews. You’ll also see interviews with O’Brien Tech AD Dan Nemergut, coach Ken Roberts and senior Frank Corso. Plus you’ll see a pretty relieved Seymour coach Tom Lennon.

The Wildcats take on Sacred Heart at Municipal Stadium on Thursday.

Advanced apologies for the late postings. So many games, so many stories, so little time. And then there was all the previews we had to finish (and other responsibilities) while trying to cut these together. We have six more game highlights to show in the next two days. We’ll be starting up a podcast and give you guys a few more goodies next week.

Anyway, pull up a chair, grab some popcorn and dim the lights.

Showtime:

2011 High School Football Cheat Sheet: The Naugatuck Valley League

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments(5)
|
|

Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome

♦♦♦

DEFENDING CHAMPION

NAUGATUCK (9-2, Class L quarterfinalist)

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Nov. 17 at Municipal Stadium, Waterbury

♦♦♦

Local NVL Preview Capsules

♦♦♦

TOP 5 PLAYERS

♦♦♦

  • ARKEEL NEWSOME, RB/DB, Ansonia – The heir apparent to Montrell Dobbs chipped in with 800 yards and 12 TDs last season.
  • BRENDEN LYTTON, RB/DB, Torrington – One of the state’s best tailbacks after rushing for 2,502 yards and 29 touchdowns, including a state record nine touchdowns vs Wilby last season. gives the Raiders high hopes.
  • RAY KRIEGER, QB/DB, Derby – Threw for 1,939 yards and 21 TDs in coach George French’s spread. But his favorite target, Jake Tomczak, was lost to an ACL tear.
  • JAKE YOURISON, RB/LB, Naugatuck – With the graduation of QB Erich Broadrick, the Greyhounds’ rest their hopes on the versatile back to produce.
  • MATT ZACCAGNINI, RB/LB, Woodland – Same goes for the heir to graduated playmaker Jack DeBiase. Ran for 406 yards and 5 TDs last season.

♦♦♦

KEEP AN EYE ON…

♦♦♦

TIM ADANTI, TE/DE, Derby; DEVANTE BONVILLIAN, RB/DB, Wolcott; DEMETRIUS DAILEY, CB, Torrington; DWAYNE ELLIS, WR/DB, Sacred Heart; DAVID DIGIORGI, RB, Holy Cross; TOM GENDREAU, OL/LB, Woodland; LUKE GRABOWSKI, QB, Seymour; ANDREW MATOS, WR/DB, Ansonia; MIKE GIUGNO, OL/DL, Naugatuck; JUSTIN GONZALEZ, WR/DB, St. Paul; ZACH PLOURDE FB/LB, Woodland; DYLAN SADICK, OL, Seymour; TYLER WOOD, OL/LB, Ansonia; JEFF HOLDER, OL/DL, Torrington; TYLER WILLIAMS, OL, Ansonia.

♦♦♦

5 CAN’T-MISS GAMES

♦♦♦

  • Torrington at Ansonia (Week 1, Sept. 15) – The boys at the NVL Blog have been pumping up this “non-league” clach since it was scheduled. Are the Raiders worth of their preseason praise? Contenders usually go to Jarvis Stadium to die.
  • Ansonia at Derby (Week 3, Sept. 30) – Derby lost a heartbreaker last season at Jarvis Stadium. The Red Raiders only shot at a Brass Division title starts here.
  • Torrington at Holy Cross (Week 3, Sept. 30) – The Copper Division is expected to be a dog fight between four teams. These two are at the top of the list.
  • Woodland at Naugatuck (Week 7, Oct. 28) – Sandwiched around dates with Torrington and Holy Cross, this is the height of a brutal three-game stretch for the Hawks and Greyhounds. The Hawks were Naugy’s only blemish last season.
  • Naugatuck at Ansonia (Week 10, Nov. 24) – The granddaddy of Thanksgiving Day games, the Greyhounds famously upset Ansonia to win the NVL championship and punch their ticket to the playoffs. Payback time.

♦♦♦

EXTRA POINTS

♦♦♦

For the first time in 25 years, Ansonia will be competing in the Class M Division alongside such favorites as New London, Hillhouse and Brookfield. …Higher enrollment forced Derby to ditch its four-year co-op with O’Brien Tech. The school is competing as a singular entity for the first time since 2006. Derby/O’Brien Tech was 15-26 during the run, which includes two seasons in the SCC. Derby has dropped to Class S from Class M as a result. …The league’s overall talent took a hit when star receivers Jake Tomczak (Derby) and David Coggins (Sacred Heart) suffered season-ending injuries in the first week of preseason practice. Tomczak led Derby/O’Brien Tech in receiving last season; Coggins was the Connecticut’s leading receiver and a MaxPreps.com National Top Sophomore last season with 1,417 yards and 9 TDs. …After some confusion last season,  NVL has changed its criteria for determining division winners. Head-to-head results are now the first tiebreaker instead of overall record. …The NVL allows one week for scheduling non-conference games, although some league teams still pair up. This year’s Week 1 “non-conference” games between league schools are: Ansonia-Torrington; Crosby-Holy Cross; Kennedy-Wolcott. Outside of the NVL, Watertown at Montville; Seymour vs. O’Brien Tech (at Derby); Naugatuck at East Longmeadow (Mass.); Wilby at Lyman Hall. Other non-league matchups are Woodland-Jonathan Law (Week 3), and St. Paul vs. Hamden Hall (which doesn’t count toward CIAC playoff points since Hamden Hall isn’t a CIAC member school) and Derby-Shelton on Thanksgiving. Sacred Heart is the only NVL school not playing a 10th game.

♦♦♦

PREDICTIONS

♦♦♦

CHAMPIONSHIP — Ansonia over Holy Cross

PLAYOFF TEAMS – Ansonia (M); Holy Cross (S); Torrington (L).

♦♦♦

THE BOTTOM LINE

♦♦♦

As much as we’ve been intrigued by some of the hype surrounding Brenden Lytton and Torrington (especially from the folks at the NVL Blog), let’s be honest: this is Ansonia’s league to lose. The Chargers bring back everybody except UConn commit Montrell Dobbs (now starring at Milford Academy). But his backup, Arkeel Newsome, is more than ready to carry the load. The Chargers aren’t quite Masuk-dominant, but in the NVL they’re in a class above anyone else and have their sights on bigger goals — like competing with the likes of Hillhouse, Brookfield and/or New London in their new home in Class M.  The remaining 13 teams are fighting for Ansonia’s table scraps. But don’t fret, NVL fans. After the Chargers, the league is wide open, especially in the Copper Division where Torrington, Holy Cross, Naugatuck and Woodland will duke it out. That race should provide plenty of intrigue for players and fans. Just don’t expect the last team standing to get anywhere.

Thanks to Remmy and Kyle of the NVL Blog for helping this poor reporter tackle this league’s preview. Their collective knowledge of the Route 8 corridor is without peer.


Page 7 of 11« First...234567891011