December 9, 2011 at 9:25 pm by Sean Patrick Bowley
EAST HARTFORD — Dave DiGiorgi ran for 317 yards on 30 carries and scored four touchdowns and Holy Cross held of a last-ditch comeback attempt by Cromwell to win the Class S championship 34-27.
Holy Cross was about to put the game away when Cromwell’s David Kuczynski recovered a fumbled snap at his own 4-yard line with under a minute remaining. Behind quarterback Anthony Morales, Cromwell drove all the way to the Holy Cross 24 in 10 plays.
But with 27 seconds remaining, Holy Cross’ Ryan Byrne picked off a tipped pass in the end zone to preserve the victory and Holy Cross’ second state championship and first since 2006.
Morales finished 14-for-32 for 323 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Teammate Derek Villard ran 28 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Antonio caught four passes for 132 yards an a score for Cromwell (10-3).
Holy Cross led 20-14 at halftime thanks to three touchdowns by DiGiorgi. Cromwell grabbed a 21-20 lead after three quarters on Villard’s 1-yard run.
After another short DiGiorgi touchdown, Cromwell rallied again on Villard’s 1-yard run with 7:16 remaining. The extra point, however, was wide left and the game remained tied at 27.
Past midfield, DiGiorgi ripped off a 19-yard run to set up a 23-yard scamper by Brown to put Holy Cross ahead 34-27 with 3:57 remaining.
Though Cromwell drove into Holy Cross territory, Villard fumbled and Kyle Phalon recovered for Holy Cross. DiGiorgi rand 32 yards and Holy Cross picked up another 13 on a personal foul facemask call to put the Crusaders on the Cromwell 12. But a few plays later, Brown fumbled the ball back to Cromwell, setting it up for one final drive with 1:51 left.
But, oh yes, one state championship will be decided tonight. It doesn’t include regional teams, but it has potential of being the best of the four state championships.
The Class S title game between Holy Cross and Cromwell.
You can follow all the action here, interactively on the live blog, or you can just watch the CIAC’s Play-by-play update feed from Rentschler Field, or you can visit our friends Remmy and Kyle at the NVL Football Blog, who have been all over this one. Or you can do all three.
No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 8 Cromwell
WHEN/WHERE – Rentschler Field, 6:30 p.m. ON THE AIR –Sportingnewsct.com | WELI 960-AM TICKETS – $10 COACHES — Holy Cross: Mike Giampetruzzi; Cromwell: Chris Eckert RECORDS — Holy Cross 11-2 (NVL runners-up); Cromwell (10-2) HOW THEY GOT HERE –Holy Cross: def. Haddam-Killingworth 42-14, def. Valley Regional 23-14; Cromwell: def. Capital Prep/Classical Magnet 23-14; def. Northwest Catholic 35-19 STATE TITLES –Holy Cross (1): 2006-SS; Cromwell (1): 2008-S TOP PLAYERS — Holy Cross: Sr. RB/LB Dave DiGiorgi (1,068 yards, 12 TDs); Sr. QB Zach Brown; Sr. LB/OL Anthony Jemele (6-0, 215); Jr. RB/LB Adrian Brown (1,152 yards, 13 TDs); Sr. WR/DB Paul Cotter; Sr. LB Joe Parent; Fresh. WR/DB Isaiah Wright (8 TDs). Cromwell:Sr. QB Anthony Morales (3,365 yards passing, 42 TDs); Derrick Villard (1,964 yards yards, 24 TDs rushing); Sr. WR Michael Antonio (1,291 yards, 18 TDs receiving) Sr. OL/DL Mike Sullivan (18 sacks); Sr. WR/DB/K Brett Director (874 yards, 9 TDs receiving); Sr. LB Ricky Feggins. WORTH NOTING – Morales is one touchdown pass away from breaking the state’s single-season passing record he shares with New Canaan’s Matt Milano (42), and is 193 passing yards away from breaking former Southington QB Matt Keleher’s single season record of 3,558. …Behind Morales in the air, Villard on the ground Cromwell is the state leader in passing yards and total offense (5,990). …It averages 42.7 points per game, it has scored under that average in two playoff games. …Holy Cross’ only losses this season have both been to Ansonia, 45-13 in the regular season and 33-0 in the NVL title game. …Take away two losses to Ansonia, Holy Cross is 11-0 and has outscored its opponents 363-150, or an average of 33-14. OUTLOOK — In one of the best matchups of the state championship weekend, the Class S game features offenses on opposite ends of the spectrum. Cromwell has produced the state’s statistically most prolific offense in the state with a spread attack that stretches the field with a deep passing game and selective, but effective running from Villard on the ground. Holy Cross loves to pound away with backs DiGiorgi and Brown, but can pass when necessary with freshman Wright already emerging as a bit-time threat. The Class S championship will come down to defenses and Holy Cross might hold the edge in that department, having allowed just 150 points all season against everybody but Ansonia. But Cromwell’s not exactly a sieve. Sullivan’s 18 sacks lead the state. The offenses should have their way early before defenses take control. Someone’s going to have to make a big play late. Tough matchup to call. OUR PICK — Cromwell 34, Holy Cross 26
WHERE/WHEN — Rentschler Field, East Hartford; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ON THE AIR —Sportingnewsct.com | WELI 960-AM | MSG Varsity (tape delay, Cablevision only) TICKETS — $10 COACHES —Staples: Marce Petroccio (19th year, 155-52, 3 state titles); Xavier: Sean Marinan (9th year, 78-32-2, 2 state titles). RECORDS – Staples 11-0 (FCIAC Champions); Xavier 12-0 (SCC Division I West champions) HOW THEY GOT HERE — Staples: def. Ridgefield 48-21, def. Newtown 48-20; Xavier: def. Glastonbury 35-6, def. Norwalk 55-14. STATE TITLES – Staples (3): 2002-MM, 2004-L, 2005-L; Xavier (2): 2005-LL, 2010-LL. TOP PLAYERS —Staples: Jr. RB/DB Nick Kelly (14 TD); Jr. WR/DB James Frusciante (787 yards, 9 TD receiving; 4 INT); Sr. OL/DL Bo Gibson (6-0, 245); Jr. RB Joey Zelkowitz (800 yards, 10 TD rushing); Jr. LB Pieter Hoets (10 sacks); Sr. RB/DB Jon Heil; Soph. QB Jack Massie (1,461 yards, 13 TD passing); Sr. DB/K Robbie Wolf (7 FG); Jr. WR/LB Lance Longergan; Sr. OL/DL Mikell Washington (10 sacks). Xavier*: Sr. RB Mike Mastroianni (1,337 yards, 21 TD rushing); Sr. QB/DB Pat D’Amato (1,176 yards, 14 TD passing); Sr. OL/DL Sean Marinan (6-0, 252); Sr. OL/DL Austin Wezenski (6-3, 266); Sr. WR/DB Ryan Jacobucci (913 yards, 9 TDs receiving; 7 INT); Sr. TE/LB Ryan Murphy (6-2, 216); Sr. LB Jovan Santos (6-2, 235; 5 sacks); Soph. RB DeAngelo Berry; Jr. QB Tim Boyle (658 yards, 7 TD passing). WORTH NOTING – Xavier is on a 25-game win streak, the longest active in the state. Its last loss was December 1, 2009 vs. Staples in the Class LL semifinals. …Xavier is the reigning No. 1 team in the state following a 13-0 Class LL championship season a year ago. Xavier defeated Trumbull 24-13 in the title game. …This is Staples’ eighth state championship appearance, all under Petroccio. It has lost its last two: 28-21 in OT vs. Cheshire in 2009; 28-26 to Bunnell in the 2006 Class L title game. …Staples’ last title was in 2005 (31-6 over Masuk). …Xavier is the 3rd-best scoring team in Connecticut (42.7 ppg) and the stingiest, just 96 points allowed. …Xavier has allowed just 172 total yards in two playoff games, 72 of which came on a Norwalk TD pass. …Staples is the 6th highest scoring team in the state (37.3 ppg) and has allowed 17.3 per game. … Xavier is No. 4 in total offense (426 yards/gm), Staples is No. 10 (362 yards/gm). …Staples has 60 sacks, best total in the state. Xavier is No. 6 with 31.5. …Wolf’s 7 field goals are second in the state. …Xavier QB D’Amato is committed to Stonybrook, Santos is committed to UMass. OUTLOOK — Xavier has Staples to thank for this dominating run of 25 straight victories, including a Class LL and No. 1 trophy. The Xavier players say Staples’ 31-28 victory in the 2009 state semifinals created the behemoth we see today. Many of the Xavier seniors played in that game. And what better way to end their glorious careers by beating the Wreckers to cap a second-consecutive 13-0 state championship year. Staples has no such memories. Many of the current stars were just freshmen in 2009. They’ve quietly gone about their business, steadily improving while winning 11 straight games and an FCIAC championship over Greenwich on Thanksgiving. Given everything Xavier is — massive on the lines, aggressive, hard-hitting and opportunistic on defense, armed with playmakers up and down the roster — it’s going to take a better-than-perfect effort for Staples to pull off the upset. The Wreckers’ best shot is to absorb Xavier’s punishment, stay patient and take advantage of what few chances they’ll get. Staples is good enough to hang around, but Xavier looks like it’s on a freight train of destiny. OUR PICK — Xavier 34-17
We Meet again:
Xavier’s last loss was 31-28 to Staples in the 2009 Class LL semifinals. Here’s Connecticut Post‘s video of the action from that December day at Wilton:
WHERE/WHEN – Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Saturday, 2 p.m. ON THE AIR —Sportingnewsct.com (audio only) | WELI 960-AM | MSGVarsity (tape delay – Cablevision only) TICKETS — $10 COACHES — New Canaan: Lou Marinelli (31st year, 255-85-7, 8 state titles); Hand: Steve Filippone (23rd year, 187-61-5, 5 state titles). RECORDS – New Canaan 11-1 (FCIAC East Champions); Hand 12-0 (SCC Division I East champions) HOW THEY GOT HERE —New Canaan: def. New London 27-26; def. Windsor 27-24. Hand: def. Coventry/Windham Tech 35-12; def. Masuk 35-14 STATE TITLES –New Canaan (8): 1982-LII, 1993-M, 2001-M, 2002-M, 2006-MM, 2007-MM, 2008-MM, 2009-MM; Hand (9): 1976-M, 1977-M, 1982-MII, 1984-MI; 1989-MM; 1997-L; 2003-M; 2004-M; 2005-M. TOP PLAYERS —New Canaan: Sr. QB Matt Milano (2,620 yards, 31 TD passing); Sr. TE/DE Dylan Leeming; Sr. RB/LB Kevin McDonough; Sr. WR/DB Patrick Newton (759 yards, 9 TD receiving); Sr. OL/DL Thomas Rochlin (6-2, 265); Sr. WR/LB Connor Kilbane; Sr. LB Bobby Distler; Sr. OL/DL Kalin Killinger (6-3, 285). Hand: Sr. WR/DB Nick Vitale; Sr. QB/S Henry Foye (2,384 yards, 27 TD); Sr. OL/D. Joe DeMichele (6-2, 285); Jr. FB/LB Matt Walsh (6-1, 220); Jr. OL/DE Peter Gerson (6-3, 215; 12 sacks); Sr. HB/CB Kevin Frey; Jr. DB Alex Tuccero; Jr. WR/DE Kyle Anderson. WORTH NOTING – Hand is 0-3 vs New Canaan in the state playoffs, all three times with Filippone and Marinelli at the helm of their respective schools. New Canaan won the 1993 Class M title 35-14, the 2007 Class MM title 34-30 and beat Hand 39-21 in last year’s state semifinals. …Marinelli has won a record eight state championships as a coach (tied with Jack Cochran) …Hand has won the third-most CIAC titles (9), behind St. Joseph (10) and Ansonia (16). …Milano is New Canaan’s first two-year starter at QB since Curtis Casali in 2006. …Milano has thrown for 5975 yards and 74 TDs in his career, breaking the school record for passing yards and touchdown passes, both set by Kurt Horton from 1969-1971. His passing yards are 14th all-time in Connecticut history; his TD passes are 5th all-time. …Filippone has won five titles. …Hand QB Foye is undefeated as a starter. …Hand senior WR Nick Vitale’s brother Richie was the MVP of New London’s 2008 Class SS state championship over Seymour. …Hand senior OL/DL Mitch Pasqualoni is the nephew of UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni. OUTLOOK — For the sixth straight time since 2006, New Canaan is playing for a state championship. But this time, they don’t come into the game as the defending champions. New Canaan comes in to recapture the lost glory from last year’s 50-20 title loss to Masuk. Much to Marinelli’s chagrin, New Canaan isn’t getting a shot at payback. That role is now in Hand’s collective hands. Not only is the Madison program looking to avenge last season’s semifinal loss to the Rams, it us hoping to take back the trophy New Canaan stole in 2007′s Class MM title game and grab Filippone’s first victory over New Canaan. On paper, Filippone’s team looks bigger, stronger, more physical and more dangerous, especially now that it has established a run game in recent weeks. New Canaan, meanwhile, has had to find different heroes throughout this postseason run, notably FB/LB McDonough and the defense. To win their fifth title in six years, NC will need to get all phases of its game in gear. Luckily, this group has been in plenty of playoff battles (5 as starters) and at its best when the chips are down, as evidenced in comeback wins over Windsor and New London. Hand needs the kind of punishing effort seen in its semifinal win vs. Masuk to keep the Rams at arm’s length. If they let NC hang around, even their best game won’t be enough. OUR PICK — Hand 37-27
We Meet again:
New Canaan defeated Hand 39-21 in last year’s Class L state semifinals at Ken Strong Stadium. Here’s Connecticut Post’s video of the game.
December 7, 2011 at 11:40 pm by Sean Patrick Bowley
Class M Championship
No. 1 Ansonia vs. No. 3 Ledyard
WHEN – Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
ON THE AIR — Sportingnewsct.com | WELI 960-AM TICKETS — $10
COACHES — Ledyard: Jim Buonocore (4th year, 35-10); Ansonia: Tom Brockett (6th year, 70-7)
RECORDS – Ledyard 11-1;Ansonia 13-0
HOW THEY GOT HERE — Ledyard: def. No. 6 Waterford 26-0; def. No. 7 Wolcott 35-0; Ansonia: def. No. 8 Bethel 35-6; def. No. 4 Berlin 48-14
STATE TITLES — Ledyard (4): 1986-MII, 1991-MM, 1993-MM 2007-M; Ansonia (16): 1976-S, 1977-S, 1979-M, 1981-SII, 1982-SII, 1983-SII, 1984-SII, 1987-S, 1988-S, 1989-S, 1994-SS, 1995-S, 2002-S, 2003-S, 2006-S, 2007-S.
TOP PLAYERS — Ledyard: Sr. RB/DB Alex Manwaring (2,257 yards, 18 TDs rushing); Jr. QB John Rainey (5 TDs passing); Sr. RB/LB Matt Daggett (12 tackles/gm; 6 sacks); Sr. TE/LB Dallas Smith (4 sacks). Sr. WR Slade Backsley. Ansonia: Soph. RB/DB Arkeel Newsome (3,399 yards, 56 TDs rushing); Sr. TE/DE Jake LaRovera; Sr. LB Tyler Wood; Sr. OL/DL Dylan Vano (6-5, 265); Sr. OL/DL Tyler Williams (6-2, 255); Sr. OL/DL Hakeem Martin (5-10, 263); Sr. WR/DB Andrew Matos; Sr. FB Dennis Danley; Sr. QB Elliot Chudwick; Jr. RB/DB Tyler Lester; Sr. TE/DE Sean Rowley (5-10, 181)
WORTH NOTING –Ansionia is the top rushing team in the state with 4,746 yards. …Newsome is the Connecticut’s leading rusher and the No. 4 leading rusher in the United States. …he is 281 off the national leader and 198 away from breaking Alex Thomas’ single-season state rushing record of 3,596 in 2007 at Ansonia. …Newsome has run for over 100 yards in all but one game; he’s run for over 300 yards six times, including both playoff games. …Manwearing recently set the school record for rushing yards in a season and broke Tim Allen’s ECC rushing record on Thanksgiving. …Ledyard has four shutouts this year, including both postseason wins. …Ledyard’s only loss was to Class L participant New London, 33-14. …This will be Ansonia’s 25th state championship appearance. Ansonia lost last year’s Class S final to St. Joseph 49-28. Ansonia’s last title was 35-0 over New London in 2007. …A win will make Ansonia the first 14-win team in state history.
OUTLOOK — With junior-laden team, Ansonia lost in last year’s Class S championship game to St. Joseph. As seniors, they haven’t lost yet, winning 13 straight games by an average score of 45-12. They’re determined group anxious to erase the bitter memories from a year ago and win Ansonia’s 17th state championship and first since 2007. It all starts with Newsome, the 5-foot-7 sophomore who, with 59 total touchdowns this season, is elusive and a threat to score every time he touches the ball thanks to a big and physical offensive line. Holding him down is next to impossible, but so is scoring against Ansonia’s physical defense led by Wood, Martin and LaRovera.Even the best first-team units Ansonia has faced this season have had trouble scoring anything more than a touchdown. This is Ledyard’s challenge. The Colonels are patient and disciplined. They run power mixed with selective passing from Rainey and are tough on defense. They must somehow get first downs, control the clock and limit Newsome’s touches severely. Getting turnovers, a rare occurrence at Ansonia, is of utmost importance. Ledyard is determined, but Ansonia has it all. This game looks like a climb up Mount Everest even for a group as tough as Ledyard. OUR PICK — Ansonia 42-14
It’s not quite the Class M championship shuffle, but someone on YouTube, username SeanLedyard, wrote a rap song to accompany the Ledyard football team to Rentschler Field. The user says he spent four hours writing and recording this diddy, no doubt to pump up the underdog Colonels.
“Ledyard’s getting hungry, ’cause Ansonia’s a good meal.”
-and-
“Think they got a title but wait til you rob it.”
Ha! Good stuff. Well played, SeanLedyard. Well played.
Update: The Rap has been expanded to include more lyrics and a chorus. Just awesome.
December 7, 2011 at 2:32 am by Sean Patrick Bowley
Rentschler Field on Tuesday morning, looking in remarkably better condition than it did a year ago.
Players and coaches from the state championship teams and the CIAC gathered in the Rentschler Field luxury suite for the annual championship luncheon.
Wasn’t a heck of a lot to report at the annual CIAC Championship luncheon Tuesday at Rentschler Field, site of this weekend’s finals. Not yet anyway.
It was a lot of handshaking, back-patting and reverent acknowledgement of by the the state’s championship participants. Tuesday’s luncheon on the third-floor suite at the Rent served as the bows before the karate match, to the referee and to each other.
As featured speaker Tebucky Jones, the former New Britain star and current coach said, “This is the state championship. It’s fun. But when you get out there, it’s war. When its over it’s fun again.”
We had our fun Tuesday.
Now it’s war.
We are just three days before we kick off the first games.
Just a few quick tidbits:
First, big thanks to Connecticut Post columnist Chris Elsberry who joined me to take care of the preliminary reports from the press conference. Allowed me to interview a dozen players and coaches for our previews which will be unveiled as we draw closer to game time.
Also: The grass at Rentschler Field (above) looked significantly better than it did last year.
I had a bunch of videos from the coaches remarks before lunch. But the production crashed on me so I’m not doing it again.
Great to see all the players and coaches in a more relaxed setting, with everybody acting civilized. That’ll all change come Friday night and Saturday.
We start previews soon.
Until then, we’ll repost our Pick The Winners
Here’s the Championship Schedule (and pick the winners!):
December 6, 2011 at 6:55 pm by Sean Patrick Bowley
The cameras were out in force at the state semifinals last weekend, much of it has been posted online, including our humble productions of Masuk-Hand and Staples-Newtown and clips from some of other colleagues and competitors.
So, if you missed anything, and I’m sure you did, here’s a list of videos and broadcasts from across the state. Some of the other games I couldn’t embed. These were the ones I could.
If anybody has any other video sources from some of the other games, let me know.
Lots to keep you busy here as we start to preview the state finals with articles and videos this week. Enjoy.
Class LL
Staples 44, Newtown 20
Hearst CT (that’s me) highlight reel
Class L
Hand 35, Masuk 14
Hearst CT Highlight Reel
WFSB’s ‘Friday Night Football’ Masuk-Hand highlight clip
December 6, 2011 at 1:55 am by Sean Patrick Bowley
New Canaan players celebrate their 27-24 victory over Windsor in the Class L semifinals last Saturday. The Rams will play in their sixth straight state championship game when they face Hand Saturday at 2 p.m. at Rentschler Field.
Now that we have our state championship participants, it’s time for the players and coaches to meet the media and tell us their stories on how they got here.
Xavier, Staples, New Canaan, Hand, Ansonia, Ledyard, Holy Cross and Cromwell will gather today with all of the state’s newspaper writers, columnists, bloggers and photographers in the banquet hall of Rentschler Field and East Hartford today at 11 a.m.
We’ll be there elbowing our way through the horde, sending out updates throughout the day. Doing interviews, gathering stories.
The best part is, you can come along, too. Don Boyle’s Sportingnewsct.com will be front-and-center (lucky guy) with a prime spot alongside the dining hall tables. He’ll be talking football with select football coaches and players throughout the day.
To watch the sportingnewsct.com broadcast, you can:
We’re just wrapping up our last previews for tomorrow’s regional football state championship games.
WHEN/WHERE – Rentschler Field, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE/WHEN — Rentschler Field, East Hartford; Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE/WHEN – Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Staples 44, Newtown 20
Click here (which has the live update blog)
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