Overtime

Overtime is just a few weeks old, and as a new blogger it is hard to tell how much of an audience there is out there. The blog has received very little publicity (thank you good people associated with Staples High School boys soccer and New Canaan High School football for your help) and it is difficult to tell if I am writing for anyone but myself.

I vote in a variety of state polls, which I have to admit are not worth the paper they are printed on. They are great for conversation, but really, how many sportswriters out there get to see teams from all over the state and can make an educated assessment? I only see teams in the FCIAC until the state tournament, so how can I tell how the New Canaan football team would do against Ansonia, or Darien against Seymour, other than from scores in the papers?

But since any kind of rankings seem to rouse passion, and I am trying to gauge how many people are actually reading these words, I offer my FCIAC Top Five.

1. New Canaan. The Rams have won impressively, play well in all facets of the game and have the best coaching staff around. That is a pretty winning combination.

2. Darien. Are people really that surprised by the Blue Wave’s success? They returned a lot of people, and coach Rob Trifone has a pretty good track record of producing contending teams.

3. Ridgefield. Except for getting blown out by the Rams, the Tigers are a solid unit that has faced the most difficult schedule. Their only other loss is to Darien, and they have consecutive wins over Staples and Greenwich. Seeing they would lose tiebreakers to New Canaan and Darien, they need too much help to reach the league final.

4. Staples. It is hard to get a read on the Wreckers right now. They have just one loss, but are they legitimate or paper tigers? The guess here is a notch below the top rung.

5. Greenwich. The Cardinals with two losses before the season is half old? I had to pick someone here and Greenwich has had to contend with a ward-full of injuries. Coach Rich Albonizio probably feels like the coach of a perennial winning college program going through an off year and having to deal with the alumni calling for his head.

What do you think? Feel free to send along your comments. It is starting to feel lonely around here.

Westhill’s 31-21 win over Wilton today leaves just two remaining unbeaten teams in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference: New Canaan and Darien.

More surprising than the Vikings’ win was the ease with which it came. Against a defense that had been strong against the run, Westhill’s ground game produced 329 yards on 44 carries. Quarterback Adler Florian, who had a 67-yard touchdown run, ran for 153 yards and threw for 131 and a pair of touchdowns.

Wilton coach Tim Eagen was obviously concerned and disappointed, and for good reason. The Warriors have a murderous remaining regular-season schedule: Darien, at Ridgefield, Greenwich, at St. Joseph and at New Canaan. Combined records: 20-5.

Westhill, which played six horrendous quarters in a row in opening the season with losses to Danbury and Trinity, has come roaring back. Coach Dick Cerone has his kids playing hard. Saturday the Vikings’ sideline was teeming with intensity.

Consider this another example of the parity in the league. If the Rams and Blue Wave can make it through the season unbeaten it will be an incredible accomplishment.

And also make for one of the wildest FCIAC finals ever.

The ever-present smile that left Madi McLaughlin’s face when she injured her right knee nine days ago returned this afternoon when she was given clearance to return to action.

McLaughlin, the star forward on Stamford High School’s field hockey team, will be at practice tomorrow and back on the field for the Black Knights’ home-and-home series with city rival Westhill Friday afternoon and next Tuesday night.

It was feared McLaughlin would be lost for the season when she went down during the team’s 0-0 tie with Ridgefield a week ago Monday. McLaughlin missed the team’s 3-1 loss to Wilton last week and 1-0 win at Danbury on Monday.

McLaughlin did not undergo an MRI until yesterday because of the swelling.

McLaughlin set a Stamford city scoring record with 26 goals last year to help the Black Knights win their second state title. She had the winning goal in overtime in the semifinals and the assist on Laura Dembofsky’s game-winner in the final minutes of the final.

Without McLaughlin, Stamford is a good team. With her, the Black Knights, who will take a 7-2-1 mark into Friday’s game with Westhill, are a legitimate threat to win the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title and defend their state crown.

One of the biggest reasons for the Trinity Catholic High School volleyball team’s 8-4 start — its best in years — is the dynamic combination of setter Clare O’Leary and hitter Cayleigh Griffin.

That the two players have such perfect chemistry on the court should come as no surprise.

O’Leary’s mother Mary Ann and Griffin’s mother Dorothy were once teammates on the Providence College women’s basketball team. The two reconnected while dropping their daughters off at preschool, where O’Leary and Griffin quickly became close.

The two have stayed best friends. They laugh together and finish off each other’s sentences. And, more importantly as far as the Crusaders are concerned, Griffin has made a habit of finishing off O’Leary’s sets, which is a big reason why Trinity has won four of its last five matches.

And if the two continue on their current course — and their is no reason to believe they won’t — the Crusaders will return to the state tournament for the first time since 2005 and to the FCIAC playoffs for the first time since 1997.

“That would be great,” Griffin said, “But what we want even more is to win the city title. That’s our goal. That would be even bigger.”

The Crusaders already have a win over Westhill and play Stamford on October 20, a date that has been circled on their calendars.

The name O’Leary has become synonymous with success at Trinity. Her two older brothers — Jimmy and John — and two older sisters — Courtney and Maggie — all were part of championship teams at the school.

O’Leary has been adding to the family’s good name. She is an outstanding quarterback and team leader, and she has really made her mark with her service game.

Likewise, while Griffin has been great at net, her ability passing and playing defense has kept her on the court for full rotations.

“Our friendship has made it easier because we know we can depend on each other,” O’Leary said.

About the only thing more enjoyable than watching the two of them on the court is spending time with them off of it. Yesterday I got the opportunity to sit with them for 15 minutes outside the school before practice, which was equal parts interview and comedy routine.

To find out more about the Clare and Cayleigh show, check out my column in Thursday’s Advocate.

Felipe Rodriguez, the outstanding forward on Westhill High School’s boys soccer team, was on crutches yesterday as he watched the school’s girls team defeat Trinity Catholic, 6-1.

Rodriguez injured his left ankle during a collision late in the second half of Monday’s game at Fairfield Warde, but that did not stop him from staying in and scoring the tying goal in a 1-1 draw.

Rodriguez said he will miss tomorrow’s game against Bassick and hopes to return either for Friday’s contest at Brien McMahon or next Tuesday’s at Stamford, which will be for the city title.

Now that the last story for the week has been filed, and I have a little sushi in my belly, a couple of random thoughts:

— One of the biggest moments of the fall scholastic season will take place this week, but not on a field or in a gymnasium. Madi McLaughlin, the outstanding forward on Stamford High School’s field hockey team, is scheduled to undergo an MRI after injuring her knee last Monday in a game against Ridgefield, according to Matt Forker, the team’s coach. The Black Knights are keeping their fingers crossed they will not lose McLaughlin for an extended period of time.

McLaughlin set a city scoring record with 26 goals last season to help lead Stamford to the state championship. Their hopes of repeating — not to mention winning an FCIAC title — hinge on having McLaughlin in the lineup.

McLaughlin, a senior, is one of the state’s best athletes and has an engaging personality. Let’s hope the news is good.

Stamford, by the way, will play city rival rival Westhill in a home-and-home series on Friday and a week from Tuesday. If McLaughlin plays, that will set up a nice game-within-a-game matchup with Westhill’s Alli Oakes, who has been a goal-scoring machine for the Vikings this season.

— Now four weeks old, this FCIAC football season is shaping up to be one of the wildest in recent memory. There are currently four unbeaten teams, none named Greenwich or Staples. New Canaan and Darien, at 4-0, have been most impressive thus far, while Wilton and St. Joseph have also yet to lose. Greenwich and Staples each has just one loss, though the Wreckers have to be concerned following Friday night’s 37-6 loss to Ridgefield.

The Tigers’ win was not surprising — despite getting routed by New Canaan and coming in at 1-2 they are a good team. They lost to Darien by just a field goal. But the margin of victory certainly was.

This has been a refreshing season in which there seems to be a big game nearly every week, not the two or three each season that usually determines the two teams in the final.

The annual New Canaan-Darien Thanksgiving game this year could ending up being for the league title. That would create one of the wildest championships in recent memory.

When Darien High School football coach Rob Trifone first saw this year’s schedule, which started with games against Trinity Catholic, Greenwich and Ridgefield, he tempered his expectations.

“I told the coaches I’d be happy after three weeks if we were 2-1,” Trifone said. “I never expected to be 3-0 on October 1.”

But that is exactly the position the Blue Wave find themselves in today, one of the early surprise teams in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

Well, maybe not that big a surprise. A lot was expected of Darien this year, with a number of starters back from a team that went 4-6 a year ago. But four of those losses — against New Canaan, Wilton, Ridgefield and Central, quality opponents all — were either by seven points or less or games where the Blue Wave were still in contention in the fourth quarter.

Many viewed the Blue Wave as around a 7-win team this season, but those expectations soared after their stunning 31-25 upset of Greenwich two weeks ago.

“Any time you beat Greenwich in any sport, and especially in football, it is a huge accomplishment,” Trifone said. “What that win did was elevate the level of confidence. The kids believe in what they can do. I think that win will provide dividends in ways more than just a W.”

It may also prove that the game was not really an upset if Darien continues on its current path. They have one of the league’s top passing combinations in quarterback Matt Wheelock and receiver Brian Kosnik, a strong running back in Nikki Dysenchuk and have received solid play from middle linebacker James Patton and linemen Mike Gasparino and Rocco Colandro.

“These kids are used to being in big games from last year and were almost able to pull off some upsets,” Trifone said. “I think that fueled them coming back a little hungrier. We knew we had a good senior class back and we would be competitive.”

That Trifone has the Blue Wave in contention in his second year at the school should not be a surprise. He spent 26 seasons at Brien McMahon, which won two league titles when he was the defensive coordinator and one state and two league titles when he was head coach.

In a year in which the race to fill the two spots in the FCIAC title game appears to be more wide open than in recent memory, the Blue Wave still have a long road to travel. Half of their remaining eight games are against teams — Staples, Wilton, New Canaan and St. Joseph — that are also currently unbeaten.

“There’s definitely more balance than there has been in some time,” Trifone said. “I think you could see six or seven teams competing for the championship and to get into the state playoffs. Unfortunately we will probably be knocking each other off.”

Last Saturday’s 31-28 road win against Ridgefield, coming off the Greenwich game, might be the strongest indicator yet that the Blue Wave will be in the race for the long haul.

“That’s the sign of a good team when, given the situation and that we did not play our A game, we still got a victory,” Trifone said.