(Khairi Fortt is a highly recruited linebacker for the Stamford High School football team who recently committed to play at Penn State. He will be blogging about his experiences this season)
By Khairi Fortt
The thought of the everlasting journey to find a college is finally over. It’s pretty amazing how fast this year is going.
I remember back to sophomore year, when I first started noticing college scouts at my games. Now, seven more games and a month later, I will be up at Happey Valley living on my own.
Wow, time flies.
I enjoyed going around to the variety of institutions, meeting new people and experiencing new environments. But I am glad that everything is over and I get to focus on my senior year/season.
I am definitely playing in the game against Norwalk tomorrow. I know some people have been wondering when I was coming back on the field or, furthermore, even playing a down of high school football again.
I will be back because I’m still a Black Knight, which means I still represent them to the fullest. We have a few injured players but things will go well tomorrow only if we work together as a team.
Usually the main reason we are unsuccessful against other competition is because we play as a team, but we do not work as a FAMILY. Family means “Forget About Me I Love You” – Rutgers Head Football Coach Greg Schiano.
If we execute this motto and redeem ourselves, we will start having a vast amount of improvement in dominating the conference.
As expected, highly touted transfer quarterback Turner Baty will make his first start for New Canaan Friday night against Fairfield Warde, Rams coach Lou Marinielli confirmed tonight.
Marinelli emphasized that Willie Ouellette, who started the team’s first three games, will also see time at quarterback, and get some plays at wide receiver when Baty is in the game.
Marinelli informed Ouellette about the switch this afternoon.
Marinelli said he wants to give Baty, who has played a little over a quarter in New Canaan’s last two games, entering when the team had big leads, the chance to open a game and see what he can do.
This adds just another twist to a game with a surprising number of storylines, the biggest being both teams coming in 3-0. It will also mark the return of Duncan DellaVolpe, the first-year Warde coach who spent the previous 10 seasons as a New Canaan assistant.
Have a question about high school football? Want to discuss the battle between New Canaan and Fairfield Warde, two 3-0 teams, with Mustangs coach Duncan DellaVolpe returning to the school where he coached the last 10 years?
The Connecticut Post’s Sean Bowley and I will be holding our weekly high school football chat tonight at 8:30. Come back later, ask a question, make a comment or just follow along and see what others have to say.
Cayleigh Griffin, a senior captain on the Trinity Catholic High School volleyball team, will be blogging about her experiences this season.)
By Cayleigh Griffin
Every school has a rival team they want to beat more than anything. In volleyball, most schools consider Darien to be that team because of their consecutive years of winning championships and producing solid players. In Stamford, however, the battle for bragging rights is spread among three teams right here in our own backyard.
Our football team just came off a victory against Westhill, 26-7. Although the heavens opened up, the fans came out in full force, including almost every starter from our volleyball team.
The fall sports teams are very close and very supportive of each other at Trinity. If our volleyball team has a 5:30 match at home, you will be sure to see the football players walking into the gym around the middle of set two to cheer us on.
This is just one of the many reasons I love the tight-knit community Trinity has provided me. So yes, we sat through the misery of Saturday’s weather, but it seemed as though our presence and cheers spurred the players on to push a little further to bring home a victory.
Now that the boys have finished the first part of their journey to a city championship, it is our turn. After finishing 2-0 this past week, Catholic volleyball is in the middle of a challenging week. We lost in five sets to Staples and next face Danbury and an exciting Friday night at Westhill High School.
While we approach every game with the same intensity, anything can happen in a city game. Given that the city championship trophy has not been in our possession since the first year it was created, we are keenly aware of what it will take to bring it home.
Although we are very excited for Friday to arrive, as well as Thursday’s pasta party, we know that our mindset has to be focused on our match against Danbury before anything else. We’ve seen tremendous growth this season, and look to get better and better with every practice and every game.
Our goals to reach states and FCIACs are very much alive!
It is not often that this area produces one athlete good enough to be named to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and earn a football scholarship to attend Penn State.
Stamford schools have produced two in the same year.
A day after Stamford High’s Khairi Fortt was officially selected to play in and awarded his jersey for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and announced he will be attending Penn State, King’s Silas Redd, who had previously committed to the Nittany Lions, had his ceremony this morning. The two players are close friends, workout companions and, if they get their wish, will be roommates.
Though Redd does not get the same kind of attention because he plays in the smaller Fairchester Athletic Association, many consider him to be the best running back in the state. Anyone who follows high school football knows Redd.
As impressive as Redd is as a player, he is an even better person, polite, respectful and possibly the most popular figure on the King campus. He has proved to be a role model not by the way he plays on the field, but the way he acts off of it.
I caught up with Redd this morning after his ceremony for this illuminating interview.
Khairi Fortt made it official this afternoon: he will be spending the next four years playing football at Penn State. He made the announcement in the Stamford High School gymnasium, during a ceremony in which the linebacker was officially selected to play in and awarded his jersey for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
While most people have been excited to see a local player have the opportunity to play at one of the country’s elite programs, Fortt has also been the subject of a lot of criticism both from skeptics who have wondered if he is good enough to play at that level — he is the No. 2 high school prospect at his position according to some scouting services — and accused him of being overly cautious since being sidelined by an injury to his right knee in the season opener against Ridgefield.
I spent some time with Fortt prior to today’s event, when Fortt told me why he selected Penn State and answered his doubters.
After months of speculation, Stamford High School linebacker Khairi Fortt is going to announce this afternoon that he has decided to accept a scholarship offer to Penn State. Fortt, rated as high as the No. 2 prospect in the nation at his position by some services, made his final decision eight days ago, after attending the Penn State-Iowa game, and then informing Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno.
Fortt will disclose his plans at 1:15 during a ceremony in the Stamford gymnasium, part of the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Tour, when he will be officially selected to play in and awarded his jersey for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
The All-American Bowl, which will be broadcast by NBC, will be held on January 9 at noon from the Alamodome.
Fortt will be joining his close friend, Silas Redd, the King running back who this past spring committed to Penn State.
While most people assumed Fortt, who had over 30 offers and had narrowed his choices to Penn State, Georgia and North Carolina, would end up going to the Nittany Lions — he has been to their campus six times dating back to the 8th grade — there is an interesting twist to the story few people know.
Fortt had a great visit when he went to Georgia during the summer. He made an instant connection with coach Mark Richt and his staff, loved the campus and program and the school vaulted Penn State at the time.
Fortt made his official visit to Georgia on the weekend of Sept. 12 and saw the Bulldogs’ 41-37 win over South Carolina. Fortt, who has family in the area, said his mind changed when, on two different occasions, the players who were put in charge of showing him around abandoned him. On one instance, Fortt was left to wander the campus by himself early in the morning.
“Two guys left me,” Fortt said. “I was left at a dorm party with people I didn’t know. Once I was just walking alone in the streets. Georgia is a school in the south, in a top conference, the SEC, the weather is warm, I have a lot of family there and the academics are good. It was all how I connected with the players.”
Fortt came home and had pretty much decided he would commit to the Nittany Lions. He went with his family two weekends ago back to the Penn State campus for one final look, which finalized the process.
I’ll have more later after Fortt officially makes his announcement.
The first-ever Overtime poll, which asked you to pick the most dominant fall sports program in the FCIAC, ended today, and the Darien High School volleyball team was the overwhelming winner among the 169 people who participated, with 88 votes (52 percent).
The New Canaan High School football team was next with 50 votes (30 percent), followed by the Greenwich football team (18 votes, 11 percent), the Greenwich girls swim team (10 votes, 6 percent) and the Wilton girls soccer team (3 votes, 2 percent).
As one reader pointed out, I should have included the Danbury boys cross country team for consideration.
Now that the results are in, I have to admit I would have also voted for the Blue Wave, a team I go back with to my first year as a sportswriter. Twenty-three players from the program have gone on to play college ball, and I have seen every one of them.
Laurie LaRusso has built one of the most storied and revered sports teams in state history, and about the only thing that has surpassed the quality of players she has produced is the quality of the people.
I thought there were two interesting dynamics to the poll: the Greenwich girls swim team has been equally dominant, but girls swimming does not get the same level of publicity. And I was wondering if the two football teams would be given added consideration because of the popularity of the sport.
Thanks to all of you who participated, and be on the lookout for some new polls soon. And if you have any ideas for an interesting poll question, please send them along.
