Overtime

I just got off the phone with Bridgeport Central athletic director Eric Graf. Though the weather forecast is for rain and winds as high as 40 miles per hour, Graf said the only way tomorrow night’s game between the Hilltoppers and New Canaan would be postponed is if there is lightning.

Kennedy Stadium is booked for a national band competition on Saturday, Graf said.

So be prepared to wear your rain gear tomorrow night.

The CIAC this morning awarded Fairfield Ludlowe a forfeit win against Randolph High School, which is also known as the Harlem Hellfighters, a co-op football team from Manhattan.

The contest has ramifications for a number of FCIAC teams fighting for state playoff spots.

The teams were supposed to meet in Fairfield Saturday afternoon, but Randolph called Ludlowe athletic director Dave Schulz 90 minutes before the scheduled 3 p.m. kickoff to inform him the school did not have enough players and the game was cancelled.

Schulz said the Randolph principal sent a letter to the CIAC stating that the game was forfeited, following the procedure to alter the game from a no-contest.

The Falcons now have four victories in their previous five games and are 4-4. They can finish with a winning record by defeating Westhill Saturday and Fairfield Warde on Thanksgiving.

Perhaps more importantly outside of Ludlowe, schools like New Canaan, Staples, Bridgeport Central and Ridgefield, which each beat the Falcons and are in the battle for CIAC playoff berths, it gives them 10 additional bonus points.

Westhill High School girls soccer coach Dave Flower admitted he did not know which extreme his team would take for today’s CIAC Class LL Tournament second-round game against Norwich Free Academy.

The Vikings had eight days off following their shocking 3-2 loss to Fairfield Ludlowe on a goal with five seconds left in regulation in the quarterfinal round of the FCIAC Tournament. Then they had another two days because they earned a bye with their No. 3 seed in the state playoffs.

“We are going to either come out strong or really flat,” Flower said before the start of the game.

It turned out the Vikings came out strong.

Really strong.

In one of its most dominant efforts of the year, Westhill rolled to a 3-1 win to advance to the quarterfinals and a home game Friday against Shelton. With a little bit more luck finishing, the outcome could have been much larger.

This Westhill team is the best high school girls soccer team in Stamford history. It is also the city’s most talented team in any FCIAC sport this fall.

The Vikings are intriguing. They have no one superstar, no player that jumps out on an opponent’s scouting report. But they don’t have any weaknesses, no position that can be exploited.

Today Westhill was without two starters, Clare Mahoney and Sarah Hartford, who were sidelined by a concussion and the flu, respectively. That would prove a crippling blow for most teams. Instead, Flower plugged in Whitney Mantel and C.C. Figluizzi-Bingham — two players who would start for almost any other team — moved a few players around and the Vikings did not miss a beat.

The Vikings have just three senior starters, which means they are going to be contenders for several years.

But this team is about the now, and the now looks good. There are four FCIAC teams remaining in Class LL, and the Vikings stack up equally with all of them. It is hard to imagine them coming up against any opponent the rest of the way where they will be outclassed.

While the players are skilled on the field, they are infectiously likable off of it. In this sense, they are very much like the Stamford High School field hockey team of 2007 and 2008, which won state titles.

Can these Vikings have the same success? They will if they can bottle that magic from this afternoon, when they moved the ball quickly across the field, made smart decisions, created opportunities and played with a sense of urgency.

It won’t be an easy task — winning a state title never is.

But it is a goal that is definitely within Westhill’s reach.

After being out on assignment the past two weeks, I’l be back tonight to just the Connecticut Post’s Sean Patrick Bowley for our weekly football chat at 8:30.

With New Canaan facing Bridgeport Central, Staples taking on Trumbull and the jockeying for state playoff spots winding down, we should not be lacking for topics.

Come back later tonight and join in or just follow along.

There are few scholastic sports programs worthy of the term venerable. One exception is the Staples High School boys soccer team.

Starting with highly respected coach Albie Loeffler, the Wreckers have been a model of excellence in the sport for over a half century.

Last week Staples won its 26th FCIAC championship in 51 years and second in a row with a win over Ridgefield.

The Wreckers have won 11th state titles but their last came in 1993, the longest drought since the team was founded.

This year’s team is one of the most talented in Staples’ history, with few superstars but very skilled players all over the field. One player who is an example of what has made the Wreckers so successful is Andrew McNair, a wing whose non-stop hustle has proved contagious with his teammates.

McNair celebrated his 17th birthday today with two assists to help spark Staples to a 4-1 win over Conard in the opening round of the state tournament.

I caught up with McNair after the match, when he discussed what it will take to win a state title, the pride of being a member of the Staples program, and why he is one of the few players on the team who did not get a Mohawk haircut for the postseason.

Fans of Chris Evans will not have to travel far to watch him play in college.

Evans, the former Stamford High School two-sport star, gave a verbal commitment Friday to attend Sacred Heart University next year on a full basketball scholarship.

“I’m really excited about this,” Evans said late Friday night. “I really like the coaches and the guys on the team. It will give me a chance to play close to home, which is important. I’m proud to be a Pioneer.”

Evans, who is currently taking a post-graduate year at The Taft School, is still not academically eligible to play for Sacred Heart. He took the SAT this morning, prior to playing in the football team’s game tonight against Loomis Chaffee.

Evans said he chose SHU over New Hampshire, Maine, Long Island University, Vermont, St. Peter’s and Robert Morris.

Two current Pioneer players, Nick Greenbacker and Stan Dulaire, were Evans’ teammates on the Connecticut Basketball Club AAU team two years ago.

The Pioneers finished with a 17-14 mark a year ago.

“I think Sacred Heart is a great fit for him,” Stamford High School basketball coach Jim Moriarty said. “I think he has the potential to be as good in that league as he was in the FCIAC. A player like that is rare, who can make everyone around him better. He has things you can’t teach. He sees the floor, creates plays and when he doesn’t create for someone else he scores, which is good.”

Evans was an integral part to the Black Knights winning their first FCIAC basketball title since 1964 last winter. Evans averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, as Stamford used a furious rally to defeat Trinity Catholic, 65-63, in double overtime in the final.

Stamford went on to advance to the semifinals of the state tournament and finish 24-3.

Evans had a record-breaking season for the Stamford football team as a senior. He set school marks for receptions (86), yards (1,410) and touchdown catches (21).

The Taft football team is currently 5-1. Evans will be playing on the basketball team in the winter.

Evans said he made an official visit to Sacred Heart two weeks ago, which finalized his decision. He said he had a good visit with Dave Bike, the Pioneers’ coach.

“I just felt really comfortable there and liked everything about it,” Evans said. “I had been to the campus a lot and played there before. “My family and friends will be able to see me the next four years, which is a huge part. Coach Bike is great. I really like his coaching style. It’s much different from Coach Moriarty. Coach Moriarty likes to scream and Coach Bike is more laid back. There are two different styles, but I like them both.

Moriarty said he always thought SHU was a good option for Evans and asked him to give the school strong consideration while he was at Stamford.

“It’s a win-win,” Moriarty said. “He gets to play close to home, which is important to him, and he will get a good education. Sacred Heart is getting more that a great basketball player, they are getting a great kid.”

Evans said he is happy to have the choice behind him so he can now focus on getting himself in a position to play next season.

“Right now the Taft thing is going great,” Evans said. “I’m working hard. It’s a totally different academic environment. There’s a lot of support. All the school stress is now aside so I can work on my academics. I’ve got a home for next year, now I have to do what I need to get done this year.”

The scene at Uncle Joe’s Restaurant in Norwalk, where the New Canaan High School football staff convenes after games, was raucous last night following the Rams’ dramatic 35-34 win over Greenwich. Suddenly, quiet filled the small bar area when highlights from the contest came on a corner TV set.

“Where’s the end?” someone shouted when it became obvious there was no footage of the closing minutes.

A classic game ended with a classic play, New Canaan’s decision to go for and then complete a two-point play with a minute left and the team trailing, 34-33.

Here’s the story behind the play:

It is called 38 Special and goes back at least until the mid-1970s. It was designed by legendary Staples coach Paul Lane. Bo Hickey, the Rams’ offensive coordinator, was on Lane’s staff for 10 years and gave the play to current New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli.

It has been in New Canaan’s playbook for about 22 years. Marinelli guessed it has been used in games about 6 times, most recently about three or four years ago in a Thanksgiving game against Darien.

The Rams practice the play three times a week, for about 10 minutes each time. This week, Marinelli said, they only worked on it twice.

After Peter Park’s 7-yard touchdown run got New Canaan within a point last night, there was never any doubt what the team was going to do.

Several factors came into the decision. New Canaan’s kicking game has been inconsistent this year, and Collin Shapiro had an extra point blocked following the team’s previous touchdown.

“We wanted to take the pressure off our sophomore kicker,” Marinelli said.

More importantly, the Rams’ philosophy is to play for the win.

So when the Rams huddled before going out onto the field for the conversion, there was no question what they were going to do.

Marinelli said New Canaan had three different plays he could use and had one in mind, but that Hickey suggested using 38 Special, in part because Greenwich coach Rich Albonizio had not seen them run it recently.

The play worked to perfection. Quarterback Turner Baty took the handoff and gave the ball to Willie Ouellette, the backup quarterback. Ouellette rolled out, giving the impression he would throw an option pass. But Ouellette gave the ball back to Baty, who found receiver Kevin Macari wide open in the corner of the end zone.

Marinelli swears he never watched the play. “When the game is on the line I get a glass of water, watch the stands and look at the reaction of the crowd,” he said. “And that’s what I did.”

Hickey will not be happy seeing his name in this posting because, as he repeatedly stressed last night, players win games and coaches lose them. Let’s just say last night was a perfect example of coaches making the right play call and the players executing it.

The game provided the next step of nailing down the finalists for the FCIAC championship. If Staples wins its final two games and the Rams beat Bridgeport Central next week, the Staples-New Canaan rivalry will be renewed in the final. Talk is right now, with Boyle Stadium currently under repair, is of playing the game in Wilton.

But New Canaan is going to have to avoid a letdown against a strong Central team looking to earn its own berth in the championship game.

For the next day or two, the talk will be of last night’s special game.

For New Canaan, it was 38 Special.

Which team is the best football team in the FCIAC? According to the 130 people who voted, it is New Canaan, with an overwhelming 42 percent of the vote. Staples was second, with 23 percent, followed by Greenwich at 15 percent.

Of course the court of public opinion doesn’t carry much weight. New Canaan and Greenwich meet tonight in the most anticipated game of the regular season, and the Cardinals will get the chance to have their say where it counts most, on the field. Greenwich and Staples will play on Thanksgiving Day. And it is possible, if the standings hold, that New Canaan and Staples could play in the FCIAC final.