Overtime

Perhaps the game that surprised the most people the first week of the high school football season was Norwalk’s 19-7 win over Greenwich, the Bears’ first in the series in 30 years.

Sean Patrick Bowley, the online sports producer for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, shot some video from late in the game, including the final touchdown by the Bears’ Dave Klein, and postgame interviews with our first Overtime Team of the Week.

Last year’s weekly high school football chats with Sean Patrick Bowley and myself proved to be popular with local fans.

So we will be holding them again this season, starting tonight at 7 p.m. We’ve added a new hitter to the lineup: Kevin Duffy of the Danbury News-Times.

So come back here tonight and click on the link below to ask a question or just follow the talk as we look back on Week 1 and ahead to this weekend’s games.

Former Westhill High School football player Cliff Louis picked up the frequent-flyer miles this summer. He signed a free agent contract with the Giants, was released and signed by the Lions, was released and signed by the Cowboys.

Dallas let Louis go on Friday, and now he is going to be staying closer to home.

The Hartford Colonials of the UFL signed Louis yesterday, and he practiced with the team for the first time today.

The 6-foot-8, 315-pound offensive lineman had previously been on the practice squads of the Cardinals, Jaguars and Browns.

Louis was on the Giants’ practice squad in 2008 when Colonials coach Chris Palmer was the quarterbacks coach. He was with the UFL’s Florida Tuskers last year.

Louis, 26, attended Morgan State University, where he was named to the All-MEAC second team as a senior in 2006.

The Colonials play Friday at Omaha at 8 p.m.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

I got calls from an FCIAC athletic director and football coach this week, neither affiliated with the school, offering the same message: “Norwalk better be your team of the week.”

It is!

The first Overtime Football Team of the Week T-Shirts will have green lettering on the front as the Bears were the unanimous choice to be the first recipients of this new award. Norwalk, which opened the season with a 19-7 win over Greenwich, received 1,183 votes, or 58 percent of the 2,043 cast, to beat out Darien and Bridgeport Central, the other finalists.

The vote counts for 50 percent. The Bears were also the choice of the selection panel, which consists of Sean Patrick Bowley, the online sports producer for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers; Pat Pickens, the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen-News; and Tim Parry, who runs the FCIAC Football Blog. That accounts for the other 50 percent.

Norwalk will receive a trophy and 60 T-Shirts courtesy of award sponsors BlueStreak Sports Training, Garden Catering and The Stamford Advocate.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. The feedback for the award has been most encouraging.

Three more finalists will be selected after this weekend’s game and the voting will begin for our second winner on Sunday, so check back.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

Zack Emilcar of the Westhill High School football team and Danielle Jordine of the Stamford High School volleyball team are the first winners this fall of the BlueStreak-Overtime FCIAC Player of the Week awards.

Emilcar and Jordine will each receive plaques and T-Shirts from BlueStreak.

Emilcar had an outstanding all-around performance in leading the Vikings to a 32-12 win over Warren Harding. Emilcar finished with 280 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, including scores of 80 yards on a run and kickoff return. He also had seven tackles and a sack on defense.

Jordine, a middle hitter, led the Black Knights to a 3-2 win over Trumbull and a 3-0 sweep of city rival Trinity Catholic, finishing with 24 kills, 32 service points, 23 blocks, 11 digs and four aces in the two matches.

Nominations are open now until Tuesday at noon for this week’s winners.

To nominate an athlete, click on the replica of the T-shirt the winners receive on the right-hand side of this blog, below the BlueStreak ad. Then email in the name of the person you are nominating. Please include all of the player’s statistics for the week as well as the team results.

The award will be judged on games/matches played Monday through Saturday of each week. Please wait until an athlete is done competing for the week to submit your nomination.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

With 19 hours left in the voting, Norwalk has a nearly 400-vote lead over Darien, out of 1,830 cast thus far, to be the first Overtime High School Football Team of the Week. The voting, which counts for 50 percent, ends at noon tomorrow.

The winning team gets a trophy and 60 T-shirts. I just picked up the promotional shirts and thought I’d share them with you (forgive the side view: there is some technical problems and the photos will not post properly). The front of the shirt will be in the winning school’s primary color, with the team helmet underneath. The back with the sponsors will remain in black.

Check back tomorrow as we announce the first winner.

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

The voting is now open to crown the first-ever Overtime High School Football Team of the Week award, sponsored by BlueStreak Sports Training, Garden Catering and The Stamford Advocate.

The three finalists are: Darien, which used a stifling defensive effort to shutout Fairfield Warde, 31-0; Norwalk, which defeated Greenwich for the first time in 30 years, 19-7; and Bridgeport Central, which got off to an impressive start with a 50-6 victory over Fairfield Ludlowe.

The winning team, thanks to BlueStreak and Garden Catering, will receive a trophy and 60 T-Shirts with the award logo, at the top of this post, on the front in the primary color of the school.

The voting is open until noon on Wednesday and will count for 50 percent. The other half will come from the decision of a committee made up of Sean Patrick Bowley, the online sports producer for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, Pat Pickens, the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen-News, and Tim Parry, who runs the FCIAC Football Blog.

If the decision of the voters and the majority of the committee differs, the tie will be settled by The Advocate sports department.

Since almost every high school student and many people are on Facebook, you can also get updates by clicking on this link and “liking” and becoming a fan of the Overtime blog fan page. Every new post on this blog is linked to the page.

So vote below and check back to find out who is the first Overtime Football Team of the Week.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.

The voting for the first Overtime High School Football Team of the Week will begin tomorrow morning. The award is sponsored by BlueStreak Sports Training and Garden Catering, with the support of The Stamford Advocate.

Each week, I will select three FCIAC teams as finalists. The winner will be selected by a combination of a vote and a three-person committee. The voting will be conducted on this blog starting every Sunday, and will continue until noon on Wednesday. All readers, players, coaches — anyone will be eligible to vote, which will count for 50 percent. The other 50 percent will come from the decision of a committee made up of Sean Patrick Bowley, the online sports producer for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, Pat Pickens, the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen-News, and Tim Parry, who runs the FCIAC Football Blog.

If the decision of the voters and the majority of the committee differs, the tie will be settled by The Advocate sports department.

The winning team will receive a trophy and, thanks to BlueStreak and Garden Catering, 60 T-shirts. The shirts will be gray, with the award logo at the top of this post in the primary color of the winning school, along with the team’s helmet underneath, on the front, and the sponsors on the back.

Since almost every high school student and many people are on Facebook, you can also get updates by clicking on this link and “liking” and becoming a fan of the Overtime blog fan page.

So check back tomorrow to see which teams are the three finalists and to cast your vote for team of the week.

Follow Dave Ruden on Twitter

Become a fan, by hitting “like,” of the new Overtime Facebook page.