Apparently I have more clout through the FCIAC than I thought I did. My pick in my “Pickens’ Perspective” column from last week of Ludlowe over Central inspired the Bridgeport Central team more than anyone intended. Central quarterback Christon Gill and the rest of the Hilltoppers used my 20-12 Ludlowe pick as motivation as Central destroyed Ludlowe, 53-28 on Thursday night at Kennedy Stadium.
Ludlowe turned the ball over five times, and quarterback Rob Ferrara was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a hip pointer. Backup Mike Sheehan filled in admirably, throwing for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Sheehan was intercepted three times and fumbled in the end zone for a Central touchdown.
Quotes from the game:
Gill on my pick: “We just came out there real fired up. We took offense to that- how they talk about us and how they talk about us. I don’t like to look in the newspaper, but that one I had to. I took real offense to that. Take it upon yourself and do what your position is.”
McCloskey on Ferrara’s injury: “That hip pointer, that’s a hard thing to deal with. We’ll have to see what happens.”
McCloskey on Sheehan: “I have to give him a ton of credit. He came in, he’s really a good option quarterback. He was able to run the rest of our stuff. He did a tremendous job.”
McCloskey on Gill: “He’s a real good athlete. He puts the ball on the money and he runs the ball and he runs his offense well.”
Central head coach Dave Cadelina on Gill’s progression: “When he came in as a sophomore, he was just a little guy among men there and now he’s a guy in the spotlight.”
Gill is being looked at by a number of Division 1 and 1-AA colleges including Penn St., Buffalo, UConn, Stony Brook and others. His dream is to go to Penn St., but would be satisfied going anywhere.
Warde beats Darien
Todd Kalif (the Citizen’s freelancer) was at this and said that it was sloppily played, but Warde made more plays when it counted in the Mustangs’ 14-0 win over the Blue Wave. Craig Lowery had a big game, scoring on a touchdown catch from Eric Burns and intercepting a pass.
Alex Delaney tallied Warde’s other score and ran for a 2-point conversion. The Mustangs thwarted each and every Darien drive. Head coach Duncan Dellavolpe (who got a win in his first game as head coach) called it “The biggest win I’ve ever been a part of.” Dellavolpe was involved in three straight FCIAC championships and last year’s Class MM championship at New Canaan.
Friday’s section
Check out the Citizen for Warde field hockey’s shocking win over Staples on Wednesday, plus Ludlowe girls soccer’s season opening win at Stamford. Here is a quick rundown of the results that happened today, besides the football games:
Football: Oxford 20, Notre Dame-Fairfield 6. This is Oxford High School’s first ever win in varsity football.
Girls Soccer: Darien 1, Warde 0.
Girls Volleyball: Central 3, Warde 1.
As always, take good care.
Central looked more prepard for the game. To say Sheehan did a “tremendous job” is a bit over the top. He essntially played against JV and Freshmen players. As a matter of fact, Central’s head coach was a bit upset that McCloskey kept his starters in the entire game. Perhaps he was concerned about his very young players being injured.