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Thanksgiving is over and it seems hard to believe, doesn’t it?

Friday’s boys soccer state final– a game Prep lost 2-0 to Norwalk– capped Fairfield’s Fall high school sports season.

There’s a lot to recap, including Thanksgiving football. So let’s start there.

In case anyone was unaware, Ludlowe football head coach Matt McCloskey reads my column.

He chided me for giving Warde a special teams edge, declaring: “Somebody

Fairfield Ludlowe's football team beat Warde for the first time since 2009.

said our said our special teams weren’t that good so we worked on them all week.”

The Falcons won all three sides of the ball– but claimed the special teams battle in particular. Ludlowe blocked a punt, made all four extra points and a field goal in its 31-13 rout of Warde.

Benjamin Brzoski also recovered a fumble and took it 92 yards for a score. Ludlowe scored a special teams touchdown, a defensive touchdown and turned a fourth-quarter Warde turnover into a touchdown.

I have to give Ludlowe football a ton of credit. I criticized the team when it was bad, and have to give it props when it is successful. Every team Ludlowe lost to was at least .500 — those five teams finished with a combined 35-15 record — and the Falcons won the games they were supposed to.

“The way we ended the year was amazing,” Ludlowe quarterback Matt White said. “We turned it around.”

This is an important coaching choice though. Whoever takes over is going to have some pieces to work with.

Meanwhile, on the Warde side, Thursday’s loss was a microcosm of the Mustangs’ nightmarish season.

The Mustangs had that punt blocked, fumbled three times and were intercepted on a first-half halfback option pass. Warde moved the ball, but

Mark Byrne was Warde's MVP, catching four passes for 115 yards on Thursday against Ludlowe.

two of those fumbles came inside Ludlowe’s red zone.

“Besides fumbling however many times and the blocked punt, I thought we played pretty well,” Warde coach Duncan DellaVolpe said. “It’d be interesting to see what would’ve happened if scored all those times that we fumbled. That’s been our season, more or less. It’s not for lack of effort or lack of trying, it’s something I can’t explain.”

Should Warde have been better than 1-9? Absolutely. Could the Mustangs have won more than four games? Not likely. Warde’s schedule was monstrous– four of Warde’s losses came to state playoff teams and a fifth came to the last team out in Class LL, Ridgefield. Wilton was the only team Warde faced that did not finish .500.

Still, DellaVolpe was exasperated by this year, the worst of his coaching career. But he put a positive spin on Thursday’s result.

“I love my seniors because they’re good kids,” he said. “Otherwise I’m not sure how we would’ve handled the season. Nobody quit and we didn’t win games, but we’re a sustained program, I think.”

I trekked to Danbury for ND-Fairfield’s Thanksgiving eve finale at Immaculate last Wednesday.

Good job by the Lancers– which dressed just 26 players for the finale– for getting a 26-22 win over the Mustangs on Wednesday night.

You can see that ND’s on the precipice of a breakout year. The Lancers got contributions from four freshman skill position players– especially running back Hakim Fleming.Junior quarterback Matt Moffat also looked good as the game progressed, a fact not lost on Dicks.

“I’m happy for him,” Dicks said. “He shows up first all the time … and tonight … he was poised in the pocket … it was good to see him lead out there.”

I’ll save Prep’s synopses for last, and I’ll start with American football.

The Jesuits were beaten by West Haven on Thursday, 24-7. Give them credit for competing with a top-flight SCC team for four quarters and for a 6-4 record.

There is certainly positive spin to this story. Prep had not been better than .500 since 2007.

But, I’m sure no one affiliated with that program is satisfied with the outcome.

Prep was 5-1 before losing three of its final four. I could’ve seen a loss to West Haven as the Jesuits’ lone obstacle, but losses to ND-West Haven and Amity doomed their renaissance year.

Meanwhile, Prep soccer was Fairfield’s best team this fall.

Norwalk's Nacho Navarro returned just in time to beat Will Steiner and Fairfield Prep, 2-0, on Friday in New Canaan.

The Jesuits were only squad to win an outright championship and also were the only team to reach a state final. Prep fell to Norwalk– arguably the state’s best team– on Friday.

This batch of Prep seniors exits as the two-time defending SCC champion, and are the only team to ever reach the state finals.

And the underclassmen are hungry and talented — and well-coached — enough to make a run next year.

Pat Pickens is the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen, a Hearst Connecticut Newspaper organization. Follow him on Twitter here.

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I wrote in Monday’s blog that Prep, with a win over West Haven, would be the likely beneficiary of a Blue Devils loss.

Then, the bomb dropped on Tuesday.

Westhill, according to the CIAC, forfeited four wins thanks to an ineligible player. The Vikings fall to 1-8 as they prepare for their Thanksgiving game with Stamford.

One could ask how Westhill’s violation could adversely affect Prep? Why

Fairfield Prep coach Tom Shea was disappointed that his team's playoff hopes were severely damaged by Westhill's announced forfeiture.

should an FCIAC school with only five wins could derail an SCC squad’s state playoff chances.

Well, that’s because sitting at No. 9 is Ridgefield. The Tigers gained 30 bonus points because of Westhill’s forfeitures — which gave extra wins to Trumbull, Norwalk, Bridgeport Central and Ridgefield’s Thanksgiving opponent, Danbury.

Assuming the Tigers figure out a way to trump their staunch rival– the three-win Hatters– on Wednesday, then Prep somehow beats West Haven, Ridgefield will be Class LL’s No. 8 seed.

“It’s very disappointing for us,” Prep coach Tom Shea said via email on Tuesday. “You want these things to be settled on the field and not taken out of your hands because of off-fields events.”

Shea admitted that, while the Jesuits’ fate could be sealed by Thanksgiving morning, it won’t change how Prep will play.

“We have a great rivalry game on Thanksgiving to look forward to,” Shea said. “And we always take pride in playing our best so this will not impact how we play. It’s just one of those things that we can’t control.”

You could cry for Prep, but if the Jesuits had beaten either Amity or ND-West Haven, they’d be sitting in the catbird seat.

I spent part of Monday afternoon interviewing Fairfield Prep’s boys soccer team or its state championship match against Norwalk.

The Jesuits will play their first-ever state championship match Friday at 10:30 a.m. at New Canaan. Jesuits’ coach Ryan Lyddy spent about six minutes talking with me, and he said his club is loose.

Davie Bruton and Prep will try to gain the school's state boys soccer title.

“I think it’s going to be a very loose group we have,” Lyddy told me. “Because really, the pressure is not on us.”

Lyddy told me Prep and Norwalk scrimmaged before the season. He said he likes his team’s potential to compete with the Bears.

“I think we match up better with Norwalk,” Lyddy said. “I think it’s going to be more of a chess match than banging up and down the field.”

Prep senior midfielder and captain Davie Bruton also said he’s pleased that all the work the Jesuits put in over four years is paying off.

“It feels pretty awesome,” he said. “I knew coming through to Prep, we had a special class … we knew we could do something. I’m just excited to see it come to fruition.”

I did it last year, and I’ll offer you all the opportunity again.

Pick the Ludlowe vs. Warde Thanksgiving showdown.

Tweet at me with your pick, or email it to me at ppickens@bcnnew.com. I’ll post the comments in a post Wednesday, if there are enough of them, and will RT every pick I get on Twitter.

You can follow my updates live on Thursday, as I’ll be at Warde for the annual Mustangs/Falcons affair. Kickoff is 10 a.m.

Pat Pickens is the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen, a Hearst Connecticut Newspaper organization. Follow him on Twitter here.

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I can’t believe I’m typing this, but in all likelihood, a Fairfield Prep win and the Jesuits will be state playoff-bound.

Fairifeld Prep quarterback Strecker Backe-- and the rest of the Jesuits-- can reach the state playoffs with a win Thursday and some help.

I said likely.

But still, the fact that Prep has a chance at the states, to me, is baffling. The Jesuits have lost two of their last three– after a 5-1 start– and finally re-gained some swagger, beating Branford 48-6 on Thursday night in Fairfield.

If West Haven beats Prep, the Blue Devils will be Class LL’s No. 8 seed and play either Southington or Staples.

Oddly, it is two-loss Ridgefield which needs the most help to reach the tournament. The Tigers would Prep to beat West Haven, then need all of their bonuses– Stamford over Westhill, Norwalk over McMahon and Wilton over Trinity– to come through, and then hope Southington beats Cheshire and Derby beats Shelton.

Or else 7-3 Prep gets in ahead of 8-2 Ridgefield.

I’m sure that’ll frost FCIAC apologists everywhere.

Granted, Prep’s victory over West Haven is not a lock. The Blue Devils’ lone two losses are to Hand and Xavier. West Haven hasn’t kept another opponent within three touchdowns of it.

Still, the notion of the Jesuits having a win-and-get-in Thanksgiving game is a good sign. I’d pick the Blue Devils.

Oddly enough, Prep vs. West Haven is the only Thanksgiving game featuring a Fairfield team I won’t be attending.

I’ll be at Notre Dame vs. Immaculate on Wednesday night at Western Connecticut St. The Lancers haven’t lost to the Mustangs since 2009, but both teams enter winless. ND hasn’t even played in a close game this year– the Lancers have lost by at least 23 points in every game.

Immaculate, on the other hand, has been shut out five times and hasn’t scored more than 20 points in any game.

This has the potential to be one of the most intriguing Ludlowe/Warde Thanksgiving games I’ve covered.

Two years ago was good. The best, to date, was 2008. You might recall that one, Ludlowe’s last-second field goal stunned the Mustangs 10-8.

Last year’s was a snoozer, Warde won 52-13. The Mustangs — despite having beaten their crosstown rivals two straight years– enter as the underdog. Warde is 1-8, and is coming off a dreadful 14-0 loss to Wilton, in which the Mustangs turned the ball over four times.

If Warde starts sophomore Brandon Bisack– head coach Duncan DellaVolpe suggested that he will– that adds the intriguing wrinkle. I watched the game at Wilton and he looked poised and comfortable in the pocket and throws a stellar ball.

It’s almost too good a ball, considering he was bitten by five or so drops.

The Mustangs’ offense has been lousy all year, but if Bisack gets the chance to start, that could all change. I think Ludlowe’s better than Warde, but the Falcons aren’t that much better. This kid could steal the show.

I’d expect Ludlowe to come out sky high, fresh off its second one-point win in three weeks. But if Bisack and the Mustangs start hot, that could change everything.

I still would take Ludlowe.

Finally, the last Fall, non-football game will be played Friday.

Will Steiner makes one of his best saves in Friday's state semifinal win over Greenwich.

Prep’s Class LL odyssey will end in the state championship match on Friday against top-seeded Norwalk at 10:30 a.m. in New Canaan. It’s Prep’s first trip to the state finals in school history.

If the Jesuits earn a draw, they’ll share the state title. Norwalk is fierce, however. The Bears have only lost once– a curious 4-1 defeat to Wilton on Oct. 3. Norwalk also played a nil-nil draw against Darien.

If Norwalk has a weakness, it’s in the back. Although, the FCIAC’s co-champion has only conceded three goals in four state tournament games.

Prep, meanwhile, needed penalties to reach the final.

Needless to say, it should be a good one.

Pat Pickens is the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen, a Hearst Connecticut Newspaper organization. Follow him on Twitter here.

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My blogging game has been bad, the past week.

I’ve been all over the Connecticut map– including trips to West Haven and Glastonbury. I saw arguably the boys soccer game of the year on Tuesday.

All business aside, two playoff teams remain. Interestingly, I compared their coaches in a column last week.

Let’s wrap up the past week.

Fairfield Prep boys soccer has gone where no Jesuits’ team has gone.

Prep’s exciting, overtime, 2-1 win over Conard assured the Jesuits a deeper state tournament run than 2011.

Prep had the wealth of chances, despite having fewer fans. Three buses delivered about 150 Conard students from West Hartford to cheer on the Chieftains.

Austin Sims silenced the Conard crowd in the 15th minute of overtime,

Fairfield Prep's Austin Sims picked a great time to break his goal-scoring drought, when he scored the Prep's game-winner in the 15th minute of OT.

sending the Jesuits to the Class LL semis. The junior scored his first goal since Oct. 23, a span of more than seven games.

“The whole playoffs, I haven’t really been on my game,” Sims said. “It was really nice to go out here and score a goal, especially a meaningful one like that one.”

Prep will play either Amity or Greenwich. The Spartans and Jesuits– despite being SCC rivals– did not play one another during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Ludlowe’s girls volleyball team is two wins from its own state championship.

The Falcons have reached the state semis for the third time in four years.

Emily Nelson's been on top of her game, especially on the service line, for Fairfield Ludlowe's volleyball team.

Each time Ludlowe’s reached the semis, it has advanced to the finals.

If the third-seeded Falcons can trump No. 2 Cheshire– Thursday at 5 at Foran High School in Milford– they’ll get either Darien or Southington on Saturday night in East Haven.

But Ludlowe coach Meghan Skelton is not concerned about that yet.

“One point at a time,” she said. “We haven’t seen Cheshire before, we don’t know what to expect.”

Lost amid much of the state tournament action is the story of the year in football.

Ludlowe football– which earned jeers for much of the year– is now on a two-game winning streak.

The Falcons’ 34-8 rout of Danbury boosted their record to 3-5, and leave Ludlowe two wins from a .500 campaign. Christian Ghiorzi had 131 yards in the victory.

Ludlowe sophomore Christian Ghiorzi ran wild in the Falcons' 34-8 win over Danbury on Friday.

McCloskey admitted his offensive line has gotten healthy, finally, and that his quarterback Matt White has grasped his offense.

“White is doing a good job with the option,” McCloskey said. “He knows when to give it and he knows when to pull it and run.”

The lame-duck coach– who announced he would resign at season’s end on Nov. 2– also admitted that his players are sad to see him go.

“There are some kids who are upset that there are upset it’s my last year,” McCloskey said.

Ludlowe girls soccer team fought with all its might on Monday at top-seeded Glastonbury.

But in the end, the mighty Tomahawks were simply too strong.

Glastonbury increased its unbeaten streak to 36 matches, with a 1-0 win over the Falcons.

“They’re incredibly physical,” Ludlowe head coach Kate Dawson said. “The most physical team we’ve played all year.”

Dawson’s first-season as Falcons’ head coach was a successful one, as Ludlowe finished 10-7-2, qualified for the FCIAC and Class LL tournaments and won a state playoff game as well.

“The leadership this year has been great,” Dawson said. “I had 10 seniors … all of them have been terrific and worked extremely hard to keep the season positive.”

Dawson’s also excited for 2013.

“We’re going to work hard,” she said. “I have a huge junior class … and a massive sophomore class. We have a lot of talent next year.”

Warde’s girls soccer team fell to Westhill in the LL’s first round, 1-0.

The Mustangs boys team battled valiantly, but fell to Amity, 1-0 on Saturday in LL’s first round.

Warde, the No. 31 seed, finished 6-9-2 and will graduate seven seniors.

“Our leadership and our character from our seniors has been great,” Warde coach Justin Ottavio said. “We have 14 juniors and hopefully they understand what it takes to be successful … I’m happy with how the season transpired.”

Ludlowe, who also finished 6-9-2, was eliminated by Prep, 1-0 in the Class LL first round.

Finally, I watched Staples and Warde play for a half in football on Saturday morning.

Make no mistake about it, the Wreckers are as good as advertised. Skill positions are good, linemen are huge and their defense swarms to the ball.

But I couldn’t help but wonder where all of Warde’s fans were.

I don’t know that it would’ve mattered. Like somehow added supporters would keep Staples from scoring 49 first-half points. Plus an 11 a.m. kickoff, three days after a Nor’easter, probably doesn’t lend itself to turnout.

But I was flabbergasted. The Wreckers brought a few hundred people up from Westport in time for kickoff, and there were no more than 30 people on the Warde side.

Pat Pickens is the sports editor of the Fairfield Citizen, a Hearst Connecticut Newspaper organization. Follow him on Twitter here.

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It wasn’t decided until late Tuesday, but the result was the same as the last time.

No, I’m not talking about the Presidential election, I mean the SCC boys soccer tournament. Continue reading →