"No athlete may be under the influence or be in possession of, or use alcohol or drugs at any time during the season. Penalty for infraction of this rule is immediate dismissal from the sport for the remainder of the season."
Of course, that is Rule 1 of the East Haven Athletic Digest, words that have been scrutinized in this area more than the Second Amendment in the last week.
At least it used to be. Or it is. Or maybe it's not.
If you've been under a rock (maybe East Rock), East Haven suspended four football players (and two cheerleaders) for the season after they were ticketed for underage drinking at a party three weeks ago. Then, last week, the Board of Education - without even meeting - changed their minds, reducing the ban to 20 percent of the season, which equals two games.
Sounds like fishy business, doesn't it?
I'll try to fend through the garbage and bring you the essential facts as quickly as I can. Basically, the players in question were among anywhere from 50-80 high school kids at a house party where alcohol was prevalent (already, not so good). Eventually, the police came and broke up the party and issued 24 tickets for underage drinking (many others took off and therefore weren't ticketed).
So, obviously there were more than four football players at said party (as well as athletes from other sports), so why only four suspensions? Because those four came forward, extremely admirable under the circumstances, but a decision they soon regretted when they (and their parents) found out about some recent changes in the law that make it illegal for the police to release the names of minors who are ticketed, even to school districts.
Therefore the school (and the athletic department) would never know. Unless someone told them, of course. Whoops. When no one else came forward, the students rethought their decision, and there was a loophole in the rule above. It says "under the influence or be in possession of", not just standing around people that were. So that became the argument.
"Keep in mind that these kids were not shooting up in a hallway," one of the parents, Teri Kasperzyk said, and went on to say that her son was present merely to make sure none of his teammates were there and never touched any alcohol. "They merely received a blanket citation for being present when alcohol is being served."
The Superindent of Schools Anthony Serio said he questioned the policy, and said, in one of the dumber quotes ever, especially to anyone who knows anything about drunk driving deaths, "Usually if a kid violated a rule, he was fall-down drunk or he got arrested or something. This was a little bit gray."
Athletic Director Mike Marone said, "We want to teach honesty and character, and that's what these kids showed (when they came forward)."
Police Chief Leonard Gallo (yes, the same Gallo that arrested his own mayor recently), according to Serio, agreed the policy needed to be revised.
Board of Education Chairwoman Marilyn Vitale said, "Do we really want to ruin a kid's life?"
Alright, stop the tape. Enough. Just enough.
At this point I need to mention that all athletes and parents must sign an Athletic Participation form before playing which states: "I have read and understand the athletic code as prescribed by the East Haven Public School student handbook and the Athletic Digest." The Board of Education, Superintendent, and Athletic Director all had ample opportunity to change said policy last year or in the summer or maybe could have read it before it was passed a couple of years back. But they didn't.
And so that rule, that every single athlete at that party signed a paper saying they knew, was in place for the 2009-2010 school year. That is, until they retroactively changed it. Because rules don't matter, do they? Complain enough, say you're going to sue, call the media, jump up and down and scream, whatever works.
Which brings us back to "teaching honesty and character". You know what real honesty and character would be? All the athletes that were at the party coming forward and admitting what they did and serving their season-long suspension. Whether you think the rule is correct or not, it was the rule and everyone knew about it. I don't like "No Turn on Red" signs, but if they pull me over for it, I can't say it's stupid, I know it's the law.
I'm not naive enough to preach that drinking should not happen until you're 21, but it is the law of the land, and if you're under 21 and caught drinking (or at a party like this case where there is drinking), you deserve to get ticketed.
(For A Few Good Men fans: "Yeah, but it wasn't a real order. This is peacetime. Surely, a Marine of Lt. Dawson's intelligence can be trusted on his own which are the really important orders and which orders might, say, be morally questionable?")
And, therefore, if the rule states you are dismissed then you are dismissed. Period. Anything otherwise defeats the entire purpose of high school sports, which are indeed a privilege to play. Character and honesty (as well as teamwork, discipline, etc.) need to be the values we try to instill in our young people, and I don't think that happened here.
I found it rather ironic that on the same front page of the New Haven Register last Thursday that reported on East Haven reinstating its players, there was a story about a 17-year old Guilford kid who - while allegedly driving drunk - crashed his car, permanently paralyzing his 17-year old friend and giving himself numerous injuries.
(For people on the web: http://tiny.cc/FVFCb)
The question I have for the parents and everyone else involved is: how were those kids getting home from that party? Shouldn't this be a bigger issue than football, which shouldn't be able to "ruin a kid's life" if it's there or it's not there. Killing someone while driving drunk? That will ruin your life (and other lives, obviously). Not being able to play football? Not so much.
In the court of public opinion, it will take East Haven a long time to recover from this one. But we can only hope that the kids involved will not take out of this what so many youths have before them: look out for yourself and if you do something wrong, deny everything, threaten lawsuits (and people), and never follow rules you may disagree with.
I will leave you with the famous words of Colonel Jessup. Semper fi.
"We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use them as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline."
EXTRA POINTS: Evidently the Notre Dame bandwagon got over it capacity and tipped over somewhere around the third quarter of their game at Palmer Field in Middletown last Friday. The Green Knights, who had a 21-0 lead, watched in horror as the Falcons came back to tie it, watched Phillip Bentley return the ensuing kickoff 88 yards to grab the lead again, had the ball with 2 minutes left, fumbled, Xavier scored, went for two, ND had Julian Hayes wrapped up in the backfield, broke approximately 62 tackles, got in to make it 29-28 Xavier, and then the Knights apparently caught a Hail Mary in the end zone on the final play only to have the ball squirt out. Never a dull moment at Palmer Field, but the difference between the Class L playoffs and not might be that game. Tape, anyone? ... Cheshire proved life after Billy Ragone won't be so bad as they manhandled Shelton, 49-31, at Finn Stadium, in a game that didn't really deserve to be that close. The Rams' offensive line opened up massive holes and Greg Palmer was more than capable of running through them, he not only ran for 160 yards and five touchdowns, but also completed 10-of-11 passes for 121 yards. In truth, the game was won in the trenches, as Shelton's line will face plenty of questions in Division I the rest of the way ... North Haven let an early lead slip away, or rather Hillhouse's Spencer Jones took it away with three touchdown runs, but the Indians won it when Anthony Chiaia hit a 39-yard field goal with 1 second remaining, condemning the Academics, who were in the playoffs last season, to an 0-2 start ... City-rivals Wilbur Cross found itself down 14-0 at the half at home to upstart Amity, but did find a way to climb out of their hole, James Ward had two touchdown runs in the third quarter, and Arthur Tucker caught a TD pass to win it in the fourth quarter. Still some questions going forward, though, for the Governors ... Foran is delighted to be 2-0 after holding off Guilford, 21-20. The Indians had a spirited comeback attempt, but after getting within a point, had their extra point blocked and the Lions were able to hold on. Remember, Foran nearly lost on a blocked extra point in the opening week before coming back to win it on a field goal at the buzzer ... Like Cross, Hamden found itself unexpectedly down at halftime to West Haven, but scored 21 points in the third quarter on its way to a tough 27-19 victory. Jordan Teague led the way with a pair of touchdown runs, but hopefully for the Dragons, they got the message that you take anyone likely at your own peril. West Haven, still winless, will battle Notre Dame this week ... Sheehan also pulled away in the second half with a running back - the tremendously named Zach Prefontaine - who scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Titans won going away, 33-12. The 2-0 Titans host Hand this week and may be able to give them some trouble ... East Haven, minus their four suspended players for the final time, trailed only 6-2 at the half, but their lack of offense finally caught up with them against Lyman Hall, the Trojans pulling away, 26-2 ... Well, that's that, not a bad game in the bunch. Except, of course, Branford's non-league game against Platt Tech, which they won easily, 49-18. Can't win them all, I guess, North Haven has a stiffer non-league test next week against Wilton of the FCIAC.
Check us out on Twitter, www.twitter.com/currenscc. If you have any story ideas or scores you want to get across, let me know.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Julian Hayes, Xavier - Hayes rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown, and also ran back an interception for a score in the Falcons' 29-28 upset of Notre Dame last Friday. But his most significant play might have come on the final two-point conversion when Hayes took a pass and dragged the Notre Dame team into the end zone for the winning points, a truly all-around performance.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at Wilbur Cross, Friday, 4 p.m. - One of these teams is for real. In fact, it's entirely possible that both these teams for real, but one of them will leave Wilbur Cross Friday afternoon with its first loss of the season. For the winner, though, comes a 3-0 start and a real belief that they might be in the postseason, for Cheshire, the second straight year, but for Wilbur Cross, a monumental achievement.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2
Number of kickers North Haven used to kick field goals in its 20-18 win over Hillhouse last Friday. Robert Carbone kicked a second-quarter field goal for the Indians (Carbone also had a field goal in the opening game, a 19-3 loss to Branford) and kicked both extra points. But with a 39-yarder needed to win, North Haven called on Anthony Chiaia, who boomed the game-winner through with 1 second remaining.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (2-0; Last Week 1) – Dragons reading too many of their own press clippings maybe last week?
2) Cheshire (2-0; LW 5) – Did I say they would struggle? Only 90 points in their first two games. Whoops.
3) Wilbur Cross (2-0; LW 2) – Like Hamden, maybe got a little too up after the first win, but survived awful half.
4) Notre Dame (1-1; LW 3) – Westies won't let them gather their thoughts too long after unbelievable loss.
5) Hand (1-1; LW 6) – Nice rebound for Tigers, but the road will get tougher in their Division I schedule.
6) Xavier (1-1; LW 7) – Schedlue not outrageously difficult the rest of the way, but still hard to get a read on them.
7) Shelton (1-1; LW 4) – Just got beaten up at the line of scrimmage, which doesn't bode well for D-I future.
8) West Haven (0-2; LW 8) – Blue Devils' record may not show it at end, but you get the feeling they'll be frisky.
9) Branford (2-0; LW 9) - If they can survive the next three weeks, the Hornets might be dancing into postseason.
10) Sheehan (2-0: LW 11) - Should be fired up to take on Tigers at home, a win might put them in playoff picture.
11) Amity (0-2; LW 12) – Would probably fare very well in Division II. Unfortunately, they're not in Division II.
12) North Haven (1-1; LW 14) - Will be very interesting to see how they fare against Wilton, average FCIAC squad.
13) Hillhouse (0-2; LW 10) - Could they be 0-3? Will take a big effort to top the high-flying Hornets.
14) Foran (2-0; LW 16) - Many thought that Foran might get two wins the entire season, off to a great start.
15) Fairfield Prep (0-2; LW 13) - Jesuits better take care of business this week, or an 0-for season comes into play.
16) Jonathan Law (1-1; LW 15) - Battled Sheehan extremely hard for a half, but couldn't continue it in second half.
17) Lyman Hall (1-1; LW 18) - Pretty brutal run in the next five weeks for the Trojans, want to beat Guilford Friday.
18) Guilford (0-2; LW 17) - Indians' schedule is no cakewalk, either. Sets up for big game against Lyman Hall.
19) East Haven (0-1; LW 19) - With their whole team back, could be a threat for Foran this week.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
And now, the rest of the story
The rest of the Advocate vs. officials story with Dave Ruden and Stamford's standout Khairi Fortt.
Read Ruden's post first, then I'll discuss:
OK:1) Fortt never had to leave the game.
2) "besides missing some obvious calls". Inexcusable from a sportswriter, especially at the high school level without explaining what or how? Were they judgement calls or straight rule violations? If they were misinterpretations, as it could have been, you should tell us that. If they were judgement calls, what are you going to do?
Those that read me on a regular basis know that my relationship with the officials has had its ups and downs, but I always respect the job that they have to do. I feel, like everyone else, they should handle their job professionally, with respect to the athletes, and know the rules to their sport. There is a certain ribbing that goes on during a game, and for the most part, that's fine, but it should be never taken to a point where it goes after the contest, and never in the media.Which leads to:3) Jones's quote is ridiculous, and for Ruden to publish it without admonishing him makes him complicit, too. Go read it again. He mentions the official by name and says he "should get fired and never do a game again". Because he told your star player to push his pants down?Both Ruden and Jones should be forced to read this (and you should too): When your dream dies
Anyway, people have to understand that high school football and professional sports are different animals and that officials are usually trying their best.
Read Ruden's post first, then I'll discuss:
Jones saved his choicest words for referee Tom Brown, who besides missing some obvious calls did something that was absolutely inexcusable for an official.During the first quarter Brown almost made Fortt leave the game because he thought that Fortt’s pants did not extend far enough below the knee (they certainly appeared no different than any other players’). Jones complained during a stoppage, then raised the situation again with Brown while contending another call.
Brown said to Jones, “I’ve got to teach him a lesson, he’s not in college yet.”
This is not a case of Jones misunderstanding what Brown said or the story getting lost in translation: I was standing right next to Jones when it happened.
Jones was understandably livid at the time and had some choice words for Brown after the game, some of which can be repeated here.
“This is par for the course when you get people that think they are doing my job for me,” Jones said. “That guy should get fired and never do a game again. It was clearly a case of he just wanted us to have a problem. It was a rough night for Tom Brown. It hurt us having to deal with all that.”
OK:1) Fortt never had to leave the game.
2) "besides missing some obvious calls". Inexcusable from a sportswriter, especially at the high school level without explaining what or how? Were they judgement calls or straight rule violations? If they were misinterpretations, as it could have been, you should tell us that. If they were judgement calls, what are you going to do?
Those that read me on a regular basis know that my relationship with the officials has had its ups and downs, but I always respect the job that they have to do. I feel, like everyone else, they should handle their job professionally, with respect to the athletes, and know the rules to their sport. There is a certain ribbing that goes on during a game, and for the most part, that's fine, but it should be never taken to a point where it goes after the contest, and never in the media.Which leads to:3) Jones's quote is ridiculous, and for Ruden to publish it without admonishing him makes him complicit, too. Go read it again. He mentions the official by name and says he "should get fired and never do a game again". Because he told your star player to push his pants down?Both Ruden and Jones should be forced to read this (and you should too): When your dream dies
This posting from the Stamford Times sheds a little more light on the issue, but not much:
Anyway, people have to understand that high school football and professional sports are different animals and that officials are usually trying their best.
Links, links, more links
Going to try to give your views from elsewhere:
Dave Ruden's take for the Stamford Advocate. Pretty good stuff, but I fail to see why the official was out of line for talking to the kid about his pants.
Jim Bransfield's excellent account of the Xavier-Cross game. Pretty much hits the nail on the head:
Sean Patrick Bowley's take on Week 1. Looks familiar, actually:
And you can look on the New Haven Register's site for some others:
Read on.
Dave Ruden's take for the Stamford Advocate. Pretty good stuff, but I fail to see why the official was out of line for talking to the kid about his pants.
Jim Bransfield's excellent account of the Xavier-Cross game. Pretty much hits the nail on the head:
Sean Patrick Bowley's take on Week 1. Looks familiar, actually:
And you can look on the New Haven Register's site for some others:
Read on.
SCC column - Week 1
The first week of the football season is the chance for everyone to make their opening statement, the chance to not necessarily plead their case, but give some kind of inkling to what they're about.
At this point, we've heard plenty from almost every SCC team, but there is no way to know if much of the information we got in the preseason was accurate. We still may not know everything, but at least we have a blueprint for how the rest of the campaign. Six teams made a solid opening statement that proved they may be looking to bring the SCC their first state title in three years.
Hamden
You can talk about schemes and spread offenses and discipline, and all of those have contributed to Hamden's rise to the top of the state polls (where they most certainly belong, by the way), but Hamden's complete domination of Hand to me came down to the Isaac Newton rule, or more precisely Mr. Newton's second law of motion, which as you young scholars know is F=ma, or Force = mass times acceleration.
Isaac may not have been a huge fan of the pigskin, but if he watched Hamden play Hand at the Surf Club last week, he would know that the Dragons had both the mass and acceleration edge over the Tigers. They were bigger, stronger, faster, and with some solid coaching, eventually that's going to show through.
Hand quarterback Nick Merullo showed plenty of guts, rushing for 137 yards on 26 carries and generally taking a beating for two-and-a-half hours. At times, the Tigers were even able to move the ball. But their longest play of the night was 19 yards, and Hamden's secondary was too fast, and line - led by 6-foot-1, 285 pound lineman Jo-Von Ladson - was too big.
Meanwhile, Jordan Teague may not have the mass, but he certainly has the acceleration, rushing for 134 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, while having a pair of 60+ yard TDs called back because of blocks in the back. Quite simply, he was a threat to score every time he touched the ball, and one Hand did not have. After one of those called back scores, Hamden decided to show off a couple of other weapons on the next play, Jason Lassiter hitting a flying Frank Greene for a 63-yard touchdown that, for all intents and purposes, put the game away.
On Hamden's third score, they decided to unleash Jahmaal Harris, who went 66 yards on only his third carry of the evening.
"Offensively, Hamden could have scored 35 easy," Hand coach Steve Filippone said. "We were fortunate. I thought they were legitimate penalties, but they didn't affect the play that much. We weren't tackling the kid anyway."
A team that's a traditional power, whose team was ranked in some polls, whose team was at home in front of a huge crowd on Opening Night, telling us his team was "fortunate" not to get beat worse, when his team lost 21-0.
That, my friends, is a strong opening statement.
Wilbur Cross
Shhhh, don't say it too loudly, but Wilbur Cross is good, very good, as good as anyone not named Hamden, at least by their flawless opening statement.
How flawless? At Palmer Field, a place where no one wins, the Governors led 21-0 before Xavier even ran a play. They took the opening kickoff, scored, recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, scored, rinse, repeat, and it was 21-0 with 9:02 left in the first quarter. Talk about stunned.
The headline in the Middletown Press said "Surprise!", but with a team that features Maurice Morrison and James Ward, we really shouldn't be surprised at anything they do this season. Equally as impressive, Cross held Xavier to just 18 yards rushing in the contest, and as long-time writer Jim Bransfield of the Press aptly put, "Cross was quicker across the board".
Ah, Mr. Newton strikes again. And he may be striking many times for the Governors before people figure out that this Wilbur Cross team may not be just "good story" good, they might be state playoff good.
Notre Dame
Reports were that Notre Dame was very good, and that Fairfield Prep was going to struggle mightily in Division I this season.
But, sometimes your instincts kick in and your brain tells you that ND was only 4-6 last season and hasn't been a real threat since the divisions were realigned. It also tells you that Prep is a massive private school and must have something for the rest of the SCC, especially in a home opener against one of its biggest rivals.
Final score: Notre Dame 48, Fairfield Prep 6.
Early reports 1, Instincts 0.
In reality, it wasn't even that close, it was 35-0 at halftime, 28-0 after one quarter. An opening statement that proves that they have to be in any discussion of the top teams in the SCC.
Shelton
The Gaels may not have the mass that Newton would have wanted, especially compared to the first three teams here, but they do have accomplished, veteran skill position players that will make life difficult for everyone.
Shelton did make a couple of defensive mistakes that kept West Haven in the game, but they did win the game, and showed that when their offense is rolling, it will be tough to stop. Ray Pendagast has size and can throw a ball as well as anyone in the league, and he also has players like senior Paul Piccirillo to fire the ball to.
The key for the Gaels seems to be whether they can deal with the size of teams like Hamden, but in a fortuitous scheduling quirk, the two Division I teams Shelton will not play this season are Notre Dame and Wilbur Cross.
Cheshire
The Rams, Class LL finalists last season, are almost an afterthought this season. Of course, that's because all-everything quarterback Billy Ragone has graduated, but Cheshire - after a sluggish start - took care of business in Woodbridge last week, 41-13.
It's not quite as dramatic an opening statement as the ones before them, but we'll know much more about the Rams after they take on Shelton this week.
Branford
Well, we had to put a Division II team in here somewhere, and the Hornets just might be the team to beat after their 19-3 win over North Haven and Hillhouse's troubles - albeit against Ansonia.
The score doesn't look terribly impressive, but the Indians are a good Division II team, and the Hornets' defensive effort was obviously eyebrow-raising after North Haven had given Notre Dame fits in their final scrimmage.
Branford gets a breather with Platt Tech this week, before a Hillhouse-Xavier-Hamden stretch in Weeks 3-5. The Hillhouse game, next Friday, at Bowen Field, may tell the tale in Division II this season.
With the opening statements complete, let the trial that is the 2009 SCC football season commence. The court will recess until Friday.
EXTRA POINTS: It was quite an Opening Night for Foran's Joe Capalbo. After the Lions tied the game against Lyman Hall 20-20, Capalbo missed an extra point that would have given his team the lead. But not to worry, Capalbo got a second chance and made it count when he drilled a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Lions a 23-20 victory in their first game without Jake White and Tyler Hames. Foran has a chance to be 3-0 in two weeks.
...Good crowds around the SCC in the first week, especially at the Hamden-Hand and Shelton-West Haven contests, which were almost full. Of course, trying to get out of the Surf Club on a Thursday (school) night was a disaster as usual. I love the atmosphere there, but I'm beginning to think that there has to be a better place for the Tigers to play, at least for big games. It took me the same amount of time to get from the I-95 exit to my parking spot as it did to get from all the way in Hamden to the exit. Silliness. Meanwhile, with the same crowd, I was in and out of Ken Strong Stadium in seconds. By the way, the parking/traffic issues at Veterans Stadium in West Haven for Hillhouse-Ansonia were not quite as bad as expected, maybe the blowout sent some fans home early.
...Speaking of the Ansonia rout, it has brought some of the NVL supporters out of the woodwork. Regular readers of this know how strong the SCC is, but this week might not be a great time to chirp.
....East Haven not only had to deal with Law last week, but some suspensions for a non-football related matter last weekend that involved several players. The Easties hung in, but fell 26-13 to the Lawmen
... West Haven's new turf looked fabulous, unfortunately, the lifespan of the new types of turf does not seem too long, some of the "older" ones that were put down, like Hamden and East Haven are showing their age a little. However, they're still better than torn up grass and the groups that are worried to the point of legislation about their causing cancer would be better served putting their time and resources in a non-smoking campaign.
....Check us out on Twitter, www.twitter.com/currenscc. If you have any story ideas or scores you want to get across, let me know.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maurice Morrison, Wilbur Cross - Morrison caught only four balls, but20three of them were for touchdowns, and he had 161 yards receiving in all as Wilbur Cross went to Palmer Field and won rather easily, 37-19. The Governors are a force to be reckoned with in Division I in the early going.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. - I'm sure the Rams, as defending Class LL runners-up, aren't terribly happy with how they have been dismissed this season, at least as far as the top teams in the SCC are concerned. But, after taking care of Amity last week, here is their chance to put themselves back near the top. The Gaels shook off West Haven in the season's first week and are expected to win here. But expected doesn't do the job on its own.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
295
Combined rushing yards for Cheshire's Max Slade (163) and Greg Palmer (132) as the Rams blew open a close game in the second half to beat up on Amity in their opener. Cheshire will look to use multiple people to replace Billy Ragone, who is currently playing at the University of Pennsylvania this season.
.
POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (1-0; Last Week 1) – Dragons look good. Very good. Scary good. State title good. But it's early.
2) Wilbur Cross (1-0; LW 4) – Still have plenty to prove, but the Governors are not just a flash in the pan.
3) Notre Dame (1-0; LW 5) – Will be interesting to see how they fare at Palmer Field after last week.
4) Shelton (1-0; LW 3) – Slightly shaky against young Westie s, but showed signs of being very good.
5) Cheshire (1-0; LW 8) – Bombed Amity, but would prove a lot more if they could do the same to Shelton.
6) Hand (0-1; LW 2) – Merullo needs to get some help if Hand is to be any kind of factor in Division I.
7) Xavier (0-1; LW 6) – Fluky loss or a sign of things to come? Falcons fans had better hope it's the former.
8) West Haven (0-1; LW 7) – Former stars Lymon and Demorro helping McCarthy on staff. Makes me feel old.
9) Branford (1-0; LW 2) - Evidently, all that scouting paid off for Branford. Don't think Platt Tech will be any problem.
10) Hillhouse (0-1; LW 1) - Acs will consider themselves fortunate they're in D-II where they can tinker a little.
11) Sheehan (1-0: LW 4) - Took care of Guilford, but bigger tests await Biestek and the Titans.
12) Amity (0-1; LW 9) – Were actually tied with Cheshire early in third before things started to fall apart.
13) Fairfield Prep (0-1; LW 10) - On the plus side, there's nowhere to go but up after a dreadful opener.
14) North Haven (0-1; LW 3) - Indians hoped for better in opener, they'll have to regroup in a hurry.
15) Jonathan Law (1-0: LW 5) - Lawmen took care of business, but hard to get a read on them after one game.
16) Foran (1-0: LW 7) - Good comeback win for Lions after falling behind to Lyman Hall. Tougher foes await.
17) Guilford (0-1: LW 6) - Didn't really recognize any of the names for Ind ians in opener. Maybe not a great sign.
18) Lyman Hall (0-1: LW 8) - Might want to get it done this week if they want to get in win column this season.
19) East Haven (0-1: LW 8) - See Lyman Hall.
At this point, we've heard plenty from almost every SCC team, but there is no way to know if much of the information we got in the preseason was accurate. We still may not know everything, but at least we have a blueprint for how the rest of the campaign. Six teams made a solid opening statement that proved they may be looking to bring the SCC their first state title in three years.
Hamden
You can talk about schemes and spread offenses and discipline, and all of those have contributed to Hamden's rise to the top of the state polls (where they most certainly belong, by the way), but Hamden's complete domination of Hand to me came down to the Isaac Newton rule, or more precisely Mr. Newton's second law of motion, which as you young scholars know is F=ma, or Force = mass times acceleration.
Isaac may not have been a huge fan of the pigskin, but if he watched Hamden play Hand at the Surf Club last week, he would know that the Dragons had both the mass and acceleration edge over the Tigers. They were bigger, stronger, faster, and with some solid coaching, eventually that's going to show through.
Hand quarterback Nick Merullo showed plenty of guts, rushing for 137 yards on 26 carries and generally taking a beating for two-and-a-half hours. At times, the Tigers were even able to move the ball. But their longest play of the night was 19 yards, and Hamden's secondary was too fast, and line - led by 6-foot-1, 285 pound lineman Jo-Von Ladson - was too big.
Meanwhile, Jordan Teague may not have the mass, but he certainly has the acceleration, rushing for 134 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, while having a pair of 60+ yard TDs called back because of blocks in the back. Quite simply, he was a threat to score every time he touched the ball, and one Hand did not have. After one of those called back scores, Hamden decided to show off a couple of other weapons on the next play, Jason Lassiter hitting a flying Frank Greene for a 63-yard touchdown that, for all intents and purposes, put the game away.
On Hamden's third score, they decided to unleash Jahmaal Harris, who went 66 yards on only his third carry of the evening.
"Offensively, Hamden could have scored 35 easy," Hand coach Steve Filippone said. "We were fortunate. I thought they were legitimate penalties, but they didn't affect the play that much. We weren't tackling the kid anyway."
A team that's a traditional power, whose team was ranked in some polls, whose team was at home in front of a huge crowd on Opening Night, telling us his team was "fortunate" not to get beat worse, when his team lost 21-0.
That, my friends, is a strong opening statement.
Wilbur Cross
Shhhh, don't say it too loudly, but Wilbur Cross is good, very good, as good as anyone not named Hamden, at least by their flawless opening statement.
How flawless? At Palmer Field, a place where no one wins, the Governors led 21-0 before Xavier even ran a play. They took the opening kickoff, scored, recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, scored, rinse, repeat, and it was 21-0 with 9:02 left in the first quarter. Talk about stunned.
The headline in the Middletown Press said "Surprise!", but with a team that features Maurice Morrison and James Ward, we really shouldn't be surprised at anything they do this season. Equally as impressive, Cross held Xavier to just 18 yards rushing in the contest, and as long-time writer Jim Bransfield of the Press aptly put, "Cross was quicker across the board".
Ah, Mr. Newton strikes again. And he may be striking many times for the Governors before people figure out that this Wilbur Cross team may not be just "good story" good, they might be state playoff good.
Notre Dame
Reports were that Notre Dame was very good, and that Fairfield Prep was going to struggle mightily in Division I this season.
But, sometimes your instincts kick in and your brain tells you that ND was only 4-6 last season and hasn't been a real threat since the divisions were realigned. It also tells you that Prep is a massive private school and must have something for the rest of the SCC, especially in a home opener against one of its biggest rivals.
Final score: Notre Dame 48, Fairfield Prep 6.
Early reports 1, Instincts 0.
In reality, it wasn't even that close, it was 35-0 at halftime, 28-0 after one quarter. An opening statement that proves that they have to be in any discussion of the top teams in the SCC.
Shelton
The Gaels may not have the mass that Newton would have wanted, especially compared to the first three teams here, but they do have accomplished, veteran skill position players that will make life difficult for everyone.
Shelton did make a couple of defensive mistakes that kept West Haven in the game, but they did win the game, and showed that when their offense is rolling, it will be tough to stop. Ray Pendagast has size and can throw a ball as well as anyone in the league, and he also has players like senior Paul Piccirillo to fire the ball to.
The key for the Gaels seems to be whether they can deal with the size of teams like Hamden, but in a fortuitous scheduling quirk, the two Division I teams Shelton will not play this season are Notre Dame and Wilbur Cross.
Cheshire
The Rams, Class LL finalists last season, are almost an afterthought this season. Of course, that's because all-everything quarterback Billy Ragone has graduated, but Cheshire - after a sluggish start - took care of business in Woodbridge last week, 41-13.
It's not quite as dramatic an opening statement as the ones before them, but we'll know much more about the Rams after they take on Shelton this week.
Branford
Well, we had to put a Division II team in here somewhere, and the Hornets just might be the team to beat after their 19-3 win over North Haven and Hillhouse's troubles - albeit against Ansonia.
The score doesn't look terribly impressive, but the Indians are a good Division II team, and the Hornets' defensive effort was obviously eyebrow-raising after North Haven had given Notre Dame fits in their final scrimmage.
Branford gets a breather with Platt Tech this week, before a Hillhouse-Xavier-Hamden stretch in Weeks 3-5. The Hillhouse game, next Friday, at Bowen Field, may tell the tale in Division II this season.
With the opening statements complete, let the trial that is the 2009 SCC football season commence. The court will recess until Friday.
EXTRA POINTS: It was quite an Opening Night for Foran's Joe Capalbo. After the Lions tied the game against Lyman Hall 20-20, Capalbo missed an extra point that would have given his team the lead. But not to worry, Capalbo got a second chance and made it count when he drilled a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Lions a 23-20 victory in their first game without Jake White and Tyler Hames. Foran has a chance to be 3-0 in two weeks.
...Good crowds around the SCC in the first week, especially at the Hamden-Hand and Shelton-West Haven contests, which were almost full. Of course, trying to get out of the Surf Club on a Thursday (school) night was a disaster as usual. I love the atmosphere there, but I'm beginning to think that there has to be a better place for the Tigers to play, at least for big games. It took me the same amount of time to get from the I-95 exit to my parking spot as it did to get from all the way in Hamden to the exit. Silliness. Meanwhile, with the same crowd, I was in and out of Ken Strong Stadium in seconds. By the way, the parking/traffic issues at Veterans Stadium in West Haven for Hillhouse-Ansonia were not quite as bad as expected, maybe the blowout sent some fans home early.
...Speaking of the Ansonia rout, it has brought some of the NVL supporters out of the woodwork. Regular readers of this know how strong the SCC is, but this week might not be a great time to chirp.
....East Haven not only had to deal with Law last week, but some suspensions for a non-football related matter last weekend that involved several players. The Easties hung in, but fell 26-13 to the Lawmen
... West Haven's new turf looked fabulous, unfortunately, the lifespan of the new types of turf does not seem too long, some of the "older" ones that were put down, like Hamden and East Haven are showing their age a little. However, they're still better than torn up grass and the groups that are worried to the point of legislation about their causing cancer would be better served putting their time and resources in a non-smoking campaign.
....Check us out on Twitter, www.twitter.com/currenscc. If you have any story ideas or scores you want to get across, let me know.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Maurice Morrison, Wilbur Cross - Morrison caught only four balls, but20three of them were for touchdowns, and he had 161 yards receiving in all as Wilbur Cross went to Palmer Field and won rather easily, 37-19. The Governors are a force to be reckoned with in Division I in the early going.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. - I'm sure the Rams, as defending Class LL runners-up, aren't terribly happy with how they have been dismissed this season, at least as far as the top teams in the SCC are concerned. But, after taking care of Amity last week, here is their chance to put themselves back near the top. The Gaels shook off West Haven in the season's first week and are expected to win here. But expected doesn't do the job on its own.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
295
Combined rushing yards for Cheshire's Max Slade (163) and Greg Palmer (132) as the Rams blew open a close game in the second half to beat up on Amity in their opener. Cheshire will look to use multiple people to replace Billy Ragone, who is currently playing at the University of Pennsylvania this season.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (1-0; Last Week 1) – Dragons look good. Very good. Scary good. State title good. But it's early.
2) Wilbur Cross (1-0; LW 4) – Still have plenty to prove, but the Governors are not just a flash in the pan.
3) Notre Dame (1-0; LW 5) – Will be interesting to see how they fare at Palmer Field after last week.
4) Shelton (1-0; LW 3) – Slightly shaky against young Westie s, but showed signs of being very good.
5) Cheshire (1-0; LW 8) – Bombed Amity, but would prove a lot more if they could do the same to Shelton.
6) Hand (0-1; LW 2) – Merullo needs to get some help if Hand is to be any kind of factor in Division I.
7) Xavier (0-1; LW 6) – Fluky loss or a sign of things to come? Falcons fans had better hope it's the former.
8) West Haven (0-1; LW 7) – Former stars Lymon and Demorro helping McCarthy on staff. Makes me feel old.
9) Branford (1-0; LW 2) - Evidently, all that scouting paid off for Branford. Don't think Platt Tech will be any problem.
10) Hillhouse (0-1; LW 1) - Acs will consider themselves fortunate they're in D-II where they can tinker a little.
11) Sheehan (1-0: LW 4) - Took care of Guilford, but bigger tests await Biestek and the Titans.
12) Amity (0-1; LW 9) – Were actually tied with Cheshire early in third before things started to fall apart.
13) Fairfield Prep (0-1; LW 10) - On the plus side, there's nowhere to go but up after a dreadful opener.
14) North Haven (0-1; LW 3) - Indians hoped for better in opener, they'll have to regroup in a hurry.
15) Jonathan Law (1-0: LW 5) - Lawmen took care of business, but hard to get a read on them after one game.
16) Foran (1-0: LW 7) - Good comeback win for Lions after falling behind to Lyman Hall. Tougher foes await.
17) Guilford (0-1: LW 6) - Didn't really recognize any of the names for Ind ians in opener. Maybe not a great sign.
18) Lyman Hall (0-1: LW 8) - Might want to get it done this week if they want to get in win column this season.
19) East Haven (0-1: LW 8) - See Lyman Hall.
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