The SCC report - Week 4

Well, we can't seem to get No. 1 and No. 2 in the Power Rankings, so when No. 2 and No. 3 get together, it must be a big occasion, and with a big occasion in the middle of the season comes the one, the only, the SCC Annual Running Diary (although I reserve the right for another one if we have a remarkable state final or something). Cheshire and Notre Dame figured to put up a lot of points, and it was, by far, the game of the week in the SCC. So without further ado, to the Maclary Complex.
6:15 - Due to an unexpected (and perplexing) soccer cancellation, I make it to the parking lot with plenty of time to spare. Still, I park as close to the exit as possible because there's one road in and one road out - Rte. 10. Still, I love the walk down to the field, past the field hockey and softball fields with the sound of the band, the smell of tailgating. It's a big game, and although it's not like it was when Cheshire was winning six consecutive state titles, it's still why I do this on Friday nights in the fall. Great atmosphere.
6:25 - Check out the field and it's a little wet, but nothing outrageous. As expected, the grass is about 10 inches high. Interesting fact, Cheshire doesn't let anyone else use their game field (youth football, etc.) until after the first home game of the season, and this is the first home game.
6:30 - Joining Steve Kirck on the sportingnewsct.com (simulcasted on gogreenknights.com), and he's nice enough to bring a burger and hot dog from the ND tailgate on the other side. Yes, it could be construed as a bribe, but it's a tasty bribe, and Steve's an honest guy (he's a college basketball official, after all). Saves me from wading through throngs of people for food.
6:55 - As the teams come out for the opening kickoff, a lot of the coaches are actually in short sleeves. It's not outrageously warm or anything, but it is humid. See if that plays a role later on.
7:00 - Trying to be on the air while girls are singing the national anthem right behind us. Want to be respectful, but can't hear what's going on with the ads without the headphones on, so I apologize. Tougher than it looks.
7:07 - After Notre Dame's first drive stalls, Cheshire's Greg Palmer fakes a handoff and runs 74 yards for a touchdown on the Rams' first play. I'm no advance scout, but that had to be on a tape somewhere. 7-0 Cheshire.
7:11 - The Knights move the ball to the Cheshire 20, but the Rams sack Sean Goldrich twice, once by John Sasso, and again by Billy Weyrauch on fourth down.
7:16 - Cheshire faces a key 3rd-and-4 at their own 39-yard line, and the lights go out. Well, half the lights, on our side, but luckily the press box lights stay on. Way too dark to proceed, though.
7:30 - Kill time watching the pitch-by-pitch of the Yankees on my phone, and chatting with Steve about the SCC. Probably pretty clear we're out of material by the 20-minute mark.
7:40 - Most unanimous roar of the night as the power returns in full. Good thing, Steve and I were going to introduce our 40s-style comedy variety show complete with sound effects. Wouldn't have gone well, I don't think.
7:46 - Play resumes. Cheshire doesn't get the first down, but goes with a quick snap quarterback sneak on fourth-and-2? That took guts, but Palmer gets the first down by the length of a football. On the next play, he goes 57 yards untouched for a second score. See, if you succeed, it's guts. If you fail, it's stupidity. 14-0 Cheshire with 4:08 left in the first quarter and Palmer has rushed for 138 yards on just five carries.
7:55 - ND is driving, but it's a fum-ble inside the Cheshire 10. David Rose (who would go on to have a big night) coughed it up and Dan Sweeney pounces on it. ND might be going down for the count early.
8:04 - But the defense steps up. Palmer is brought down for a 4-yard loss, the Rams are forced to punt from their own end zone, and Conor Kinary returns it to the Cheshire 23. Four plays later, Rose is in (with two hands on the ball) and the extra point makes it 14-7.
8:07 - Well, now. Max Slade's first carry is a disaster for the Rams. The handoff is dropped, Kris Matthews' eyes light up and he scoops it up and trots in for the touchdown. The extra point ties the game at 14-14. Oh, this is going to get good, you can feel it.
8:19 - Cheshire regains momentum with an old-school drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, including a couple of huge third down conversions. On third-and-goal from the 2, Sweeney gets in, but normally reliable Kyle Pulek misses the extra point wide left. 20-14 Cheshire with 4:26 to go in the half.
8:28 - The ND offense that sputtered at the beginning is finally in gear. Justin Willis is finding big holes, and Goldrich suddenly has plenty of time to find people. From the Cheshire 10, he finds Tim Lyons, and Rodrigo Echandia's third PAT gives ND its first lead, 21-20, which they take into the locker room (or behind the goalposts).
8:31 - Steve and I both cringe at the 20-minute halftime, on top of the delay, but the band deserves its time, too. As do the bathrooms. And the Yankees, who have gone down 3-1 to the Twins. Can you yell at a phone like you do a TV? What, you don't yell at televisions? I'll stop while I'm behind.
8:55 - Finally, the second half, and Cheshire's offense can do nothing. Slade is dropped for a loss and Cheshire has to punt.
9:04 - The defenses have a fleeting moment of glory, which is shattered by Sweeney getting through the ND line and rumbling 62 yards to the Knights' 5-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Michael Skibicki is stood up, but is able to fall into the end zone for a TD. Cheshire regains a 27-21 lead with 4:54 left in the third.
9:14 - ND's offensive line is just massive and they're pushing Cheshire all over the Maclary Complex at this point. That's allowing Goldrich to find his rythym, too, and it's only a matter of time. Rose does the honors from 3 yards out, and Echandia's fourth PAT gives ND the lead back, 28-27 as time expires in the third quarter.
9:23 - And back comes Cheshire. Mark Ecke has the guts (he succeeded again) to bring in Slade at QB, even though his first three carries of the night went for negative yardage. Slade is involved in all but one of the nine plays on the Rams' touchdown drive as they go Wildcat on ND and Slade does his best Tim Tebow impersonation, finally scoring from 3 yards out. The conversion fails, but Cheshire leads 33-28 with 7:51 to go.
9:29 - They're standing in the middle of the ring now throwing haymakers. How are these teams still standing? Willis, one of three ND ballcarriers who were on a state title-winning 4x100 team last spring, bursts through the Cheshire defense for a 47 yard touchdown run. ND tries that dumb fade pass on the conversion and Kinary actually makes a nice catch, but he's out of bounds. I just hate that play, sorry, so little margin for error. 34-33 Notre Dame, still 6:13 to go. Did I mention I love SCC Division I football? This is great stuff, except maybe for the defensive coaches.
9:35 - Palmer back at QB, and on 3rd-and-15 from their own 10, he hits Brian DeBishop (his first catch of the night), but they're a yard short. Will they go from their own 24? Absolutely, you know Ecke's got guts (success coming). Palmer keeps it and gets 8 yards. How many chances has ND had to make a stand tonight? Will they be made to pay?
9:46 - The Rams methodically marching down the field, most of it with Palmer. On third-and-7 from the ND 25, Palmer's pass goes through the hands of captain Paul Tuscano, which is a shame, because Tuscano played a great game. Ecke calls his first time out to discuss what play to call on fourth down.
9:48 - The guy in front us says Pulek can reach from 50, and sure enough, after some thought, the tee is on the field. Pulek's kick has plenty of leg, caroms off the left upright, and drops - maybe six inches behind the crossbar. Goooooood, the Rams mob Pulek (43 officially the yardage on the field goal), and the Rams are headed to 4-0. But there is still 49 seconds on the clock. And Notre Dame has three time outs. And Sean Goldrich. And Conor Kinary. And they've been stopped exactly twice all night. I predict a field goal attempt by Echandia with Steve.
9:52 - They squib the kick to keep it away from their speedsters, but ND starts at their own 36. After an incompletion, Goldrich hits Kinary for 16 yards and a smart draw by Willis (remember those time outs) gets 14 more.
9:54 - But Goldrich is sacked on the next play, meaning that with 24 seconds to go, ND is back to the Cheshire 40.
9:55 - Philip Bentley, another speedster, runs a deep slant, and Goldrich hits him perfectly, as Bentley slides down at the Rams' 10-yard line. Echandia is warming up.
9:57 - But they don't need him. Rose barrels through the line and scores the touchdown, the visiting side is up for grabs, and with 13 seconds left, ND leads 40-36. What a game. There can't be enough time for another twist, can there?
9:59 - A-Rod has homered to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth. That's right, A-Rod. Hey, I can multitask. I'm good at it. Just don't do it while you're driving. Or operating heavy machinery.
10:01 - Was actually hoping to see an 18-lateral play, but Palmer's pass goes incomplete, and Notre Dame can celebrate the fact that they have playoff life.
10:05 - Marcucci has no voice left, and he seems bemused by the "new SCC" (at least Division I) where offenses rule and defenses just do what they can to stop the bleeding. His defense did enough tonight: "These guys in this division, it's ridiculous," he said. "Our kids showed a lot of character tonight. Even with 13 seconds left, you never know. These games are crazy." Ah, sounds like we have another convert.
10:15 - Finish up the broadcast with Steve. The game ran late, obviously, but it was well worth it. I hope when people talk about realignment they realize how good this is. Please don't take it away from me. What will I do with my Friday nights? Go watch the NVL, where Derby is 3-1 (oooh, 15-yard penalty for clipping on that one.)
10:25 - The long walk sees bumper-to-bumper traffic some 20 minutes after the final play of the game. I escape almost unscathed back down Rte. 10 to process the evening. For one week at least, I can talk about football, great competition, respectful competition where both teams (talented teams) gave everything they had and shook hands afterward. That, folks, is what the SCC is about more often than not. And it certainly was tonight.
EXTRA POINTS: It looked like Wilbur Cross was going to put the SCC up 2-0 against the FCIAC, but Ridgefield stormed back from two touchdowns down to beat the Governors, 28-27. It may eliminate Cross from playoff contention, although they're still eighth in Class L. But the chances of them winning the rest of their games seem slim ... Hand appeared to be strolling to a nice road win over West Haven, when the Westies found some offense. A lot of offense. The Blue Devils - trailing 17-6 to start the fourth quarter - scored four touchdowns to walk away with what seemed like a relatively easy 35-17 victory. It was the Westies' first win of the season, but you probably don't want them on the schedule the rest of the way. Meanwhile, hand has yet to find a second offensive option ... Hamden continues to let teams hang around, but continues to beat them, too, stopping Shelton 37-27. Is Division I that good, or are there some holes in the Hamden machine? We probably won't find out this week, but red-hot Xavier comes calling next week to Hamden High. The long-ignored Green Bowl has the potential to be an absolute classic this year, by the way ... For some reason, the SCC has gone back to a complete crossover week for Week 5. As a prelude, last week we had the 5th-ranked Division I team against the top-ranked Division II team, and the D-I squad - Xavier - won 48-0. As the Middletown Press' Jim Bransfield said: "Mismatch". We shall see, and we don't mean to denegrate the Division II teams, but when you look at the schedule, is there a game you're really looking forward to there? For the record, let's year scores in the same week: Hamden 31, Branford 0; Amity 41, Lyman Hall 6; Cheshire 42, Sheehan 0; Hand 49, North Haven 40 (yeah, Division II); Notre Dame 57, Derby 19; Shelton 62, Jonathan Law 14; West Haven 57, Foran 13; Wilbur Cross 35, East Haven 14 (calling off the dogs much?); Xavier 41, Guilford 9; and Hillhouse 34, Fairfield Prep 6 (yeah, Division II). Thank God for the ND-Naugatuck game this week, although that really shouldn't be that close. Actually, those blowouts are slightly misleading, imagine if there was no 50-point rule? And we can't get a Cheshire-Hamden or a Notre Dame-Shelton game? Bleah. I'm off my soapbox. Please read this: http://bit.ly/197KHK . All of that still applies.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Spencer Jones, Hillhouse - It may be a tough year for the Academics so far, but Jones continues to put up solid numbers, rushing for a pair of touchdowns last week as Hillhouse got its first win of the season, 22-19, over Lyman Hall. Jones finished with 156 yards on 19 carries and those two scores.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Naugatuck at Notre Dame, Friday, 7 p.m. - There's always some trash talk between the leagues, but with Derby switching leagues and Ansonia actually losing a game or two (after they pounded Hillhouse), the NVL and SCC have a lot to prove to each other. Naugatuck was beaten by Derby last week and if they can keep the game close here, it will go a long way toward pushing forward the theory that the SCC might just be a little overrated.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2
Number of SCC teams that would be in the postseason if the season ended today. But can you name them? How about North Haven (4th in Class MM) and Branford (4th in Class M). Hamden, although undefeated, stand fifth in Class LL, while Xavier, Notre Dame, and Cheshire would all be on the outside looking in. Luckily, still a ways to go in the campaign.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (4-0; Last Week 1) – Did I say they were "iffy at times"? I might have. Should roll Branford.
2) Notre Dame (3-1; LW 3) – LW "Are we headed for a 50-49 shootout at the Maclary Complex Friday?"
3) Xavier (3-1; LW 5) – Quietly making their way up the rankings, winning road games, too.
4) Cheshire (3-1; LW 2) – Rams' defense has some questions to answer, but they'll figure it out.
5) Shelton (1-3; LW 8) – Up three spots after a loss? Just look who they've played thus far.
6) West Haven (1-3; LW 9) – Ditto for the Westies, who played 1, 2, 5, and 8 in rankings to now.
7) Wilbur Cross (2-2; LW 4) – Tough loss for Governors, who should have an easy time this week.
8) Hand (2-2; LW 6) – Brutal loss for the Tigers as well, who can't really sleep on North Haven Friday.
9) Amity (1-3; LW 11) – And it's nine straight Division I teams to open the show. I have no problem with it.
10) Branford (3-1; LW 7) - Expected Xavier to win, but 48-0? Will Hamden hang a similar number on them?
11) North Haven (3-1; LW 10) - Kendrick Amaker one of the most entertaining players in the conference.
12) Sheehan (3-1; LW 12) - Someone asked if 63 was a state-high this year? Tough with 50-point rule.
13) Jonathan Law (3-1; LW 14) - Lawmen will be done with the Division I schedule after this week.
14) Hillhouse (1-3; LW 13) - Escaped Wallingford with a win. Better than not escaping with a win.
15) Foran (3-1; LW 15) - Westies put 50 points up in first half last year against Lions.
16) Fairfield Prep (0-4; LW 16) - Best shot at a victory this season comes this week for the Jesuits.
17) Lyman Hall (1-3; LW 18) - Probably should have beaten Hillhouse, but shoulda, woulda, etc.
18) Guilford (1-3; LW 17) - Going to be tough sledding for the Indians for a little while at least.
19) East Haven (0-3; LW 19) - Sadly, it seems like another 0-10 season is a distinct possibility.