SCC report - Week 5 (the crossovers)

SCC Commissioner Al Carbone and I don't always see eye to eye on issues regarding the league, but - at the end of the day - we're both out for the same thing, to make the league the best it could possibly be. We both also do this thing part-time, which means that we're not doing this for the money, but for the kids, and to make high school sports something: a) they can take a positive experience out of, and b) they can learn lessons they can take into their adult lives.
Although we sometimes joke with him that he's a little like Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, ubiquitous to the point of overkill, as a commissioner, Al Carbone has been nothing short of stupendous. The league has run so smoothly that people forget what it was like before its inception. And they also don't realize how disjointed some of the other leagues around the state can be.
But Al's job is to promote the league, while mine is to is report, a subtle but significant difference that often results in us looking at the same thing in different ways.
Like the just completed crossover week, for instance. Al sees it as a necessary way to keep the a giant league together and under one roof. I see it as a colossal cop-out and waste of time. Al points out that some of the Division II schools quite regularly competed well against the Division I teams before the SCC, and the fact that they say they can't compete is the real cop-out.
Fair enough, I retort, but the numbers (I don't want to waste space here) speak for themselves. Too many blowouts to not play all the teams in your division first before worrying about the other division.
So, expecting the usual round of blowouts, I watched Notre Dame dismantle Naugatuck out of the NVL, and waited for the scores to come in. But some of the Division II teams had seen some of this argument transpiring in the media and elsewhere, and they decided to make a stand, seemingly together.
Guilford used a pair of onside kicks and some inspired defense to take a halftime lead over Xavier. Foran - which gave up 50 in the first half to West Haven last season - gave up none in the first quarter and trailed the Westies only 7-3 at the half. Branford, 49-0 losers the week before to Xavier, was only down 12-7 to top-ranked Hamden. Sheehan was battling Cheshire score for score. Hand couldn't move the ball at home against North Haven.
Division II had risen as one. And it's likely that no one had a bigger smile on his face than Al Carbone.
In the end, Division I prevailed in all seven of Friday night's contests, with Xavier, West Haven, and Hamden all winning comfortably, and Cheshire and Hand hanging on, but the point had been made, they play some football in Division II as well.
For those that have read my stuff for a while, you probably know I'm not afraid to admit when there is some wiggle room in what I say. I still maintain that not playing all nine (or eight in Division II's case) teams in your division is silly and doesn't give you a true champion (instead of these silly four division champions when no one knows who and who is not in your division, anyway).
But one thing you have to remember about this whole situation is that all teams - not just Division I and not just the top teams - put in hard work all summer and all fall in an effort to win games. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, but while people like me focus on mostly the best of the best, it shouldn't diminish the rest. In a long-term view, the journey is more important than the final destination.
And I think that's where people like Al Carbone are coming from. They see the big picture that sometimes people like me miss. They look out for the little guys, the teams that may be struggling, and understand that they may be working just as hard as the top teams, they just may not have the talent to keep up in a given season.
As we head down the stretch, it's something to remember.
Perhaps Sheehan coach John Ferrazzi said it best (to the Meriden Record-Journal) after his team's tough 30-24 loss to Cheshire. The Titans are one of three current SCC teams to have never won a crossover game, but gave it everything they had last Friday and had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
"I'm tremendously proud of my team," Ferrazzi said. "I said to them before the game, 'You need to put in an effort tonight where you leave the field proud to be a Titan'. They're leaving here proud to be Titans. I'm proud to be their coach. We just came up one score short."
EXTRA POINTS: Hopefully, Notre Dame quieted the argument that the NVL is just as good as the SCC argument for the time being. I understand Naugatuck is only 2-3 and they were slightly beaten up going into the game, but it was about as lopsided a game as you could possibly have, It was 42-0 with four minutes left in the half, and Naugy never did stop Notre Dame's first-string offense. Ansonia did beat Hillhouse fairly badly, but other than Fairfield Prep (which the Acs beat handily last Saturday), I don't know if there's another Division I team that they can beat right now. So it would seem to try to rank any NVL team in the Top 10 right now would be silly. I think Hamden, Notre Dame, Xavier, and Cheshire could all win the NVL this season with ease ... For reasons known only to them, Wilbur Cross and East Haven moved their game up a day, and played in hideous weather on Cross' grass field. The Governors led 48-0 at half, and after a fumble return for a score, actually led 54-0 after three quarters, but allowed two late touchdowns to prevent a 50-point debacle. Can we get rid of the rule already, please? ... Hamden was playing without running back Jordan Teague, but at some point are going to be made to pay for their sluggish starts (maybe this week against Xavier?). The Dragons led only 12-7 at half before outscoring Branford 30-0 in the second half of a 42-7 win. But stiffer tests await ... Of course, Xavier's start was worse than Hamden's last week. Guilford - second-to-last going into the week in the Power Rankings - recovered an onside kick and, after getting a field goal, decided it was so much fun, they'd do it again. Most disturbing, Xavier couldn't put up a point in the first half, and led only 6-3 after three quarters before finally putting the game away with 21 points in the fourth. Kudos to Guilford for a fine effort, though ... And although West Haven eventually put Foran away, the Westies were left shaking their heads about a rejuvenated Lions' squad ... There were a couple of Division I teams that took care of business rather easily, Shelton and Amity, beating Jonathan Law and Lyman Hall, respectively.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kyle Kalanta, Amity - Kalanta ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns as the Spartans won their second straight game, beating Lyman Hall 34-16. All of Kalanta's touchdown runs came in the first three quarters of the game.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Xavier at Hamden, Friday, 7 p.m. - This was a close call, as Wilbur Cross-Notre Dame has plenty of intrigue as well, but with the Dragons undefeated and the Falcons one of the prime competitors, this game wins out. One of the questions Hamden faces is if running back Jordan Teague is healthy. Their defense has been solid pretty much all season, and they'll probably have to carry them again here.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2
Number of SCC teams which have never lost a crossover game, Notre Dame and West Haven. Part of that is due to scheduling, neither one has played Hillhouse or Branford, the Division II teams that have claimed the most Division I scalps. By the way, Lyman Hall, Sheehan, and East Haven have never won a crossover game, for some of the same reasons.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (5-0; Last Week 1) – Get a sneaky feeling they may unleash the hounds on Xavier this week.
2) Notre Dame (4-1; LW 2) – Cross' defense is very good, but they will be severely tested Friday.
3) Xavier (4-1; LW 3) – Still some question marks, they will be answered against Hamden.
4) Cheshire (4-1; LW 4) – Speaking of question marks, Rams haven't stopped too many people this year.
5) Shelton (2-3; LW 5) – Senior class would show a lot of guts by running the table rest of way.
6) Wilbur Cross (3-2; LW 7) – Well, I think it's time to put up or shut up for the Governors against ND.
7) West Haven (2-3; LW 6) – Blue Devils showed they are still young and mistake-prone last week.
8) Hand (3-2; LW 8) – Tough to say, but really don't appear to be going too far, too fast in 2009.
9) Amity (2-3; LW 9) – Two straight wins and playing pretty good football. Could be a spoiler.
10) Branford (3-2; LW 10) - Does 8-2 get the Hornets a playoff berth? We may get to find out.
11) North Haven (3-2; LW 11) - Little tougher road home for the Indians, but you never know?
12) Sheehan (3-2; LW 12) - Titans may actually be ranked a little low here. Both losses to D-I.
13) Jonathan Law (3-2; LW 13) - Lawmen can now concentrate on the Division II portion of slate.
14) Hillhouse (2-3; LW 14) - Jones continues to put up monster stats as Acs have improved.
15) Foran (3-2; LW 15) - Might have been the most surprising first half out there. Lot of props to Lions.
16) Guilford (1-4; LW 18) - Well, second most surprising. Too bad for Indians couldn't stop it at half.
17) Lyman Hall (1-4; LW 17) - Respectable performance against Amity, but couldn't keep it real close.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-5; LW 16) - All Division I games left for Jesuits. Doesn't look good.
19) East Haven (0-5; LW 19) - Losing streak marches to 26 and counting.