The SCC Report

From the archives - Amari Spievey

2010-11-11T08:12:00.001-08:00

Thought this was interesting on my return to Palmer Field. From 6 years ago when Amari Spievey (now of the Lions) stars for the Falcons against Shelton:

In freezing temperatures, and with other games much closer by, I made the decision to head to Middletown Saturday night to watch Xavier take on seventh-ranked Shelton.
There were some underlying reasons why I made the trip: I thought the Falcons had a good chance to pull off an upset, I knew the field conditions wood probably be poor (they were, ice was all over the field), and the Gaels needed the game to stay in the Class LL playoff hunt (more on that later).
But there was only one real reason why I wasted an hour driving and put an extra 70 miles on my vehicle, and his name is Amari Spievey.
I’d heard about him, read about him, but had never seen Spievey -- Xavier’s standout running back -- live, I had not covered a Xavier game in three years. Many people consider Spievey the best player in the SCC, and that’s someone writing a column like this just has to see live at least once, whatever the price a Honda Civic has to pay.
But as so often happens in life, when you go looking for one thing, you often find another. And what I found last Saturday night had little to do with Spievey. Sure, he ran for 99 yards and a touchdown, and got the game-clinching interception as Xavier upset Shelton, 27-20, but it was a tremendous team effort that got the job done for the Falcons.
On his first carry of the night, Spievey fumbled and was injured, forced to sit out a series. Shelton immediately scored, but junior Shea Dwyer came off the bench to post a 51-yard touchdown run against a Gaels’ defense that hadn’t given up a point in the previous nine quarters. On the next series, Spievey returned and Dwyer never got another carry. Such is the life of a backup, but Dwyer’s TD gave Xavier momentum it would carry throughout the contest.
Tight end Matt Maguire, a senior captain, had three receptions for 64 yards and a 2-point conversion, and had perhaps the catch of the year, a diving grab that he caught inches from the ground on a 3rd-and-7 play from the Shelton 15-yard line. The Falcons scored on the next play, and although they trailed at the half, 20-19, they believed they could get the job done.
“We challenged them at halftime,” Xavier coach Sean Marinan said. “We know they are a very good team, the defending Class L champions, and we needed to pick it up a notch on defense.”
Xavier was dealt a tough blow midway through the third quarter when senior quarterback Mike Crescimano was carried off the field on a stretcher because of a left shoulder injury.
As backup Corey Moses was trying to get his legs under him, the phone calls to the Palmer Field press box began.
They were from Crescimano’s father, Don, who is also an assistant coach with Xavier. He was calling from the local emergency room because, even in a hospital room, Mike wanted to know how his team was doing.
“Shelton 20, Xavier 19,” he was told. Ten minutes later, he was told the same thing. Another ten minutes, same story.
But midway through the fourth quarter, Moses had his legs. He ran for 12 yards, hit Spievey for a 14-yard gain, and completed a pass to himself (it was tipped) for four yards. Then, he took a three-step drop and lofted a pass down the right sideline. It was underthrown, but when the Shelton defender slipped, Ryan Cody came back, grabbed it, and waltzed into the end zone in front of the student section.
“Xavier 27, Shelton 20. Five minutes left.”, Crescimano was told. The phone calls started coming more frequently.
The Gaels got inside the Falcons’ 30-yard line twice after the go-ahead score, but when Semil Desai’s pass was intercepted at the Xavier 20 with 45 seconds remaining, the phone rang almost immediately.
“Xavier 27, Shelton 20. Final.”
As Xavier and the student section celebrated on the field, there was probably a mini-celebration in the emergency room. It was, in all aspects, truly a team win.

SCC football - Week 1: Xavier raises the black flag atop the SCC

2010-09-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

The quote above is mentioned in Friday Night Lights - no, not the movie, nor the network drama, but the fantastic original book by Buzz Bissinger that came out some two decades ago.
(By the way, if you haven't read that book and you're reading this column, do so. Now. This can wait a few hours.)
The quote hung in Odessa Permian's locker room before their game against rival Odessa, but it must have been somewhere in Xavier's lead up to its showdown with top-ranked and defending Class L champion Notre Dame last week.
You see, as much as we want to talk about things like athleticism and strategy, there's a reason why football became America's pastime and Linda McMahon has enough money to run for the Senate, and it's violence.
Coaches and players will talk about being physical, but will rarely use the word violence because it's got a negative connotation, but it's all semantics at that point. And I'm not here to condemn violence, some of my favorite athletic memories growing up were of Mike Tyson pummeling someone. In fact, as a Giants fan, perhaps my personal best memory is Leonard Marshall knocking Joe Montana out of the 1990 NFC title game with a vicious blindside hit.
Every football player lives for a hit like that, a clean (as opposed to some of the cheapshots like the one on Wes Welker on Sunday, which should not be applauded or condoned in any way, shape, or form) blow that makes the crowd gasp. What better way to intimidate your opponent and fire up your own team?
Of course, no one wants to see people get hurt, certainly serious injuries, but you really can't get your violence without a few people feeling some pain along the way.
"We pride ourselves on being physical," Xavier coach Sean Marinan said. "We make no bones about that, that's the way a defense has to operate, especially against a team like Notre Dame."
So on the second play from scrimmage last Friday - after a long Tirrell Young kickoff return gave Notre Dame and its huge crowd early momentum - Sean Goldrich hit Phil Bentley with a flare pass down the right sideline. Bentley is listed at 168 pounds, with the operative term there being "listed". To his credit, Bentley could gave gone out of bounds, but cut up the sideline, where the play - and Notre Dame's momentum - met a violent end as safety Gerry Basadonna crushed Bentley at full speed, a collision the human body is not made to deal with too often.
With Bentley temporarily out of the game (he did later come back and score a touchdown), four plays later Austin Ahern whacked Goldrich for a 14-yard loss and a message was sent that playing against Xavier's defense is not going to be a heck of a lot of fun. And it's going to be painful.
Notre Dame coach Tom Marcucci would swear after the game that his team stood up to Xavier and was every bit as physical. And the scoreboard indicated that, if not for a bizarre fumble late in the game, the Green Knights might have won and still been the state's top team.
It's also true that violence is not the answer to all football's problems. Xavier's lack of a reliable passing game and the fact that they had trouble snapping the ball nearly derailed a much-deserved victory and probable No. 1 state ranking.
But the fact remains that Xavier came out to physically intimidate Notre Dame and you'd have to say they succeeded. Goldrich never looked comfortable, finishing 5-of-17 for 69 yards and three interceptions (and the only 2 completions in the second half were dump-offs). Young, minus the opening kickoff, wasn't really a factor. ND was held to just 180 yards of total offense.
"We want to make it our mission to come out and come after people," Xavier's Graham Stewart said. "We like to be physical, and we knew we had to be physical tonight (last Friday). That's what we do at Xavier."
Stewart, headed to Boston College, and Ahern - also one of the state's top college prospects - made a nuisance of themselves, but they were joined by Marinan's son (also Sean, and who had the biggest play in the game, stripping David Rose in the fourth quarter) and Eric Mischke in the backfield for much of the evening. After Xavier finally grabbed the lead, you never got the feeling Notre Dame was coming back.
And you also get the feeling that the Xavier defense will make plenty of people in the SCC (and, probably, beyond) extremely uncomfortable.
It won't be an accident.
LIGHTNING, LIGHTNING GO AWAY: Evidently, the football gods didn't like opening games being played on Thursdays, as all the SCC games slated for last Thursday were either never started and not completed because of heavy rain and lightning.
It set up an odd situation for the Cheshire-Hamden and North Haven-Hillhouse contests, where coaches had nearly 24 hours to design halftime gameplans. Of those four squads, apparently the Rams' staff did the best job, when play was stopped on Thursday, Cheshire and Hamden were scoreless early in the third quarter, but Cheshire ran away with a 27-0 victory in the end.
The Rams continued the two-quarterback rotation (Michael Ecke and Max Slade this year) that worked so well for them on their way to a state championship. But it was their defense that was the story, holding Jordan Teague and company scoreless.
Cheshire will have to deal with Hillhouse this week, and the Academics were able to hold off North Haven, 12-0 (a rematch of the SCC basketball title game, by the way), after having the lead by that same score Thursday when the game was stopped at halftime. Freshman Harold Cooper and senior Chris Turner had the touchdowns, and the Academics look like they might be headed back toward the top of Division II (and are the highest D-II team in the power rankings).
PENALTY KICKS: Foran and Branford played a thriller Saturday night, with the Lions eventually prevailing 28-27 in overtime after it looked like they had lost the game in regulation. The Hornets stormed to the Foran 1-yard line with time running out, but picked up a penalty and eventually had a field goal blocked.
In overtime, both teams immediately scored, and Branford originally seemed to be going for 2 points and the win, but eventually decided against it, went for the tie (and a second overtime) and missed the extra point.
Unofficially, 95 percent of overtime in the current high school format come down to a missed extra point one way or the other, so it seems like the wise thing to do is move the start back to the 25-yard line like college. At least it won't be so easy to score.
Foran's opener last season also came down to kicking. After tying Lyman Hall 20-20, Joe Capalbo missed an extra point that probably would have won the game, but redeemed himself by drilling a field goal on the game's last play to win 23-20.
Ironically, later in the year, Capalbo wasn't so lucky against Branford last season. After the Lions had cut the Hornets' lead to 21-20 in the second overtime last season, his kick was blocked to end the game (meaning it was in the 95 percent decided by the kicking game).
And put in the same situation again, it's probably safe to say that you'll see the Hornets go for the jugular when they have the chance.
EXTRA POINTS: If you thought some unique matchups in this week's crossover games, you weren't hullicanating. Three of the games feature teams that have never met (Foran-Xavier, Jonathan Law-Wilbur Cross, and Hillhouse-Cheshire). Guilford-West Haven haven't met since 1997, when the SCC was nothing but a babbling toddler. Sheehan and Shelton - division rivals in most sports - will meet for the first time since 2003. According to SCC commissioner Al Carbone (who also supplied those facts), The league’s Scheduling Committee and Athletic Directors last winter voted to eliminate the scheduling rule that avoided Division I West/Division II East and Divison I East/Division II West matchups during crossover weeks. Doesn't mean the games will be any better, but they'll be different at least, I guess ... East Haven was indeed able to field a team (and had decent numbers) and put up a fight against Guilford before falling 27-6. It will still be a struggle for the Easties, but I think they should be able to beat Platt Tech and might, just might be able to shock someone else before the season is done ... The other winless team from a year ago - Fairfield Prep - also put in a solid performance, albeit in a losing effort, falling 28-14 to Hand. Prep misses out on the crossover fun, but gets to take on Griswold this week. That's a long Friday trip on I-95 for Griswold ... For the second straight year, Wilbur Cross went on the road against a traditional power and hung a big number in an easy win, this time beating Shelton 32-21. Their schedule is much easier in the next two games than it was after last year's upset win over Xavier, with Jonathan Law and Fairfield Prep coming up before they get into the heart of their Division I schedule. Last season, they finished 5-5 ... Did I say 5-5? Just like my record last week in the picks. Yikes.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
James Ward, Wilbur Cross - Ward ran the opening kickoff for a touchdown and rushed for 142 yards and three more TDs on just nine carries as Wilbur Cross rolled to a 32-21 win over Shelton., the second straight year the Governors have won on the road in Division I in the opening week. Ward also added an interception to round out his day of being everywhere on the field.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Hillhouse at Cheshire, Friday, 7 p.m. - Both teams made statements in games that were played over two days in the opening week, and both teams posted a shutout, which means points might be at a premium at the Maclary Complex. The Maclary Complex is brand new to Hillhouse, these teams have never played each other in their history, which adds to the intrigue of this contest. Both teams also still have some question marks which will probably be answered in this one.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3
Number of interceptions thrown by Notre Dame quarterback Sean Goldrich in the opener, after throwing only a single one in all of the 2009 season. Xavier remains the only team to pick Goldrich off in the last two seasons, the Falcons recorded the interception last year against him as well.

POWER RANKINGS
1) Xavier (1-0; Last Week 2) – Don' t think it will be too much fun for Foran this Friday at Palmer Field.
2) Notre Dame (0-1; LW 1) – Knights have a lot of work to do on the lines, but should be fine in the end.
3) Cheshire (1-0; LW 3) – Again, the two-headed QB system pays dividends, but defense the story.
4) Wilbur Cross (1-0; LW 5) – Let's hope the Governors learned lesson after first game last season.
5) Hillhouse (1-0; LW 4) - Might be a little high, but we'll know exactly where to place Acs after Friday.
6) Shelton (0-1; LW 4) – Georgalas will return, but it might be a struggle against best SCC has to offer.
7) Hand (1-0; LW 6) – Not exactly an inspiring performance, but it goes in the win column for later use.
8) West Haven (1-0; LW 8) – Blue Devils had to wait until Sunday, but got season off on right foot.
9) Hamden (0-1; LW 7) – Offense was nonexistent against Cheshire, and they'll have to figure that out.
10) Lyman Hall (1-0; LW 3) - Highest Trojans have been in a while here, and they might be able to climb.
11) Foran (1-0; LW 5) - The Lions and Schumitz will most certainly battle you, especially at their place.
12) Branford (0-1; LW 1) - Tough loss to open campaign. Hornets surely hope doesn't cost them playoffs.
13) North Haven (0-1; LW 2) - Schwab was forced to leave opener. Indians could use him on field this week.
14) Sheehan (1-0; LW 6) - Gannon threw for 4 TDs, good start for a young quarterback in this league.
15) Amity (0-1; LW 9) – Tremendous defensive effort, but Spartans end up with nothing to show for it.
16) Fairfield Prep (0-1; LW 10) - Some things to build on, especially with Griswold coming to town Friday.
17) Jonathan Law (0-1; LW 7) - Didn't really see Lawmen giving up 37 points, but I didn't see a lot of things.
18) Guilford (1-0; LW 8) - Got a win, but Indians know things will only get a whole lot tougher from there.
19) East Haven (0-1; LW 9) - Played hard, played tough. What else can you ask for out of a team?

SCC football - Division I preview: ND's world and everybody else is just visiting

2010-09-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

"To whom much is given, much is required." - John F. Kennedy

People forget that prior to last fall, the Notre Dame football team was coming off three consecutive losing seasons, and many people (including someone whose picture lies somewhere on this page) didn't really believe that last season was going to be the one that the Green Knights returned to glory.
Of course, 20/20 hindsight shows outstanding lines on both sides of the ball, speed to burn, and an outstanding leader and winner in Conor Keniry.
Notre Dame hopes that there won't be any hindsight needed in December. They will begin the season this week No. 1 in the Courant poll, the Register poll, the WELI poll, and - presumably - the Gallup polls.
Rumors of their preseason beatdowns of other traditional powers have spread like wildfire through the football underground.
But, unlike last season, the hype comes with a giant target on their back, one that Notre Dame will have to embrace if they want to avoid the snipers.
"We don't talk too much about last season," Notre Dame coach Tom Marcucci said. "It's a new story, a new group. We graduated eight starters on offense, seven on defense. We have some skill players back and we have some talent, but it is a different team."
No one will be feeling the heat more than senior quarterback Sean Goldrich, because he's the most heralded player returning from last year's Class L title squad, throwing for 20 touchdowns with just 1 interception last season and completing nearly 69 percent of his passes.
However, his role will almost surely be increased this season. Goldrich never threw more than 15 passes in a game last season, and although the Knights should still run plenty, there will be times where the game may rest on Goldrich's strong right arm.
"I just want to win games, that's what's most important to me," Goldrich said. "I know interceptions will happen from time to time, so I'm not worried about it. Coach (Marcucci) has told me we're probably going to throw a little bit more, which is obviously exciting as a quarterback, but as long as we're winning, I'm fine."
You want an example of how things have changed for Goldrich? At a recent visit to Notre Dame, I was told I couldn't talk to him. After explaining that it was set up through Coach Marcucci, the message came back, "Well, he can't talk to college coaches during school."
For whatever reason, major colleges have been slow to warm to Goldrich. He had looked at Iowa, but they grabbed another QB. The same appears to have happened at Villanova.
What makes it doubly strange is trying to find someone with something negative to say about Goldrich, either on or off the field, is darn near impossible.
"In my opinion, he is a Division I quarterback," Marcucci said. "He has a big-time arm and he's faster than people give him credit for. He's a good runner. And he's a fantastic kid. He does everything the coaches ask, and it's always the team first."
You can tell the college thing stings Goldrich a little, but while he's not exactly a tragic figure, he has had his share of adversity growing up in West Haven.
When he was in seventh grade, his mother, Tara, died suddenly, and therefore never saw him play a down in high school.
"It dawned upon me a couple of times last season," Goldrich said. "It was a little emotional in the playoffs that she couldn't see the success that we had. In the end, although I wish she could be here, it's nice to know that there's someone up there looking out for me, and she'll always be a big part of who I am."
You want weapons? Goldrich (who somehow didn't even make first team Division I last season, as he was beaten out by Xavier's Alex Pace, Hamden's Jason Lassiter, and Cheshire's Greg Palmer) has weapons. Phil Bentley and Tirrell Young-Williams, who each had big plays in big games last season, were 1-2 in the 100-meter dash in Class MM track last spring. Running back David Rose was not spectacular, but consistent and should be stronger with a year of experience under his belt.
Sometimes it's not the most fun position to be in, anything but a repeat as state champion will likely be a disappointment.
However, it certainly beats having a losing record.
"We have a lot of things we can still do to get better," Marcucci said. "This won't be easy."
STEWART LEADS FALCONS: As of Sunday, there was only one name on the MaxPreps roster for Xavier: Graham Stewart.
The linebacker spurned UConn (yeah) and Syracuse (boo) to play at Boston College, ending a fairly contentious recruiting period and allowing him to concentrate on football.
Stewart and fellow linebacker Austin Ahern are among the top 10 recruits coming out of Connecticut this season, which alone means the Falcons should be a handful (Just YouTube Stewart and you'll see some pretty good hits against Division I opposition).
Xavier also won their final nine regular season games last season, including a win over Notre Dame, before giving Staples all it could handle in the Class LL semifinals.
But it was a strange season for the Falcons defense, which posted three shutouts and nearly had two others, but was run off the field by Wilbur Cross (37-19, their only regular season loss), and gave up 20 or more points five times, including to Staples.
Will they have enough to unseat Notre Dame atop the SCC? We won't have long to find out, will we?
EXTRA POINTS: Tony Martone returns to Hamden, and he might have his work cut out for him with a brutal schedule and losing 24 players to graduation. He does have running back Jordan Teague (who, strangely, didn't play any running back in the final scrimmage against Greenwich) and he should have enough athletes to be competitive. But how competitive? ... Yea, I was the one that put Cheshire 8th in Division I to start last season. All they did was win the Class LL state championship. Oops. I'm semi-inclined to look at the fact that they look likely to use two quarterbacks again (Michael John Ecke and Max Slade) to prove that the might have some problems, but it's worked for them in the past, and they should have enough talent to be in position for a possible playoff berth ... Shelton will be without Mike Georgalas for its opener against Wilbur Cross after he was ejected from last Thanksgiving's game against Derby (the CIAC never forgets). They will also miss Ryan Deangelis for the season with an ACL tear, so the Gaels may take some time to get going, and that may be enough to cost them a postseason run ... Wilbur Cross has Dontay Long (QB) and James Ward (RB), but it's hard to tell what else this early. Last season, they started with an 18-point win at Palmer Field, but later in the season lost by 24 points at home to West Haven. They finished 5-5, and you expect you might see more of the same this season ... Hand has some players returning, but it's hard to see them having the athleticism to keep up with the Notre Dames and Xaviers of the world ... West Haven is another mystery, they haven't looked particularly good in the preseason, but they never do, do they? ... Fairfield Prep and Amity, both with new coaches (Tom Shea and Bert Mozealous, respectively), appear to be swimming upstream in Division I, at least for this season ... Couldn't fit this into Inside the Numbers, but the least amount of points Notre Dame scored last season: 28.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK

GAME OF THE WEEK
Xavier at Notre Dame, Friday, 7 p.m. - By all preseason accounts, this should be the game of the season as well in front of what figured to be a giant crowd in West Haven. Is Notre Dame's offense that good? Is Graham Stewart that good? Is the SCC that good? All questions we've been waiting months to answer will finally begin to be come this week, thankfully.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
32
Number of playoff teams in the CIAC football playoffs this season, up from 24 last season. Seeing that I was one of the ones that was pushing for a change, obviously I like it, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I surmise there will still be some teams that feel they should get in and don't, but that's the way it goes.

D-I POWER RANKINGS

1) Notre Dame (11-1; Opener: vs. Xavier) – Knights don't have to leave West Haven until October 22. Nice scheduling.
2) Xavier (9-2; at Notre Dame) – Have to survive ND and Cheshire (both away) in the season's first three weeks.
3) Cheshire (11-1; at Hamden) – Usually, they lose to Hamden, then go on big win streak. Tough to do that this year.
4) Shelton (7-3; vs. Wilbur Cross) – Won last six games last season, will know much more after Friday's opener.
5) Wilbur Cross (5-5; at Shelton) – Ward will take them as far as he can, but he's going to need some help somewhere.
6) Hand (5-5; at Fairfield Prep) – Less cool storylines for opener, same amount of rush-hour traffic on I-95.
7) Hamden (7-3; vs. Cheshire) – Dragons don't play Wilbur Cross this season. Seems kind of wrong, doesn't it?
8) West Haven (5-5; at Amity) – Fairly kind opening to schedule may give the Westies much-needed confidence.
9) Amity (3-7; vs. West Haven) – Mght be a little bit of a rough start to the new regime, but they'll battle in D-I.
10) Fairfield Prep (0-10; vs. Hand) - Well, it really can't get much worse, can it?

SCC football - Division II preview: Lions staying tough despite size

2010-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

In retrospect, Jeff Bevino's initiation into the Southern Connecticut Conference may have been a clear violation of the CIAC hazing policies.
Bevino - coming from a winning program at Notre Dame of Fairfield - and his 2006 Foran team was beaten, battered, and ultimately left winless behind a young quarterback named Jake White.
Perhaps the ultimate humiliation came on Thanksgiving of that year, when Law - only two years removed from an 0-10 season of its own that saw them outscored 462-53 (yes, those were the pre-Cochran Rule days, people) that included a 43-0 loss to Foran - crushed the Lions 47-0.
"My first year, sometimes we had 18 healthy players, it was difficult," Bevino said. "It wasn't fun to get beat up like we did."
The next year, Bevino grabbed a couple of wins over Derby and East Haven to go 2-8, and in 2008, had what many people considered a dream season, finishing 7-4 behind a now veteran White and speedster Tyler Hames, who transferred in from Arizona the year prior.
But last season, White and Hames had both graduated and it looked like it might be back to Square One for the Lions in the brutal SCC. Nope.
Led by a previously unknown quarterback, Tucker Schumitz, and some gutsy play, Foran finished 6-4 and beat Law on Thanksgiving for the second straight year.
"We were really two points away from being 8-2 and looking at the playoffs," Bevino said. "The kids have settled in to our program, and hopefully we're building something here. I'm very happy where we are."
Schumitz may simultaneously have been the breakout star and the most underrated player in the SCC last season, both throwing (1,458) and running (1,161) for more than 1,000 yards from his quarterback position. The good news for Foran is that Schumitz returns for his senior season, but the bad news is that he won't sneak up on anyone this time around.
"He's a heck of an athlete," Bevino said. "He's been throwing the ball very well in practice, but we're hesitant to run him too much in scrimmages because obviously we don't want anything to happen to him."
Bevino trusts Schumitz enough in Foran's spread offense to basically put the game in his hands. At the snap, it's up to Schumitz to make the correct read to either keep the ball or hand it off to a teammate, something that might be tough for some old-school coaches.
"The thing I like about Tucker most is that he's a real student of the game," Bevino said. "He's a really smart kid, he always knows where everyone is on the other team, he has a good feel for what they are trying to do. I trust him enough to pull the ball any time he wants to, it's called a 'choice play'. He doesn't make a wrong choice very often."
Foran has a few holes to fill left by graduation on its lines, but Schumitz - who also uses his reading of the game as a defensive player for the Lions - will look to junior Andrew Sileo (406 yards rushing), and senior Stanley Olsson (26 receptions) to catch some of his passes.
The schedule is much more daunting this year for Bevino and the Lions, opening with a brutal three game stretch of Branford, Xavier, and Hillhouse, but it's probably safe to say that the days of worrying about winless seasons are behind them.
"We'll play the hand we're dealt with the schedule," Bevino said. "But our kids are game. We'll come out and play hard every game, and I'm confident we'll be in most of the games we play this season. I think it will be a fun season."
What a difference four years can make.
31 AND COUNTING: You wouldn't have thought things could get too much worse at East Haven, but with a losing streak of 31 games entering the 2010 season comes word that numbers are so low that the Yellowjackets may have trouble fielding a varsity team.
Athletic Director Mike Marone was quick to try to quell those rumors, but admitted things have been tough this preseason for second-year coach Greg Volpe (who at one point this off-season was told he was fired only to find out later that it wasn't true), and that as few as 17 healthy varsity players were available at a couple of practices last week.
One thing going for East Haven is that the students did not return until Tuesday, so they were hoping to pick up a few kids who might not otherwise be interested in playing, as well as some players that are currently injured. For those that read this column regularly, you'll remember that exactly one year ago in this point, East Haven and their new coach Volpe were featured, complete with this quote:
"I didn't know how deep it went here (at East Haven)," Volpe said. "It's just a culture more than anything. It's a big challenge, but we're going to try to meet it."
Unfortunately, that still sums it up.
And despite what you feel about East Haven, or if you like your team to have an easy win, it really is quite sad the situation the program is in, and we hope things turn around. (It was also a sad summer for the EHHS program as one fo their biggest recent stars, James Glee, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Hartford at the age of 29.)
I'm sure we'll be on this story for most of the 2010 season. One possible bright spot, the Easties were able to get rid of Trinity Catholic as their out-of-conference game and added Platt Tech. East Haven will play the first game in the SCC next Wednesday night against Guilford.
EXTRA POINTS: The Division II race may be too close to call, which may not necessarily benefit the teams that are pushing toward the playoffs. It's important to remember that although the playoff teams in each class have gone from 4 to 8, the number of classes have dropped from 6 to 4. So you math majors can tell us that the number of playoff teams, while increased, has only gone from 24 to 32. It's still hard to see a team with three losses qualifying for the postseason on a regular basis ... You'll see we have Branford tops in the Power Rankings, and that's largely due to the arm of Kyle Nolan, who took over for an injured Andrew Luzzi at quarterback and did very well, throwing for 706 yards and leading the Hornets to four straight wins to close the campaign ... North Haven, who was 7-3 behind sophomore quarterback Joe Schwab, also can't be counted out of the race, and if you want a sleeper, it might be Lyman Hall. The Trojans were much better than their 4-6 record of last season would indicate, and return Joe Desandre (1191 yards rushing as a sophomore in '09) and quarterback John Desandre. And we haven't even gotten to Hillhouse or Foran yet ... You've probably heard about Connecticut's new concussion rule, which - although most reasonable coaches went by anyway - is a good step, but among the other new rules in effect this season: no more than four captains out for the coin toss. How's that for random? 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

GAME OF THE WEEK
Hillhouse at North Haven, Sept. 16, 7 p.m. - Tough to get a read on Hillhouse this season, but we'll certainly know more about the Academics after this opener. Last season, Hillhouse appeared to beat North Haven, but a time out was called before an apparent missed field goal. The second time around, the Indians made the field goal for a 20-18 victory. The Acs finished 5-5, but had a loss to Ansonia and two Division I losses (Shelton, Wilbur Cross) mixed in. Both of these teams have aspirations for the postseason under the new system, but things will get much tougher for the loser.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
9
Still the number of teams left in the SCC for Division II football, which while still a perfect square, is still not dividable by 2. Anyone from North Branford to Masuk to Morgan to Hyde has been rumored to be the 20th team in the SCC for football. An unlikely candidate to step up late: Platt Tech, which has already filled the schedule hole of three of the Division II teams, and would like to get its athletic program to a place where it can compete in the lower half of the SCC rather than drive all over the state for games.

D-II POWER RANKINGS

1) Branford (Opener: at Foran) – Big numbers for program, and Tracy now with a year under his belt in charge.
2) North Haven (vs. Hillhouse) – Slowly but surely making progress as one of the top teams in Division II ranks.
3) Lyman Hall (vs. Platt Tech) – Been a while since Trojans have moved this high, but should cruise in first week at least.
4) Hillhouse (at North Haven) – Been a while since Acs have been this low, but win over Indians would be good start.
5) Foran (vs. Branford) – Early schedule will be tough, but if nothing else, Lions should been very fun to watch.
6) Sheehan (vs. Jonathan Law) – Life without Biestak, who also led Sheehan in rushing, begins for Titans this week.
7) Jonathan Law (at Sheehan) – Reports out of Milford say Lawmen are huge, but going to have to find way to score.
8) Guilford (at East Haven) – Well, if the Indians don't win their opener, at least we'll have a good story, won't we?
9) East Haven (vs. Guilford) – Yellowjackets might have circled Platt Tech on their schedules already.

SCC baseball : Tournament review - Shelton not going anywhere

2010-05-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

The torch might not have been passed last Saturday afternoon when Shelton beat Amity for the SCC title, but you may be able to say it was shared.
The last time an undefeated Amity team was stopped in the SCC final - three years ago - Guilford rode that momentum (and the right arm of Will Jolin) all the way to a Class L championship.
In 2008, the Indians had a remarkable regular season run before - as the top-seed - falling to Amity in the SCC semifinals, and then getting beaten by division rival Jonathan Law in the state semifinals. The last two seasons, Guilford has not been able to keep the momentum, failing to make the state tournament in both campaigns.
The signs point to the fact that Shelton may be a bigger long-term threat to Amity's supremacy atop the SCC baseball world. You were warned, by me and by others, that Shelton was coming. Under Scott Gura last season, the Gaels marched all the way to the Class LL semifinals before falling to West Haven.
But the step from believing to achieving can be a lot trickier than it seems. After all, Shelton is in the same division (Housatonic) as Amity, and the last time the Spartans didn't win the division title, most of the current Gaels hadn't even started their T-ball careers yet.
While Shelton did knock off Amity once last season, it never could completely figure its pitching out, en route to a 17-8 final record, very solid for most, but you felt like the Gaels were close to something big, which they obviously showed in the state tournament.
"Last year, we set the bar pretty high," Gura said before the 2010 season. "We wanted to make Shelton baseball a program that would be near the top of the SCC every year, but that's easier said than done. But last year was a great first step, but we want to be more consistent from year to year."
If they could only figure out a way to get past the reigning kings, Amity.
In their two regular season meetings this season, Shelton couldn't even manage a run off Amity, losing by scores of 2-0 and 5-0, respectively. And true to their championship form, the Spartans weren't going down without a fight on Saturday.
Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, three straight walks allowed Amity to tie the game, and it looked like more heartbreak for Shelton. But not this time. Dan St. George, as gutty as they come, induced a groundout to send the game to extra innings.
Somewhat surprisingly with the state tournament looming, Amity went to Lou Concato in relief for extra innings. But in his second inning of work, Tom Carroll and Jim Pjura touched the normally untouchable Concato for back-to-back doubles, and the Gaels - barely as the Spartans rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth - made it stand up.
Finally, Shelton had beaten Amity in a big game, and they were kings of the SCC for the first time in a decade.
"We've had a tough time winning tournament games," St. George said. "This year, coming in and beating three very good teams is a real statement for our program and I hope it continues in the state tournament."
In a single-elimination baseball tournament, obviously anything can happen. And Shelton's next loss (if there is one, the Register's Chris Hunn has predicted an Amity-Shelton Class LL final next week, and wouldn't that be a sight?) will be the final high school game for St. George and some others, including Eric Christensen, who will likely by Shelton's all-time hit leader sometime this week.
But this should not be the end, or even the beginning of the end, for Shelton baseball. Amity has done what they have done over the last decade with pitching, allowing them to win games even when their bats have an off day. And for the Gaels to make the next step long-term, that's where they will have to do it.
By the way, the reason why we started this story with sharing the SCC torch? While Amity will lose its share of players, they surely won't go very far. In fact, remember when they were undefeated and lost to Guilford in 2007? You know what they did next? Win the state championship, their second consecutive Class LL crown, of course. And there aren't many people doubting them in this year's state tourney, either.
"To beat a team like that, that's an historic win for us," Gura said. "Especially in extra innings. That's a classic. People are going to be talking about this win in Shelton for the next 20 years."
Or until they meet again.

SCC baseball - Week 6: Amity keeps on rolling

2010-05-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the SCC Tournament will start - depending on where and when you're reading this - in less than a week (Tues., May 25) with the quarterfinals.
Who will be there? Well, there's still some work to be done, but the picture is becoming clearer, and the one thing we do know is we have a favorite, and a motivated favorite.
Amity, despite being pushed hard by Notre Dame over the weekend, remains unbeaten at 17-0, and - believe it or not - hasn't won the SCC title since 2006, an eternity for them (Guilford, Notre Dame, and Jonathan Law have won the last three titles. Interesting tidbit: Notre Dame won the 1997 title and has won the title four times. If you take out Amity as well, no one else has one the SCC crown more than once: Xavier, Branford, Shelton, North Haven, West Haven, Guilford, and Law have all won the title once each.)
Amity, Xavier, and Law appear to be on their way to division titles, and East Haven would be in if they beat North Haven Tuesday (more on that one in a second). Notre Dame should be in, as should Shelton. Cheshire is limping to the finish line, while Foran and Sheehan are in the mix. All are quality teams, and you'd have to say all are capable of winning it. But we'll have plenty of time to preview the SCC Tournament next week, for now, let me give some of my random thoughts as the regular season grinds to an abrupt halt.
* OK, back to the East Haven-North Haven clash that was slated for last Wednesday that will decide the Oronoque Division title (the Easties have a one-game lead, but North Haven won the first matchup, so would win the tiebreaker).
The game was rained out on its original date, and SCC rules state that it must be played on the next available day (no Sundays). But North Haven's game on Friday was moved up to Thursday because of their prom and East Haven had a game on Friday, so those two days are out.
(Interestingly, Bob Demayo was ejected in North Haven's 8-7 win over Branford last Monday, so he would have missed the East Haven game had it been played on its original date, but that's just the way the rain falls.)
Still with me? So you'd think the next day would be .... Saturday, right, on a nice 70-degree day. But the Indians were reluctant to play because of the prom situation, a valid concern, but - and we keep coming back to this, don't we? - is it a rule, or isn't it a rule?
If the rule is that the game has to be played on the "next available day" then the game should have been on Saturday. You can negotiate the time to be later in the day if you want, but a rule is a rule, isn't it? Ah, let's not get into that again, let's move on.
* Somehow, I missed to memo (literally) that the Amity-Shelton game was moved back to Amity High last Thursday and not in Orange. It appears that the Spartans will only play one game in Orange this season, Wednesday against West Haven.
Sal Coppola thought after beating up on Notre Dame last month, he would face a much stiffer test the second team, and he did, as Gary Flowers - aside from an Anthony Aprile home run - held Amity in check. But the Spartans prevailed, with Neil Dammando scoring the winning run on a wild pitch.
* It's not really their fault, but Notre Dame has played only three teams in the top half of the league this season (Amity, Shelton, Xavier - Branford and North Haven are close), and has a 1-4 record against them. They should get the chance to prove themselves in the SCC Tournament.
* Meanwhile, somewhat quietly, defending SCC champ Jonathan Law has won 12 of its last 13 games, their only loss being an extra-inning defeat to Shelton.
The key: what else? Pitching, of course. The Lawmen allowed five runs to Shelton, but otherwise have allowed more than three runs in their streak only once - in a lopsided 15-6 victory over Career. They've conceded only four runs in their last four games, but faces Cheshire, East Haven, and Amity to finish up the season.
* Not trying to pick on anyone (especially as a former Westie baseball player), but it's somewhat ironic to see West Haven sitting at 2-14 this season - currently 40th of 41 teams in Class LL - after capturing the state title last season.
It not only tells you how tough the SCC really is on a day-to-day basis (and how remarkable Amity is to be undefeated), but also how tough the high school baseball season can be. The Westies have an extra-inning loss and four other defeats of two runs or less this season.
* Cheshire could attest to the difficulty of the league, as tough losses to Sheehan and Fairfield Prep have put their SCC Tournament hopes in a little bit of jeopardy. The Rams sit at 11-6, but finished the season with three road games, at Jonathan Law, Xavier, and Hamden to finish the season. Eight losses may be too many with teams like Sheehan - whom they just lost to - lurking.
* Prep, which looking on the verge of collapse, has caught itself, and can make their case for an SCC Tournament berth with three wins against teams near the bottom of the league this week (West Haven, Lyman Hall, Wilbur Cross).
In the somewhat confusing SCC Tournament criteria, their loss to Bunnell doesn't count, which means they would finish at 11-7, and probably get them in some kind of tiebreaker scenario. Unfortunately, they don't hold too many cards on that front.
* Looking at the state tournament: Hillhouse, Wilbur Cross, West Haven, and Guilford are all out. Hand and Lyman Hall must win their final three games to get in, while everyone else will be in, creating the usual gaggle of SCC teams in Class LL and L.
* Finally, for those that have mentioned it, yes, I have noticed that Derby is 11-6 in its first year in the NVL. And that the last time the Red Raiders were in the tournament was 2001, and the last time they had 11 wins was 1998. But let's move on, people, shall we.
* Check Twitter (www.twitter.com/currenscc) and our blog (currenscc.blogspot.com) for SCC Tournament updates as the week unfolds. We'll also give you a preview of possible state tournament matchups.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nick Vig, Fairfield Prep - Vig has helped to hold the Jesuits together this season. Last Friday, he came on in relief to pick up a big win for the Jesuits, holding the high-powered Rams to just one run over four innings. Vig has been on the mound for many of Prep's wins as they push for an SCC Tournament berth.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Law at Amity, Friday, 3:45 p.m. - I think this marks the 106th straight week that the Spartans have been featured here. These teams could meet again in the SCC Tournament, but does Amity start feeling the undefeated pressure here?

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1
Number of undefeated teams left in the state. To put that in a some kind of perspective, approximately 150 schools play varsity baseball in Connecticut. Last team to complete the regular season undefeated: Seymour (2008). Last team to win state title unbeaten: Don't know (but it was before 1998, Cheshire maybe?)

POWER RANKINGS

1) Amity (17-0; Last Week 1) – Have pretty much wrapped up this top spot this season, haven't they?
2) Jonathan Law (13-4; LW 6) – Must admit, their current run surprised even this "expert". Yes, in quotes.
3) Shelton (10-4; LW 2) – Another week, another tough loss, but no one wants to see them in LL, I'm sure.
4) Xavier (12-5; LW 3) – Still having some trouble with pitching after Coughlin, but a big threat nonetheless.
5) Notre Dame (13-4; LW 4) – Should be more motivated than most in the upcoming SCC Tournament.
6) East Haven (10-6; LW 8) – Can pitching (and weather) hold up to final four-game week? We'll see.
7) Foran (12-5; LW 7) – Didn't exactly beat the conference's best last week, but wins are wins.
8) Sheehan (10-7; LW 9) – Should, and probably must, win final three games to make SCC Tourney.
9) Cheshire (11-6; LW 5) – Rams hoping not to fall into that trapdoor that just opened up below them.
10) Fairfield Prep (9-8; LW 13) – Last time Prep was in SCCs: 2002. Also only time they've been there.
11) North Haven (9-7; LW 10) – Can steal an SCC Tournament berth if Indians can knock off Easties.
12) Branford (8-9; LW 11) – Hornets will be in the mix to repeat, stranger things have happened in states.
13) Hamden (8-9; LW 12) – Dragons can also breathe now, schedule is pretty daunting this week.
14) Hand (5-12; LW 14) – Doesn't look good, but Tigers' teams have pulled fantastic finishes before.
15) West Haven (2-14; LW 16) – Westies would like to finish up with a couple of wins for 2011 momentum.
16) Guilford (4-13; LW 17) – Tough season for Civitello after such a successful basketball campaign.
17) Career (3-13; LW 18) – Did get a win over Cross, but not enough for Panthers this season.
18) Lyman Hall (5-12; LW 15) – Need to win final three to get in, but not much life last week for Trojans.
19) Wilbur Cross (4-13; LW 19) – Pitching has been very good of late, but just can't find the offense.
20) Hillhouse (1-15; LW 20) – Faced Hyde on Wednesday in an interesting non-conference contest.

SCC baseball - Week 5: East Haven chasing history

2010-05-09T19:43:00.001-07:00

The East Haven baseball team would have liked to think about things most teams do at the beginning of a season such as qualifying for the state tournament, making the SCC Tournament, and maybe capturing a division title.
Instead, though, the Yellowjackets had to concern themselves with more pressing matters. Like getting an out.
In April cold weather, pitching is supposed to be king, but East Haven's pitching went AWOL just as the regular season opened. The Easties allowed 60 runs in their first five games, never allowing a single digit number (less than 10) in any of those contests.
Needless to say, they were 0-5 (although their offense nearly got them a couple of wins, even in those games), and - with division play looming - just hoping to find a way to stay afloat.
However, a funny thing happened to the sinking Yellowjackets on their way to the bottom.
They found their pitching (and the defense to go with it).
And what has followed has been one of the most amazing runs in East Haven baseball history - at least in the SCC era - as the Yellowjackets have rolled off eight of nine wins to already qualify for the state tournament with six games to go.
East Haven's timing also couldn't have been better as far as the division goes, their winning streak coincided with the beginning of the division schedule, meaning that wins over Wilbur Cross (Monday) and North Haven (Wednesday), the Easties would be outright divisional champs for the first time in the 16 year history of the SCC. And that also means they will make their first appearance in the SCC Tournament (the Easties did share the Hammonasset Division title in 2002 and went on to the Class L title game, but lost the tiebreaker to North Haven in the division).
"It's pretty easy to say, but it all comes down to pitching," East Haven coach Butch Johnson said. "Even when we were 0-5, we were hitting the ball pretty well. But we couldn't get anyone out."
The thing was, on the surface, there wasn't a real good reason for East Haven's troubles. Paul Spadacenta was one of the hottest pitchers in the conference to close 2009 (including a season-closing perfect game) while Mike Anastasio had some experience as well. But both were nicked up in the preseason, and obviously didn't start the season well.
However, the slow start appears to be well back in the rear-view mirror as - now healthy and confident - East Haven suddenly has a shot to make this a memorable season.
The lineup, despite the slow start of the team, has produced, led by junior Vin Guglietti, who made very few outs in the first half of the season, including four home runs. He has cooled slighty, but he's been picked up by the veterans, including Anastasio, Mike Perry (an all-division selection last season), Lou Pane, and Bob Consolatore.
The Easties have also gotten help from shortstop Pat O'Brien and Spadacenta at the plate.
"Paul has turned himself into a pretty tough out at the plate, too," Johnson said. "That definitely helps our lineup."
After pulling out its second win over defending state champion Branford, East Haven was nearly upset by scrappy Career Friday at East Shore Park, winning 4-3. Being in the role of the hunted can be much tougher than being the hunter.
"I was very worried about that game because of the letdown factor, and the fact that Career, even though their record doesn't show it, has played a lot of teams tough this year," Johnson said. "We still have to learn to play every game."
It's not out of the realm of possibility for East Haven to finish with a record of 13-7, which would be only the second time in a dozen years that the Yellowjackets would finish the regular season with a winning record.
Ironically, the other time was 2002, when East Haven finished with a 13-7 regular season mark before going all the way to the Class L finals.
For now, though, Johnson wants to keep his team focused on the job at hand, which is the next game on the schedule.
"We still need to stay focused and not get ahead of ourselves," Johnson said. "The kids aren't stupid. They see the standings. They know where we are. But we have to stay focused."
AROUND THE HORN: So you want to play night games in mid-May, do ya? A freeze warning for the state went up for Sunday night as I write this and night-time lows are slated to hover around 40 for a lot of the week. It won't be that cold at most of the night games in the SCC, but it won't be warm, either ... Amity continues to roll on, moving to 14-0. In fact, the Spartans are one of only two teams in Connecticut to remain unbeaten, with Ellington (Class M) being the other at the end of last week ... East Haven may be the hottest team (sans Amity) in the conference, but Xavier is a close second. After beating Notre Dame last week, the Falcons have made short week of the rest of the Quinnipiac Division, beating Hamden, West Haven, and Fairfield Prep in relatively easy fashion to take command of the division ... Hillhouse got its first win of the season, and an SCC win at that, stopping Wilbur Cross in mid-week. Always hate to see any team go winless in a season, although you hope in the end that doesn't cost the Governors a state tournament berth ... West Haven and Career don't have great records, but playing relatively difficult schedules, they have managed to give plenty of teams difficulty without getting a victory. Before the East Haven loss, the Panthers had nearly beaten North Haven earlier in the week, while West Haven had a lead after six innings against Sheehan before falling, and the day before were tied with Foran late, only to fall 2-1 ... Foran was beaten by Jonathan Law for the second time this season which obviously gives Law the inside track on the road to the Hammonasset Division title ... As for the SCC Tournament race, you can pencil in Amity, Xavier, and Jonathan Law. Notre Dame, Shelton, and Cheshire seem likely. East Haven will get one spot if it beats North Haven, so that leaves one more spot between probably Foran and Sheehan, with the Lions currently having the inside track.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shaun Coughlin, Xavier - It's not a coincidence that the Falcons' resurgence has coincided with Coughlin's hot streak on the mound. He threw a 5-hitter as Xavier beat up on Fairfield Prep last Friday, pushing the Falcons to 10-4 on the campaign and on the verge of the Quinnipiac Division title.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Shelton at Amity (at Old Tavern Rd., Orange), Thursday, 7 p.m. - It will be a little chilly on Thursday night most likely (which may rule out the obligatory pre-game trip to Dip Top next door, but is this the day Amity finally falls? And how many times have I asked that question before?

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13
Combined number of runs of the last seven losses by West Haven and Career, a number that is inflated plenty by a 6-2 loss to Xavier by West Haven last Wednesday. But other than that game, none of the losses are by more than two goals, tough to take when the combined records are 4-23.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Amity (14-0; Last Week 1) – Looking ahead, Shelton game Thursday could be only No. 2 of 4 meetings.
2) Shelton (10-4; LW 2) – Another week, another tough loss, but no one wants to see them in LL, I'm sure.
3) Xavier (10-4; LW 6) – The nightmare for rankings such as this, win a big one, lose a big one.
4) Notre Dame (12-2; LW 4) – Three wins, all at home. Schedule not really the toughest at second glance, is it?
5) Cheshire (10-4; LW 3) – Another Power Rankings nightmare, give up 23 runs than proceed to beat Shelton.
6) Jonathan Law (10-4; LW 8) – Pitching has carried them to the top of the division and to this lofty perch.
7) Foran (9-5; LW 5) – Couple steps forward, one step back. Would like to get into SCC Tournament.
8) East Haven (8-6; LW 10) – Won eight of nine, and should be in SCC Tournament for first time. Impressive.
9) Sheehan (8-6; LW 7) – Like Foran, not the greatest record, but not a team you want to see in the postseason.
10) North Haven (7-7; LW 9) – Indians would like to get one more win quickly to avoid tournament fears.
11) Branford (6-8; LW 11) – Speaking of the tournament, Hornets should make it, but should is not do sometimes.
12) Hamden (7-7; LW 12) – Gave ND quite the run, but lost to Lyman Hall in the game prior to that unfortunately.
13) Fairfield Prep (7-8; LW 13) – Got a big win over Hand, doesn't look like there's going to be a play-in this year.
14) Hand (4-10; LW 16) – Seemed to have the pitching sorted out, but can't score any runs all of a sudden.
15) Lyman Hall (5-9; LW 19) – Some life on their tournament hopes if they can pull off an upset or two late.
16) West Haven (2-12; LW 14) – Have to give Westies credit for battling, but just can't find a way to come out on top.
17) Guilford (4-10; LW 15) – Does look like the Indians are going to miss the tournament again this season.
18) Career (2-11; LW 17) – Unfortunate that we won't get to see them in Class S, could beat most of those teams.
19) Wilbur Cross (4-10; LW 18) – Tournament hopes fading away for the Governors as well in 2010.
20) Hillhouse (1-12; LW 20) – Despite the win, can't quite move them off bottom. But a tip of the cap for perseverance.

SCC baseball - Week 4 : It's a Spartan world once again

2010-05-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, right? So you can forgive Amity's SCC rivals if they thought 2009 was the beginning of a downturn - finally - for the conference's marquee baseball program.
The Spartans lost nine times last season, including four of five at one point, lost before the SCC finals for the first time since 2002, and lost in the second round of the Class LL Tournament. After having only 11 total losses from 2004-2007, Amity had 15 combined in 2008 and 2009.
This season was going to be the one they finally capitulated to an improving Housatonic Division (which Amity has owned since 2000) and everyone else could finally get their shots in.
Um, good luck with that.
Amity is back, folks, and back with a chip on its shoulder. On a comically blustery day at a somewhat comically dilapidated Quigley Stadium last Thursday, the state's top-ranked Spartans mauled No. 2 Notre Dame 12-0 to finish the first half of the season 10-0 (they beat Guilford on Friday to make it 11).
"I still think we had a successful year last year despite everything," Amity coach Sal Coppola said. "I think what really hurt us is we lost (Joe) Ciancola, who was our No. 3 hitter and our No. 1 or 2 pitcher. We didn't quite have the pitching down the stretch we normally do. We lost a tough game to Law (in the SCC semifinals), we were still competitive, we were just a little short."
Ciancola missed the second half of 2009 with a meniscus injury, but is back to 100 percent now, holding the high-powered Green Knights scoreless through five innings last Thursday. He and Lou Concato form a formidable duo, and Coppola can call on E.J. Ashworth and Mark Esposito when he needs to.
But what has been really surprising about the 2010 Spartans is their offense. Nick Baviello and Brian Kernan bring speed to the top of the lineup, and you can let them get on base at your own peril, as both can run as well as anyone in the league.
"When you have guys like that at the top, it can ignite the team if they get on base, and make it tough on pitchers who have to worry about them on base, too," Coppola said.
Ciancola is helped in the middle of the lineup by Vin Siena and catcher Anthony Aprile, and Ted Ballou behind him has also been a very tough out for SCC pitching.
Amity came close to falling two weeks ago to Sheehan, but were able to come from behind, a hallmark of past Amity squads, with a hard-fought 8-7 victory. It was Ciancola, who was chased from the game on the mound, that came back to get the winning hit.
I've mentioned them before, but Amity's recent results in a sport like baseball, which does not lend itself to domination are worth repeating: a record of 96-11 from 2004-2007 with three SCC titles and back-to-back Class LL crowns in '06 and '07.
The Housatonic Division is as tough as it has ever been, with the Spartans fending off challenges from Cheshire, Sheehan, and Shelton in the first half of the season, challenges they will surely see again the second time around. In fact, when asked about the lopsided score of the Notre Dame contest, Coppola commented that it worried him a little because the Knights were a good team and might be a little angry the next time in Orange.
But that's what makes the Amity baseball program so good, for the most part, they take everyone's best, and they keep right on winning.
AROUND THE HORN: In the grand scheme of things, Foran was going to make the Class M Tournament, but Friday's 3-2 over Sheehan might turn out to be the day the Lions turned the corner. Foran had lost to hand the day before and trailed 2-0 with ace Brian Ward on the mound before the comeback. Just a guess, but coach Todd Williams agreed: "I feel this should be the turning point. We should build on it now." ... Doormats no more: Wilbur Cross picked up a 2-1 upset over North Haven last week, as Edison Rodriguez got two runs of support in the top of the first and made them stand up through seven innings. Not bad from a Governors' team that began the season down 20-0 to Hamden after just three innings. Three innings ... By the way, who is leading the Oronoque? That would be East Haven, who started the season 0-5, but has won five of six since, including beating Hand and Fairfield Prep in back-to-back games at the end of the week. Shelton is giving its fans their money's worth this season, as they played two more classic games to end the week, getting nipped by Amity 2-0, then coming back to stop Jonathan Law and Brett Michael Doran 5-4 in 8 innings. Dan St. George not only drove in the winning run, but got the win in relief, too ... Could four Housatonic Division teams make the SCC Tournament? Sheehan has been dealt a few tough losses lately, but still has the talent to make a run, and the other three teams (Amity, Shelton, Cheshire) look like locks ... The day before Amity beat them, Notre Dame lost to division rival Xavier, 5-3, as the Falcons are red-hot as well. The Green Knights did recover on Friday with a 10-2 pasting of Branford, the second time ND has put a big number on Branford this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Vin Guglietti, East Haven - Guglietti had three hits and two RBIs is East Haven's win over Fairfield Prep and added a pair of home runs in a game earlier in the week against Hand, leading the Yellowjackets to the top of the Oronoque Division at the season's halfway mark.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. - Night baseball? It's that time, and this game is worthy of it. Both these teams have been as good as anyone not named Amity in the SCC this season, and the winner of this one still has a shot to try to knock the Spartans off in the Housatonic Division for the first time in a decade.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3
Combined number of hits in the Amity-Shelton game last season, which Amity won 2-0, despite picking up only two hits. Luckily for the Spartans, Lou Concato threw a 1-hitter to pick up the win. Dan St. George was the hard-luck loser for the Gaels.

POWER RANKINGS (see above)

1) Amity (11-0; Last Week 1) – The Spartans' train just keeps on keeping on. 20-0 will be tough, but not out of the realm.
2) Shelton (8-3; LW 3) – If I have to hear, "watch out for Shelton" again, I'm charging money. Gaels do deserve it, though.
3) Cheshire (9-2; LW 4) – Put up 16 more runs on Hand this week. Rams are just a dangerous offensive club.
4) Notre Dame (9-2; LW 2) – Hit a speed bump with a couple of losses, but still a contender going forward.
5) Foran (7-4; LW 6) – Big week coming up for Lions, a three-game sweep would mean that they're on their way.
6) Xavier (8-3; LW 8) – Falcons' record sneaked up on me, not the toughest schedule in the SCC, but they are hot.
7) Sheehan (6-5; LW 5) – Not a bad loss in the bunch, but the Titans did not win the schedule wars this year.
8) Jonathan Law (7-4; LW 7) – Tough defeat against Shelton, win there would have seen them higher here.
9) North Haven (6-5; LW 9) – Indians have gotten the pitching in order, but now their bats have gone to sleep.
10) East Haven (5-6; LW 13) – Speaking of getting their pitching in order, night and day with the Yellowjackets.
11) Branford (5-6; LW 12) – Hornets really don't have a great win this season, although they're playing a little better.
12) Hamden (6-5; LW 10) – Nearly got bitten by Wilbur Cross after a disappointing loss to West Haven last week.
13) Fairfield Prep (6-6; LW 11) – Prep has lost five of six after a solid 5-1 start. Seems to happen every year with them.
14) West Haven (2-9; LW 16) – Got a win over Hamden, but seems like making tournament is an uphill climb.
15) Guilford (3-8; LW 14) – Pitching was struggling anyway, bow with Schlitter gone for year, it will be that much tougher.
16) Hand (3-8; LW 15) – Got a win over Foran, but Tigers have given up way too many runs to be competitive.
17) Career (2-8; LW 17) – Panthers still hoping to make a run, but their pitching has struggled lately as well.
18) Wilbur Cross (4-7; LW 18) – After losing to Hamden 25-2, nearly turned it around, but was beaten in late innings.
19) Lyman Hall (3-8; LW 19) – Got a win over Hillhouse, got a chance for their revenge over Cross on Monday.
20) Hillhouse (0-10; LW 20) – Academics still pitching the ball better, if they can get some runs, you never know.

SCC baseball - Week 3: Taking stock as we approach midway

2010-04-26T15:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we had it all planned to cover the showdown between Notre Dame and Amity Monday, but Mother Nature had other ideas, so the game was pushed to Tuesday.
(For what happened in that game, check www.twitter.com/currenscc or www.currenscc.blogspot.com)
But the little break in the action gives us a chance to see where we are in the 2010 SCC season. Believe it or not, Wednesday marks the halfway point of the regular season, and in four weeks we'll be watching the SCC Tournament. And we now have enough information to talk intelligently (well, semi-intelligently) about all the teams.
So that's what I'll try to do. Again, I'll repeat that these power rankings are just an opinion of how good the teams are, and have been proven wrong more times than I'd like to count.
But we're just trying to have some fun here. It's safe to say that this could be a banner year for the SCC, and a look at the teams will show you why:
1) Amity (8-0)
It's not surprising that Amity is undefeated (although as we've said about Amity many times in the past that winning as much as they do in baseball is much tougher than it looks), but what takes you back a little is the Spartans' offense. Take out a 3 (in a 3-2 win over Branford), and you get 10, 6, 7, 9, 7, 15, and 8. And they're not playing chumps, either.
2) Notre Dame (8-0)
Got a report that their pitching had been hit around in the scrimmages, but the Green Knights have allowed more than three runs just once this season, and this was in "garbage time" in a lopsided victory. They have enough experience to win the close games, and they are legit.
3) Shelton (6-2)
The Gaels had a tough loss to Guilford, and then nearly beat Notre Dame, which dropped them at the time to 3-2. But they've reeled off three straight wins, and just have the look of a team that will be heard from in June. I don't think their lineup has completely clicked yet.
4) Cheshire (6-2)
The Rams saw how difficult life could be in the SCC with losses to Amity and Shelton last week. There are questions about their pitching, but there are few questions about their offense, having scored 72 runs in eight games. They have some winnable games, but inconsistent pitching may give them a few more losses before all is said and done.
5) Sheehan (5-3)
The third straight Housatonic Division team in the countdown, and fourth overall (poor Lyman Hall). The Titans probably should have knocked off Amity last week, and certainly don't face the non-division schedule that the teams above them do. But nothing is that easy in the SCC.
6) Foran (5-3)
The Lions started the season No. 1 in the rankings, but their pitching has not materialized the way we thought it was, even giving up eight runs to Guilford last Friday (in a 13-8 win). Still, their record is not alarming, and they have some time to get it together to make a run at both the SCC and Class M crowns.
7) Jonathan Law (5-3)
If you had to give an MVP for the young season, it would probably be Brett Michael Doran (who was originally at ND by the way as a freshman). Doran is not only crushing the ball, but outdueling stud pitchers like Foran's Brian Ward, which helped the Lawmen navigate a tough early-season schedule, and put them in a position to maybe defend their SCC crown.
8) Xavier (5-3)
The Falcons will finish up their road schedule this week, meaning a long, long homestand and a chance to do some damage. They have scored a total of one run in their three losses, so they'll have to find a way to hit good pitching if they want to make the SCC Tournament, though.
9) North Haven (4-4)
I understand that I might catch some grief from the Hamden people here, but the Indians have that impressive win over Foran last week, and appear to have at least gotten their pitching somewhat in order (although a disappointing 7-6 loss to Branford to end the week). This week will be big to see if they deserve the spot here.
10) Hamden (5-3)
The Dragons haven't racked up the quality points for wins, but they should be in the state tournament, which is a marked improvement over last year, and they could make a run in a relatively soft Quinnipiac Division. Consistent pitching will be the key.
11) Fairfield Prep (5-4)
The Jesuits had a chance to get higher, but three straight losses last week bounced them down. Nick Vig has pitched well, but they gave up 10 runs in back-to-back losses to Xavier and Hamden and stand at 0-3 in the division.
12) Branford (3-5)
The Hornets seem to have turned the corner after a 1-5 start, the fifth loss coming 6-2 against then 0-5 East Haven. They do face Notre Dame and Amity in back-to-back games this week, and can probably forget about the SCC Tournament, but have a good chance to get to eight wins, and won't be someone people want to draw in Class L.
13) East Haven (3-5)
The hottest team in the SCC? Entirely possible as of Monday, the Yellowjackets had won three straight, and while none of them had winning records, it's a start. Their pitching has been good of late, after giving up double figures in all of their first five games.
14) Guilford (3-5)
The Indians also appear to have their act together of late, but their schedule is quite vicious. They - like many others - are having trouble with their pitching depth, which showed prominently in a 13-8 loss to Foran last Friday. But they have the talent to go on a run in the second half.
15) Hand (2-6)
It's been a tough ride for the Tigers in the early season, and (stop me if you've heard this before) it starts with the pitching. Other than a tough 2-0 loss to Branford, Hand has allowed 10 or more runs in all five of their other losses. Seems like it's going to be tough to get to eight wins.
16) West Haven (1-7)
You knew it was going to tough for the Westies this year, and they've been close in a couple of contests, but their only win is over Platt Tech. Still, you think they'll beat some teams at some point, maybe in the division this week.
17) Career (1-6)
The Panthers had a couple of tough battles early on, but have slumped of late, particularly on the mound, where they've given up 65 runs in their last four losses. Some home games await, and that may be a chance to do some damage.
18) Wilbur Cross (3-5)
Yea, they have two wins over O'Brien Tech and Hillhouse, but consider the Governors were down 20-0 after their first three innings of the season (to Hamden). That's quite a turnaround, and the team deserves plenty of credit for it.
19) Lyman Hall (2-6)
The Trojans began the season with a couple of wins, giving hope that this was the turnaround season, but things have fallen off pretty quickly. With the Housatonic Division soaring around them, they'll have to regroup and pick up a few wins where they're not supposed to to make a state tournament run.
20) Hillhouse (0-7)
The Academics have allowed less than 10 runs in their last three games, which is certainly progress. They've also been good for at least one upset in the last couple of seasons, so we'll see if they can pull it off again this time around.
AROUND THE HORN: Monday's rainouts were among the first of the season, and it looked like most of those games were going to get played on Tuesday, meaning a pretty calm season as far as makeups go. It also means that pitching staffs can be shortened, although it hasn't seem to have helped this season with plenty of runs being scored ... If you're reading it here for the first time, you need to get out of your cave, but former Amity star Brian Kownacki made the national media rounds at Fordham by jumping over the catcher, touching home plate with his hands, then completing the somersault past the bewildered catcher. I was trying to figure out if such a play was legal under high school rules, but there was not a conclusive answer. Kownacki's former teammate, Jason Esposito, is also starring at Vanderbilt, who should be NCAA Tournament bound in a few weeks ... Thankfully we did get a Notre Dame-Amity game this season, and an Amity-Foran tilt, but Notre Dame does not play Foran, although they did play Shelton, obviously. No Cheshire or Jonathan Law, though. I guess we can hope to see some of those games in the SCC Tournament.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Zahornasky, Shelton - After the sophomore nearly beat Notre Dame the week before, he threw a gem in the Gaels' 3-1 win over Xavier last Friday. Zahornasky also bats in the middle of the powerful Shelton lineup, and - needless to say - has a very bright future in this league.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Sheehan at Foran, Friday, 3:45 p.m. - This is a big game for two teams that seem to have hopes to upset the top two (Notre Dame and Amity) in the SCC. But they have to get to the SCC Tournament first, and a win in this game would make things much easier.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10
Number of teams with records between 5-3 and 3-5 in the SCC thus far this season. Yes, it's a league of parity, just as everyone wants.

POWER RANKINGS (see above)

1) Amity (8-0; Last Week 1) – .
2) Notre Dame (8-0; LW 3) – .
3) Shelton (6-2; LW 5) – .
4) Cheshire (6-2; LW 2) – .
5) Sheehan (5-3; LW 6) – .
6) Foran (5-3; LW 4) – .
7) Jonathan Law (5-3; LW 7) – .
8) Xavier (5-3; LW 10) – .
9) North Haven (4-4; LW 12) – .
10) Hamden (5-3; LW 11) – .
11) Fairfield Prep (5-4; LW 9) – .
12) Branford (3-5; LW 8) – .
13) East Haven (3-5; LW 18) – .
14) Guilford (3-5; LW 14) – .
15) Hand (2-6; LW 13) – .
16) West Haven (1-7; LW 16) – .
17) Career (1-6; LW 17) – .
18) Wilbur Cross (3-5; LW 19) – .
19) Lyman Hall (2-6; LW 15) – .
20) Hillhouse (0-7; LW 20) – .

SCC baseball - Week 2: Keniry and ND chase another title

2010-04-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

They've been on plenty of bus rides in their high school careers, but last Friday's seemed slighty de ja vu-ish for Conor Keniry, Sean Goldrich, and some other members of the Notre Dame baseball team.
On a cold, wet morning, the stars of Notre Dame's amazing football run to the state championship in the fall, took a trip down memory lane, back to the scene of the triumph - Shelton High School, where the Knights beat Pomperaug on a wet and raw December afternoon.
"It's funny, Conor and I were just talking about it on the way here," Goldrich said. "It brings back good memories, the surroundings, and everything that happened that day. It's good to be back."
Of course, memories are memories, and the present doesn't look too bad for the Green Knights baseball team. The business for Keniry and Goldrich (who bat 3-4 in ND's powerful lineup) Friday was a few hundred feet up the Shelton High hill to the baseball diamond, where the Knights look like they might have the squad to make some more memories this spring.
It was Keniry - who else? - that delivered the killer blow against a good Shelton team, a long home run in the top of the seventh that gave Notre Dame a 4-3 win, its fifth straight to start 2010.
It was a decade ago that the Knights won their last state title (over Cheshire, who is also off to a fine start this season), but led by Keniry and a brutal lineup, it looks like ND might at least be in the mix this season.
How brutal is the lineup? Ask Shelton sophomore Ryan Zahornasky, who did a really good job against it Friday. But after getting the first two outs in the second inning, he faced No. 9 hitter Matt Murray (also a member of the state champion football team).
Zahornasky grooved a fastball - why wouldn't he? - and Murray turned on it and not only hit it over the left field fence, not a cheap shot at Shelton High, but well over. Now that's a deep high school lineup.
What has helped carry Notre Dame to its perfect start, though, has been its pitching. It's not as star-studded as Amity's, but it has allowed more than three runs only once this season, and that was in a 24-7 rout of Career.
Last Friday it was Gary Flowers (yet another football player) who threw a complete game. It wasn't terribly flashy with only three strikeouts, but against Shelton, it was enough to get the job done.
Keniry, who will play baseball at Wake Forest, is finding out the hard way, that making a difference - as he seemed to do in almost every football team when his team needed him most - is not quite as easy on the diamond, especially when his reputation now precedes him.
"In baseball, you have to be a lot more patient and wait your turn," Keniry said. "In football, you can get mad and go out there and rip someone's head off or something, but even as a team that's not going to work in baseball. You have to be patient."
But when he gets his turn, there may be no one in the SCC better than Keniry. Like a Derek Jeter-type, there is just something about Keniry that seems to have him pop up in the big spot (both in football and in baseball). Once or twice, it might be luck. But when done on a consistent basis, and when whatever team he's on seems to end up on top more often than not, it's not luck, folks.
Friday, with one out and no one on in the top of the seventh, Keniry was having a pedestrian day, 1-for-3 with a bloop double. But with the game on the line and hard-throwing Dan St. George on in relief, Keniry took a fastball and drilled it over the center field fence for the game-winning home run.
"We got beat by the best player in the state," Shelton coach Scott Gura would say afterward.
And if you're worried about motivation from a senior leader who's already got a state championship and will head off this fall to play Division I baseball down south, you needn't.
"That was the longest winter ever," said Keniry. "I was definitely ready to go this spring. This is fun."
Winning a state or SCC title (which ND did win, led by MVP Keniry in 2008) in single-elimination baseball can sometimes be a crapshoot, but with Keniry and the veterans Notre Dame runs onto the field this spring, it might not be wise to bet against them.
AROUND THE HORN: Wouldn't you know that the netting at Bob DeMayo Field was not only up, but effective for the North Haven-Notre Dame contest last Wednesday? Just as I walked into the park in the first inning, the new netting grabbed back-to-back balls down the left-field line. Alas, it didn't help the Indians on the field as they fell 9-0, but did rebound to beat Guilford 13-5 later in the week ... Hey, stop the presses, Amity actually gave up four runs in a game this week. Of course, the Spartans still beat Jonathan Law 7-4, but at least the rest of the league can hope ... Division play started this week, meaning some brutal stuff in some divisions, including the Housatonic, where Cheshire put its undefeated streak on the line in back-to-back games against Amity and Shelton ... What happened to the nice weather? On the plus side, most of the games were played, but it was chilly out there. The weather looks like it will be better this week.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dan Manke, Cheshire - Manke continued his torrid start to the season, picking up a double and three more RBIs in Cheshire's win over Xavier last Friday Special mention to the pitcher that day, Dom Severino, who tossed a two-hitter against the Falcons.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Amity at Notre Dame, Monday, 3:45 p.m. - Will both these teams make it to Monday undefeated? We can only hope so, but even if they don't, it's a great game, and one that's turning into a little bit of a rivalry. ND beat the Spartans for the SCC title two years ago, while Amity won a rematch in the SCC quarterfinals last year. And Conor Keniry plays Legion ball with plenty of the Spartans in the summer as well.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3
Number of different weeks SCC school systems have their April vacations this season, which has led to less early starts, if you've noticed. For instance, West Haven and New Haven (among others) are off this week, which is why Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross could play a 10:30 a.m. game at Rice Field on Monday.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Amity (5-0; Last Week 2) – Will certainly be tested in the next four games by some very good lineups.
2) Cheshire (5-0; LW 4) – Four out of first five were at home, tough road contests coming up soon.
3) Notre Dame (5-0; LW 5) – Appear to be the class of Quinnipiac, but no easy division games.
4) Foran (4-1; LW 1) – Scoring plenty of runs as well, that will be big plus if they can keep it up.
5) Shelton (3-2; LW 3) – Shouldn't be overly concerned by ND loss, bigger fish to fry in Housatonic.
6) Sheehan (4-1; LW 6) – Don't get too many points for schedule strength, but that will change.
7) Jonathan Law (2-3; LW 7) – Doran doing his best to keep Lawmen afloat, slate early was brutal.
8) Branford (1-4; LW 8) – Speaking of tough starts, they will be most concerned with the lack of offense thus far.
9) Fairfield Prep (5-1; LW 9) – Can score runs, but have beaten up on the bottom half of these rankings.
10) Xavier (3-2; LW 10) – Like Branford, having some offensive troubles, been blanked in both losses.
11) Hamden (3-2; LW 17) – Dragons seem much more feisty this season, eight wins should happen.
12) North Haven (2-3; LW 13) – Offensive output: 17, 0, 8, 0, 13. Guess it's all or nothing for Indians.
13) Hand (1-4; LW 11) – Rough start for Borelli, but once pitching gets sorted out, they should be fine.
14) Guilford (1-4; LW 12) – Disappointing start to season, big stretch coming up for Indians this week.
15) Lyman Hall (2-2; LW 18) – Like Hamden, seem more feisty this season, and that should bode well.
16) West Haven (1-4; LW 14) – Schedule doesn't get any easier for defending LL champs in Quinnipiac.
17) Career (1-3; LW 15) – Seven-game homestand coming up for Panthers, better not rain much at East Shore.
18) East Haven (0-5; LW 16) – Have yet to give up less than 10 runs in game this season. Ouch.
19) Wilbur Cross (1-3; LW 19) – Did get a win over O'Brien Tech, which is good for confidence of squad.
20) Hillhouse (0-4; LW 20) – Anyone else notice Hillhouse is Class M, while Wilbur Cross is LL? Strange.

SCC baseball - Week 1: DeMayo deserves better from town

2010-04-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Twenty-nine year old Bob DeMayo began his 52nd season in charge of the North Haven baseball program last week, and if you find a logical problem with the first part of this sentence, all I can tell you is you don't know Bob DeMayo that well, do you?
DeMayo's Indians began the season with a wacky 17-9 extra-inning victory over defending Class LL champion West Haven (before losing to Sheehan over the weekend), DeMayo's 778th career victory, a number that if broken will only come because of advances in medical science that allow people to live forever. And even then it would be tough.
But DeMayo recently called this year "the most stressful spring I've ever had here (at North Haven)". It had nothing to do with today's youth, or the fact that he was getting tired of coaching. It had to do with North Haven's brand new home for baseball, once whose opening was six years in the making.
A facility, ironically, named after him.
To complete the whole story, you have to go back a decade when North Haven's long-time home Sachem Field was renamed Robert E. DeMayo Field, an honor that even then was long overdue.
The next chapter was really no one's fault, the town of North Haven came up with the funds to build a brand new high school and the best place to do so was on top of their former athletic facilities. But the idea was to build brand new and improved athletic facilities for everything but football (Vanacore Field was not in the construction zone) where the old school was.
New and improved NHHS opened in 2005, but with other things going on, the Indians were content to move to antiquated, but serviceable Bailey Road for 2005 and 2006. But then glass was found (among other things) and the potential new field was deemed unplayable for another season in 2007. Then 2008 also went by. Finally, on May 18 of last year, the new Robert E. DeMayo Field was dedicated, including a statue of a baseball player that was a collaborative work, with DeMayo and his wife Betty coming up with the idea and many, many others contributing to the sculpting and engraving of it.
North Haven beat Guilford that night, and the saga of DeMayo Field seemed to finally be over, allowing DeMayo to finally enjoy a decent home field.
Unfortunately, and sadly, our story is just beginning.
You see one thing that was forgotten was some high fencing down the lines - particularly the left-field line - where some houses sit on nearby streets. The backyards of these houses, some with young children, are in the line of fire of stray foul balls.
No problem, you say, put up some netting. Ah, but this is a government operation (and although I'm a fan of a government health care plan, this story does show why so many people are so against it), and the funding for the field said nothing about any netting.
"It didn't seem that hard when it was first brought up," DeMayo said. "But everything kept getting put off, everything was manana."
Which got DeMayo (among others) even more angry, because in DeMayo's world, nothing is "manana". He finally e-mailed former players around Thanksgiving time, asking for a donation to help him pay for these fences and nettings he needed to be able to play on his field.
That's the part of the story that galls me the most, a legendary figure whose own field has been off-limits to him for six years having to basically beg for money to play there.
Of course, his players came through, and with new First Selectman Mike Freda (whose son was DeMayo's captain just a couple of years back) in office, again it appeared everything was taken care of.
But as the scrimmages began, the Indians were again back at Bailey Road. Sigh.
Finally, hours before the home opener against Sheehan on Saturday, they got permission from the neighbors and the town to play the game there as a special exemption. But there's no guarantee that the next home game (Wednesday against Notre Dame) would be played there.
"My understanding is that all the materials for the fencing are there," DeMayo said. "They need sleeves to put the fencing in, though, and I guess those haven't arrived yet. Until then, we can practice there because he hit in a cage, but who knows if we can play there? I'm completely confused. It's killing our program because we're trying to fit a varsity, JV, freshman, and middle school program basically on two fields.
"I don't blame the neighbor personally, he's got to look out for his children, and I completely understand that. People say, 'Why don't you get on the Building Committee?', and my response is, believe me, I've tried."
Eventually, these things will probably be worked out and the field will be up and running permanently. Deep down, Bob DeMayo will be thrilled that his team and program will finally be back to full speed and he can just worry about baseball again.
He never should have had to worry about these things in the first place.
AROUND THE HORN: This just in, Amity is good. Their pitching will be tough to stop, but Foran's 1-2 punch of Ward and O'Keefe is also going to be difficult to score on. They played each other Monday after our deadline, and they'll meet again later in the season ... I'm actually pretty proud of the fact that my Power Rankings weren't all that far off in the first week. Notre Dame's pitching held up, and if it does they'll be dangerous ... But not many other teams got great pitching performances in the season's first week, those that do will have a leg up on the rest of the league ... Looks like life will be tough for the New Haven schools this season, particularly usually competitive Wilbur Cross, who found itself down 20-0 after the first three innings of the season against Hamden last week. No one likes to see that. But Career, although 0-2, was very competitive, taking Shelton to the brink after nearly knocking off Xavier in the opener ... Speaking of the Falcons, they played their opener against Career at Xavier High, and will play their next 10 games on the road while Palmer Field is allowed to dry and undergo some work. They will finish the season with nine straight home games ... As it was last year, it looks like easy wins for the most part, will be few and far between this year in the SCC.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brett Michael Doran, Jonathan Law - There was talk of an injury, but obviously he felt fine in throwing a three-hit shutout against Xavier on Saturday, allowing the defending SCC champs to even their record at 1-1 and beat Xavier ace Shaun Coughlin. With a tough schedule, the Lawmen will need performances like that to make a return to the SCC Tournament.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Notre Dame at Shelton, Friday, 11:30 a.m. - This should be a slugfest between two of the top offenses in the SCC (and maybe the state). But these teams will go as far as their pitching will take them at the end of the season, and for both (at least in the season's first week), it was so far, so good.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2
Number of runs allowed by both Amity and Foran in their first two games. One run per game. If you're going to knock these teams off, you're going to have to find a way to keep them off the scoreboard.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Foran (2-0; Last Week 1) – Sheehan had them on the ropes, but Ward sparked late comeback to start season.
2) Amity (2-0; LW 2) – This has the look of one of those vintage Spartan teams, how do they do it over there?
3) Shelton (2-0; LW 4) – Nearly went to sleep after opening victory, were fortunate to get past game Career squad.
4) Cheshire (1-0; LW 5) – Pitching is the question mark, four games this week may answer that question.
5) Notre Dame (2-0; LW 6) – For those scoring at home, the Green Knights are in Class L this season.
6) Sheehan (1-1; LW 12) – Should have remembered the Titans always have great pitching and this year no different.
7) Jonathan Law (1-1; LW 8) – Big win over Xavier, but Cheshire, Amity, and Foran all await in next four games.
8) Branford (0-2; LW 3) – Easier part of the schedule awaits, but would have liked to have a win in their opener.
9) Fairfield Prep (2-0; LW 14) – Might be the biggest surprise of the first week, put up 21 runs and got some pitching.
10) Xavier (1-1; LW 7) – Falcons will embark on a 10-game road trip while Palmer Field undergoes some work.
11) Hand (0-1; LW 10) – We'll know a lot more about the Tigers after this difficult four-game week.
12) Guilford (0-2; LW 9) – Not exactly the start the Indians wanted, must make some progress in three home games.
13) North Haven (1-1; LW 13) – Blanked by Sheehan after scoring 17 runs against West Haven. Strange game.
14) West Haven (0-2; LW 11) – In first two games after Lawrence graduated, Blue Devils give up 32 runs.
15) Career (0-2; LW 18) – Looked feisty even though lost first two, should serve them well in mediocre Oronoque.
16) East Haven (0-2; LW 15) – Brutal week coming up, could use some confidence, or could be uphill climb to states.
17) Hamden (2-0; LW 16) – Hard to get much of a read with first two games against Cross and Hillhouse, but they count.
18) Lyman Hall (1-0; LW 17) – Like Hamden, just one game and impossible to get a read, but a win nonetheless.
19) Wilbur Cross (0-1; LW 19) – Did sneak in a game against O'Brien Tech this week, tough opener.
20) Hillhouse (0-2; LW 20) – Scored a couple of runs, if they could keep people off board, could spring an upset.

We're baaaack - SCC baseball preview

2010-04-04T20:50:00.001-07:00

In his first full season in charge of the Shelton baseball program, Scott Gura admitted he was pleasantly surprised that his team advanced to the state semifinals, ahead of the schedule even he had set for the Gaels.
But with the state finals in Shelton's grasp last season against West Haven (and therefore Shelton's first appearance in the finals since 1990), it slipped away it a 3-2 loss. And getting that close means that the Gaels have had a taste.
"Last year, we set the bar pretty high," Gura said. "We wanted to make Shelton baseball a program that would be near the top of the SCC every year, but that's easier said than done. But last year was a great first step, but we want to be more consistent from year to year."
Gura, of course, took over in the middle of the 2008 season after the untimely death of long-time coach Ed Marocco, but has been around the program basically since he was a player two decades ago. Shelton has always had competitive teams, and has always been a threat, but hasn't quite been able to put it together consistenly. The Gaels won the 2000 SCC title, but have not won a game in that competition since, and have spent the last decade or so trying to be a thorn in Amity's side, which - at times - they've done quite well.
But Gura looks at his program, and sees the potential for maybe being the hunted instead of the hunter. He's got Bryant-bound Dan St. George, who will pitch and play some shortstop. The Gaels have leadoff hitter Eric Christiansen, an all-division selection last year. And they have plenty of other players, like catcher Ryan Daiss and Jimmy Pjura, that Gura thinks have big futures with Shelton.
He also knows that Shelton (with plenty of recent success, including a trip to the Little League World Series) has one of the best youth programs in the area, one that he hopes will mean long-term success.
"We're extremely deep in both pitching and hitting, although some of that is untested at this level," Gura said. "The guys are excited, we know we have a tough schedule in a very tough league so nothing will be easy. Our sophomore class is very good, our freshmen seem like they're good. It seems like things are looking good here for the future."
THROW 'EM IN A HAT: Unfortunately for Gura and the rest of the league, there are a lot of coaches that seem very positive about their team this season. In case you'd forgotten, the SCC final was an all-Milford affair last season with Jonathan Law beating Foran, and both teams return enough players to make them a factor this season. Foran, particularly, returns pitcher Brian Ward and many others from that cast including Brian O'Keefe. Also, Foran is the only Class M school in the SCC this season, which means high hopes for the Lions.
Law will have a tougher time replacing its championship parts (remember, Law has actually won titles two years in a row after their unexpected Class L title in 2008), but should have Brett Michael Doran - who hit six home runs last year - back to lead the offense.
Guilford, which didn't make the tournament last year, and Hand - with new coach Chris Borrelli at the helm and Nick Merullo behind the plate - both figure to be able to make some noise this season as well, making for a brutal Hammonasset Division.
Of course, the Housatonic Division is no joke, either. Amity lost an uncharacteristic nine games last season, but figures to reload behind pitcher Lou Concato (next to unhittable last summer in Legion ball) and junior Mark Esposito. We've already mentioned Shelton, but Cheshire - who like Shelton lost to West Haven by one run in the state tournament (quarterfinals) - is a sleeper - and Sheehan is always a factor in the end (the Titans went to the Class L semifinals last year, losing to Berlin).
In case you wondered if the remaining divisions (Quinnipiac and Oronoque) could keep up, consider that both boast defending state champions.
In the Oronoque, Branford was only 12-8 in the regular season, but fought through some adversity to win another state title. The Hornets feature a few players with some good bloodlines, like Tyler Olt, that should be able to carry them in a relatively weak division.
Finally, in the Quinnipiac, West Haven rode the right arm of Tom Lawrence to its first state title since 1988 last season, and will help the supporting cast drew enough experience out of that to drive them forward. The Blue Devils have enough coming back and enough tradition to stay competitive, but they will be pushed by cross-town rival Notre Dame - with Wake Forest-bound Conor Kinary, who already has a state title this year on the football field. The Green Knights (SCC champions in 2008) don't return much pitching experience, but their lineup is as good as anyone's in the league. Xavier is also looking to rebound from a mediocre 2009, and return pitcher Shaun Coughlin as well as plenty of other players with varsity experience.
The Power Rankings follow below, but - especially at this time of the season - they are a hypothesis at best, a wild guess at worst. And that should make for some serious entertainment in the months to come in the best baseball league in the state, the SCC.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

GAME OF THE WEEK
Amity at Branford, Friday, 3:45 - There are a few other programs that can put themselves in the discussion, but these are probably the best two consistent successes in the SCC over the last decade. Both have mutiple state titles and always seem to be in the mix. Some of the Spartans' ridiculous streaks (like seven straight SCC finals) went by the boards last year, and they're looking to get back to the top, while the Hornets think they have the goods to have a memorable season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4
Number of SCC teams in the semifinals of the Class LL and Class L tournaments last season, and yes, even if you didn't major in math, that's half of the field. The interesting thing, though, of the four teams: West Haven, Shelton, Branford, and Sheehan; none of them even made the SCC semifinals. West Haven, Shelton, and Branford were beaten in the quarterfinals and Sheehan didn't even qualify for the tournament.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Foran (19-6; Last Season 2) – Just tough to see how you're going to score runs off these guys this season.
2) Amity (15-9; LS 4) – That 2009 record means the Spartans will have a little bit of a chip on their shoulders.
3) Branford (17-9; LS 7) – Defending state champion with a lot of their team returning? Could be very dangerous.
4) Shelton (17-8; LS 6) – Gaels finding out that its tough to be a consistent winner in this league from year to year.
5) Cheshire (17-7; LS 8) – Wasn't too long ago, they were right at the bottom here, but tradition has returned.
6) Notre Dame (14-9; LS 5) – If Knights can figure out the pitching, they could move up this list pretty quickly.
7) Xavier (10-12; LS 12) – Falcons really underachieved last season, but it did give them a favorable 2010 schedule.
8) Jonathan Law (20-5; LS 1) – Lawmen were most consistent SCC team in 2009, only one not to lose in division.
9) Guilford (6-14; LS 16) – We'll give the Indians a pass on 2009, reports have them much improved outfit in 2010.
10) Hand (11-12; LS 14) – Borrelli brings new blood to Tigers, who - like ND - if they get pitching could be a big factor.
11) West Haven (21-5; LS 3) – Always tough to follow up run for the ages, but won't fall as far as some people think.
12) Sheehan (15-9; LS 9) – Won't be as easy to get results in the division as it has been in past seasons.
13) North Haven (12-10; LS 10) – Some reasons for optimism (like a field), but also a lot of question marks early.
14) Fairfield Prep (10-11; LS 11) – Much improved last year, may be able to surprise some people this season.
15) East Haven (8-13; LS 17) – Yellowjackets also have a lot of pitching returning, could jump up with some luck.
16) Hamden (5-15; LS 15) – Managed to win a couple at the end last season, but no easy ones in the Quinnipiac.
17) Lyman Hall (5-15; LS 18) – Beat West Haven last season, but didn't manage to win a game in the Housatonic.
18) Career (14-9; LS 13) – Went 7-3 in Oronoque last year and will have to do damage in division again to go places.
19) Wilbur Cross (2-16; LS 20) – Governors were young last season, we'll see that can carry over to 2010 and beyond.
20) Hillhouse (2-17; LS 21) – Well, they moved up to No. 20 when Derby left the league, so that's a good start.

Kermit and my thoughts

2010-02-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

A lot of people have been asking for my thoughts on the Kermit Carolina-Xavier situation, and I've been reluctant because of my place as a coach and the fact that it's been covered to death by others. But it really seems like a lot of people are missing the important things of what happened as it relates to high school athletics, and - most importantly - the education of young people. My dad was self-admittedly never the best coach, but he did teach me one important thing, "The officials never decide the game. There is always something you or your team could have done better, so don't make stupid excuses."

So, here are my quick thoughts:

1) You can't publicly criticize officials without retribution

Really, you can't at any level. Professional coaches get fined. College coaches get fined and suspended. High school coaches get .... nothing. I have seen some pretty poor officials in my day, and a couple of times where I thought I was on the end of a "home job". Never would it occur to me to mention it in the media.

To the Athletic Director, yes. But you don't make private grumblings public. Maybe Carolina thought he had no choice? Still no excuse.

And for going on the rant he did, he needed to be punished. A game suspension, or a two-game suspension would have been plenty and at least sent a message that this kind of stuff won't be tolerated (Fired? No. Despite what some bloggers and commenters would make you believe, Carolina - albeit somewhat excessively outspoken - cares deeply about his kids and has a tougher job than most people on the outside will ever know.)

Not punishing him gives the green light to everyone else and their brother to chime in and make the situation worse. First, it was Xavier coach Mike Kohs, who lamented the "lack of class and sportsmanship" that Carolina showed. Then it was umpteen different media reports (like this one). Then it was Board VI's Ed Lynch with a response on WFSB. If Carolina has been given a suspension (or something), then the story would have died a natural death and that would have been the end of it.

2) It is irrelevant whether Carolina is right or wrong in this case

In fact, if you've read me long enough, you probably know I think he's closer to right than wrong on most of what he said.

But he needed to handle his problems in the proper way. I know he doesn't care what people think of him or his program, which is in some ways admirable, but you can't question the integrity of authority (and that's what the officials are in this case) publicly in a high school event. It sends the wrong message to the kids (and adults). Kermit wants to stand up for what he believes in, which is again admirable, but severely misguided in this case. He comes off at best as a poor sport and at worst as an instigator. That won't help solve whatever problems there are, it will just make them worse. Especially given the fact that he won the game in question.

Ironically, the best case of a coach handling things the correct way that I've ever seen came in Week 2 of the 2007 football season in a game between Hillhouse and Xavier in Middletown. Under new coach Tom Dyer, the Acs nearly completed a monumental comeback, but were hurt by a couple of penalties and poor timekeeping (at least twice, the clock failed to stop after first downs and was never detected by the officials).

After the final buzzer, Dyer yelled at the officials and started to run after them as they left the field. But after about three or four steps, he caught himself and stopped, realizing that: a) it was pointless; and b) he was setting a poor example for his players.

By the time I got to him, he was still hot, but kept his emotions in check and never mentioned the officials, "This doesn't define us as a football team," he said. "The kids dug deep in the second half and showed a lot of guts. If we play like that, we'll be fine."

It was extremely classy, and I have the utmost respect for Dyer because of it.

3) The SCC needs its own officiating board (well, duh)

I've been saying this for years, people. It would make it easier to legislate everything, and to me, the only downside would be travel, but the refs can get over it.

In my opinion, especially in football, I think the New Haven board is the best officials the state has to offer. I don't think there are any inherent biases against visiting teams in Middletown (although studies have shown that there are subconscious biases against visiting teams at every level in nearly every sport everywhere, so always keep that in mind).

4) You can't force an apology

Education 101 tells you that you shouldn't force people to apologize. Obviously, if Carolina were to apologize now, he wouldn't mean it. It would mean nothing, except to get him more upset. We're not trying to change his opinion, we're just trying to get him to express it in a more prudent manner. That doesn't mean he's right, but he is entitled to his opinion (but he's not entitled to be immune if he makes public comments, this has nothing to do with the Freedom of Speech. We can use this as a Constitutional lesson, too. Someone call Fox News).

5) Finally, and most importantly, the world needs referees

Everyone realizes that we can't have competitive games without officials, right? And while officials should be evaluated and told if they make mistakes - as with anything else - badgering refs and questioning their ethics does nothing but make people find other ways to use their free time (yes, officials are paid, but no one gets rich from it).

So the vicious cycle continues: referees who have potential quit and are replaced by still more inexperienced refs. And the older ones are forced to stay on longer because there is no one to replace them. So the level of officiating drops.

Eventually, we may get to the point where there aren't enough officials to work all the games.

And then we have no games.

More money for the CIAC

2010-01-12T03:27:00.000-08:00

CHERSHIRE, CT & CAMERON PARK, CA, Sept. 8 - The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and MaxPreps.com, the nation's largest and most comprehensive provider of high school sports content and information, have agreed to a three-year partnership. The contract commences with the 2009-10 school year.

The designation of MaxPreps.com as the CIAC's "The Official Statistician and Media Partner" was established to give Connecticut schools a single platform on which to report scores and game statistics, while providing them with prominent regional and national recognition through a variety of MaxPreps.com content mediums.

MaxPreps.com’s nationwide blend of editorial, photo and video content provide hard-earned recognition for the countless hours that both student-athletes and coaches dedicate to their high school athletic endeavors.

“The CIAC is extremely excited about our new partnership with MaxPreps.com, the online leader in high school sports,” said Michael Savage, Executive Director of CAS-CIAC. “Within Connecticut there are so many extremely talented high school teams and well over 100,000 high school athletes. The exposure that MaxPreps.com brings will provide maximum recognition of our high school athletic programs and student athletes throughout the state.”

MaxPreps.com, a Cameron Park Calif.-based company that was purchased by the CBS Corporation in 2007, will provide every CIAC member school with its own free and easy-to-use schedule and statistical program for football, volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, baseball and fast pitch softball.

The MaxPreps.com data system will automatically generate league and conference standings in Connecticut, while compiling state statistical leaderboards in a wide variety of categories. Connecticut leaders, in turn, will populate on MaxPreps.com’s national leaderboards.

MaxPreps.com also specializes in the digital export of its data content, partnering with hundreds of newspapers and TV/radio stations across the country.

The CIAC has made it a requirement that all teams participating in state tournament play have their stats entered with MaxPreps.com.

"Most importantly," Mr. Savage continued, "MaxPreps.com provides our coaches with the tools to make their job easier and more productive."

MaxPreps.com’s National Association Director is former New York Jets quarterback Al Woodall.

"The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference is one of the most innovative and proactive state associations that MaxPreps.com has dealt with. We appreciate their energy and their forward thinking when it comes to the promotion of all the tremendous high school athletic events being held in their state," Woodall said.

About MaxPreps.com

MaxPreps.com is the leading online high school sports destination, offering the most comprehensive high school sports coverage, with the latest news, analysis, rankings and streaming content. MaxPreps.com aspires to cover every high school team, game and player by partnering with nearly 25,000 varsity coaches throughout the country.

Founded in August 2002, MaxPreps.com is headquartered in Cameron Park, California. CBS Corporation acquired MaxPreps.com in April, 2007.

MaxPreps.com is a unit of CBS Interactive, a leading online content network for information and entertainment. With more than 200 million people visiting its properties each month, CBS Interactive is the 8th largest Web property globally and the 5th largest Web property in the U.S. in terms of unique video viewers. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET, CBS RADIO and Last.fm, span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.

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SCC football - back on top

2009-12-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

There were a lot of people involved with the Notre Dame and Cheshire football programs who had a good weekend, but it's probably safe to say no one had a better one than the Bowman family. Ring a bell? Steve Bowman, Phil Bowman? (There was also Mike, Joe, Pete, and John in that immediate family) Both Steve and Phil played big parts in Cheshire state titles in the mid 90s.
But cousin Rob decided to break from tradition and attend Notre Dame in 2006. He had gone to St. Bridget in Cheshire and decided he want to continue in Catholic school, even though his dad and six uncles all played football for Cheshire High.
Well, three years later, on a snowy Saturday afternoon in Shelton, a now 6-foot-5, 275 pound Bowman was able to raise a state championship trophy for the Green and Gold when ND stopped Pomperaug, 28-21.
A day later, Bowman and his letterman jacket were on the Ken Strong Stadium turf celebrating again even though his green and gold didn't match red, as the Bowman tradition continued. Rob's cousin Shaun is a sophomore for Cheshire, and when they prevailed by the same 28-21 score (it was in overtime, though) over previously unbeaten Staples, the Bowman family had a new twist in a long line of football success: two championships in the same weekend.
Even better, Ed Bowman - now in his 80s - was there to see both of his grandsons win titles. When asked about the nasty weather Saturday, Ed said, "I go to every game, doesn't matter what the weather is."
He added: "I've been to too many games to count, and not just football, softball, too, and other sports. This was a really good weekend."
It was a really good weekend for the SCC as well, which broke a three-year run of not winning a state title. Since 2001, Notre Dame and Cheshire became the seventh and eighth conference teams to win a state championship (Hillhouse, Branford, Hand, West Haven, Xavier, and Shelton are the others) - three more than any other conference. How did they get there? Let's find out, running diary style, of course:
Saturday
1:15 p.m. - On a raw and just nasty December afternoon at Finn Stadium, I arrive to a cramped press box. The state finals brings people who don't usually deal with high school sports and Register columnist Dave Solomon can't understand why there is no seat for him and is telling Shelton AD John Niski so, even though the CSTN crew (led by pals Don Boyle and Steve Kirck) take up half the downstairs with PA announcer Steve Arena (filling in for the injured Nick Aprea, and whose youngest daughter plays for my club soccer team) and the WAVZ crew (with legendary George Demaio and his son Matt) have most of the upstairs. One of the great things about covering high school sports is being so close to the action, and today it looks like I'm going to have to suck it up and stand on the ND sidelines. Actually, wouldn't want it any other way, notes and extremities be damned.
1:25 - Feel bad for Niski, not sure Shelton was the CIAC's first, second, or fifth choice, but at least they stepped up to the plate. Shame on SCSU for not hosting games. I call Sean Patrick Bowley of the Post over in West Haven, and he's got his feet up in their well-heated press box and people delivering him food (presumably caviar). The seats are filling fairly fast, though, despite the weather.
1:40 - Snow flurries in the air already. Great.
2:08 - Notre Dame is not exactly owning the line of scrimmage, but puts together a pretty good drive, until it stalls. There will be a little defense in this game, at least.
2:15 - It looks like the ND defense will hold, but on 4th-and-long (can't read the frozen, wet page) Andrew Clements finds Wade McNamara for a 25-yard gain and a first down. Three plays later, Kevin Maxen is in from 2 yards out and it's 7-0 Pomperaug after a quarter.
2:23 - Not going well for the Knights. Sean Goldrich is pummeled by Nick Fiore, and the Panthers appear to be going in again until ...
2:25 - The play of the game, really. Out of the single wing from the ND 7, Pomperaug tries to fool the Knights with a pass, but it backfires in a big way. Clements underthrows it out in the flat, and when Tirrell Young-Williams grabs it, there is nothing but green turf in front of him. Young-Williams is a speedster anyway, but it's a game-changing 93-yard "pick six" and ND has tied the game at 7-7.
2:27 - Clements is a big kid and is also on the kick return team. Unfortunately for him, he has to line up right in front of the ND student section, who brings out its hockey best, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault". The kick comes right to an angry Clements, who doesn't bother to try to break any tackles, but runs through a few would-be tacklers before going down on the 38.
2:28 - Clements can feel better now, because Ben Crick - anonymous up to now - just ran 62 yards on the first play for a touchdown. 14-7 Pomperaug midway through the second quarter.
2:32 - Here are the offensive fireworks. Off play-action, Goldrich's pass is underthrown, but Young-Williams has so much of a cushion, it doesn't matter, and he speeds away for a 71-yard touchdown reception and a 14-14 tie.
2:35 - I'm tired from going up and down on the sidelines, and Young-Williams tries to catch a break as he sits alone on the ND bench. But his break might be short-lived, as Crick returns the ensuing kickoff all the way down the Notre Dame 18. Where did those defenses go?
2:40 - But just as I say it, the ND defense makes a big stand, combined with penalties and the Panthers are forced to punt on 4th-and-30 at the 38. Ouch.
2:44 - The Panthers defense contines to control the line of scrimmage and forces a punt with 2 minutes left in the half, but - inexplicably - they don't try to field it and it rolls all the way to their own 30-yard line. Things continue to spiral downward for Pomperaug when they try a screen pass, but Clements overthrows his intended target and Thomas Perry makes a diving interception to set his team up.
2:51 - Six plays later, Goldrich sneaks in from a yard out and ND has its first lead, 21-14 at the half, despite being outgained. But turnovers are killers, and Pomperaug had two real killers.
3:01 - To the press box for some warmth. Somehow Solomon is still there, must have won his argument. Kirck asks, "How are we winning this game?" and I remind him that you had a 93 yard interception return for a touchdown. That can cure plenty of ills. I'd like to call him a worry wart, but about a month ago he sent me a 21-part plan that could see ND finish as the No. 1 team in the state. The plan is six quarters from coming to fruition.
3:22 - But still a half to play, and anything can happen. The third quarter features the defense, especially Pomperaug's as the large ND line appears to have finally met its match.
3:38 - ND has 4th-and-7 from midfield, but punter Phillip Bentley takes off, and he's got acres of space in front of him, a 28-yard run and a first down. Tom Marcucci called a fake punt? I'm stunned. And it was a perfect call.
3:40 - But Goldrich fumbles a snap, and Pomperaug recovers for ND's first turnover of the day. Oh, well.
3:45 - Pete Eyler, who has been the equipment manager for Notre Dame forever, is having a tough day, with the cold and wet and trying to keep balls and himself dry. He's borrowed a jacket from assistant cheerleading coach Stephanie Redding - who also moonlights as New Haven's Assistant Police Chief - and is ordered to get a dry ball for a 4th-and-8 at the Pomperaug 25 to open the fourth quarter. Eyler might be the unsung hero for ND, they'd be lost without him, he does about 62 jobs, and yes that included driving the bus on occasion.
3:47 - The new ball doesn't help Goldrich much, and we've got controversy. Goldrich's pass is woefully underthrown and Crick picks it off and runs it back to the 25-yard line. But there was a flag on the field, pass interference on Pomperaug. I thought it was for an illegal block after the interception, but my opinion is it was so underthrown that it threw off everyone: players, officials, everyone. Will be interesting to see the film later, but it's a break for ND.
3:52 - And they take advantage, four plays later David Rose is in from a yard out and the Knights lead 28-14. They can taste their first title in eight years.
3:55 - The snow is starting to stick to the turf, and I feel for some of the guys in short sleeves, but they are football players, I guess, and they're running around a lot more than me.
3:59 - Pomperaug marches right down the field, but at the ND 15, it's a fum-ble and third turnover of the game. A botched snap rolled around on the ground too long, and the Knights pounce. It's all over but the shouting...
4:05 - Or is it? The Panthers hold, and their offense is clicking on all cylinders now. Clements hits McNamara on a 10-yard pass and with 3:56 still to go, the lead is just 28-21.
4:07 - Pomperaug tries a tricky left-footed onside kick, but the ball goes out of bounds.
4:12 - The Panthers hold, they'll get one more shot at it.
4:14 - Interesting clock management from Pomperaug, who is quickly running out of time. Reminded of Herb Brooks in "Miracle" when the Soviets forget to pull the goalie. Pomperaug hasn't had too many close games, "He doesn't know what to do."
4:17 - With 10 seconds left, Conor Keniry picks off Clements to seal it. Fitting that it would be Keniry, the team's emotional leader.
4:19 - A surreal scene as the ND fans and players storm the field as the snow falls. Does it get any more perfect?
4:21 - Quotes, frozen ones, Marcucci: "You guys started on August 18th in 97-degree weather at Veterans Field, and here we are in December in the snow, and all that hard work paid it. You guys earned everything you got. Enjoy it."
4:26 - Finally catch up with Keniry and apologize for spelling his name wrong for two years. Keniry will go to Wake Forest to play baseball next year, so this was it for his football career. Not a bad way to go out: "I brought that up at halftime. I said, 'I don't know about you guys, but these are the last two quarters I'll ever play, so we're going out on top. This is something I dreamed about, and I can't believe it actually came true. What a great group we have. Everyone fought together, and here we are."
4:41 - In the final analysis, it just clicked for Notre Dame this season. Whatever "it" was, they had "it".
4:44 - Escape from Shelton complete, wasn't too icy and traffic could have been worse. Hopefully I'll be thawed out by the Cheshire game tomorrow.
SUNDAY
1:30 - A 38-degree day feels balmy at Ken Strong Stadium with the sun. Peek my head into the the nice, comfy press box which is actually overflowed with only the Class M game going on today. The Staples student radio crew has been banished to the stands. Solomon, of course, has a seat, though. (in his defense, he did write a nice column on ND: http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/12/06/sports/6-solomon.txt but, of course, he could probably read his notes, too).
1:45 - Cheshire is in white, which seems rare to me. Both kickers are booming balls in warm-ups. Wind is pretty stiff, but mild by West Haven standards.
1:56 - Members of the ND team take their place on the Cheshire side, the Knights stand to be ranked No. 1 if Cheshire wins. They look pretty intimidating over there, but cold.
2:10 - Staples puts together an impressive 15-play, 9-minute drive that included two fourth-down conversions and is finished by a Matt Kelly 3-yard run. 7-0 Staples and a statement of intent, for sure.
2:16 - Cheshire responds with a few first downs but the drive stalls at the Wreckers' 37. Kyle Pulek's rugby-style punt does pin Staples at the 7. We're flying through this game, but at some point, these teams have to throw a little, don't they?
2:22 - The turning point, just like with ND, it's a turnover. Keith Gelman, who has done a tremendous job since an injury to starter Brandon Pacilio is whacked from behind, the ball flies out, and Craig Thorne jumps on it and runs it back to the Staples 15.
2:26 - On 3rd-and-goal from the 8, time for a pass and Greg Palmer finds Brian Havlicek who falls into the end zone to tie the game with 5:06 to go in the half.
2:35 - Staples gets out to their own 44, but it's Thorne again with the sack.
2:38 - After a shanked punt, Palmer goes 37 yards to the Staples 18 and runs it in from 10 yards out two plays later and suddenly Cheshire has the lead, momentum, and everything else. 14-7 Cheshire with 51 seconds left in the half. Golf claps from the ND team in the Staples section.
2:42 - Staples does not take a knee. As Gelman raises his arm to throw, Staples coach Marce Petroccio yells, "Nooo" and it slows down like a bad movie. The pass is intercepted by Havlicek who runs it to the 6. On the next play, Palmer is in the end zone, and Cheshire will unbelievably take a 21-7 lead to the locker room (That pass was Gelman's only non-completion of the half, he was 7-for-8). Soviet style stand up cheering from the ND squad, who obviously doesn't want to make a scene, classy until the end.
2:51 - I guess Cheshire isn't going to the locker room, they stay out on the field. Little cold for that, but at least they're in the sun.
3:08 - Staples lets Cheshire stay in the cold, coming out just before the time is up. Guess they would have had a lot to talk about. Talk in the press box (where I'm getting warm) turns to the last time no one went undefeated in the state. If only the BCS had such problems. (turns out it was 2001, when Notre Dame beat undefeated Fitch, although New Britain got No. 1 that season).
3:35 - The third quarter belonged to the defenses, with no one putting together a big threat. As the quarter ends, Cheshire is winning the battle of punts and gets as far as the Staples 14.
3:37 - But Palmer is intercepted by Tyler Jacobs in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter.
3:40 - Staples takes over at the 20, on second down, the ball appears to be resting on the 30, but the chains say they're an inch short. OK. On the next play, Ryan Burke is buried in the backfield by Evan Gaudio and the Wreckers have to punt.
3:48 - The Wreckers get the ball back on their own 32 with 7:55 left trailing 21-7 and decide it's time to throw. Good call.
3:55 - On 3rd-and-15 from the Cheshire 16, Brendan Rankowitz makes a catch along the sidelines and sneaks into the end zone. Could Cheshire rue a chance to finish Staples off? It's 21-14 with 4:44 left.
3:59 - Cheshire's offense appears to be done for the day. They've gone more than a quarter without a first down, and punt it right back....
4:05 - To the fired up Wreckers. Gelman looks like Drew Brees and blue shirts are open everywhere. Two passes to Rankowitz combine for 42 yards and eventually Gelman sneaks it in from 1 yard out and the game is tied at 21-21 with 1:44 left. What a comeback and Cheshire appears to be in trouble.
4:10 - The Rams go nowhere on three plays and are forced to punt with 38 seconds left. Cheshire gets a break, though, when Pulek's punt bounces over Kelly's head and goes to the Staples 25.
4:12 - With 28 seconds to go, the wind at their back, and an All-State kicker in Santiago Cuartas (he's even got his own exercise bike), does Staples take a shot? I think they should, but they do what me and fellow Syracuse alum Bowley of the Post would call Pasqualonied it, (named after former Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni, who would always seem to be playing conservatively when they had a chance to finish teams off), fitting because both Petroccio and Cheshire coach Mark Ecke learned under Pasqualoni. Anyway, two tame runs later, and we're headed to overtime.
4:20 - It's a real reprieve for Cheshire and they take advantage. A pass to Dan Sweeney puts the ball to the 2, and Michael Skibicki - in his only carry of the game - scores to put Cheshire ahead.
4:23 - Kelly carries to the 6 on first down for Staples, gets to the 3 on second down - but Cheshire's Luke Scinto has the ball. Was it a fumble? It was, Cheshire wins, and red helmets fly everywhere as Cheshire is back on top for the first time since 1997.
4:25 - Scinto is giving interviews, but he's not giving up the ball, he might still be holding it as we speak. The WHHS staff is much more strict than the staff at Shelton, but the ND team makes it onto the field, as does the Bowman family, obviously.
4:26 - You have to feel bad for Kelly, who doesn't want to get up after the fumble. But Petroccio, a class act, pats his player on the head, and reminds him they wouldn't be here without him.
4:34 - Everyone poses for pictures, and Ecke - who was nearly run out of the job a few years back after a couple of losing seasons - is back on top. With his son on the roster, too: "It means a little more now. Last year, I talked about how great a ride it was making it to the finals, but this year we were more business-like. I think that helped our preparation for this game."
4:41 - As the sun sets both at West Haven High and on the 2009 football season, the SCC is back on top, winning both Class LL and Class L, and should claim the top two spots in the final state writers' poll when it is released. I happen to walk out the same time as Rob Bowman, like many of the players I've met this season, is as impressive off the field as he is on the field. I tell him it must feel good to be on top with Cheshire and his family.
"Absolutely."

ND-Pomperaug random thoughts

2009-12-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

Random thoughts as we are halfway through our final weekend:

* I couldn't get over the stark differences between the last time Notre Dame was in the final (2001) and today's game.

In 2001, it was 70 degrees and a lot of people were wearing shorts at SCSU
In 2009, it was barely above freezing, a wet snow fell, and everyone was cold.

In 2001, John Decaprio used bruising runner Mike Penta and a dominating offensive line to bully favored Fitch.
In 2009, Tom Marcucci used an opportunistic defense, a few long passes, and even a fake punt to stop underdog Pomperaug.

But the 2001 team could only reach No. 2 in the rankings, and - unbelievably for a team that thought they might be on the outside of the playoffs going into the Thanksgiving games - with a Cheshire win, ND should finish as the No. 1 team in the polls this season. And right now, they are the best team in state (by the way, Bridgeport Central deserves to be up there somewhere, too)

* I think (and we'll see when the CTSN broadcast comes on in a couple of weeks) that the officials goofed on the pass interference call that kept ND's drive alive on a fourth down early in the fourth quarter with ND 21-14. But to say that's the reason why ND won is not fair to the Knights. These things happen, even in big games.

* Found out earlier in the week I've been spelling Conor Keniry's name wrong for two years. Oops. Luckily, after the state championship game he didn't care. Remember, he's going to Wake Forest to play baseball, so today was his final football game (at least with pads and such) ever. Fitting that the team leader got the final interception. Hard to underestimate how important leadership like that is in a team.

* Pomperaug is a very good team, much better than Conard, and can see eye-to-eye with anyone in the state this season. Today, ND was just a little better.

* Would appear ND had a very good group of kids this season, leadership, discipline, etc., and it paid off in the end.

Since ND's last title (2001), number of different teams to win a state title by conference:

SCC (7) : Hillhouse, Hand, Branford, Xavier, Shelton, West Haven, Notre Dame (can be 8 with a Cheshire win tomorrow)
FCIAC (5): New Canaan, Greenwich, Staples, Ridgefield, St. Joseph
NVL (4): Ansonia, Seymour, Holy Cross, Woodland
SWC (3): Brookfield, Masuk, Bunnell (can be 4 with a Bethel win tomorrow)
CCC (3): Glastonbury, Bloomfield, New Britain (can be 4 with a Berlin win tomorrow)
ECC (3): New London, Ledyard, East Lyme
Pequot (2): Cromwell, Hyde (good job by Hyde today by the way, maybe coming to the SCC next season?)

More tomorrow.

Message from the boss (postponements)

2009-12-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Good morning -

Happy Holidays... Thanks for your coverage of the SCC... can I ask a favor
- can you post the following message on your respective websites, blogs,
Twitter accounts, etc.    I appreciate the help...

Also - the SCC Fall Sports All-Conference teams will be released later this
evening, to.

SCC Football All-Conference Photo Session Rescheduled
(12/5) - - Due to the CIAC postponing state championship football night
games, the Southern Connecticut Conference 2009 Football All-Conference
Photo Session, originally scheduled for tomorrow - Sunday, December 6 at
noon at West Haven HS, has been rescheduled to SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13 - 12
noon - WEST HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL.

Any questions, please contact SCC Commissioner Al Carbone at (203)
671-4421.

Letter to NHHS baseball players

2009-12-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

To: All Former North Haven High School Baseball Players
>
> The NHHS Baseball Team finally has a permanent home – a sodded, lighted, enclosed field – after a long seven-year wait. Unfortunately no money was allocated for fencing, dugouts, bullpens, etc. The lack of fencing creates a number of problems as the baseball and softball teams hit into each other.

> At this point in time, no school money is available for this project. My reluctant role is to fund raise as a fence is desperately needed. I am contacting members of all former teams requesting a small donation. My hope is that each team would sponsor one 10’ x 4’ section of portable fencing, costing approximately $160.00 each. We would need 56 sections of fence for the field. Whatever donation each team member could make to reach that cost would be sincerely appreciated. A sign or plaque would indicate the sponsorship of each section, noting the team year and accomplishments.

> Checks should be made out to:
>
> North Haven Athletics – Baseball Fence
>
> Please indicate your team year(s) on your check.

> Checks should be mailed to:
>
North Haven Athletic Department
> 221 Elm Street
> North Haven, CT 06473
>
> I hope you can attend a game in the spring and see our new field. A statue of a ball player has been erected at the field, dedicated to all former players and their team accomplishments.
>
> If you have any questions, or would just like to chat, my cell phone is 203-499-9268 and you can reach me by e-mail at bobdemayo@comcast.net. I would enjoy hearing from you. I hope all is well with you.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Bob DeMayo

SCC - Regular season finale (The award show)

2009-11-28T20:30:00.001-08:00

In the end, the days of fretting and wondering whether or not even a win on Thanksgiving for the Notre Dame football team would get them into the state tournament were ended from an unlikely source last Wednesday night when unheralded Newtown upset Masuk (and it wasn't real close as the Nighthawks dominated the previously unbeaten Panthers).
But, there have been times in the past, the most prominent of which comes to mind as the 2002 Green Bowl, when Notre Dame has not done well with their playoff destiny in their hands. After the 2002 game was pushed back a day due to snow, the Dragons embarassed the Green Knights - who were the defending state champions and started the '02 campaign as the No. 1 team in the state - 33-0.
And Notre Dame, despite having some decent teams, hadn't had a sniff of the playoffs since. Until Thursday, that is.
To be honest, it was a nervy first half in front of a massive crowd in Hamden, with Notre Dame trailing 15-14. But the Knights displayed the character that has allowed them to recover from a potential crushing loss to Xavier in Week 2, outscoring Hamden 17-0 after the intermission to win somewhat easily, 31-15, actually their fourth straight win in the series.
How bad was the Xavier loss? It was 21-0 ND at halftime, and a 21-7 fourth-quarter lead was erased by an interception and a punt return. ND ran a kickoff back to take the lead, but Xavier drove back down the field to tie it, and won it on a two-point conversion they're still talking about in Middletown, with Julian Hayes breaking approximately 312 tackles on his way to the end zone. Even after that, the Knights had a touchdown called back and a Hail Mary prayer almost answered.
That's what a certain ESPN writer would call a "stomach punch" game. A big stomach punch.
(By the way, Jim Bransfield of the Middletown Press wrote after that game: "Julian Hayes saved Xavier's season." Pretty prescient, huh? Remember, the Falcons were blown out by Wilbur Cross in their opener, and a loss to Notre Dame would have put them at 0-2. They haven't lost since and traveled to Staples Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class LL playoffs. OK, back to Notre Dame.)
However, they survived a shaky first half against both West Haven and Hand, pulled a game out late against Cheshire and it was cruise control from there on out. Never known as a prolific offensive juggernaut. Well, until now that is, the Knights never scored less than 28 points in the regular season (which made for an interesting Class L semifinal tilt with Conard Tuesday night).
The bottom line is that, despite valiant efforts from Simsbury and Conard among others, that Notre Dame certainly deserved to be in the playoffs. They went through the brutal Division I schedule (having played both Xavier and Cheshire, as well as Hamden), beat up on Naugatuck out of the NVL, and are legitimately one of the top five teams in the state. The playoff system will change for the better next season, but if Notre Dame doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs, who does?
The last time Notre Dame was in the postseason, 2001, they had to hold off Pomperaug before dismantling Fitch in the Class L final. It may be the Panthers again that stand in the way of the SCC picking up its first state title in three years (although obviously Cheshire and Xavier may be joining them in the finals).
With all of the talk of the playoff expansion and the crossover games and everything else that stands in the way of this time of the high school football season, the SCC is exactly where it wants to be heading.
Now can they finish the job?
Without further ado, our awards for 2009:
Player of the Year
Winner: Julian Hayes, Xavier - We already talked about him saving Xavier's season, so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise, he's our choice. What makes you a Player of the Year is coming up big when your team needs you most, and Hayes certainly did that, not only against Notre Dame, but against Hamden in an overtime win, and against West Haven as well. He played offense, defense, returned kicks, and pretty much anything else the Falcons needed. Perhaps this quote from coach Sean Marinan after the ND win sums his contribution up best: “He took a lot of the blame on himself for last week (in the loss to Crosss) and tonight he showed what he is -- a very good football player.”
2) Greg Palmer, Cheshire - It seems like you should be able to stop Palmer, but no one does. Taking over for Billy Ragone, he's looked a lot like him, rushing for 1,216 yards and 21 touchdowns on just 159 carries (including at least one in every game this season). His passing stats aren't great, just five touchdowns and seven interceptions, but his impact on the Rams' playoff run cannot be overlooked or underestimated.
3) Spencer Jones, Hillhouse - The Academics - along with Jones - struggled in the early part of the season, but led by him, they won five of their last seven games. Jones finished with 1,220 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns, while averaging more than seven yards per carry. Hillhouse finished just 5-5, but Jones was certainly among the best in the conference.
Defensive/Special Teams Player of the Year
Winner: Dan Sweeney, Cheshire - Sweeney isn't the biggest of kids, but like all good linebackers, he's in on almost every tackle when things are going well for the Rams, and - most of the time this season - they did. He also ran for 800 yards on offense, but when Cheshire allowed just 53 points in its final five games, it was Sweeney leading the way on the defensive side of the ball.
2) Robert Bowman, Notre Dame - Like Sweeney, is almost as important on the offensive live as he is on the defensive. But with eight sacks, and providing a significant obstacle to any running game at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, Sweeney helped hold the Knights' defense together in a couple of the tough games in the middle of the campaign.
3 tie) E.J. Murray and Tito Slaughter, Wilbur Cross - The Governors' record wasn't great, but - with the exception of a couple of blowouts - their defense was very good, and was led by these two linebackers. It was extremely tough to run the ball on Wilbur Cross this season, and with a few breaks, their record would have looked a lot better at the end of the season.
Coach of the Year
Winner: Sean Marinan, Xavier - The Falcons were picked near the middle of the Division I pack, but were crushed at (Fort) Palmer Field, where they had been unbeatable in the past few years. Down 21-0 at halfttime in Week 2, somehow Xavier pulled out an upset of Notre Dame and haven't lost since, and that has a lot to do with the coaching, the Falcons were the 2005 Class LL champs.
2) Mark Ecke, Cheshire - Second straight year on this list for Ecke, after some in Cheshire were calling for his head a few years ago. Ecke lost Billy Ragone, but the team hasn't missed a beat. A lone tough loss to Notre Dame is the only blemish on the Rams' resume, and all the pieces Ecke has put into the puzzle have seemed to fit and Cheshire is back in the SCC playoffs for the second straight year.
3) Jeff Bevino, Foran - A lot of us pundits (yes, us) thought the worst when Tyler Hames and Jake White graduated, but the Lions' offense rolled on and the defense actually got better, leading Foran to a 6-4 mark this season. They really weren't that far from the Class SS playoffs, which is an achievement in itself.
Stories of the Year
Winner: Tom Marcucci and Notre Dame- Marcucci returned after a decade away and the Green Knights have also returned to the postseason as well for the first time in eight years. And they've been entertaining every step of the way, whether it be the combination of Sean Goldberg to Conor Kinary or the running attack of Justin Willis and David Rose, or some of the other burners they run out there from time to time. And they got the playoff berth to boot.
2) Where did Hamden's offense go? - Before the season, all the talk was about Hamden's (not Notre Dame's prolific offense), but the Dragons managed just 29 points in their three losses, and remarkably had only 11 touchdown tosses all season long. It was frustrating for everyone involved, but if it was that easy, then everyone would be doing it, wouldn't they? Hamden's three losses may be the biggest testament to the strength of Division I football.
3) Division realignment - There is talk, albeit preliminary, about - now stuck with 19 teams - the SCC switching back to a three-division format, still based on a population system, but it's going to be a tough sell for people like me. The big schools would still play the big schools, and the little schools would still play the little schools, but there would be the people in the middle, and who knows? Call me an old curmudgeon, I like the way it is.
Team of the Year
Winner: Foran - If you had season tickets and watched every Foran game this season, you certainly would have gotten your money's worth. Four of their games were decided in the final minute or in overtime, and Tucker Schumitz barely missed out on our players of the year by both throwing for and running for more than 1,000 yards this season. Like last year, some would argue about their schedule strength, but they battled to their second straight winning season.
2) North Haven - The Indians went to the old-school single wing and managed just three points in their opener against Branford. But then they unleashed Kendrick Amaker, and won seven of their final nine games, both losses coming to Division I teams (Cheshire and Hand). The offense was entertaining, but so was the teamwork and the effort North Haven put forth every week.
3) Shelton - The Gaels were an afterthought in the second half of the season, with no shot at the playoffs after a three-game losing streak that saw them give up 131 points in the process. But, with nothing but pride to play for, Shelton regrouped and won its final six games, none of them closer than 18 points. It's a case of coulda been, but also a case of not giving up when it would have been easy to do so.
Games of the Year
Winner: Xavier 29, Notre Dame 28, Week 2 - Ironically, the same final score as last year's winner (Hamden-West Haven). This one featured TDs by interception, kickoff return, and big plays. It also featured one of the best conversion runs of all-time that ended up winning the game by Julian Hayes. Notre Dame was crushed by the loss, but it didn't cost them, both teams made the playoffs.
2) Notre Dame 40, Cheshire 36, Week 4 - Luckily, this loss didn't cost the Rams, either, as they appeared to have the game won when a Kyle Pulek 41-yard field goal banked in with 41 seconds left. But the Knights came right back down the field in a game that neither defense did much stopping, and a David Rose touchdown run broke Cheshire's hearts and sent ND on the run that would take them to the postseason.
3) Branford 21, Foran 20 (2OT), Week 9 - It was unfortunate that a blocked extra point finished this one off, but both teams went back and forth in another one of Foran's exciting finishes. The win kept the Hornets' slim playoff hopes alive, but no one from Division II ended up making the playoffs this season.
Best team to start 2009
Winner: Notre Dame - They'll lose a few players, especially on the line, but with Sean Goldrich back and some of their other speedsters, the Knights' offense shouldn't miss too much of a beat. With the experience the Knights gained this season, they are certainly a team to be reckoned with next season.
2) Wilbur Cross - They'll have some holes to fill, but a team with Dontay Long and James Ward playing on it has to be failry dangerous, don't they? They might be the two top skill position players returning (with apologies to Mr. Goldrich) in the SCC and both have two years of varsity experience. The Governors certainly won't be a pushover, that's for sure.
3) North Haven - The Indians lose Kendrick Amaker, but quarterback Joe Schwab was only a sophomore and gained a ton of experience in 2009. They have a few young kids that can run the ball, and their offense will continue to give opponents fits.
EXTRA POINTS: People want to make a big deal out of the Notre Dame-Hamden "fight", but didn't look like there was too much to it. A couple of rogue frustrated Hamden players, escalated a little more than it should have, couple of people on the Hamden sideline that weren't coaches and shouldn't have been on the field, but nothing disastrous. Both sides did a decent job of calming things down reasonably quickly ... Also did not see the Derby-Shelton "fight" that had ejections attached, didn't necessarily like this quote from Derby coach Carmen Dicenso: “No disrespect to anybody’s organization, but there was a lot of trash-talking going on out there and I thought our kids handled it well and didn’t back down." Not to excuse ridiculous trash-talking, either, obviously ... East Haven coach Greg Volpe didn't exactly kill rumors that he won't be back after an 0-10 season, saying: “I am not sure right now,” Volpe said. “I will tell my kids any news first.” The Yellowjackets have lost 31 straight games, but have been reasonably successful at the sub-varsity level ... Fairfield Prep actually led West Haven late in the second quarter before getting blown out in the second half, but at least the Jesuits showed some signs of life.
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
Ricky Festa, Foran - Festa scored five touchdowns for the Lions in their 44-37 victory over Jonathan Law on Thanksgiving. Festa had three touchdown receptions, a rushing touchdown, and a kickoff return for a score in the contest, which saw Foran take a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, only to see the Lawmen run off 30 unanswered points to grab a lead of their own, with Foran eventually prevailing in a wild one.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Class L Final, Saturday, TBA - We're hoping it ends up being a Notre Dame-Pomperaug showdown, a game that many people think might feature the two best teams in the state right now. The Class LL final will be a great game, too, but a battle between the two high-powered offenses should pack them in wherever they decide to put it.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
1
Number of interceptions thrown by Notre Dame quarterback Sean Goldrich this season, against 17 touchdowns. The Green Knights don't throw the ball as much as some other teams, but when they do, they're almost flawless. By the way, that interception was in Week 2 againt Xavier and was run back for a touchdown by Julian Hayes.
.
POWER RANKINGS
1) Notre Dame (9-1; Last Week 1) – Might have to beat two undefeated teams, but might be favorites.
2) Xavier (9-1; LW 2) – Long bus ride on Tuesday night to play one of top defenses in state.
3) Cheshire (9-1; LW 3) – Get a long awaited rematch with Glastonbury, stars from last year gone.
4) Shelton (7-3; LW 4) – Got a little feisty with Derby, but ended up with their sixth straight easy win.
5) Hamden (7-3; LW 5) – Whatever "it" was, the Dragons just didn't quite have that "it" this year.
6) West Haven (5-5; LW 6) – First of a trio of 5-5 teams that were put through ringer of Division I.
7) Hand (5-5; LW 7) – That "it" thing that was lacking in Hamden was also lacking a little in Madison.
8) Wilbur Cross (5-5; LW 9) – Big effort on Thanksgiving might be a springboard for 2010 Governors.
9) North Haven (7-3; LW 8) - Must be a dangerous playoff-caliber team next season with some breaks.
10) Branford (7-3; LW 10) - Hornets another team that might think they have chance at playoffs next year.
11) Foran (6-4; LW 11) - Schumitz has some enormous stats for the entertaining Lions this season.
12) Hillhouse (5-5; LW 14) - Had a chance to get a result in Elm City Bowl, but couldn't quite pull it off.
13) Sheehan (4-6; LW 15) - Another inconsistent season for Titans at least finishes up with a victory.
14) Lyman Hall (4-6; LW 12) - Thought the Trojans would win, but I miss that game every season.
15) Amity (3-7; LW 13) – Looked like there are some pieces to move the Spartans up the ladder soon.
16) Jonathan Law (3-7; LW 16) - Scored 30 unanswered points, but still was dropped by rival Foran.
17) Guilford (2-8; LW 17) - Lots of work to do for Indians, might start in the weight room in the offseason.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-10; LW 18) - Jesuits nearly had a lead at halftime, have to think things will get better.
19) East Haven (0-10; LW 19) - Things have to get better at some point.

SCC - Week 9 (Playoff solutions)

2009-11-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to be a champion. Better yet everyone wants to have a chance to be a champion, and therefore the first step is qualifying for the playoffs. We've gone over his before here, so I'm not going to spend a whole lot of space discussing why everyone can't make the playoffs, nor should they. I'm all for the new proposal to expand the current playoff system from 24 to 32 teams, decreasing the number of classes from six to four, but doubling the number of teams in each class from four to eight. Time will tell, however, whether the CIAC can get past the big obstacle of expanding the fall season by a week.
Anyway, if you've followed high school football the last few weeks, you know that the reason for the proposed change is exactly what is happening in Class LL this season: a perfect storm of very good teams grouped in one class, with only four of them able to advance to the postseason, meaning - of course - that someone is going to get the short end of the stick. Currently, Glastonbury and Staples are unbeaten, while Xavier, Cheshire, Bridgeport Central (coming off a more than impressive 42-7 beating of New Canaan last week), and Ridgefield all have one loss.
Ridgefield, Bridgeport Central, and Xavier are unlikely to lose (although the Falcons had better not sleep on Middletown, who is better than their record indicates), while Cheshire still has two difficult games remaining (West Haven and Southington). Bottom line, at the least, there will likely be five teams that finish the Class LL season with one loss (or fewer). With only four teams getting into the playoffs, one of those teams will be left out. That will obviously be a shame, and hopefully the new playoff system will eliminate one-loss squads not going through.
But everyone acts as if the solutions are so easy. You know what the best solution would be? To go to the system that is used in Texas, Florida, and many other places in the country. You scrap the conferences and play your games strictly by class, so you might have an eight-team Class LL geographic division that includes: Hamden, Cheshire, West Haven, Shelton, Amity, Newtown, Southington, and New Britain. The top two teams, plus two wildcards advance to the quarterfinals against the winners of the other two Class LL divisions, and you have a playoff.
Of course, these playoffs would have to start before Thanksgiving, a team like Hand would likely never play any of the aforementioned teams that have traditionally played in the SCC, and the season might go a little bit longer.
What I'm saying is, to make the system as fair as humanly possible, we have to eliminate the SCC and the conference structure as we know it. But deep down, be honest, do we really want that to happen? At a neutral observer, I wouldn't mind so much because I've seen it in places like Texas and how it is a better (but not perfect, remember nothing is perfect) way of determining a champion.
But we always go back to the same point: Is it all about deciding a champion? Is taking apart a league that does so many good things worth that price to have a more equitable playoff system? There are no right or wrong answers here, but the point here (as it is often in life) is that you need to understand the ramifications of what you're asking when you say it's unfair for certain teams not to make the playoffs.
I do feel bad for two-loss teams like Hamden, Manchester, Greenwich, and Newtown (all in LL), all of whom have very good football teams, and all of whom can probably compete with the best teams in the state. But where do we draw the line? It has to be drawn somewhere, and for now it's drawn with four teams in each one of six classes (hopefully soon it will be drawn with eight teams in four classes). But before you complain about a team like Shelton or West Haven not making the playoffs, understand what you're asking first. If you understand and still want to complain, then you're perfectly welcome to do so.
FALL OF THE DRAGONS: Hamden will go into their much-anticipated Thanksgiving tilt with Notre Dame probably playing just for pride after a disappointing 24-7 home loss to Wilbur Cross in the rain last Saturday. Hamden still has an outside shot to qualify for Class LL, but would need plenty of help. I can't help but feel partly responsible for the hype that the Dragons got in the preseason. By the standards of three years ago, Hamden had a remarkable campaign, taking a 7-2 record into the game with Notre Dame.
But, after making the playoffs last season, the expectations meter went through the roof, and the Dragons started the season as the No. 2 team in the state. There were some warning signs from the beginning, and Xavier finally took advantage by keeping Hamden scoreless through the final three quarters in an overtime victory. Last Saturday, the Governors were able to do the same thing, allowing a first-quarter touchdown, but nothing else, which might have been shocking to those who haven't followed closely, but there were three factors: a) the weather was miserable, which limited Hamden's ability to throw the ball; b) Hamden's passing game has sputtered for much of the season, culminating in a fourth-quarter intercption return for a touchdown by Maurice Morrison Saturday; c) Wilbur Cross is much, much better than their 4-5 record would show. In their five losses: they had Cheshire on the ropes, but fell 21-18; had a huge lead at one-loss Ridgefield before falling 28-27 (and ironically giving the Tigers 10 playoff points every time they win); were blown out in back-to-back games by Notre Dame and West Haven (no explanation given); and a loss to Hand in which they had more yards and appeared to be in control for large portions.
While extremely disappointing, Hamden is proving how tough it really is, both in SCC Division I and in Class LL. Unfortunately, the proof will likely result in Hamden being a spectator for the playoffs.
EXTRA POINTS: It won't help any of their SCC brethren, but Notre Dame will become big Glastonbury fans Friday when they host Simsbury. A loss by the Trojans means that at the least, the Green Knights will control their own destiny, and it might mean that they may be able to qualify for the playoffs even if they lose to Hamden (although that will drag Windsor back into the mix as well). For those scoring at home, if Simsbury and Notre Dame both win, it will be very, very close between the two for the fourth and final playoff spot. I think the Knights have a slight edge, but trying to figure it out at this point would give me a big headache. Keep checking the Twitter and the blog for updates on that front ... Most of the games went on despite the miserable conditions either Friday or Saturday (with the obvious notable exception of Xavier-West Haven), and the best game was between Branford and Foran, with the Hornets prevailing in double overtime, 21-20, on a blocked extra point. For those that don't follow the Lions, they may be the most entertaining team in the SCC week in and week out. The Hornets kept their Class M playoff hopes alive with the win. They should beat East Haven on Thanksgiving, then they need Bethel and Gilbert to lose, then outpoint them as well as Watertown. Stranger things have happened, but as with the Class L race, it's useless to discuss it any further at this point ... After sitting out a week because of the flu, Cheshire got to play in the rain last Friday, blanking Fairfield Prep 34-0, the seventh time in nine games the Jesuits have scored one touchdown or less this season. Don't think it will change too much against West Haven ... East Haven managed 21 points against Guilford, but still fell, 41-21, in the rain ... Hillhouse sludged through a 16-6 win over Sheehan. It seems like every time the Titans come to New Haven, it's a quagmire at Bowen Field ... Notre Dame had no trouble with the conditions, racing to a 31-0 halftime lead over Amity, before coasting to a 38-0 victory. It would be nice to see the Knights in good weather to see what their passing game can do, maybe we'll get one Thanksgiving morning ... Finally, North Haven kept its flickering Class MM playoff hopes alive by trouncing Jonathan Law, 46-13, a game the Indians led 40-6 after three quarters. North Haven, like Shelton and West Haven, will probably be out of the postseason, but still should leave the campaign with plenty of good memories.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Joe DeSandre, Lyman Hall - Yeah, it was against Cheney Tech, but it's hard to ignore these numbers: 276 yards rushing on 22 carries and four touchdowns, as the Trojans rolled to 47-26 victory on Senior Night in Wallingford. DeSandre also returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to give him a total of five scores on the night.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at West Haven, Saturday, 7 p.m. - Due to the game originally being postponed because of the flu at Cheshire, the Rams are going to have to take the hard route to the playoffs by beating West Haven and Southington in a five-day span. The Westies were trounced, 28-0, last Sunday by Xavier, so this might be their last stand, their last chance to play spoiler with Fairfield Prep coming up on Thanksgiving. The key will be the Westies stopping the Cheshire option, with a young squad, a few big plays may be the difference.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2
Number of rescheduled games that take place this week. In addition to the West Haven-Cheshire showdown on Saturday night at Ken Strong Stadium, Amity played Guilford Wednesday night in a game that was postponed last month due to the H1N1 outbreak at Guilford High. Sheehan will also take the field this weekend against unbeaten New London, an interesting test for both Division II and the ECC.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Notre Dame (8-1; Last Week 1) – Hamden is reeling, but don't think the Knights will overlook them.
2) Xavier (8-1; LW 2) – Middletown is 1-8, but played an SCC Division I-like schedule this season.
3) Cheshire (7-1; LW 3) – Entire city of Bridgeport rooting for the Rams to fall down. Nothing personal.
4) Shelton (6-3; LW 5) – Gaels would like to reschedule all three of their losses for December.
5) Hamden (7-2; LW 4) – The warning signs were there, and Cross finally finished their playoff hopes.
6) West Haven (4-4; LW 6) – Maybe a little rusty after 17 days off? We'll find out Saturday night.
7) Hand (4-5; LW 7) – Should finish at the .500 mark, and wonder what life would be like in Division II.
8) North Haven (6-3; LW 8) - Playoff hopes just about dead, but a reachable 7-3 mark is impressive.
9) Wilbur Cross (4-5; LW 12) – Lots of credit for pulling the upset, but have to wonder what might have been.
10) Branford (6-3; LW 14) - Bethel beating Stratford doesn't help, but still faint playoff hope on Thanksgiving.
11) Foran (5-4; LW 9) - Lions should finish with a winning record for the second consecutive season.
12) Lyman Hall (4-5; LW 10) - Had a little trouble with Cheney Tech, but offense still clicking correctly.
13) Amity (2-6; LW 11) – Doesn't it seem like Spartans are playing someone in the top five every week.
14) Hillhouse (5-4; LW 13) - Jones helped Acs muddy their way to a low-scoring win over Sheehan.
15) Sheehan (3-5; LW 15) - Will be interesting to see how Titans do this weekend against New London.
16) Jonathan Law (3-6; LW 16) - Have to find a way to improve defense if they have a shot to beat Foran.
17) Guilford (2-6; LW 17) - Couple of Division I teams left as the Indians try to increase their win streak.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-9; LW 18) - Jesuits have scored more than once just twice all season.
19) East Haven (0-9; LW 19) - Gave it a run, better hope Branford is eliminated from playoffs before T-day.

SCC - Week 8 (Hooray for the refs?)

2009-11-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this is a column a dozen years in the making. In 1997, in what seems like a different lifetime, West Haven fell to Cheshire in the Class LL semifinals after having a touchdown called back to a holding penalty.
I made the point - not well - that it is silly to say a referee doesn't "decide" the game because if he doesn't throw the flag, West Haven wins. I went on to say the call was probably correct and the referee did the right thing.
But the word "decided" didn't sit well with some in the refereeing community, and looking back on the situation with those dozen years of experience, I can totally see why. I got a letter from Bill Riccio, head of the New Haven board, telling me exactly why the word "decided" was such a poor choice.
Fast forward (or Flashforward, if you prefer) a decade later, and I decided - whoops, that word again - it was time to make the mistake up to the refs. Like everyone else involved in high school sports, the referees are doing something completely necessary for the game and for very little profit, especially in football - where there are more meetings than other sports, and only one varsity game per week (although some refs do work sub-varsity and youth games).
So about two years ago, I floated the idea to Riccio - one of the best in the business and currently the assistant interpreter for the state - of following his crew around for a Friday night and getting a semi-inside look at what the officials go through. He agreed, but it took two years (and a Cheshire-West Haven cancellation) to put it all together.
But finally, last week on a cold Friday night at the Surf Club in Madison, it all came together when Riccio and and his crew had the Hand-Wilbur Cross game.
I arrived at about 5:45, and Riccio and his crew were already getting changed in the makeshift locker room (the lifeguard station across the street). The crew spent a good half-hour going over different situations that might occur in the game and how to handle them: celebrations after touchdowns on the opposing sideline, wedge busters on kickoffs, illegal formations and trying to agree on whether it is or not on the snap, the time between an extra point and the ensuing kickoff, eligible receivers. Riccio always talks to each coach in the week before the game, just in case they were looking to do something unusual or just to get a feel on what to look for.
Finally, Riccio goes around to each member of his crew - umpire James White, head linesman Todd DeFelice, line judge Steve Rainey, back judge Peter Bowman, and timer Jim McGurgan - to let them know what they will be responsible for. Intermingled with the pre-game speeches are the usual joking you get with a veteran crew, including a friendly reminder to Riccio to hit the facilities before they go out to the field at 6:35.
It's not a long walk to the field at the Surf Club, the crew puts their stuff in their cars and heads to the field, the first issue coming when the yard markers are pointing toward the end zones and not the stands. Minor point, but remember, these are referees, perfectionists. DeFelice, the second most experienced and the most talkative of the bunch (which will be a good thing later on), is positioned on the Cross side, where I will spend most of the night (the Hand side doesn't allow you much room to move), but even though this isn't a huge game comparatively (both teams came in off losses and records of 3-4), you can tell that - at least by high school standards - this is a veteran and quality crew of officials.
It takes about three minutes for the Cross coaching staff to start talking to DeFelice, albeit politely: "Mr. Official, they're holding our end on every play, please keep an eye on it." On the other side, Rainey is getting the same treatment from the Hand coaches, and it pays off ealy in the second quarter when the coaches adamantly point out a Cross player not wearing a mouthguard on the snap. The flag is thrown and Cross has an important first down called back, which means DeFelice gets the wrath of the coaches. "If I see you telling any Hand players to put their mouthpiece in before the snap, then we're going to have a problem." Fair point, but DeFelice is just the messenger, of course.
A relatively uneventful first half ends 14-7 for Hand (with two touchdowns in 12 seconds in the final minute of the half). DeFelice spends the end of the half asking people for the delicious Surf Club popcorn, whose aroma permeates the facility. In the warmth of the lifeguard shack, the discussion is about the mouthguard call. Riccio points out that to prevent controversy, the call probably should have been made at the snap, killing the play and limiting argument. Yes, referees do correct themselves every once in a while. Riccio also tells White to be a little more talkative, mainly for self-preservation for the dangerous umpire spot that stands directly in the path of many running plays.
Before the second half begins, Hand coach Steve Filippone tries to schmooze with Riccio and Rainey, telling them that Cross is blocking downfield on pass plays (you must wait until the ball is caught to block). The third quarter is uneventful, by referee standards, the only flag coming on a pretty blatant pass interference call in the Hand end zone, Cross scoring on the next play to make it 21-21. White - who as the umpire has to spot the ball - bemoans the fact that the Surf Club has no hashmarks, certainly not like most of the turf fields, which make them impossible to miss.
It is not a big crowd, nor a really big game, but it is a competitive one as we head down the stretch. Hand has a 28-21 lead with two minutes remaining and is trying to run out the clock when Bowman calls a late hit on Cross, giving Hand a first down which basically seals the game for the Tigers. Cross coach John Acquavita realizes this and picks up an unsportsmanlike penalty to boot.
Although Bowman made the call, of course it's DeFelice who gets the lion's share of the fans' comments on the Cross side, especially after he calls an illegal formation right at the end. The usual stuff, though: "Good job, ref." "Way to give the game to them, ref" "You on the payroll in Madison?"
In the final minute, I get to make my contribution. Cross quarterback Dontay Long spikes the ball with 30 seconds remaining (it's now 35-21 Hand), and two plays later, it still says 3 on the down marker. Riccio and DeFelice meet to discuss and finally look to me (who they know is writing down every play for statistical purposes), and I give them a fist for fourth down, which it was supposed to be. Long throws an incompletion on the next play, the ball is turned over on downs, and the game is over.
I'm a little bit surprised than within 30 seconds off the final whistle, the referees are on their way out of the Surf Club like it's a getaway. At a local establishment near the Madison-Guilford line, they meet up with the crew from the Guilford-Hillhouse game (a 40-0 Hillhouse win) and discuss the night's proceedings.
DeFelice is quick to rib Bowman about the unsportsmanlike call and leaving him standing next to the guilty sideline. Riccio (and Bowman agrees) says that the second penalty (on the coaches) may have been a bit harsh because the original penalty was in a big spot and they needed to vent, within reason of course.
As they share their postgame meal, it is obvious that these officials are not there for the money (probably a lot of which was actually spent on dinner), but because they love what they do. For those of us that aren't refs, that seems like a masochistic point of view, but just like anything else in life, the enjoyment is what pushes them forward, why they put up with the abuse and the lack of recognition to go out there every week.
Most of you that have been reading this know I've been around for more than a decade doing this, and Riccio and his crew are probably the best in the high school game right now (and the New Haven board seems to be a step above some of the other boards). The fact that they allowed me the access that they did Friday night probably proves that point.
And - my main reason for doing this as well - before you abuse referees, remember that without officials, there is no game. And if you think you can do better? By all means, give it a shot. Riccio, in his 37th season, will be glad to show you the way.
FLU BUGS: Last week's game of the week between Cheshire and West Haven was postponed to next Friday after a number of Cheshire players came down with the flu (with the number of flu cases going around, tests for the H1N1 virus are rarely given to high school kids). Coach Mark Ecke said it was about 40 percent of the team, meaning everything - including practice - was cancelled until Monday.
No one here is accusing Cheshire of any shenanigans, but it was a bit curious, compared with the Guilford situation of a couple weeks back. In that case, the whole school was shut down, no sports were allowed to play or practice for the rest of the week. But at Cheshire, the limitations were confined to the football team. School went on as scheduled, the swimming team captured the SCC title, the girls soccer team captured a share of the conference crown, while the volleyball squad went to the SCC finals, all last week while the football team was on the sidelines.
Regardless of the circumstances, the Class LL playoff picture is now even more muddled than it was last week, with Cheshire still having three games remaining and seven teams having one loss or fewer with only two weeks left. Remember, Xavier has West Haven this week, but then winless Middletown on Thanksgiving. It's beginning to look like a team with one loss might be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
EXTRA POINTS: Meanwhile, in Class MM, three losses might be enough to get North Haven in for the second time in three years if the Indians can win their last two games, and with Jonathan Law and Amity remaining, you have to give them a shot. They will need some help, but don't be completely surprised if it's North Haven making the long trip to New Canaan on a cold Tuesday night in December ... The Cheshire-West Haven game was also the Channel 9 Game of the Week, so they switched on the fly to the Foran-Notre Dame contest. Yes, the game was a rout and, yes, it was 49-7 at halftime, but it was still a little more competitive than the Hamden-Fairfield Prep game the week before. The Lions had some success moving the ball, but just fell victim to turnovers. They couldn't stop the Green Knights at all, but no one has thus far this season ... Elsewhere around the league, it was a pretty uneventful week. Hamden struggled with Lyman Hall, which was surprising. Wilbur Cross seemed to have the upper hand against Daniel Hand (pun somewhat intended), but let the game slip away. Hillhouse drubbed Guilford, North Haven made short work of East Haven, but not quite as short as other teams have, same with Xavier against Fairfield Prep, while Law continues its slide in a lopsided loss to Branford.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ryan DeAngelis, Shelton - DeAngelis ran for 182 yards and three scores on just 20 carries as the Gaels continued to stay hot, particularly on offense, as they pulled away late from Amity for an easy 46-23 win. Shelton has won four straight after a three-game losing streak found them at 1-3 through four games of the campaign.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Xavier at West Haven, Friday, 7 p.m. - Let's try this again, shall we? After last week's game against Cheshire was postponed, West Haven will have had 15 days off going into this huge tilt, while the Falcons will have had only six. Xavier is the hotter of the two teams, but their offense has not been terribly explosive of late, and if the Blue Devils can control Julian Hayes and the line of scrimmage at all, they have a shot to pull the upset and become the best friend of everyone else in the Class LL playoff race.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
413
Number of yards of total offense per game for Foran this season, good enough for seventh in the state according to Maxpreps. Not a bad effort this season from a squad that lost two of the most explosive players in the league to graduation in Tyler Hames and Jake White. The Lions could finish at 7-3 this season if they can beat Branford and Jonathan Law.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Notre Dame (7-1; Last Week 1) – Knights rooting against Simsbury to lose in Class L playoff race.
2) Xavier (7-1; LW 2) – Only West Haven stands between Falcons and probable LL postseason berth.
3) Cheshire (6-1; LW 4) – Unexpected week off. Will it hurt them or help them? We'll find out.
4) Hamden (7-1; LW 3) – Dragons tied with Lyman Hall in the fourth quarter? Not confidence inspiring.
5) Shelton (5-3; LW 5) – Gaels' offense is sizzling. Too bad we'll never see them against Notre Dame.
6) West Haven (4-3; LW 6) – Have 15 days off before taking on Xavier Friday at Ken Strong.
7) Hand (4-4; LW 7) – Pulled it out late against Cross, will try to slow down Shelton this week.
8) North Haven (5-3; LW 8) - Will need a lot of help, but they could be in the playoff hunt yet.
9) Foran (5-3; LW 11) - Moving up after being down 42 at halftime? They'll have to prove it this week.
10) Lyman Hall (3-5; LW 12) - Is Hamden struggling, or are the Trojans playing that well? Dunno.
11) Amity (2-5; LW 9) – And for the Spartans' troubles, they get to host Notre Dame this Friday.
12) Wilbur Cross (3-5; LW 10) – Looked like they should have had a win last week, but got away.
13) Hillhouse (4-4; LW 13) - Academics came to life against Guilford last week. Good for them.
14) Branford (5-3; LW 15) - Hornets still holding out hope for a 7-3 campaign, which would be good.
15) Sheehan (3-4; LW 14) - Yet another team that had a bye last week. Can we find a 20th team?
16) Jonathan Law (3-5; LW 16) - Lawmen are limping home with two tough games remaining.
17) Guilford (1-6; LW 17) - Indians followed up a good effort with a poor one, but still three games left.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-8; LW 18) - And for a respite, the Jesuits get to face a rested Cheshire Friday.
19) East Haven (0-8; LW 19) - If they're going to break the losing streak, it's going to have to be this week.

SCC - Week 7 (Playoffs? Playoffs??)

2009-11-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

In a sick, convoluted way, I am actually happy the CIAC football playoff system is as complicated as it is. I consider myself a pretty intelligent person, I'm good with numbers, and I am stupid enough to spend an inordinate amount of time crunching said numbers when I should be helping the world in some other fashion.
Maybe I should get a job with the government or something, I don't mind running through scenarios that seem to have little or no chance of happening. The frustrating thing, as it is for everyone, is that you can't predict the future (anyone take a look at my picks lately? If not, don't look). We may think we know what's going to happen, but the exciting, fun part about doing this stuff, is that we don't really know. So take what you are about to read with a grain of salt, and understand that it is just my best guess> But I can promise you one thing and one thing, only. I promise I will be more accurate than the weather predictors have been lately.
To simplify, we're going to eliminate the four divisions below Class L for SCC purposes. North Haven, at 4-3, actually has an outside shot in MM, but they aren't going to get many points from their final three games, and they would need St. Paul and East Lyme to lose twice each and then hope to outpoint them. Stranger things have happened, but we'll have time to get to them if they do.
So that leaves us with four teams: Xavier, Cheshire, and Hamden in Class LL, and Notre Dame in Class L.
Class L is more straightforward, so let's start there. It is almost assured that the top two teams, Masuk and Pomperaug, will finish undefeated. They are in the same conference (South-West), but don't play each other, which SCC teams could gripe about if they didn't have to look at themselves in the mirror. That gives you half the field and almost assures that Notre Dame will be on the road if they do get into the playoffs. Third is Conard, also undefeated, and although they don't have the pedigree of some other teams we'll talk about, they've allowed 13 points all season, so I'm thinking they also finish unbeaten, which gives us one spot left.
Notre Dame and Simsbury are the two favorites for that spot, Simsbury currently holding a 20-point lead over the Green Knights, but if both teams win out, ND's remaining opponents will give them 130 points, while Simsbury will only get 100. Looking at the schedules the rest of the way, my best guess is that Notre Dame edges Simsbury if both win out, which may also be important if both lose one more. Simsbury takes on unbeaten Glastonbury on Nov. 21, while the most anticipated Green Bowl in some time kicks off five days later. No other Class L team looks likely to finish with two losses and challenge for that fourth spot. If Windsor runs the table, they might have enough points, but Bloomfield lurks the day before Thanksgiving. I don't think Fitch can get enough points, even if they keep winning.
Bottom line: there is a scenario that could have Notre Dame clinching a berth in the playoffs before Thanksgiving, which would be a shame. For everyone except ND supporters, of course. And if the Knights win out, it's hard to find a way that they won't be the fourth seed in Class L.
OK, the easy work is done. On to Class LL, where a ridiculous nine teams still have zero or one loss with three games to go. Obviously, five of those teams will not be competing in the postseason. The three SCC teams: Xavier, Cheshire, and Hamden stand third to fifth (in that order). None of the three play each other (in fact, the only matchup between any of the nine is Staples-Greenwich on Thanksgiving), which makes this very complicated.
I will reiterate, these are my projections, and it is impossible to try to figure in every single scenario (but that doesn't mean I can't try).
Glastonbury is playing very well, and I think they can go unbeaten (although watch out for New Britain this week), so we'll give them one spot. Staples is undefeated, but has Trumbull and Greenwich left, and their starting quarterback is out for the season. Greenwich seems to have their number, but also has New Canaan and St. Joseph, with a combined one loss still left. Bridgeport Central still has New Canaan remaining, so we're taking them out of the equation. Ridgefield - whom Wilbur Cross could have taken care of for us - has a favorable schedule if they can beat Trumbull on Friday, but could be left wonting for points. Newtown has Masuk left on the night before Thanksgiving, with everyone in LL rooting for Casey Cochran and the Panthers.
As for the SCC teams, with West Haven as hot as they are, it's hard to see the Blue Devils losing to both Cheshire and Xavier, and they could really throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings by beating both of them. For our purposes, let's say they knock off one of them. Hamden-ND is a toss-up to end all toss-ups.
That leaves us with Glastonbury in, Staples, Xavier-Cheshire with one loss. If Hamden wins, that might make it easy for us, but if they don't, or a few upsets happen, it gets very, very complicated.
But the bottom line: unless we get a bunch of upsets and unexpected results (namely Greenwich running the table), it's hard to see a one-loss team from the SCC not getting into the postseason. That doesn't mean it can't happen, but it's not worth worrying about for another couple of weeks.
Just like the weather.
EXTRA POINTS: It's unfortunate that the game spotlighted on WCTX's (Channel 9) Game of the Week last Saturday was Hamden-Fairfield Prep. The Jesuits are suffering through their worst season, possibly ever, certainly since they've been in the SCC, and Hamden led 36-0 after one quarter, spending the rest of the night trying to figure out ways not to win by more than 50 points. Not to belabor points made in past years, but just watching on TV, it was quite painful to watch the second half. Obviously, the reason why the rule was put in is because coaches couldn't police themselves with 88-0 scores and the like, and I'm all for investigating running up the score if the situation warrants. But to set an abitrary score just makes it difficult for everyone involved. If you really don't want them to score more than 50, just call the game at that point, it would make me feel better ... On a related note, East Haven fell to Trinity Catholic 43-7 in Stamford in a game that was out of hand early, leading Trinity coach Peter Stokes, who team won only its second game all year to tell the Stamford Advocate, "The 50-point rule is ridiculous. It was put in because of Jack Cochran, and he's not coaching now so the rule should be eliminated. Coaches aren't focusing on the game but on the rule. No coach I know wants to embarrass another coach." ... You wonder what would have been had North Haven found a way to beat Branford in the season opener. The Indians are currently probably the hottest team in Division II, and led Cheshire 17-14 at halftime, before the Rams' defense stiffened and Cheshire prevailed 27-17. But North Haven also played Hand very tough, and would likely be in the playoffs at 8-2, but will have to settle for being Division II "champions" if they can win their last three games ... There isn't much room in the Surf Club locker rooms, which probably made the halftime talk from Tom Marcucci and his staff even more interesting. Somehow, the prolific Green Knights were shutout in the first half by Hand and trailed 14-0, but they came out for the third quarter a different team, scoring 21 straight points in the third quarter, and winning fairly comfortably 28-14. The first three scores were actually through the air from quarterback Sean Goldrich, a weapon ND hasn't had to use too much this season. A lesson learned for the Knights, or a warning sign? The Foran they play Friday will likely not be the intimidated squad they saw a year ago ... Xavier made quick work of Amity, the most significant thing for me in that game was noticing that Amity changed to bright gold uniforms this season. Very bright ... We don't talk much about the Division II teams, but full credit to teams like Foran, Lyman Hall, Guilford, and Branford for giving it a go every week this season. As they did last year, Foran surprisingly (at least to me) blew out Sheehan to move to 5-2 on the season. Lyman Hall, long ago written off, beat Law easily to win for the second straight week. And Guilford and Branford, fighting through adversity (Guilford unable to practice for a week because of the H1N1 virus and Branford losing quarterback Andrew Luzzi for the campaign with an injury), put together a heck of a game Friday night, with the Hornets racing to a 21-0 lead at the half, but the Indians came all the way back to tie it at 21-21 before Kyle Nolan hit Bryan Levchuk for the winning touchdown with seconds remaining for a 27-21 victory. Guilford is 1-5, but hasn't stopped battling ... Speaking of battling, with the playoff pressure now off, Shelton is rolling. It wasn't terribly surprising that the Gaels beat Hillhouse, but it was a little jarring that they beat them 42-8, and that it was 35-6 at the half. Sadly for them, the Gaels don't have another "big game" left. They'll have to make due against Amity and Hand, both pretty good competition, but not playoff teams ... Our Lou Holtz award goes to Xavier coach Sean Marinan, commenting on this week's game against Fairfield Prep at Palmer Field, "Very dangerous. They are playing for pride. They don't have anything to lose. They are relaxed and will take chances. This could be a big trap game for us." The Jesuits' closest game of the year is 21 points, and their closest Division I margin of defeat is 29 points. I think they'll be OK.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tucker Schumitz, Foran - Schumitz ran for 263 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions continued to roll, beating Sheehan 28-7 last Friday night in Wallingford. Included in those scores were an 85 and 79-yard scoring run. It marked the second straight year, a Foran runner put up big numbers against the Titans, last year it was Tyler Hames going for more than 300 total yards in a lopsided Foran win.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at West Haven, Friday, 7 p.m. - I think this breaks the unofficial record for most times in the Game of the Week for the Rams, but their playoff lives are probably on the line at Ken Strong Stadium. This has been a great rivalry in the past, in recent years, it's been the Rams tring to play spoiler to the Blue Devils, but this year the roles are reversed. On current form, you;d have to think that the Westies are ready to spring an "upset", but I thought the same thing in Shelton earlier this season and Cheshire rolled to victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
240
Number of points Shelton has scored this season, good enough for second best in the SCC, with 42 of them coming last Friday against Hillhouse. Unfortunately for the Gaels, they have also allowed 173 points this season, the most of anyone in Division I not named Fairfield Prep, which finds them at 4-3 with three games remaining.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Notre Dame (6-1; Last Week 1) – Sleepwalking would be a kind ascertation of their first half.
2) Xavier (6-1; LW 2) – Seem to be rolling, but the date with West Haven looms on the schedule.
3) Hamden (6-1; LW 3) – Watching Dragons try to not score was just painful television all around.
4) Cheshire (6-1; LW 4) – Not exactly playing their best ball of the year, saving it for West Haven?
5) Shelton (4-3; LW 5) – As hot as anyone in the conference, but no one above them left to play.
6) West Haven (4-3; LW 6) – Will have to settle for role of spoiler, but what a spoiler they can be.
7) Hand (3-4; LW 7) – Another close call for Tigers, seems like they've had plenty lately.
8) North Haven (4-3; LW 9) - Hopes of playoffs are flickering, but they are still there. Kind of.
9) Amity (2-4; LW 8) – Have a chance to spoil like West Haven does, but some tough ones left.
10) Wilbur Cross (3-4; LW 10) – Governors are in free fall, and no rest available for the weary.
11) Foran (5-2; LW 13) - Is it possible this year's Lions might be a little better than last year's?
12) Lyman Hall (3-4; LW 14) - They kept saying they were close to breaking out. Might have been right.
13) Hillhouse (3-4; LW 11) - So, I guess there is still a gap between D-I and D-II. Good to know.
14) Sheehan (3-4; LW 12) - Titans are one of the toughest teams to figure out year in and year out.
15) Branford (4-3; LW 15) - Wasn't the prettiest of victories, but still very good for team pysche.
16) Jonathan Law (3-4; LW 16) - Two bad games in a row, we'll see what kind of pride they have now.
17) Guilford (1-5; LW 17) - Played a decent game, have battled hard with a very young squad this year.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-7; LW 18) - I don't even think the Jesuits wanted that game to be on TV last week.
19) East Haven (0-7; LW 19) - North Haven, Guilford, and Branford left to try to get that elusive win.

SCC report - Week 6 (A good man leaves us)

2009-10-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

This might be the first time you've read the name Tony Mentone in print. And he'd probably be fine with that. Unfortunately, Mentone - who worked at Hamden (I was trying to give him a title here, but couldn't come up with one that would do him justice), died of a heart attack last week at the age of 63.
Mentone was one of those guys who didn't get the publicity of a coach and didn't really care to. But in every high school athletic program, there are jobs that need to get done for everything to run smoothly and Mentone pretty much did them all at Hamden.
His official title was facility manager, but here's an incomplete list of things he did for the Dragons: junior varsity basketball coach, freshman baseball coach, ticket taker, scoreboard operator, equipment repairer, security detail, etc.
He also did plenty away from Hamden High to help the youth of the community.
"He pretty much did everything for us, going back to when (former Athletic Director) Vin Iezzi was here," Hamden Athletic Director Jeannie Cooper said. "You name it, he did it for us. It will take a bunch of people to replace him."
According to his son Mark (who wrote for this publication before becoming a full-time Sports Information Director, currently at Felician), he coached his sons in the Hamden Fathers Little League, and after they graduated, he just stayed with it.
He was also (as Mark is) an accomplished umpire, having worked at various levels in the area, and worked closely with the youth basketball leagues in Hamden as well.
But Tony's contribution goes beyond what goes on a resume. He had a passion for the kids, a passion that can't be taught, but can be easily seen by any kid he worked with. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise that so many of his former players and colleagues overflowed Iovanne Funeral Home in New Haven last Thursday to pay their respects.
Too often at the high school level, we judge people by how much they win (and everyone, including Tony, wanted to win, don't get me wrong), and not the effect they have on the kids they work with.
"He had zero selfish intent," Mark said. "But he got a great deal out of it for himself as well. There was just a pure pleasure in helping kids, of all ages and abilities, that never got old for him."
As we go forward toward the playoffs and champions and playoff points and controversies, always remember that guys like Tony Mentone are the reason high school sports are such a valuable teaching tool to young people.
But Tony loved every minute of it. As his son said, "I would ask him if he spent too much time doing it, and he would always say, 'What the hell else am I gonna do?' "
PLAYOFFS? ALREADY?: Going to go off on a couple of tangents that take us off the field (but not very far, don't worry) this week, but I wanted to start with the mess that the CIAC playoff race is coming. If you take a look at the CIAC site and get a slightly pained look on your face like I did, you know what's coming.
With four games left, Hamden, Cheshire, and Xavier stand third, fourth, and fifth in the Class LL race with four teams, obviously, qualifying for the postseason. If it ends that way, I would be torn. It would be great for the SCC to have half of the Class LL field (and well deserved, I might add), but how do you choose between three teams that are 5-1? Right now, Hamden would be the one on the outside looking in, but - crunching the numbers - it looks like it might be the Falcons who may be in trouble if all three teams win their remaining four games. And while it's not a foregone conclusion, it's certainly a possibility. With nine teams in Class LL undefeated or with one loss, it seems there is a decent chance that someone with one loss will not make the postseason. For us SCC folk, that brings back bad memories of Jonathan Law from a couple of years back and Amity before them who finished at 9-1 and got no ticket to the playoff dance.
Luckily, although they are currently in fifth, Notre Dame shouldn't have the same problem in Class L. If they win out, they should be in. In fact, even if they lose again, the Green Knights have an outside chance to make the playoffs in Class L, which leads to our nightmare scenario.
Picture Thanksgiving at Hamden High in front of 5,000 people (and the Green Bowl looks like it's going to be the place to be this year). The Dragons down by a score late storm down the field and win the game on the final play to move to 9-1 on the season. The Knights fall to 8-2, but because of their respective classes, Notre Dame goes to the playoffs, while Hamden is left out in the cold. To be honest, it's not terribly likely, but it could happen.
Fortunately, a change in the playoff system might be on the way. If they can get enough votes, the playoff system will go back to four classes next year, but with eight teams in each class, extending the season by one week, but making each class more competitive, and making there less of a chance deserving teams get left out.
As we've discussed before, no system is perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to make it as good as possible.
EXTRA POINTS: The Guilford-Amity game was postponed last Friday due to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus at Guilford High. All activities from last Thursday through the weekend at the school were cancelled, including all practices. In fact, school was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday, which obviously meant there was no practice those days. The Guilford-Amity game is scheduled for Nov. 19 (the week before Thanksgiving). They are slated to play Branford this Friday. If that game is postponed? Who knows? The Indians have been more affected in other sports where their girls cross country team, favorite to capture the SCC title, fell to Cheshire last week, in part because some of their kids were sick (to be fair, they didn't use it as an excuse). The boys soccer team will likely qualify for the SCC Tournament (and the girls have an outside shot as well), meaning no one knows how they will squeeze all the games they have to get in with the state tournament starting next week ... The only Division II team that seems to have a shot to qualify is North Haven, who beat up on Sheehan 48-14 last week. The dilemma for the SCC is that if North Haven is able to upset Cheshire this week, that would likely eliminate the Rams from postseason contention. Regardless, a very intriguing game ... Cheshire had some trouble putting Hand away, but eventually did 31-13. The poor Tigers have a good team, but just not quite as good as the top Division I squads ... Hillhouse continues to roll, especially the white-hot Spencer Jones, who had four first-half touchdowns in the Academics' 34-8 win over Jonathan Law ... We've gotten this far without talking about the Notre Dame-Wilbur Cross game which probably tells you how good the game actually was. The Knights were up 28-7 by halftime and coasted to a 42-7 win. Hand will be the next to try to stop the vaunted ND offense Friday night ... Speaking of offense, Hamden posted just 52 yards combined in the second and third quarters of last week's overtime loss to Xavier. The Dragons wanted to get running back Jordan Teague into the offense gradually coming off an ankle injury, but Teague ended up with 31 carries (for 167 yards), 13 coming on one drive. Unfortunately, his 31st carry was a fumble in overtime and Xavier scored the winning touchdown on the next play.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kendrick Amaker, North Haven - Amaker ran for 139 yards and four touchdowns on just nine carries as the Indians beat Sheehan easily, 48-14, last Friday. Amaker, who is North Haven's threat to score every time he touches the ball, scored from 30, 47, 22, and 30 (again) yards out on his scores.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at North Haven, Friday, 7 p.m. - The Rams will enter the game as favorites, but for those comparing scores, Cheshire held off Sheehan 30-24 two weeks ago, while North Haven beat the Titans 48-14 last week. North Haven's defense has been excellent all season, while Cheshire has been able to score against every opponent they've faced, so something has to give.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
246
Number of points Notre Dame has scored this season, behind only Bloomfield in the state (Avon is tied), and the Green Knights have a slight strength of schedule edge over Bloomfield. In the SCC, only Cheshire (208) is even in the same offensive league as the Knights. Shelton (198) is third, but the Gaels have given up more points than everyone but winless East Haven and Fairfield Prep.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Notre Dame (5-1; Last Week 2) – A new No. 1 and not much argument. Can they master the Surf Club?
2) Xavier (5-1; LW 3) – Have won five straight, and will be heavy favorites the rest of the way.
3) Hamden (5-1; LW 1) – Dragons' offense just isn't very good right now, 6th in D-I in points scored.
4) Cheshire (5-1; LW 4) – Struggled with Sheehan, will they do the same in North Haven Friday?
5) Shelton (3-3; LW 5) – Nice to get an easy one under their belts, Hillhouse won't be quite as simple.
6) West Haven (3-3; LW 7) – With that intermission concluded, back to the grind for young Westies.
7) Hand (3-3; LW 8) – Not that far off, but don't have to be that far off when playing in Division I.
8) Amity (2-3; LW 9) – An unexpected week off, but under the circumstances, not much they can do.
9) North Haven (4-2; LW 11) - Have had more success than most in crossovers. They'll need it Friday.
10) Wilbur Cross (3-3; LW 6) – What happened to that team that destroyed Xavier at Palmer Field?
11) Hillhouse (3-3; LW 14) - Acs are improved, but we'll see just how much when they take on Shelton.
12) Sheehan (3-3; LW 12) - Defensive woes that have haunted Titans in past resurfaced against North Haven.
13) Foran (4-2; LW 15) - Lions really couldn't find anyone else to play them, so had to settle for Abbott Tech.
14) Lyman Hall (2-4; LW 17) - Really, Trojans had been knocking on the door for a couple of weeks.
15) Branford (3-3; LW 10) - Luzzi done for season, and it seemed to have an immediate effect on Hornets.
16) Jonathan Law (3-3; LW 13) - Just never got out of starting blocks in day game in New Haven.
17) Guilford (1-4; LW 16) - Going a week without even practicing can't be good for squad, but better safe.
18) Fairfield Prep (0-6; LW 18) - All Division I games left for Jesuits. Doesn't look good.
19) East Haven (0-6; LW 19) - At least back to D-II this week.

SCC report - Week 5 (the crossovers)

2009-10-18T16:12:00.001-07:00

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.

The SCC report - Week 4

2009-10-11T21:08:00.001-07:00

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.

Week 3 - We know what we have

2009-10-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Alright, let's not argue over who killed who, and what the predictions were at the beginning of the season. Three weeks, 30 percent of the campaign is complete, the weather is getting cold (although not too bad last Friday), and it's time to put up or shut up until 2010.
We have enough of a read now on the teams that we can give you a State of the SCC report on all 19 teams (of course, some are shorter than others). I still have that sinking feeling that all the quality in Division I might produce less playoff teams than it would in another league, but I am extremely confident from looking around the state that this will break the two-year streak of the SCC not winning a state title. And I would also give Branford a fighting chance in Class MM if they get in.
Onto the capsules. One thing that is annoying already is that No. 1 and No. 2 don't even play each other this season. Can we fix this, SCC? You have 10 Division I teams, can they all just play each other? And that will save me from some of these upcoming crossover games (although Jonathan Law's thumping of Fairfield Prep and North Haven's win over Wilton were both very nice for Division II).
1) Hamden
Things going well: You have to start with the defense, which wasn't great last year, despite all their success. But the Dragons went to the drawing board to fix their problem and have come up with two shutouts in their first three games. With superior athleticism, they have been particularly impressive against the pass, which does not bode well for Shelton this week, and they're two toughest remaining games (Wilbur Cross and Notre Dame) are teams that can throw the ball.
Points of concern: The prolific passing attack really hasn't materialized for Hamden this season so far. Is it because they've been ahead, or they haven't needed it? Possibly. Are we nitpicking? Possibly (Jason Lassiter did throw for three touchdowns against Amity). But we'll see.
2) Cheshire
Things going well: To put it simply, the Rams are controlling the line of scrimmage, and not just against mediocre teams, against everyone. They manhandled Shelton, controlled Amity and Wilbur Cross, and haven't even played a home game yet. The combination of Greg Palmer and Max Slade have done just fine at quarterback, and they've scored 111 points in three games.
Points of concern: Like last year, the defense hasn't exactly been lights out, allowing 62 points (including 31 to Shelton), and that could pose a problem in games like this week's tilt against explosive Notre Dame. If they get by this week's game, though, they could be 9-0 heading into the Thanksgiving Southington game.
3) Notre Dame
Things going well: Well, you don't need to say much more than 122 points in three games, do you? Sean Goldrich is no longer underrated, and everyone knows about Conor Kinary, but he always seems to be open anyway. Justin Willis, David Rose, a massive offensive line: all things that make them nearly impossible to stop this season.
Points of concern: Notice I didn't say too much about the defense. It does seem like they are pushed around far too easily for their size sometimes (see second half against Xavier or first half against West Haven - they allowed more than 20 points in both). They are already 0-1 in nailbiters this season, they're sure to see a couple more before the season is out.
4) Wilbur Cross
Things going well: A year more mature, the Governors have proven they can play with anyone, pounding Xavier at Palmer Field, and nearly stopping Cheshire last week before falling late. Maurice Morrison and James Ward are as good as any skill position players in the SCC and a threat to score every time they touch the ball. The defense has shown - while not as good as Hamden's right now - they won't get pushed around.
Points of concern: They've seemed to lose a lot of close games over the last couple of years, and - like Notre Dame - they're sure to see a couple before the end of the season. After taking on Ridgefield and East Haven, can they survive a brutal stretch that includes West Haven, Hamden, Hand, and Notre Dame? If they can, they may be playoff bound.
5) Xavier
Things going well: Julian Hayes might be the most exciting and versatile player in the SCC, and can pretty much do everything on both sides of the ball. With Hayes, a talented receiving corps, and an opportunistic defense, the Falcons are prolific offensively when they can get rolling.
Points of concern: As quickly as they can score, Xavier has given points up: 37 against Wilbur Cross, 21 quick ones against Notre Dame, and 25 against Shelton, although some were in garbage time. Sean Marinan has talked about a lack of focus, something Hamden will be keen to take advantage of in two weeks. But that might be the last big test for the Falcons the rest of the way (although West Haven looms in Week 9).
6) Daniel Hand
Things going well: Nick Merullo does his weekly best Tim Tebow impersonation, trampling poor defenders and throwing a good ball when he has to. He certainly will have a case for league MVP at his current pace. The defense is not spectacular, but they have tackled reasonably well.
Points of concern: Hand seems to need another weapon in the backfield to take the pressure off of Merullo, who takes a beating when carrying the ball 25-30 times a game (he's not one for ducking tacklers). They'll need to keep him healthy for this stretch of games starting on Oct. 23: Cheshire, Notre Dame, Wilbur Cross, Shelton. Maybe the Tigers will be getting those teams at the right time.
7) Branford
Things going well: They are 3-0, having dispatched of what I think is their toughest Division II competition, North Haven and Hillhouse, and doing so in different ways, using defense in a tough win over the Indians and outscoring the Academics. Andrew Luzzi is as good as anyone in the league, and he's getting help from a variety of people on the offense.
Points of concern: No Division II team (or anyone) likes to see Xavier and Hamden back-to-back on the schedule. The Hornets' defense gave up 30 points to a struggling Hillhouse squad, and they may have some trouble with speed. After the next two games, though, Branford should be favorites in every game the rest of the way.
8) Shelton
Things going well: Ray Pendagast has a cannon for an arm, and has very solid receivers in Mike Georgalas and Paul Piccirillo, and even running back Ryan DeAngelis. The Gaels can score and score quickly, and are also solid against the pass with some very good athletes at the skill positions.
Points of concern: Quite simply, Shelton can't stop anyone in the trenches right now, at least against the powerful Division I squads. West Haven had a lot of success, and in the last two weeks, Cheshire and Xavier have just torn them to shreds. It has seemed to have a demoralizing effect to the team, they have looked lifeless in the second half of two straight games.
9) West Haven
Things going well: The young Blue Devils have been extremely feisty and competitive in their first three games. The defense has come up with some big plays (excluding the second half against Notre Dame), and as usual, they have six or seven players that they are comfortable giving the ball to, including sophomore quarterback Tremayne Barnes, who has been solid.
Points of concern: Obviously, being 0-3 and out of the playoff picture is no fun, and - as with any young team - the inconsistency can be a little big maddening. For instance, the Westies should have gone to the half with a 21-20 lead against Notre Dame last week, but allowed a 32-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the half and got outscored 20-0 in the second half. The schedule gets a little easier the rest of the way, but not that much easier.
10) North Haven
Things going well: The talk was all about the Indians' new single-wing, wildcat hybrid offense, but it is their defense that has been most impressive early. It kept them in the game against Branford and won the game by allowing Wilton only one score last week.
Points of concern: The offense has been stagnant at times, without the speed to break off too many big plays. The schedule also gets pretty brutal by Division II standards: Hand and Cheshire (along with Sheehan, Law, and Amity) all await.
11) Amity
Things going well: The Spartans have managed to hang tough against the best the SCC has to offer, with their first three games against the teams ranked 1-3 here. They were up 14-0 on Cross, were tied with Cheshire early in the third quarter, and didn't allow Hamden to get away from them until late. The schedule has to get easier the rest of the way.
Points of concern: The offense, minus the graduated Billy Choiniere, has had trouble moving the ball, and the Spartans have not scored an offensive touchdown in the second half this season. The defense, as they proved against Hamden, can only hold out so long.
12) Sheehan
Things going well: Behind quarterback Brett Biestek and runners like Zach Prefontaine, the Titans can move the ball and are fun to watch.
Points of concern: Seemingly forever, Sheehan has had all kinds of trouble with tackling, and it reared its head again against Hand last week. After this week's game with East Haven, they have a very tough run by Division II standards coming down the stretch.
13) Hillhouse
Things going well: For a team that went to the playoffs last year? Not much, but it does appear that players like Taurese Washington are starting to get accustomed to life in the SCC (and against Ansonia). There are a couple of struggling teams on the schedule, which might allow them to get back on track.
Points of concern: Branford and Ansonia pretty much did whatever they pleased, and obviously that's concerning. Playing a young team means plenty of mistakes, and they've killed Hillhouse in the season's earlygoing.
14) Jonathan Law
Things going well: As always, the Lawmen are big and physical and they basically wore down Fairfield Prep last week, which - as down as Prep is - is impressive against a Division I squad. They did the same to East Haven in the first week.
Points of concern: It remains to be seen what the Lawmen can do against talented passing squads, the one they did face - Sheehan - didn't go so well for them. The schedule is not brutal the rest of the way, but it does include Shelton and Branford, two teams that can definitely throw.
15) Foran
Things going well: Hey, they're 3-0 and almost no one would have expected that through three games. Tucker Schumitz has shown the ability to bust big plays as the Lions did last year. They've also shown the ability to pull out close games.
Points of concern: They haven't exactly had a lights out defense, and the schedule gets plenty tougher (other than a non-conference date with Abbott Tech) the rest of the way, including games against West Haven and Notre Dame. A win over North Haven would put them at 4-0, though.
16) Fairfield Prep
Things going well: Not a whole heck of a lot. They have led twice this season.
Points of concern: Just about everything. The Jesuits have scored just 20 points this season while allowing 116, and finish the season with Shelton, Hamden, Xavier, Cheshire, and West Haven. Will be tough to keep their heads above water in that stretch.
17) Guilford
Things going well: You've seen improvement in a some of their young players, like quarterback Ethan Curry, who threw for three touchdowns last week in a win over Lyman Hall.
Points of concern: There are still growing pains to get through and the schedule gets a lot tougher very quickly, with Xavier, Amity, Branford, and Hand still left on the slate.
18) Lyman Hall
Things going well: The Trojans captured their game against East Haven somewhat easily, and could be 3-0, as they were in the contest until the end against both Foran and Guilford.
Points of concern: Other than a game against Cheney Tech, they will probably be underdogs in every game the rest of the way, and have to find a way to shut other teams down when the game is on the line.
19) East Haven
Things going well: The Yellowjackets have been much more competitive, hanging tough in the first half with both Lyman Hall and Foran before fading late.
Points of concern: It's hard to see where the win is going to come from, and if they go the season without a win, their streak is at 31 and starts to get into the longest in state history, and no one wants that.
EXTRA POINTS: Lights at Wilbur Cross? Well, kind of. The Governors put up some temporary lights, which they put to use at the end of last week's game against Cheshire. They're still not ready for full-time Friday night use, but if they get a double or triple overtime game, they're there ... There could have been an overtime game Friday at Cross, but the Governors passed up a 34-yard field goal from Doural Scott to go for the touchdown and win. And it's not just Cross, it seems like a lot of teams don't seem to trust their kickers when push comes to shove, even though the kicking is so much better in the league than it was a decade ago. Show the kickers some love, will ya? ... North Haven took Round 1 of the SCC-FCIAC challenge with a 21-7 win last week, Cross takes on Ridgefield in Round 2 this week.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chris Ballas, Jonathan Law - Ballas ran for 125 yards and four touchdowns as the Lawmen annihilated Fairfield Prep last week, also giving him six touchdowns in his last two contests.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Notre Dame at Cheshire, Friday, 7 p.m. - If it seems like Cheshire is a weekly fixture in the Game of the Week, then they are. The Rams' brutal schedule marches on as they face a red-hot Green Knights team that can obviously put up points in a big way. But can they stop the Rams? There might be plenty of points in Cheshire's home opener.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3
Number of failed conversions that Wilbur Cross had against Cheshire last week. The Governors missed an extra point on the ir first touchdown, but went for two points on their next two touchdowns, only to get nothing. The Governors' margin of defeat? Three, of course, 21-18.
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POWER RANKINGS
1) Hamden (3-0; Last Week 1) – Benoit and staff were smart enough to sure up the defense.
2) Cheshire (3-0; LW 2) – Doesn't look like they have firepower, they just keep putting up points.
3) Notre Dame (2-1; LW 4) – Are we headed for a 50-49 shootout at the Maclary Complex Friday?
4) Wilbur Cross (2-1; LW 3) – They've proven they belong up here, but now can the Governors win?
5) Xavier (2-1; LW 6) – Big win over Shelton, but better not sleep on Branford this weekend.
6) Hand (2-1; LW 5) – Starting to figure things out, tough to see them running the table, though.
7) Branford (3-0; LW 9) - New London in Class M this season, otherwise pretty managable for Hornets.
8) Shelton (1-2; LW 7) – Honestly fairly lucky to be this high, we'll see if they can recover this week.
9) West Haven (0-3; LW 8) – Will need a superior effort to avoid going to 0-4, welcome to D-I.
10) North Haven (2-1; LW 12) - Class MM seems much tougher than M, Indians cannot afford loss.
11) Amity (0-3; LW 11) – Would probably fare very well in Division II. Unfortunately, they're not in Division II.
12) Sheehan (2-1; LW 10) - Some teams just don't fare well against D-I competition. Titans are one.
13) Hillhouse (0-3; LW 13) - Happier days should be ahead for Acs, but playoffs are out of range.
14) Jonathan Law (2-1; LW 16) - Not surprised they beat Prep, surprised they beat them by that much.
15) Foran (3-0; LW 14) - A 3-0 team behind two 0-3 teams? Kind of dicey, but win this week will move them.
16) Fairfield Prep (0-3; LW 15) - Playing another 0-3 team, but still heavy underdogs, I'm afraid.
17) Guilford (1-2; LW 18) - Will be happy to have gotten that first win out of the way with slate upcoming.
18) Lyman Hall (1-2; LW 17) - Is that Hamden ahead on the Trojans' schedule in Week 9? Oh, boy.
19) East Haven (0-3; LW 19) - Sadly, it seems like another 0-10 season is a distinct possibility.

SCC column - Week 2

2009-09-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

"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.

And now, the rest of the story

2009-09-20T08:29:00.001-07:00

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:

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:

How Jones still has a job after his comments about Norwich Free Academy and the city of Norwich on Tim Parry's Live from the FC internet radio show last season is beyond me. You can hear the interview here. Jones is also going off about the same ref last year at the 16:00 mark. But he did call him a good guy after the fact. And then he ripped into NFA. "Bunch of trash up there in Norwich".

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

2009-09-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

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.

SCC column - Week 1

2009-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

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.
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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.

Preseason under way (kind of)

2009-08-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

You want to know what a preseason schedule looks like. Here's Hamden's:

http://tinyurl.com/mocyxz

You have to think Hamden will be near the top of the preseason state polls. We'll see right off the bat how they handle the pressure. They open with Hand (who will probably also be ranked).

Howdy

2009-07-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

Howdy all,

Trying to keep up with the news of the SCC daily this season, rather than weekly. Of course, we'll still have the weekly column, but come here to see any tidbits that didn't make the column or information on some other sports, especially as it gets close to the postseason. The passing leagues are wrapping up and the football season is just a couple of weeks away. You can also check out our twitter page at www.twitter.com/currenscc for quick news and links.

We will miss Billy Ragone (right), is there anyone to fill his shoes both on the field and off in the SCC this season? We'll find out.

Let us know if you have any story ideas or links that SCC fans may want to see.