Championship Saturday

Battle of The Fun Facts

It would be timely and appropriate to use this space  to offer up my picks for each of Saturday’s 6 championship games (just as you can do halfway down the FNF page) but instead I dare to present to you the battle of the fun facts in each class.

Some of the fun facts were brought to my attention online by the tireless Sean Patrick Bowley at the Connecticut Post:

Class LL Staples vs. Cheshire 7pm West Haven

Staples:  Amazingly, Wreckers Senior Captain Devin Graber  got just one answer incorrect on the SATs.

Cheshire:  Rams Head Coach Mark Ecke played tight end in college at Western Connecticut State and at the time Staples Coach Marce Petroccio was an assistant coach for West Conn.

Fun Fact Winner:  Staples

Class L  Pomperaug vs. Notre Dame West Haven 2pm Shelton

Pomperaug:  As mentioned in an earlier post, Panthers junior lineman Andrew Bleidner visits Southbury’s own Mr. Ed before every game and the “good luck talking horse” has correctly predicted all 12 of Pomperaug’s wins to date.

Notre Dame West Haven:  Green Knight senior standout Conor Keniry (who will play baseball on scholarship at Wake Forest) is the son of Cyril Keniry the last player to wear #22 at Boston College before Doug Flutie did.  The school later retired #22 and no one at BC has worn it since.

Fun Fact Winner:  Close call…but I say Notre Dame West Haven (hey..my wife’s a BC alum and Flutie can do no wrong….ever!)

Good Old #22!

For Sean Patrick Bowley’s article on the Keniry family click here.

Class MM New Canaan vs. East Lyme 2pm Stratford

New Canaan: Earlier this season Brianna Valente was the team’s regular placekicker after head coach Lou Marinelli recruited her from the girls’ soccer team. Brianna became the first female to score a point in New Canaan high school football history.

East Lyme:  Standout out senior running back Kevin Miao faced resistance from his parents when he first considered playing football.  Kevin is a concert level pianist and his folks were worried about his fingers getting hurt or broken (no kidding!).

Fun Fact Winner:  East Lyme.  I’ve personally heard Kevin Miao play the piano and he’s good..very good

Class M Bethel vs. Berlin 7pm Waterbury

Bethel:  First year Coach Jason Gill has the team playing for a state championship despite getting the head job just a week before the season started in August.

Berlin:  Redcoats Head Coach John Capodice was an assistant high school girls basketball coach back in the day. At what school? You guessed it – Bethel!

Fun Fact Winner:  Bethel and Coach Gill.  To get the job so late in the game,  qualify for the playoffs and then upset New London on the road in the State Semifinals – Gill gets the nod here.

Class SS Montville vs. St. Joe’s 2pm West Haven

Montville: Indians senior quarterback J.P. (Jon Paul) Morales was  not only the most well spoken player I interviewed at the championship luncheon on Wednesday at the Aqua Turf but he was also the best dressed.

St. Joe’s:  Cadets head coach Joe DellaVecchia played on the 1981 St. Joseph team that won a state championship by beating none other than  Montville.  Saturday,  DellaVecchia will look to coach his team and his starting quarterback (his son Joe) to another state title.

Fun Fact Winner: St. Joe’s

Class S Northwest Catholic vs. Hyde Leadership 2pm Waterbury

Northwest Catholic:  Family tradition.  Indians head coach Mike Tyler is a former Northwest player, his dad is a former assistant coach, his 3 brothers played at Northwest, he coached his oldest son Mike  at NW and currently coaches his middle son Lucas  and daughter Jessica  – yes daughter!

The Hartford Courant’s Jeff Jacobs wrote a great piece on Mike in Thursday’s paper.

Hyde Leadership:  When Howling Wolves Head Coach Melvin Wells was a college player at Southern Connecticut State  his position coach was none other than Mike Tyler.

Fun Fact Winner: Northwest Catholic

Lasting Impression From The Luncheon

Wednesday’s annual CIAC championship luncheon with all 12 teams represented again proved to be a great event.  What struck me most about the day was  how few African-American players were in attendance.  New Haven’s Hyde Leadership appeared to be the only school with African-American players at its’ table.  That evidence suggests to me that it is becoming more and more challenging for urban schools to maintain a championship caliber program.

I asked Hyde coach  Melvin Wells about this very issue and he did not shy away from the topic.   Wells says it has become increasingly difficult to keep kids interested in playing and making the commitment to football in this “Nintendo” world we live in.  There’s no “reset button” on the football field.  Things some programs can take for granted are a lot more challenging at a city school like Hyde.  Coach Wells cited transportation issues;  Hyde coaches must often hand out bus tokens just to make certain players get to and from practice. The Thanksgiving weekend was particularly challenging coordinating practice times and making sure some players had a place to stay if family members were out of town.

The number of committed players needed to achieve success in football makes it  more challenging than a sport like basketball which has smaller rosters.

Bridgeport Central was an exception this year with a (9-1) regular season but the city’s two other non-tech public schools (Bassick and Harding) plus Hartford’s Bulkeley and Weaver High Schools had a combined record of (1-34) when you take out the games in which they played each other.  That’s troubling news and testament to just how remarkable the 2009 seasons were for both Hyde and Bridgeport Central.

Bassick Is In The Top 10

Despite the (2-8) regular season, Bassick had made the Top 1o nationally! The Top 10 Finalists that is in the State Farm Friday Night Feats video competition.  Bassick submitted a student produced video of its’ last second winning touchdown vs. Harding. The school has already won $2,500 and is now in the final ten for either a $15,000 prize or second and third prizes of $10,000 and $5,000.

It comes down to an online vote with voting running through December 10th.  You need to have a registered YouTube account to vote.

For more info and to support the Bassick Lions by voting, click here.

Click here for the story Joe Zone did on Bassick on Thursday’s 5:30pm news.

What Now?

On Thursday, Hofstra University – Wayne Chrebet’s alma mater and UConn’s opening opponent at Rentschler field last fall – announced that it would do away with its’ football program. The news follows Northeastern University’s move late last month to do the same thing.

When a program shuts down players need to make difficult decisions about their futures.  Do I keep playing football? What school can I transfer to and keep playing?

Connecticut kids have been impacted by the Hofstra and Northeastern decisions.  Scanning the rosters I actually saw less players with CT connections than I anticipated but there were a few.

No Connecticut players were on pace to return to play for Northeastern next fall but one of the Huskies’  captains this year for what proved to be the final season in program history was Craig Kenney.  Craig is the former all state standout from Branford High School where he was a star linebacker and quarterback for the Hornets.

Connecticut players at Hofstra were West Hartford’s Derek Benson ( a senior) and Hartford’s Nick Talbert ( a freshman). Nick was a football and basketball star at Weaver high school.  His Hofstra football bio says that he was also recruited by New Hampshire, UMass, Rhode Island and Akron.  Maybe one of those schools will come calling on Nick again.

There’s also a Connecticut connection on the Hofstra coaching staff. Defensive Coordinator Frank Forcucci spent ten years coaching high school football in Connecticut including as the Head Coach at Bristol Central in 1998.

Late in the season Hofstra and Northeastern played each other in a Colonial Athletic Association game.  On Saturday November 14th Northeastern beat Hofstra 14-13. Hofstra’s only touchdown that afternoon came from #80, Nick Talbert.

Athlete of The Week Winners

Friday night at 6pm we’ll announce our final FNF Athlete of the Week winner for 2009.  Each winner (as chosen by viewers  in a online vote) has received their own Property of Friday Night Football t-shirt.

Here is a list of this fall’s winners:

Week 1 Athlete Of The Week: Jack Murphy, QB Northwest Catholic.

Week 2 Athlete Of The Week: Greg Palmer, QB Cheshire

Week 3 Athlete Of The Week: Tanner Bachand,  QB St. Paul

Week 4 Athlete Of The Week: Jonathan Esposito, RB Conard

Week 5 Athlete Of The Week: Chris Bachand, RB St. Paul

Week 6 Athlete Of The Week: Jake Yourison, RB Naugatuck

Week 7 Athlete Of The Week: Tucker Schumitz , QB Foran

Week 8 Athlete Of The Week: Ross McDonald, RB Avon

Week 9 Athlete Of The Week: Bobby Kinnebrew, RB Ansonia

Week 10 Athlete Of The Week: Anthony Morales, QB  Cromwell

Week 11 Athlete of the Week: Announced Tonight on the 6pm News

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week:

All of us come from one of two types of families and can never quite understand the other type completely.  Those families that grew up in a house with a garage and those who didn’t.  My family didn’t have a garage, my wife’s did – it’s a minor miracle we’re still happily married.

See you Saturday Night at 11:15pm for a special Championship Edition of FNF!

John

What If….

The 8 On The Outside Tournament

What if the following 8 teams that all missed the playoffs held their own postseason event?  These are teams that all had playoff hopes heading into Thanksgiving week or made headlines last week (Newtown beating Masuk). 3 of them had 1 regular season loss  (conference championship games excluded).

(1) Bridgeport Central    vs.  (8) Prince Tech

(4) Windsor vs. (5) Newtown

(3) Ridgefield vs. (6) Wolcott

(2) Masuk vs. (7) Cromwell

I see semifinals of Central vs. Windsor and Ridgefield vs. Masuk with Ridgefield then meeting Central for the title.

That’s a lot of teams having good seasons that will be home on Tuesday night.   That’ll that change of course come next season with the field expanding from 24 to 32

What If Part 2

Consider these 3 factoids:

If the Watertown / Torrington game had gone the way it projected on paper (a win for favored Watertown instead of a Torrington upset) Wolcott would be in the Class SS playoff field instead of St. Joseph.

If Prince Tech (which played only 9 games instead of 10) had found a 9th    in- state opponent that they were competitive with  they may have finished (9-0) and in the Class S playoffs – effectively keeping Ansonia home. Prince went out of state for a 9th opponent – scheduling a good Eastchester, New York team and losing 41-0.

If Staples doesn’t block the last second field goal try from Greenwich on Thanksgiving and ends up losing to the Cardinals does the state’s #1 team miss the playoffs with just one loss?  Well, it would have been very close with Staples battling Bridgeport Central for the fourth and final spot in Class LL.

Officials Left off Guest Lists in Manchester, Durham & Glastonbury

It’s never our policy to make officials look bad on the FNF show. Quite simply they make the right calls the overwhelming majority of the time.

With that said, we’ve had more than the normal number of questionable calls brought to our attention in recent days.

Jim Bransfield of the Middletown Press is convinced that the officiating crew blew it in last Wednesday’s game between Cromwell and Vinal/Tech Coginchaug.

Cromwell handed Vinal its first loss of the season. Bransfield thinks it may have ended differently had the right calls been made.  As it is, Vinal still made the postseason but a home game turned into a road game as they play at 2 seed East Lyme tonight.

Glastonbury’s one and only loss of the regular season came in the finale when Simsbury stuffed a 2 point try in Overtime to beat the Tomahawks, 34-33.  Both teams are playoff participants but we had a viewer call us volunteering video that he claimed showed Glastonbury QB Sean McQuillan actually crossing the goal line on the 2 point try.  We passed on seeing the video.  I personally like it better with both Glastonbury and Simsbury qualifying.  Had Simsbury lost that day they would not be playing tonight, Masuk would.

A (9-1) East Catholic team would have made the Class S field but the Eagles lost in Week 9 to Tolland 20 to 15.  However, an emailer claims two East Catholic touchdowns were called back in the Tolland game despite the ball clearly crossing the goal line.  No offer of sending us the video here, but the emailer did suggest replay review be considered for high school games!

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

We’ll be watching all 12 of course, but these 3 jump out

Cheshire at Glastonbury  Class LL Semifinal Tuesday 6:30pm

A rematch of last year’s LL final, won by Glastonbury. One of these teams will return to Championship Saturday and after heavy graduation losses for both (including Cheshire’s Billy Ragone and Glastonbury’s Jordan Brown) – who would have figured on that?

Xavier at Staples Class LL Semifinal Tuesday 6:30pm

The game will be played at Wilton because there are no lights in Westport. In my mind, the winner of this game goes on to win it all and finish ranked #1 in the state polls.

Berlin at Avon Class M Semifinal Tuesday 6:30pm

Avon is the home team but without lights the game gets played at Muzzy Field in Bristol.  This will be the high scoring game of the night.  Both teams have all state caliber running backs; Max Delorenzo for the Redcoats and Ross McDonald for the Falcons.

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week:

The Bulkeley vs. Buckley equivalent of the holiday pronunciation season?

Poinsettia.

Is it point-set-ee-ah or point-set-ah?

To me it’s point-set-ah.

Hope you take-a-seat-ah and watch us for the FNF State Semifinal special tonight at 11:15pm on Channel 3.

John

Conference Championship Games: To Play or not To Play?

Staples vs. Bridgeport Central: The Aftermath

Last Friday night (after going without a single first down in the first half) state #1 Staples rallied +to beat Bridgeport Central 14-10 in the FCIAC Championship game. I’m told by both my colleague Joe Zone and Ned Griffen from The Day of New London that this was one of the most physical high school football games they’ve ever witnessed.

Now what?

Will Staples have enough left 6 days later to take a must win game on Thanksgiving vs. Greenwich?  Despite being unbeaten and #1 in the state polls, it appears that the Wreckers must win over Greenwich to make the playoffs.  Will the extra pounding in the FCIAC championship game be their downfall with Greenwich having rested since its’ last game on November 13th?

Since a conference championship game has no impact (positively or negatively) in the CIAC playoff standings – Staples gets no “credit” for beating a very good Bridgeport Central team.  That begs the question:  Is a conference championship game worth the risk?

Furthermore had Staples lost the FCIAC Championship game they would have no doubt slipped out of #1 in the state polls with Pomperaug likely ascending to the top spot. This is exactly what happened in 2005. Staples lost the FCIAC Championship game – still proceeded to win a state title – but dropped out of the #1 ranking with the FCIAC loss.  The final state polls had Xavier finishing the year #1 instead of Staples.  Xavier plays in the Southern Connecticut Conference and faces no such “risks” in a conference championship game since the SCC doesn’t have one.

3 conferences play championship games, the FCIAC, the SWC and the NVL. This year the NVL gets the best of both worlds as Thanksgiving rivals Holy Cross and Wolcott see their turkey day game double as the NVL title game. No need for an “extra”  game that could bring risky implications.

Heavy Hearts at Ledyard

It will be a somber Thanksgiving morning in Ledyard when the Colonels host Fitch. The game will come less than 2 days after the death  of Ledyard junior, 16 year old,  Matt Buriak.  Matt collapsed during a junior varsity game on Saturday.  His collapse is not said to be game related but rather connected to an illness that he had.  The Norwich Bulletin reports that Matt was a popular student at Ledyard evidenced by nearly 40 percent of the student body (400 students) showing up at the school for an impromptu vigil on Sunday night.   My prayers are with Matt’s family and his Ledyard High School family.

Stories Of Thanks

With 3 consecutive nights of FNF shows on tap (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all LIVE at 11:15pm) I’ll share a story each night in which the subject has much to be thankful for this holiday.

Wednesday:  Berlin Junior Dave Balfore

Dave is back playing with the playoff bound Redcoats this season after missing his sophomore year to fight leukemia.  Dave has come a long way since numerous hospital stays that included 2 straight months in the summer of 2008

Thursday: The Prince Tech Falcons

Prince Tech (Hartford’s Vocational and Technical high school) launched football just 4 years ago.  From that original group just 5 players remain but they are all part of a story of triumph.  The Falcons head into a Thanksgiving morning game vs. Capital Prep still in the playoff hunt while playing just their second game on their new field  – the first “true” home field the team has ever had.  Another reason to be thankful?  Just 2 days before school started this year the team learned that state funding for high school sports at tech schools would not be done away with as had been strongly speculated.

Friday: Xavier Assistant Coach Dick Nobile

When playoff bound Xavier played a poor first half earlier this season vs. Guilford the Falcons got a  fiery halftime speech from Assistant Coach Dick Nobile. Dick Nobile is 75 years old young. He first made his mark coaching and organizing youth football in Cromwell and now (50 years after playing himself at Weaver high school in Hartford) continues to impact young people with his wisdom at Xavier.

Friday Night Feats

State Farm is behind a cool contest in which high school football teams can submit an exceptional play to be considered for a top prize of $15,000.

Bridgeport’s Bassick High School has submitted this last second,  game winning touchdown from its’ victory over Harding last Monday.

Bassick is one of 52 schools that has advanced to the next round and as such been awarded $2,500.  Should they make the cut to  the final 10, you’ll be able to vote on YouTube from December 3rd through December 10th.

Let’s Go Lions!

Speaking of Great Plays

Check this wild punt return out from a high school playoff  game in Oregon.

Thanksgiving: The Key Storylines

And no I’m not talking about how many pieces of pie you can consume in a 24 hour period…

#1 Will a (10-0) Conard team really miss the playoffs in Class LL?

Not probable but still possible. If Notre Dame West Haven beats Hamden it will come down to bonus points between ND, Simsbury and Conard.  Assuming both Masuk and Pomperaug win on Wednesday night – only 2 of the ND / Simsbury / Conard trio will qualify.

#2 Has a Thanksgiving game ever had more on the line than Holy Cross at Wolcott?

Hard to believe it has.  Wolcott needs the win to assure it gets into the SS playoffs, Holy Cross has a little more wiggle room but not much.  The winner also gets the NVL Championship for 2009. Then there’s last year.  All favored Wolcott needed was a win over the Crusaders to make the playoffs. Wolcott lost.

By the way if Wolcott wins,  the most likely scenario has the two teams meeting each other again 5 days later in the Class SS state semifinals.

3.  Will #5 Cheshire  leapfrog #4 Bridgeport Central in the Class LL playoff race?

If Cheshire beats Southington in the Apple Cup the math indicates that Cheshire would be in since Bridgeport Central has less potential bonus points to pick up by beating city rival Harding on Thanksgiving morning.

Of course if a potentially tired Staples team loses to Greenwich (see above) both Cheshire and Bridgeport Central could be in with wins.

4. Will a tech school (or two) make the postseason?

This is always a sore subject with non tech schools who feel the state’s tech conference (Constitution State Conference) shouldn’t necessarily merit equal consideration for playoff qualification.  I disagree.

This year both Bullard Havens (Bridgeport) and Prince Tech (Hartford) have a chance to make it.  Bullard Havens is rooting for losses by Wolcott and St. Joseph in Class SS, Prince Tech for an Ansonia loss in Class S.

3 Games We’ll Be Watching (In addition to those above)

Rocky Hill at St. Paul / Goodwin Tech  Thursday 10am

A St. Paul win and they’re in the the Class MM playoffs. A St. Paul loss and Darien has a chance if it upsets New Canaan Thursday morning.

Westerly (RI) at Stonington Thursday 10am

These interstate schools have played each other more than any other high school rivals in the country.  Thanks to seasons in the past in which they played each other twice, Thursday brings the the 150th all time meeting.

WXLM radio will broadcast and stream the game LIVE  (WXLM.FM) – they’ve been playing on Thanksgiving since 1911 and that’s the longest continuous Turkey day rivalry in the country.

Notre Dame West Haven at Hamden Thursday 10:30am

One anxious fan who will be on Dixwell Avenue to watch the Green Bowl? Simsbury Head Coach Jeff Osborne. His (9-1) Trojans – fresh off a classic overtime win over Glastonbury that ended the Tomahawks state best 22 game win streak – likely need a Notre Dame loss to get into the playoffs.

Hard to believe (7-2) Hamden won’t make the playoffs win or lose. The Green Dragons received my #1 vote in the state polls early on and looked unbeatable in a week 1 win at Daniel Hand.

2 Games You Could Be Watching (In Their Entirety)

Greenwich at Staples Thursday 10:30am (MSG Network)

This game will be covered LIVE on MSG (their main channel), then repeated Thanksgiving night at 7pm on MSG

Cheshire at Southington 7pm (Cox 3 Sports – Tape Delayed)

Great chance for Cox cable subscribers to watch a key Thanksgiving day game after their big feast.

(Don’t know for certain but it appears Cox subscribers might also be able to catch Westerly at Stonington LIVE Thursday morning)

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week:

I have a cellphone that’s probably 5 years old.  It’s not rotary dial but to the naked eye it appears ancient. I don’t text a lot and the phone works fine for me. Should I fell compelled to get a new one, especially when Verizon will give it to me for free?

See You Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night at 11:15pm for FNF!

John

Tweaking the Turkey Day Menu

Stuffing The Schedule Differently

With less than a week to go before the annual renewal of a great Connecticut and New England tradition – high school football games on Thanksgiving morning -  I offer up a few suggestions on scheduling changes I’d like to see.

Being a traditionalist I would prefer that all games be played on Thanksgiving morning instead of the significant number that have been scheduled for Wednesday night.  I’m told some coaches prefer Wednesday night for two  reasons: 1) A 10am Thursday start can be a shock to the system for a team that’s been playing night games all season and 2) Coaches that anticipate an annual trip to the postseason and Tuesday night state semifinal game prefer to play one day earlier so there is that much more time to prepare for a playoff opponent.

Some administrators view a Thanksgiving morning game as a logistical nightmare and feel a Wednesday game gives families the option to be free to travel out of town Thursday morning should they be headed to families or friends homes’ for the Thanksgiving holiday.

2 Thanksgiving day games that should be:

Northwest Catholic vs. East Catholic -  Why don’t they play on Thanksgiving – why don’t they play period?  The rivalry is so good in basketball it deserves a Turkey Day stage for football

Cromwell vs. Hyde -  This game means something every year and the two established rivals should meet on Thanksgiving.

2 Games that need to be moved to Thanksgiving:

Conard vs. Hall and  Glastonbury vs. Simsbury

Why play on the Saturday before Thanksgiving when all the excitement and pageantry is 5 days later?

Are You Serious?

Could the new #1 team in the state, unbeaten Staples of Westport miss the playoffs with a loss on Thanksgiving to Greenwich?

Could Conard finish (10-0) and miss the playoffs in Class L?

Could Bridgeport Central (with wins over both Greenwich and New Canaan) finish (9-1) and miss the playoffs?

The answer to all 3 questions is YES.

That’s clear evidence that the playoff system needed revamping.  On Thursday the CIAC approved a plan for 2010 that will increase the number of playoff teams from 24 to 32 and add a quarterfinal round of action with the divisions being cut from 6 to 4.

Link to plan

Most coaches are in favor of the plan, but not everybody.  Questions linger about municipalities having the money (lights, police, custodial costs) for an extra week of games, and concerns about the athletes on the 8 finalist schools playing deeper into the winter season.

It also seems to me that while the new plan ensures that more of the  very best teams in the state  make the postseason it squeezes even tighter the small Class S schools (and many tech schools) who will now be grouped in with bigger schools from Class SS.  It will become tougher for the school’s statewide with the smallest enrollment to win a state championship in football.

A Horse Is A Horse Is  A Horse Of Course

With the FCIAC Championship game set to be played tonight and the Holy Cross/Wolcott Thanksgiving day game doubling as the NVL Championship this season,  the Southwest Conference had the spotlight all to itself last night as fellow undefeateds (and possible playoff opponents) Pomperaug and Mausk met for the league championship.  Masuk’s sophomore Quarterback Casey Cochran threw for a ridiculous 527 yards but a late interception from Pomperaug’s C.J. Elser helped Pomperaug pull out a 38-23 victory.

The victory keeps in tact Pomperaug’s perfect (10-0)  record and no doubts means Junior Andrew Bleidner will continue his visits to Soutbury’s own “Mr. Ed”

Thanks to Voices News for the photo and caption

(Courtesy Voices News)

Pomperaug High School’s  Andrew Bleidner, #61, has made it a pre-game ritual to visit the white horse down the road from the school, nicknamed “Mr. Ed.” Before each of the games so far, when asked if the Panthers team was going to win, Mr. Ed has nodded yes to a winning streak

Any resemblance?

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

After one of the more decent gestures I’ve read about from a pro athlete in recent months.

The Browns Josh Cribbs was rewarded with what?

You got it, being carted off the field following the final play of Monday night’s loss to Baltimore.

Championship Weekend

Tonight (1 soccer game, 1 volleyball match, Girls Diving State Open) and then tomorrow (7 soccer games, 3 field hockey games, 3 volleyball matches and the Girls Swimming State Open) state champs will be crowned in fall sports.  Tune into Channel 3 Eyewitness News both nights at 11pm for complete coverage.

2 of the games involve athletes that I’ve done fall features on.  In the Class S Field Hockey game the Granby Captains include Jessica Bastiaanse (WFSB.COM’s  girls soccer blogger and the feature of a channel 3 story tonight at 5:30pm).

The Class S Girls soccer final features Immaculate of Danbury vs. undefeated Old Lyme and the team’s leading scorer, Brittany Cowee who competes despite having a pacemaker.  Click here to watch Brittany’s Channel 3 story.

As always to read any of our fall student-athlete blogs, go here  Wfsb.com/sportsblogs

4 Games We’ll Be Watching

Staples vs. Bridgeport Central – Friday 7:30pm

The Hilltoppers rocked the rankings last week with a 42-7 dismantling of state  #1 New Canaan and its’ 24 game win streak. That allowed Staples to slide into the top spot in 2 of the 3 statewide polls.  Tonight Central and Staples get each other.  The Wreckers may have the best defense in the state, is it enough to knock off the Hilltoppers?

New London vs. Sheehan – Friday 7pm

An unusual matchup between the ECC and the SCC. New London needs a win here and on Thanksgiving over Norwich Free Academy to complete a perfect regular season. Sheehan comes into action at (3-5).

Simsbury at Glastonbury – Saturday 1pm

With New Canaan having lost,  defending Class LL State Champ Glastonbury now has then longest current win streak (22 games) in CT. If the streaks continues versus visiting Simsbury on Saturday, the Trojans will likely miss the playoffs in Class L at (8-2).

Cheshire at West Haven – Saturday 7pm

This is a make up game after the originally scheduled game was postponed when the Cheshire team was decimated by the flu.  The Rams control their own destiny, a win Saturday night at West Haven and then a win on Thanksgiving vs. Southington and Cheshire would vault Bridgeport Central in the Class LL playoff race

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week:

How would your family do on the Family Feud?  I’m talking everything from good answers to reaction time with the buzzer. Which two family members would be selected for the final round?

Turns out that our intern Justin Granick’s family appeared on The Feud back in the day.  It was his mom’s side of the family, The Moskowitzs.

See You Tonight at 11:15pm for FNF!

John

Who’s Next?

A Dash of Nutmeg In The NFL

Each week on FNF Ovetime (11:35pm on WFSB.COM and Eyewitness News Now on digital cable) we spotlight a former local high school standout in our Connecticut Collegians segment. It’s a player now excelling on the college level. I’m reminded this week of the Connecticut Connections in the NFL as Bloomfield’s Dwight Freeney gets ready to go opposite the Patriots in a huge Sunday night game.  A 10th consecutive game with a sack and Freeney ties the NFL record.

Who will be the next Connecticut player to follow in Freeney’s footsteps and make an impact in the NFL?  Matt Lawrence, Kory Sheets, Chris Baker, Matt Shaugnessy and Terrance Knighton are all former Connecticut high school stars now in their rookie seasons in the league.

Who’s next? Here are names to remember for next season and beyond.  Aaron Herandez (Bristol Central) tight end Florida, Amari Spievey (Xavier) cornerback Iowa, Austin Knowlin (Newington) wide receiver Columbia, Garrett Brown (Fairfield Prep) defensive tackle Minnesota and Bruce Campbell (Hyde Leadership) offensive tackle Maryland. There may be others too.

Look no further than Brett Favre’s center with the Vikings (former Greenwich star John Sullivan) then to realize that more and more players are coming out of Connecticut to the NFL.

Former NFA star Matt Shaugnessy is now a rookie with the Raiders after playing in college at Wisconsin. He has a memorable personal story and it was detailed this week in the San Jose Mercury News.

WTIC Radio Adds Football to the Turkey Day Menu

In this very space some time ago, I wondered why the great WTIC 1080am didn’t broadcast a schedule of high school football games. Now they’re taking a step in that direction with plans to broadcast both a Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving day game on tape delay come Thanksgiving afternoon.  Joe D’Ambrosio and Bob Joyce will split play-by-play duties. This is a cool development, plus fans can vote on what Hartford area games they want TIC to do.

Voting runs through Monday November 23rd.

What the “Hell” Was That All About?

There was a fascinating documentary shown on ESPN a few years back sharing the story of a high school football team in New York City, the Harlem Hellfighters.   John Frankel, the HBO Real Sports correspondent, was behind the film.  The Hellfighters (named for the 369th Infantry Regiment) were scheduled to play a game last Saturday at Fairfield Ludlowe.  90 minutes before game time they called to say they weren’t showing up. What?  Yes, couldn’t get enough players.  The Connecticut Post’s Sean Patrick Bowley has the details

Steve States His Case

Daniel Hand head coach Steve Filippone joined us in studio this week for a taping of Game Time (seen weekly on the Connecticut Sports Network).  He convincingly stated the case for the latest proposal to expand the football playoffs from 24 teams to 32 teams – a proposal that keeps the Thanksgiving Day rivalry games intact and extends the playoffs to 3 rounds and one extra week into December. It looks like this proposal will win approval, perhaps in time for the 2010 season.

3 questions critics might raise:

Do towns and cities have the budgets to support an extra round of playoff games (bus costs, lighting costs, staffing costs)?

How does an extra week of football (for at least 8 teams) impact the practice preparation for winter sports?

With just 4 divisions instead of 6 that means 2 less state champions every year – 20 less state champions every 10 years. Are less kids and teams  being able to remember back to their high school football championship season a good thing going forward?

Best Little Rivalry in Connecticut

Saturday at noon (at Wilbur Cross in New Haven) Cromwell plays Hyde in a game that will have a huge impact on the playoff chances for both teams. This game always seems to come with great meaning and it has developed into one of the best rivalries in Connecticut – the teams have also met twice in the playoffs.  Throw in a heated rivalry on the basketball court between the Panthers and Howling Wolves and I can’t think of a better current rivalry between schools anywhere in the state

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

New Canaan at Bridgeport Central Friday 6pm

Are the host Hilltoppers the team to end state #1 New Canaan’s 24 game win streak? The Rams almost saw the streak go by the boards at Greenwich last week before rallying for a dramatic 1 point win. Central also beat Greenwich by a single point 2 weeks earlier.

Conard at Southington Friday 7pm

Unbeaten but not in the Top 10? That’s the life for Conard who has been slow to win over the respect of poll voters despite a dominant run in which all 8 victories have come by at least 21 points and 5 of the wins have been shutouts. A win tonight over Southington and Conard’s soft schedule before this evening becomes less of a sticking point.

Xavier at West Haven 7pm

The (7-1) Falcons haven’t lost since Week 1.  The (4-3) Blue Devils are on a 4 game win streak and getting better by the minute. This could be a tough spot for Xavier.

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week

Now that the baseball season is over (who won the World Series by the way?  I wasn’t paying attention) I admit to a guilty pleasure.  With the baseball play-by-play on my XM/Sirius satellite radio about 10 seconds behind most calls on local AM radio I’ve developed a habit of doubling my pleasure whenever Yankees’ misery strikes. When the Sox are playing the Yanks, I’ll listen the to Red Sox radio network call and should they hit a home run or score some runs I’ll immediately flip to satellite to hear the bombastic John Sterling make the same call on the Yankees broadcast. A true pleasure and some small consolation in a season when my team doesn’t have the success Sterling’s team does.

Speaking of Sterling, this is always good for a laugh.

See You Tonight at 11:15pm for FNF!

John

History Class at Middletown High School?

Blue Dragons Female Captain To Be?

Nothing will be official until preseason camp breaks next fall for the Middletown football team, but signs are pointing toward Sarah Strickland being elected as one of the team’s captains for her senior season. That would seem to be history making – as no one I’ve spoken with can recall a female captain of a Connecticut high school football team.

Captains at Middletown are chosen based on a team vote and a point system – in which players earn points for attendance at team events (off-season weight lifting sessions, etc.)

Tonight at 5:30pm on Eyewitness News and again on the FNF show at 11:15pm I’ll profile Sarah. She’s been playing football with the boys since age 12 and while at first her father Martin did not like it, he’s now her biggest supporter and he shares some very interesting comments in our story. For one, he says when Sarah first began playing he got a call from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) inquiring about the bruises on his daughter’s body.  When Martin said she played football, they didn’t believe him.  To this day, Sarah wears such bruises as badges of honor, proof of membership in the Boys’ Football Club so to speak.

While there has not been a female high school football captain in Connecticut, female players have made an impact.  State high school football historian Bob Barton points out that Ledyard high school had a young lady catch a touchdown pass and Wilcox Tech / Meriden had a female player rush for a touchdown. Then of course, there’s the current #1 team in the state, New Canaan, who’s #1 placekicker is former girls soccer player Brianna Valente.

Playoff Plan Details Emerging

The push for an expanded football postseason in Connecticut picked up steam Tuesday when the CIAC football committee embraced the latest proposal.  The basics:

* 4 Divisions Instead of 6

* 8 teams per division instead of 4

* 32 teams total instead of 24 (8 additional teams)

* 3 rounds per division (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals)

*  Thanksgiving games remain intact. Playoffs start the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (quarters) followed by semifinals on Saturday and the finals a week after that on the second Saturday of December.

* Is the weather measurably colder or more storm prone a week deeper into December? The football committee doesn’t seem to believe so. Let me check with our Chief Meteorologist Bruce Deprest and I’ll get back to you.

* One more week (for 8 teams at least) does mean football players that play winter sports will delay the start of their respective winter seasons.

H1N1 Knocks Out Rams

With 40 percent of the team ill this week with the flu , Cheshire has postponed its’ scheduled game with West Haven until Saturday November 21st.

With things seemingly getting worse by the week, what happens when a playoff team is struck with the flu later this season – when does that game get rescheduled for?

Quick Hits

* Though the behind the back pass has always been my bread and butter in pickup hoops, this hot dog play has a little bit too much mustard for my taste.

* The Woodstock Academy Centaurs  (half man/half horse) have one of the great nicknames in Connecticut High School football. But did you happen to read this week that Yankees egomaniac Alex Rodriguez reportedly has not one but two Centaur portraits of himself hanging over his bed?  What an insult to the fine people in Woodstock and the Quiet Corner.

* Congratulations to Ansonia Head Coach Tom Brockett. He and his wife Nicole welcomed their first child this week, Alyssa Rose Brockett.  Tom missed practice on Monday but he has since returned to the team and will be coaching Friday night vs. St. Paul / Goodwin Tech.

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

New Canaan at Greenwich 7pm Friday -  New Canaan’s biggest test to date this season. A win here and the Rams emphatically cement their claim to the top spot in the state.  A growing question: Is UConn likely to recruit  New Canaan QB – Turner Baty?

Glastonbury at New Britain 7pm Friday - Back on the field where they won a Class LL State Championship a year ago, the visiting Tomahawks can take a serious step towards a second straight undefeated regular season. Beware, the Golden Hurricanes can be explosive on offense and defense.

St. Paul / Goodwin Tech at Ansonia 7pm Friday- Is (6-1) St. Paul for real? We’ll find out as they hit the road for a stiff test from a 2 loss Ansonia team that will cook any remaining playoff hopes it may have with another defeat. Look for Coach Brockett to pull out all the stops in defending the home turf on Senior Night including a calling a few plays for little Alyssa Rose if need be.

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week

When it comes to hand sanitizer have we officially reached the point of no return on the evolutionary spectrum of sanitary behavior? No going back now, right? Who doesn’t use this stuff? At the same time who was using it 10 years ago? Only the neat freaks right?

In the evolution of man there came a time that nothing short of toilet paper was acceptable,  can hand sanitizer now join that club?

Playoffs? Don’t Talk About Playoffs

Supersizing the Post Season In Massachusetts

With growing support here in Connecticut to expand the number of playoff teams in high school football, a cause championed by Hand of Madison Head Coach Steve Fillipone, I bring to your attention  a push in Massachusetts that would see a whopping 50 percent of the high school football teams make the playoffs.  In Eastern Massachusetts alone the number of participating schools would  increase from 28 playoff teams to 96.  Check out the article in this morning’s Boston Globe.

And while you’re at it take 49 seconds to enjoy Jim Mora’s classic rant one more time.

Viewer Emails

We regularly get viewer emails to the FNF show (sports3@wfsb.com) and I wanted to share some examples of the type of questions we’re asked:

I like your new show FNF Overtime, but couldn’t you have thought of a more creative name?

- Sandy in Norwich

Well Sandy we did have some other possibilities, but they didn’t seem to work in the end. A couple potential show names that ended up in the circular file were:

“S’More  FNF” - Joe Zone’s personal homage to his favorite campfire snack

“Sleep? It’s overrated!” -  We’re desperate to keep people up and watching at that hour but this one doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue now does it? “Flip over to WFSB.COM and join us for Sleep? It’s overrated!” – That’s next!”

———

On the October 16th show you guys mistakingly ran the scores from the week before on the bottom line ticker all show.  The talking head dopey anchors didn’t even seem to notice either. What gives?

- Brad in Windsor

Brad, there was a method to our madness. At first I was certain it was a technical glitch. But upon further thought, I now realize that there were higher powers at work that night.  By running the scores from a week earlier the powers that be were doing their best to go back in time, back when the Red Sox were still alive in the playoffs and all was right in the world.  In retrospect, I endorse that plan.  Next time I’ll make sure we enlist Doc Brown to give our time travel a better chance of working.

Hey Doc, any hope for Red Sox Nation?

A Good Reed

I saw an update recently on former New London High School Quarterback Jordan Reed.  Jordan is a freshman at Florida and it  seems he now has a chance of seeing time at tight end where Bristol’s Aaron Hernandez excels with the Gators.   With John Brantley as the heir apparent to Tim Tebow at QB, tight end may be Jordan’s best opportunity to get on the field for the talent rich Gators.

CCC Newcomers

With the newly expanded CCC having realigned to accommodate 32 teams, some schools have fared well in the new alingment, others have not.

Essentially the CCC is divided into 4 divisions.  The larger schools in Division 1, the smaller schools in Division 2 with each division broken into A and B subgroups based on the program’s win percentage in recent seasons.  The new CCC also took in former Nutmeg schools like Berlin, Rocky Hill, Northwest Catholic and Middletown. Middletown appears to have gotten the short end of the stick with a Division 1A placement. The Blue Dragons are (0-6) against an unforgiving schedule of  with larger enrollments. When the CCC revisits the divisional alignment in the future look for Middletown to be reassigned.

Former Nutmeggers Berlin and Northwest Catholic have held up nicely in their new conference while former Pequot member Tolland has been more than competitive but struggled to get wins in the CCC with a (1-5) mark.  Conard and Bloomfield – both solid unbeaten teams have benefited from soft schedules, true tests will come in time for the Chieftans and Warhawks.

Wonder Twin Powers Activate

For the first time in the history of our FNF Athlete of The Week Online Poll brothers have won the award in the same season. The honor goes to St. Paul / Goodwin Tech twin brothers Tanner and Chris Bachand.  Tanner is the lefthanded QB for the Falcons, Chris the starting tailback.  Both won a Property of Friday Night Football t-shirt.  Along with their sophomore brother Tucker this is the Bachand Boys first season at St. Paul after transferring from a high school in Lee, Massachusetts. How fortuitous for St. Paul Head Coach Jude Kelly!

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

Simsbury at Southington Friday 7pm

Simsbury will go entire games without completing a pass – often by choice. Southington throws its’ first pass before the pregame meal is digested. A matchup of contrasting styles tonight on Pleasant Street.  Southington is very tough at home and can’t afford a third loss, Simsbury is looking to rebound after losing its’ first game of the season a week ago to New Britain.

Bloomfield at Rockville  Friday 6:30pm

Bloomfield coach Roy Roberts calls his senior Quarterback Denzel Jones (who also stars on the basketball court for the Warhawks) a “freakish” athlete. The Warhawks come to Vernon undefeated and and could get their first serious test of the season tonight. Then again, maybe not…it’s been 4 weeks since anybody has scored a point on Bloomfield.

Morgan at Cromwell -  Saturday 1pm

At the moment, Cromwel is on the outside looking in in the Class S playoff standings. They may need to win out to make the postseason. They are clearly one of the top 4 teams statewide in Class S and Saturday is a chance to prove it against the more than solid visitors from Clinton.

Completely Unrelated Thought of the Week:

When did having the flu (any flu) become so nebulous? I predict that the phrase “flu-like symptoms” will be the most overused expression of the winter. Do you have the flu or don’t you? Is it legit or are “flu-like symptoms” just the phrase you throw  around on your boss’ voicemail to explain your absence from work?

See You Tonight at 11:15pm for Week 7 of FNF!

John

Jack Who?

New London and Its’ New Coach

Twice last year, including in dramatic last second fashion in the regular season  (Video),  Jack Cochran coached New London beat ECC rival Montville.  Tonight they schools meet again but hardly a word has been spoken all week about Cochran, one of the winningest coaches in state history.

That’s because in the off season Cochran was removed from the position and Bulkeley head coach Jeff Larson came to New London to be both the head football coach and the Athletics Director.  Larson could be looking at his first loss as New London head coach tonight but as of yet, there is nothing to be disappointed with on or off the field.  Do the players still think about their beloved Coach Cochran? Sure. But as Norwich Bulletin Sports Editor Marc Allard said on CTSN’s Game Time show this week the kids don’t even refer to Cochran by name anymore when asked. Instead it’s “the situation that occurred” and nothing more.

Larson came out of South Windsor and went on to play for and later coach with Randy Edsall as a UConn Husky. In fact, Jeff was on the UConn team that scored the program’s first watershed victory in Division 1, a 37-20 road win over Iowa State in 2002.

As for Jack Cochran, he’s been discreetly watching from the stands this season with his sophomore son Casey leading the Masuk Panthers to a (5-0) record as quarterback. Will Jack coach again and coach soon?  Don’t count on it, though I was told that in the off season certain people at one parochial school wanted him to lead their program but the ultimate decision makers wouldn’t go for it.

H1N1 Concerns

A couple weeks back in this space I speculated that it wouldn’t be long before a Connecticut high school has its’ sports schedule impacted by an H1N1 flu outbreak. It’s happened and quite early in the flu season for that matter.

Guilford has been forced to reschedule its’ game with Amity from tonight until Thursday November 19th at 6pm

FNF has deal with swine flu concerns as well this season. First on our website staff, now with one of our interns.

Seeing Through The Fog

That’s what any family and high school football player must do together when their son is being recruited by schools to play in college. Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting the Narcisse family at their Windsor home. Speaking to their son Pierre (Windsor’s star QB) along with dad Ron and mom Sharon gave me insight into what they’e learned as schools from all over the country have sent mail and made phone calls in the pursuit of Pierre. Let me tell you, this family has it all together and is providing Pierre with tremendous support. I can only imagine high school football players left to navigate the mine fields of recruiting without a strong family base to rely on.  Tonight at 11:15 on FNF I’ll have a feature story on Pierre, his family and his football future.

Attacked at a Local High School Football Game?

Aren’t these games supposed to be safe?  Would you believe that one of the best high school football writers in the state was hit with a punch by a spectator after last week’s Ansonia at Wolcott game? It’s true and it’s deeply disturbing.

The FNF Top 10

These would be The Top 10 most underexposed schools on the FNF show to date.  We promise to make amends with highlights in the coming weeks.

1. Pomperaug

2.  Staples

3. Conard

4. Manchester

5. Vinal Tech / Coginchaug

6. Morgan

7. Holy Cross

8. St. Joseph

9. Bethel

T10. Bloomfield

T10. Fitch

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

Morgan at Vinal Tech / Coginchaug Friday 6:30pm

Vinal is (5-0) and #1 in the Class MM playoff point rankings. Morgan comes in riding a 3 game win streak. I’m very curious to see who wins tonight.

Conard at Manchester Friday 7pm

Conard is (5-0) and has outscored opponnets a whopping 188 to 6. Still, they’re getting no  respect in the state polls. Tonight they can begin to build respect with a win over a good Manchester team.

St. Joseph at New Canaan Saturday 1:30pm

Far and away Saturday’s best game.  Both teams are (5-0). New Canaan is a 3 time defending state champ with a female place kicker (very cool!). St. Joseph is lead by running back Tyler Matakevich, the best player statewide in the junior class.

Completely Unrelated Thought of The Week

I’m this close to buying a best of Earth, Wind and Fire CD.  Two questions.:

Good Move?

and

Do they still sell CDs or am I just woefully behind the curve in this IPOD world most of you live in?

See you tonight at 11:15pm for FNF and be sure to become a fan of the show on Facebook while you’re at it.

John

Could You Use Some New Clothes?

Friday Night Facebook

The show has officially gained enough fans on Facebook to have its’ own URL: www.facebook.com/fridaynightfootball

To add to the fan base even more we’re giving away Property of Friday Night Football t-shirts to the best Facebook posts on our wall.  Give it a try, get a shirt, be the coolest football fan on your block.

No Hamden, No Greenwich, No Worries?

Though Hamden and Greenwich are the consensus #2 and #3 teams in the state, they wouldn’t be in the Class LL playoffs if the season ended after Week 4.  At the moment, they rate as #5 and #6, both out of the Top 4 that qualify.  The standings are likely to see  big changes between now and Thanksgiving night  though so no need to start cursing the CIAC like it was the BCS.

Falcons and Panthers In An Instant Classic

The Game of the Week in Week 4 had to be unbeaten Avon’s last second win over Cromwell. The Panthers suffered their first loss of the season when Avon’s Ross McDonald ran the ball 57 yards on a reverse inside handoff as time expired.  37-31 the final.  There were 3 touchdowns in the final 1:15 of the game, one by Cromwell and two by Avon.  Look for video of the wild finish on our 6pm sportscast Friday night.

Newington 3 Hall 2

That was the final last Saturday in West Hartford. I can’t ever remember seeing a score like that in football.  Baseball, yes…football, no.  It wasn’t a walk off home run that won it but rather a 23 yard field 4th quarter field goal from Newington’s Jeremy Rodriguez.

Quick Hits

* Glastonbury senior quarterback Sean McQuillan is the real deal.  He already has multiple offers to play QB in college at the Division 1AA level and I’m told there’s plenty of interest from Division 1A schools as a Tight End / H-Back.  He’s got great size at 6-4, 221 pounds.  Temple, Buffalo, Boston College, Penn State and UConn have all been in touch with McQuillan and his family

* Can you imagine losing this way?

* Disturbing high school football video of the week (out of the Boston area)

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

Greenwich at Trumbull  Friday 7pm

Greenwich is averaging 41 point a game, Trumbull has allowed 7 points all season and shutout its opponents the last 3 weeks. Someone leaves (5-0), someone (4-1)

Simsbury at Berlin Friday 7pm

Another intriguing matchup produced by the expanded Central Connecticut Conference. Both have yet to lose. The trip to Simsbury is a little out of the way for most schools and Berlin will be severely tested.

Ansonia at Wolcott Friday 7pm

Wolcott has had this game circled for months. The visiting Chargers are down a bit this season but it’s no guarantee that Wolcott ends the the night still undefeated.

* At the start of the year I figured New Canaan’s trip to Seymour would be a slam dunk game to include this week but while the 3 time defending state champion Rams are undefeated Seymour has struggled with major injuries and has yet to win under new coach Tom Lennon

Completely Unrelated Thought of the Week

I have a dilemma on my hands I need your help with. There is a kind older gentleman that I talk with at the gym.  We’ve been chatting on and off for 5 to 6 weeks.  Trouble is, he calls me Bill.  Don’t know why he thinks that’s my name. I introduced myself as John when we first met (his name is Chuck). I don’t have the heart to tell him my name isn’t Bill though it gets awkward when he says “Hello Bill” in front of other gym members who know my name is John.  Should I break the news to him or harmlessly keep playing along?

See You Tonight at 11:15pm for FNF!

Bill John

Big Stage, Big Drama

Golden Hurricanes and Blue Knights at the Rent

For the second straight season, New Britain and Southington will play at Rentschler Field.  While some opposing coaches wonder if the cost to rent The Rent for the night and the 40,000 seat stadium feeling a bit empty with a whole lot less than capacity in the stands makes this a wise move, you have to believe the players welcome the chance to take the field at the home of the Huskies.

This year the  big stage comes complete with big drama surrounding the game.  During the off season, 3 of Southington head coach Bill Mella’s assistant coaches resigned – believing that Mella mishandled $4,000 from a Southington Booster Club Fund.  Mella was later formally reprimanded by the school system, but just recently a Southington Police investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Mella was deeply stung by the allegations and the story lingers because 2 of the assistants that resigned (Frank Stamilio Mike Prairie)  later joined Paul Morrell’s staff at New Britain.  Friday night the parties in question get reacquainted.  Wonder what the post game handshake / non handshake  might be like between Mella and the New Britain staff?  Can you say Belichick-Mangini?

Mella and Morrell Come Friday Night?

Fortt Chooses Penn State

The top recruit in the state, Stamford linebacker Khairi Fortt has chosen to attend Penn State and play for Joe Paterno at Linebacker “U”. In selecting the Nittany Lions, Fortt joins Silas Redd, a highly recruited running back who is a senior at the King and Low-Heywood Thomas prep school in Stamford.

Oklahoma is Not OK!

The suspension of a high profile high school football coach in Oklahoma makes the Southington situation seem a little tame in comparison now doesn’t it?

(http://www.maxpreps.com/news/_iICcbH2Ed6OEwAcxJTdpg/weekend-notes–oklahoma-power-jenks-facing-controversy.htm)

CIAC Comes To Its Senses

I was happy to learn late this week that a Connecticut high school football player finally had his eligibility restored after his family endured an appeals process that robbed him of the ability to play in his school’s first 3 games.  The player will go unnamed in this post but was being forced to sit out after transferring from a private school to a public school in the same town.

The CIAC has an eligibility rule in effect that helps combat what is often players going in the other direction.  Being “recruited” to leave a public school to play at the local private (Catholic) school. This case was the opposite. There was no ulterior motive by the family. The move from private to public was a matter of decreased family finances in a difficult economy.  It’s  a shame that it took the CIAC a month to see the distinction.

Rookie of The Week, Season Over

That’s the story for former Cheshire standout Billy Ragone. Now playing at the University of Pennsylvania,  Ragone scored a touchdown and rushed for 62 yards in a win last week at Dartmouth for which he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. However, later in the game he suffered a broken collarbone and his season is over after playing in just 2 games for the Quakers.

On a brighter note,  Cheshire has found life after Billy with the 1-2 QB combination of Greg Palmer and Max Slade. More on their story this week on Friday Night Football.

Rise of the Fall Bloggers

We’re happy to introduce our Fall 2009 student -athlete bloggers from across the state. One for each fall sport – Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Field Hockey, Boys Cross Country, Girls Cross Country, Girls Swimming, Football and Girls Volleyball.

They will be doing weekly updated entries.

This state map allows you to drag and click over the sports icon of your choice:

www.wfsb.com/sportsblogs/index.html

Quick Hits

* Ray Curren’s SCC Football Report  (CTSPORTINGNEWS.COM) nailed it this week with this apt comparison:

” (Daniel Hand QB) 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.”

* Connecticut radio legend George “Coach” DeMaio joined us in studio Wednesday night  for our taping of Game Time (seen Thursdays at 7pm on the Connecticut Sports Network). He didn’t disappoint, though I could have done without the New York Yankee logo tie he wore.  Ansonia Head Coach Tom Brockett and Simsbury Head Coach Jeff Osborne are also guests on this week’s Game Time show

* Did you know current Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer had a very brief stay at St. Joe’s high school in Trumbull before moving on? Never played in a game for the Cadets before heading elsewhere on his way to USC and the NFL.  Thanks to the Connecticut Post’s Sean Patrick Bowley (and Coach DeMaio) for bringing this to my attention.

3 Games We’ll Be Watching

Crosby at Wolcott – 7pm Friday

This is the first of two consecutive huge Friday night home games for Wolcott with Ansonia visiting the Eagles next Friday. Is it too early to say that Thanksgiving rivals Wolcott and Holy Cross are the class of the NVL this season? We’ll know better in the near future.

One thing that is certain? Wolcott Head Coach Patrick Russo is one very committed coach. When scheduling a pre-season visit to Wolcott I asked Russo what time the team practiced? His answer? “We practice 24/7.” I think he’s exaggerating, but then again maybe not.

Windsor at Glastonbury – 3pm Saturday

A road trip to meet the defending (and unbeaten) Class LL State Champs ends a brutal 4 game opening season stretch for Windsor – Simsbury, New Britain, Southington and Glastonbury. A win by Windsor to move to (3-1) and they deserve a spot in the State Top 10.

Cromwell at Avon – 3:30pm Saturday

Write it down, the winner of this game finishes the regular season undefeated.  How’s that for huge implications?

Completely Unrelated Thought of the Week

Do men really drink hot tea? I hear Joe Torre and Terry Francona doing ads telling us about their daily rituals of tea drinking. I have no interest in hot tea and drink just one hot beverage period and on one occasion only: Hot chocolate after shoveling snow.

See you at 11:15pm for FNF!

John