In 2006 Hamden won 1 football game. In 2007 Hamden won 1 football game. So far in 2008 The Hamden Green Dragons have won 6 football games and lost none. They are currently #1 in the Class LL playoff point standings. I had a chance to visit Hamden’s practice on Tuesday and it’s clear to the eye the impact that first year head coach Scott Benoit has had on the program.
You want an intense, focused, efficient practice? You got one on Dixwell Avenue Tuesday afternoon. Benoit (a West Haven player then later a Blue Devil Assistant Coach) left the head job at Guilford to take over at Hamden. He also has prior head coaching experience at North Branford. Benoit says first and foremost he has talented kids. Clearly however the impact from he and his staff has been the defining difference from the last 2 years.
There was a fair amount of yelling at practice – but that seems to be the norm for many (though not all) successful programs. Benoit even got dropped one time when collided with by two of the Green Dragons running a play. To his credit Benoit got treated and returned a few minutes later. Don’t know if the practice was particularly intense considering Hamden’s Friday night showdown at Xavier this week but I left impressed. I also left without any player interviews – a first in my time covering high school football. We stayed at practice for over an hour and a half. Coach Benoit gave us some of his time for an interview but the players were never made available before my photographer had to head out to his next assignment. Odd, but who can argue with Benoit’s ultra-focused approach considering the turnaround he’s engineered? Just the same I would love to have gotten the thoughts of Hamden standouts Jason Lassiter, Josh Smart and field goal kicking star Kemuel Lawrence who hit a 42 yarder in a last second win at West Haven.
You can hear parts of my interview with Coach Benoit tonight at 11:15pm on FNF.
A Black Hole For Opponents
Read this week in Ray Curren’s SCC Blog at SportingNewsCT.com that Xavier has won 19 of its’ last 20 home games at Middletown’s Palmer Field. That’s remarkable and it’s something Hamden will have to overcome if they hope to score a win and stay undefeated.
Xavier’s Black Hole student section is the best in the state in my opinion. What’s your opinion?
All in the Family?
I ran some girls soccer highlights on Channel 3 Wednesday night at 11pm. Undefeated Cheshire beat Shelton 2-0 with the first goal of the night coming on a penalty kick from Cheshire’s Kylee McIntosh. I figured Kylee has to be the daughter of former Cheshire football star turned Syracuse Orangeman Kyle McIntosh. Am I right?
Kyle – a 4 year starter at Syracuse – rushed for 5,150 career yards in high school, the 5th best total in state history
Moving Pictures On Newspaper Websites – I like it!
A number of different state papers have added video to the mix in their coverage of high school football. The Connecticut Post, Day of New London and Waterbury Republican-American do a solid job delivering game highlights from their coverage areas. In addition the Republican American (Mike Barger & Mark Jaffee ) and the Norwich Bulletin (Brian Girasoli & Marc Allard) offer weekly video prediction segments – both worth checking out. Then there’s Mike Pucci of the New Haven Register with his weekly sneak peek of the Register’s Statewide Media Poll.
3 Games We’ll Be Watching (In addition to Hamden at Xavier!)
Masuk at Bunnell - 7pm Friday - A rematch of last year’s Class L state championship game won by Bunnell. The teams met 3 times last season and Bunnell won all 3 (regular season, Southwest Conference Championship Game, State Championship). Bunnell is undefeated this year, Masuk has lost just once. Gotta love the genuine emotion of Bunnell Head Coach Craig Bruno. He’s the Dick Vermeil of Connecticut high school football coaches – quick to cry but genuine in every possible way.
Norwich Free Academy at Ledyard - 6:30pm Friday - Two programs with tradition, two with first year coaches (Jemal Davis NFA, Jim Buonocore Ledyard) and two with just one loss apiece. Stonington at Montville is another good one on the ECC schedule Friday night.
St. Paul/Goodwin Tech/Lewis Mills at Rocky Hill – 6:30pm Friday - St. Paul and UConn bound Marcus Aiken have yet to lose, Rocky Hill has just one loss and is fresh of last Friday’s huge (and controversial) upset over previously unbeaten Berlin. A great game and a near walk from the Channel 3 studios.
Completely Unrelated Thought of the Week:
After watching the ALCS in great detail, I’m left with one spitting image. Literally a spitting image. Does ALCS MVP Matt Garza ever stop spitting? The one time Rock Cat must have more saliva than any human being on the planet. By the way, when did it become OK to spit indoors (Tropicana Field)?
See You Tonight at 11:15pm for FNF!
John
