Thirty of Fairfield County’s finest football-playing scholar-athletes were honored April 10 by the Ralph DeSantis chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Also honored at the dinner at Continental Manor in Norwalk were the head and assistant coaches of the year in the SWC and FCIAC, as well as two officials of the year.

Three players received $500 scholarships to be used towards their college education as well: William Bass (Bassick), Richard Holmes (Danbury), and Chris Payne (Wilton).

Wilton’s Tim Eagen was introduced as the FCIAC’s coach of the year by his mentor, Tom Fujitani, who he served under as an assistant coach for several years, and thanked his assistant coaches and the Warriors’ booster club for its efforts in helping to build a top-notch program. Ridgefield’s Kevin Callahan introduced one of his former players, New Fairfield’s Andy Buchsbaum, as the SWC’s coach of the year.

Carl Cairo (Greenwich) and John Pereira (Pomperaug) received their league’s respective assistant coach of the year awards.

The scholar-athletes honered were:

• William Bass, Bassick
• Nick Verderosa, Bethel
• Chris Green, Brien McMahon
• Kenneth Cobb, Bridgeport Central
• Steven Moss, Brookfield
• Jeffrey Farrell, Bunnell
• Greg Passineau, Canterbury
• Richard Holmes, Danbury
• George Rhein, Darien
• Matthew O’Laughlin, Fairfield Ludlowe
• Thomas Marx Jr., Fairfield Warde
• Jonathan Meyers, Greenwich
• Scott Hickling, Joel Barlow
• Victor Ciancetta, Masuk
• Chris Lemoine, New Canaan
• Patrick Cassidy, New Fairfield
• Jonathan Henion, New Milford
• Eric Puffer, Newtown
• Cyprian Oyomba, Norwalk
• Patrick Purrell, Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Stephen Barton, Pomperaug
• Tyler Strittmatter, Ridgefield
• Michael Dinihanien, St. Joseph
• Jason Zins, Staples
• Justin Shumyhora, Stratford
• John O’Leary, Trinity Catholic
• Jameson Cherilus, Trumbull
• John Midy, Westhill
• Dylan Hannum, Weston
• Chris Payne, Wilton

Also honored were a few unsung heroes of the game, the referees. Without them, of course, the games wouldn’t count in the standings. Bob Seirup, who has been working with the Fairfield County Football Association for 54 seasons, was honored as its official of the year. Bill Vasutro was the Colonial Football Association’s honoree.

Danbury senior quarterback Mike Escobar was named the FCIAC Football Blog and BlueStreak Sports Training Player of the Week for orchestrating a Thanksgiving Day upset over Ridgefield.

In the Hatters’ 26-21 win at Tiger Hollow, Escobar completed 11 of 14 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, ran for 40 yards and a score, kicked field goals of 35 and 21 yards, and intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Other players with stellar Thanksgiving performances nominated by FCIAC coaches for the award this week included:

• Kevin Joy, Darien: 200 yards rushing, 49 yards receiving, and two touchdowns vs. New Canaan
• Charlie Westfal, New Canaan: 298 yards passing and three touchdowns vs. Darien
• Chris Kozlowski, Wilton: 259 yards rushing and four touchdowns vs. Trinity Catholic
• Joe Richardson, Central: 225 yards rushing, plus a stellar defensive performance vs. Harding
• Chike Madu, Fairfield Warde: 18 carries, 238 yards, three touchdowns vs. Ludlowe

Now I’m not a big fan of night football, I love shooting day games, this is a worthwhile cause. My wife forwarded an e-mail to me about Danbury’s Kaplanis Memorial Field being part of a contest, in which it could receive free lights.

So if you VOTE HERE, the new field can get a free set of lights, courtesy of NorthEast-Eagle Electrical Distributors. Kaplanis Field is the only field in Connecticut on the list of entries, so there’[s no conflict for anyone.

Voting runs through Nov. 30, so spread the word.

tags: FCIAC football

If ever there was a feel-good story in the FCIAC this season, it’s the one out of Danbury.

Senior fullback Kentrone Williams (36) is playing like a seasoned veteran, with 667 yards on 101 carries. Not bad at all (more than 100 yards a game), especially when you read his story, written by Ed Flink and appearing in today’s News-Times Gameday section.

I’m not going to spoil the story for you. But it is safe to say this – Williams will earn his first varsity letter this year.

Wear the Blog

tags: FCIAC football

I thought that earlier in the UConn football season, an article in The News-Times made Bethel native and senior walk-on linebacker Justin DeRubertis look like a jerk after he was compaining about lack of playing time in a season-opening win.

Let’s hope this article doesn’t do the same to Danbury’s Glen Mourning or Army punter Chris Landers of Army.

Neither player is quoted, but it comes across like the author is asking, “how come our guys aren’t playing?” as opposed to a more unbiased, “what’s the timetable on players from our area breaking the lineup?”

The FCIAC’s players deserve a little better.

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tags: FCIAC football

I have posted my photo album for the Norwalk-Ludlowe game, which was won yesterday by Norwalk 21-14. The album may be accessed here.

Yes, you may buy photos I shoot for the FCIAC Football Blog. 5X7 prints are $8.00, 8X10 prints are $15.00 (hey, that’s cheaper than MaxPreps!), and the price includes shipping. I accept checks and PayPal, please e-mail me for those payment details.

Miss a game? Here’s my other albums from the 2006 season:

• Bassick at Fairfield Warde, October 6, 2006
• Westhill at Trinity Catholic, September 30, 2006
• St. Joseph at Bassick, September 22, 2006
• Darien at Trinity Catholic, September 22, 2006
  
• Danbury at Staples, September 16, 2006

tags: FCIAC football

Both The Advocate and The News-Times were in Danbury last night for the Hatters’ 31-26 win over Westhill.

The big story for Westhill had to be the return of T.J. Hickey at quarterback for the Vikings. Though Adler Florian started the game, Hickey gave head coach Dick Cerone’s team an added spark. To quote Bob Greeney’s article in The Advocate:

“I think it’s pretty clear that T.J. is our quarterback now based on what we saw here and the way the kids responded to him being in the huddle,” Cerone said. “He was chomping at the bit to play. That’s the type of kid he is. He wants to play.”

And reading Doris Yon’s article in The News-Times, the Hatters were not happy with their level of intensity. To quote hrom her piece:

“We got the W, but it’s nothing to celebrate over,” Danbury running back Kentrone Williams said. “We’re really not happy with the win. The intensity just wasn’t there.”

Some stats from The News-Times: Williams rushed for 195 yards, which was more than Westhill’s combined offensive total. Stephan Conlon added 100 yards on the ground. Westhill’s Keith Rosedom had a 91-yard interception return, and also caught three passes for 86 yards.

tags: FCIAC football