Stamford graduate Vladimir Ducasse’s draft stock is rising, according to ESPN.com. The offensive lineman and All-America pick out of UMass ran a 5.21 40-yard dash and benched 225-pounds 29 times yesterday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Scouts may have a concern with Ducasse’s Wonderlic score of 13, according to Rotoworld.com. But the NFL scouts have been impressed with Ducasse’s maturity, size, strength and raw ability to play at the next level, and he is still being projected as a second-round pick in the April draft.
In fact, Ducasse’s stock rose last month at the Senior Bowl. Ducasse, a left tackle at UMass, was projected as a guard in the NFL. But his performance at left tackle against some of the top prospects in the nation had NFL scouts looking at Ducasse as a bling side protector.
Ducasse moved to Stamford from Haiti to live with his uncle, and was not looked at by BSC schools while playing for the Black Knights.
The Bassick football program still needs your help his week, so please, spread the word.
If Bassick gets the most votes in the finals of the State Farm Friday Night Feats contest, which ends on Dec. 10, the Lions program will win $15,000. Bassick head coach Frank Marcuccio will split the prize with the school’s Media Arts Department.
Right now, Bassick’s video, “The Final Play,” is in first place. But you never know if another video is going to catch the voters’ attention and rise to the top.
So please, everyone, spread the word. Tell your family, and your co-workers. Tell your friends. Tell everyone to vote early and often, for that matter (actually, you can only vote once)!
All you need to do is click twice on the below video. The first click will start the video, the second click will bring you to YouTube, where you can go and rate the video. That rate is your vote.
Here’s the press release that was issued Tuesday through PRNewswire.com:
State Farm today announced the 10 finalists of the Friday Night Feats high school football video contest on YouTube. The contest highlights the biggest moments from this year’s high school football season – big hits, Hail Marys, break-away runs and miracle finishes – as voted by the fans themselves. A panel of judges selected the finalists from the 51 videos fans voted as Zone winners. Viewers will choose the grand prize winner by voting for their favorite video on YouTube between Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.
“The Friday Night Feats contest has captured some of the biggest moments in high school football – from early season match-ups all the way through the playoffs,” said Hall of Fame lineman and Friday Night Feats judge Anthony Munoz. “State Farm is excited to be there for the all of the schools who have participated this year. Now it is the fans’ turn to be there for their schools as they vie for the grand prize of $15,000.”
Friday Night Feats Finalists
Summerville High School (Summerville, SC) – “SHS Football #3 Safety Punt Return”
Roland High School (Roland, OK) – “Air Ranger”
Broken Arrow High School (Broken Arrow, OK) – “2009 Friday Night Feats – Ronnie Price Broken Arrow High School – Hurdles Over Defender”
Mountain View High School (Mesa, AZ) – “MV Bounce Pass”
Mount Mansfield Union High School (Jericho, VT) – “Greatest or Worst play in football history depending on your side”
Gray’s Creek High School (Hope Mills, NC) – “Gray’s Creek Bears – Devonte Cooley LEAP”
High School (DeLand, FL) – “Deland Bulldogs Shontrelle Johnson TD run vs Wekiva Mustangs”
Bastrop High School (Bastrop, TX) – “Bastrop’s Josiah Monroe to Auston Shipley”
Rockdale High School (Rockdale, TX) – “Rockdale Tiger Football – Sanders to Wright Hail Mary 2009″
Joining Munoz on the Friday Night Feats judging panel were Scout.com Recruiting Experts Scott Kennedy, Steve Robertson and Brandon Huffman, as well as Kid Reporter Daniel Radov from SIKids.com. The panel determined the national finalists based on the “wow” factor, athleticism, impact of the play, and creativity of the video, which included the title and brief description of the play.
Now it is the fans’ turn to vote with winners announced on Dec. 14. The grand prize is $15,000 with $10,000 for first place and $5,000 for second place. State Farm will have awarded almost to $160,000 to schools during the Friday Night Feats contest this year.
To view contest information and contest rules visit www.FridayNightFeats.com. To see the finalist videos and all of the others submitted this year, visit the State Farm Friday Night Feats contest on YouTube at www.youtube.com/fridaynightfeats.
The postponement of the Staples-Cheshire CIAC Class LL championship game allowed me another day to post this video of the Staples-Xavier semifinal game.
I shot the first two series of the second half. The first was Xavier running back Julian Hayes pounding the ball at will against the Wreckers. The second was Staples running back Matt Kelly putting life back in the game for the Wreckers.
That second series definitely turned the tide for Staples, which had seen its 14-0 lead slip away. The long pass completion from Keith Gelman to Brendan Rankowitz, after a huge loss on a flea-flicker, sparked Staples.
Here’s a few clips from the Trinity Catholic-Wilton game played Thanksgiving morning. The people you see on the field before the game starts are members of the Stamford Catholic team that won the 1984 FCIAC Championship Game over the Warriors.
Here’s a few late-game clips from the Bassick-Bullard-Havens game played the night before Thanksgiving. Of course I feel bad posting this now because Lorens Wilson, Justin May and head coach John Johnson of Bullard-havens talk about how awesome it is to qualify for the Class SS playoffs, and the Tigers lost on Tuesday.
But here’s the deal. The Tigers’ Abnel Martinez get an interception, and Bassick allows them to score so they can get the ball back. But the ensuing kickoff goes over Rodney Lanham’s head, and he recovers at the one-yard line.
On the next play, Wilson tackles Davonte Franklin for a safety to put the game out of Bassick’s reach.
All I can say it, “WOW!” Unless you saw this with your own eyes, you wouldn’t believe the fantastic finish tonight at Kennedy Stadium. Bassick defeated Harding 18-12 on the final play of the game, a 34-yard catch-and-run from Rodney Lanham to Davonte “Petey” Franklin.
With 12 seconds left on the clock, Lanham rolled right and was flushed out of the pocket. Lanham escaped and ran all the way across the field before he launched a bomb across the field to Franklin, who was standing all alone at the 12-yard line.
Franklin took it from there. He ran back across the field and broke a few tackles to score the touchdown.
One play earlier, a Harding defensive back tipped a ball away from wide receiver Daniel Lopez in the end zone.
Here’s the play, some of the postgame celebration, and interviews with Franklin, Lanham and Bassick head coach Frank Marcuccio.
Miss the Warde-Stamford game last Friday? So did most high school football fans, since Greenwich was packed for the epic classic between New Canaan and the Cardinals. Here’s a few random clips from the Warde-Stamford game, for your viewing pleasure.
Before we kick off Week 9, here’s some video clips from Week 8. This is from the second and third quarters of the Westhill-Darien game. Go ahead and enjoy it before you head out to a game tonight.
Here’s a little bit of action from the second quarter (and a little bit into the third) of the Harding-Norwalk game. Enjoy it, then go out into the cold and catch a game underneath Fairfield County’s Friday Night Lights.
My random clips for Week 7 are up. Here’s what I shot in between taking notes, tweeting, etc., at the Staples-Ludlowe game last Friday.
As you can see, Staples had a rough first drive. The first play you see ended the first Staples drive. But the Wreckers rebounded and eventually took control in the 38-0 win.
Yes, that’s Fairfield County Player of the Week Ryan Burke rushing for a 45-yard touchdown at the end of this video.
We all know the ultimate size for an online video is 60-seconds or less. Anything longer than 60-seconds, and you lose your audience’s attention. But I’m giving you 4:47 of random clips from the St. Joseph-New Canaan game played last week in the rain. Why? Because I’m sure every single frame I shot is the most important frame ever… and because I was too lazy to cut out the excess and make it a true highlight tape.
Here’s some more highlights for you: Stamford senior linebacker Patrick Atkinson. It’s easy to overlook someone like Atkinson when you’re busy trying to stop Khairi Fortt. But when Fortt missed time this season with a knee injury, Atkinson stepped up and performed.
Atkinson also plays some running back for Stamford, and reyruns kicks.
