Stamford wide receiver Chris Evans was named BlueStreak Sports Training Fairfield County Player of the Week for his Week 10 performance against Bridgeport Central.

Evans had 10 catches for 207 yards and four touchdowns in Stamford’s 40-16 win over Bridgeport Central. In the process, he broke former teammate Kenny Fersner’s school and FCIAC record of 17 touchdown receptions in a season, and now has 20 for the year.

The Week 10 runner-up was Chris Sloat of Bunnell. The quarterback completed 27 of 37 passes for 512 yards and six touchdowns in the Bulldogs win over Bethel.

Other finalists included Jake Longo (Greenwich), Mitch O’Meara (Stamford), Bill Donofrio (Notre Dame), Mark Harrison (Bunnell), and Eathon Buster (Bullard-Havens)

The following media members voted: Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Jon Chik (Norwalk Citizen-News), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM), Dan Farrand (News-Times), Scott Ferrari (Greenwich Citizen), Andy Hutchison (Newtown Bee), Jason A. Intrieri (FCIAC Football Blog Live), Ken Morse (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), John Nash (The Stamford Times), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review), Joe Ryan (freelance), Eliot Schickler (Westport News), Dave Stewart (New Canaan Advertiser), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Rob Sullivan (Minuteman Newspapers/Bridgeport Banner), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers).

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By Tim Parry

Darien RB-LB Nikki Dysenchuk and Bunnell QB Chris Sloat are the BlueStreak Sports Training Fairfield County co-Players of the Week for Week 6 of the 2008 season.

It’s the second time Dysenchuk shared the award, and he is the second two-time recipient of the hardware. Dysenchuk received it in Week 5 last year, 368 days ago. This time it was for 204-yard and 4 touchdown rushing performance in the undefeated Blue Wave’s 41-14 win over Wilton, in which he also intercepted a pass and had a 27 yard reception.

Sloat receives his first award for his performance in a 38-20 win over Notre Dame-Fairfield. he threw for 313 yards and five touchdowns, and only played in the first half of that game.

This week’s runner-up was Matt Grant, WR-DB from Greenwich. He had eight catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns, and two fourth-down tackles that ended drives in the Cardinals’ 13-7 win over Trumbull.

Also nominated in Week 6: John Aminti, Newtown; Nick DeRubio, New Canaan; Camryn Ferrara, Greenwich; Tom McNamara, Warde; Jimmy O’Dea, Ridgefield; John Schule, Trinity Catholic; and Kyle Vacca, Brookfield.

Voting media members included: Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Jon Chik (Norwalk Citizen-News), Scott Ferrari (Greenwich Citizen), Andy Hutchison (Newtown Bee), Jason A. Intrieri (FCIAC Football Blog Live), Ken Morse (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), John Nash (The Stamford Times), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review), Eliot Schickler (Westport News), Dave Stewart (New Canaan Advertiser), Rob Sullivan (Minuteman Newspapers/Bridgeport Banner), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers).

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By Tim Parry

Welcome to the South West Conference, and varsity football, Oxford Wolverines. Competing against back-to-back CIAC Class L champion Bunnell, winners of 31 of the last 32, is a part of the initiation.

Now Bunnell may not have the same depth that it had the past two seasons, but the Bulldogs still have one of the most lethal passing connections in the state. That would be quarterback Chris Sloat and Rutgers-bound wide receiver Mark Harrison.

Sloat hit Harrison seven times for 205 yards and two touchdowns last night, including a pass in the flats that Harrison turned into a 54-yard touchdown.

“Mark is a great player,” Bunnell head coach Craig Bruno said. “Oxford single covered him. When teams leave him in single we try to get the ball to him, and he made some great plays. I think they were trying to stop Chris from running the and spread the defense out a bit.”

Harrison has 19 catches for 540 yards and six touchdowns through four games. Harrison has seen the ball so much mainly because Sloat no longer has weapons like Jon Jackson in the slot and Michael Easley lined up on the other side.

And his size – 6-foot-5, 220 lbs. – and skills also make Harrison an exciting target. But Harrison has proven to be up for the challenge.

“It’s not that much pressure. I just take things one day at a time,” Harrison said. “I keep pushing through the double teams, and Sloat and I work great together.”

But the bigger challenge for Harrison and his teammates: Winning another SWC and Class L championship.

“There’s the pressure of trying to repeat as state champion, but we keep fighting on the field and working hard,” Harrison said.

But Bunnell almost got derailed by an unlikely source, Weston, in Week 3. Trailing 25-6 in the third quarter, Bunnell rallied to take home a 30-25 win, it’s 18th straight.

Bruno said it was important for his team to have a strong showing against Oxford, which is playing in its inaugural varsity season.

“These guys know how to win,” Bruno said. “They’ve been involved in a lot of big wins, and they’re trying to keep that going. We know we have to keep getting better as we head down the stretch.”

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New Canaan quarterback Nate Quinn is the Week One recipient of the BlueStreak Sports Training Player of the Week award, which is presented weekly by the FCIAC Football Blog.

Making his first offensive start for the Rams against Trumbull on Saturday, Quinn completed nine of 17 passes for 255 yards and six touchdowns. New Canaan defeated Trumbull 41-13.

Quinn will receive his award from BlueStreak Sports Training president Matt Cole Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. at New Canaan High School at the upper field.

Players are nominated both by football coaches representing teams in Fairfield County. A mimimum of five nominees from a weekly fan poll are also included on a ballot, and the Player of the Week is then selected by members of the Fairfield County sports media community.

Fairfield Ludlowe placekicker Sean Anderson was the runner up. In addition to a pair of extra points, he nailed a 29-yard field goal as time expired to lift Ludlowe over heavily-favored Norwalk 17-14.

The Week-One nominees also included George Benitez (Darien), Tae Dangerfield (Staples), Marcus Dixon (Stamford), Chris Evans (Stamford), Mike Graham (McMahon), Mike Grant (Greenwich), Brian Kosnik (Darien), Colin Morris (St. Joseph), Kurt Ondash (New Canaan) and Chris Sloat (Bunnell).

The following media members voted: The following media members voted: Rob Adams (WGCH-AM), Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Dan Farrand (News-Times), Scott Ferrari (Greenwich Citizen), Andy Hutchison (Newtown Bee), Jason A. Intrieri (FCIAC Football Blog Live), Ken Morse (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Tim Murphy (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), John Nash (The Stamford Times), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review), Dave Ruden (Stamford Advocate), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Rob Sullivan (Minuteman Newspapers), Michael Suppe (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers).

Photos of Nate Quinn by Dave Stewart/New Canaan Sports Photography

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Bunnell QB Chris Sloat

By Tim Parry

Week 1 (or Day of full pads is in the books, and maybe it’s time to hand the FCIAC football crown to Trumbull.

I know that would get your attention.

Definitely way too early to hand the crown to anyone. But Trumbull looked very good today against potentially unbeatable Bunnell. Mike Pope and company moved the ball well against the Bulldogs, and was very fired-up for the chance to take on the defending SWC and Class L champions.

And Pope didn’t have Richie Edwards, his star running back, on the field with him for all of Trumbull’s offensive possessions. Trumbull held Edwards, who was injured for most of last season, back a bit today.

Now that doesn’t mean Trumbull was perfect. Bunnell quarterback Chris Sloat was automatic when hooking up with Rutgers-bound WR Mark Harrison. No one is going to have an easy time hooking up with the 6-foot-4, 220-lb. receiver, and has worked hard with Sloat in the offseason to learn the game.

Here’s some other news from Trumbull, one that may surprise you, and may jinx the team. Harding looked pretty good. The Presidents held their own against Joel Barlow and they finally have some size on the line. They stumbled a bit against Bunnell (especially on defense) but that’s to be expected. Case in point on the first play between the two teams- Bunnell RB Oliver Aurelia broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and broke away for a 40-yard touchdown.

The big difference this year, said Harding QB Jonathan Berrios – they aren’t fighting with each other on the field. It’s all about playing as a team.

Harding may not be in a position to win a lot of games this season, but hopefully the Presidents will be much more competitive on the field.

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Photo by Daniel Gelman, http://wreckersfootball.com

So what can we make out of the Staples-Bunnell scrimmage played Wednesday? It depends on what you look at – the scoreboard or the purpose of the scrimmage.

I say this because on paper, Jason Intrieri tells me that Staples scored four times, and Bunnell three. He tells me Brandon Pacilio looked great at quarterback – not a surprise – throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.

But Jason also tells me the Staples defense didn’t look like a strength. And I’m not surprised when you consider the opponent. Bunnell is loaded again with an offense starring Chris Sloat and Mark Harrison.

And apparently Bunnell used the scrimmage to find the right combination on both sides of the ball. Not an excuse – you have to make plays when your team calls on you.

But again, scrimages are what they are at this time of the year. Two years ago, when these two teams met at Warde, the Wreckers sat some injured players out, and looked like they couldn’t compete. They made it to the state championship game – against Bunnell – when it was all said and done.

Enjoy some video, too: Here’s what Sean Partick Bowley shot over at Staples’ field.

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By Tim Parry

It’s here, the 2008 football season. The chinstraps are being strapped, and on Saturday, the rest of the pads go on.

So we can start with the questions? And I want to hear your answers.

Let’s start with the leagues new to the FCIAC Football Blog:

SWC:

• Is this going to be another undefeated season for Bunnell? Can they go back-to-back-to-back?
• Will Bobby Baker be able to lead Masuk’s offense past the Chris Sloat-led Bulldogs, or is Bunnell just that good?
• Who else has a chance to catch Bunnell?

Others:

• Will Prep get back to the Class LL playoffs, or will it be regional rival Shelton again?
• Will Prep or Shelton be in a rebuilding mode as they were in 2005, when Geoff Schultz, Andre Henderson, and Phil Konopka faced Prep’s Masengo Kabongo faced off Friday on the varsity and Saturday in the JV game?
• In the Fairchester, is it all about Brusnwick? Or will Silas Redd going to bring KLHT to the championship?
• Is Bullard-Havens a one-year wonder? How about the Wright Tech/Stamford Academy co-op? Do they deserve a field better than the makeshift one at Scalzi Park? And will Abbott Tech see some success as a first-year JV program?

FCIAC:

• With Will McHale done for the season with a torn ACL, will Greenwich have that big go-to guy to repeat as FCIAC and Class LL champion?
• Was 2007 Central’s best shot to rule the FCIAC, or will Christain Gill have enough of a supporting cast back to make another run?
• Does New Canaan quarterback Nate Quinn possess the same confidence and magical abilities as Charlie Westfal?
• Is the rumor of Staples’ demise greatly exaggerated, or are Ridgefield, Trinity Catholic, Westhill, or Norwalk in the hunt for a championship game berth?
• Will we be able to say the winner of the St. Joseph-Trumbull Thanksgiving eve game was robbed of a shot at the FCIAC title.

Yeah, school starts in a few weeks. Maybe this is a good time for you to write an essay. Leave on in the form of a comment…

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