FCIAC Football Blog

Is it too late to look back on the 2009 high school football season? Probably, but I’m going for it.

I saw Ridgefield head coach Kevin Callahan at the FCIAC girls basketball semifinals on Wednesday, and that reminded me I never made mention of Ridgefield going 9-1 but not making the CIAC Class LL playoffs. All the focus in late fall was on Bridgeport Central not getting in after it nearly claimed its first-ever league championship.

Matter of fact, Ridgefield finished fourth in the FCIAC playoff standings behind Staples, Central and New Canaan. St. Joseph, your Class SS champion, was sixth in the FCIAC (oh, I saw Cadets/Hogs head coach Joe Della Vecchia at the game, too… now I feel like paparazzi guy with my name-dropping).

It’s a shame Ridgefield got shut out of the postseason because of one blip – albeit a huge blip – against Staples in Week 3. But the football bounces in funny ways. Ridgefield didn’t get a lot of help from its opponents: Three of its wins – Wilton, Danbury and Norwalk – came against teams with just two wins. The Tigers also beat McMahon, a 3-win team, and winless Harding.

In short, Ridgefield did what it had to do to be a postseason contender. It just didn’t get any outside help. In the 2010 playoff setup (four divisions, eight teams in each), Ridgefield is probably playing after Thanksgiving.

Ridgefield did have a 1,000 yard rusher in Drew Arcoleo, cornerback DeVaghn Millington was a two-way threat after transferring in from a New York school, Thomas Jordan was a force on both lines (and is recovering this winter from shoulder surgery), and the offense gelled once Griffin McCarty took over at quarterback.

The Tigers will lose its running backs to graduation, but I expect them to be hungry in 2010 after being left at the altar.

New Canaan quarterback Turner Baty is the Fairfield County Player of the Week for Week 6.

Against previously undefeated St. Joseph, Baty completed 22 of 35 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 35-25 win.

Other Week 6 nominees included:

• Ryan Leddy, Wilton: 35 carries for 207 yards and a touchdown.
• Silas Redd, King: 9 carries for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Christon Gill, Central, 10 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown, plus a forced fumble.
• Alex Delaney, Warde: 8 carries for 63 yards, 1 reception for 10 yards, 1 touchdown, 15 tackles.
• Cody Newton, 8 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown.
• Drew Arcoleo, Ridgefield, 20 carries for 190 yards and 4 touchdowns.
• Matt Reyes-Guerra-Dunn, Wilton, 2 touchdown receptions.

Candidates for the Fairfield County Player of the Week award are nominated either direct from their coaches, by media recommendations or by fans of the FCIAC Football Blog on Facebook.

The Fairfield County Player of the Week Award is sponsored by BlueStreak Sports Training and supported by the FCIAC Football Blog.

Now in the years I’ve been covering high school football, Ridgefield has never been a team that has lingered on the field even after a win at Lancaster Field at Tiger Hollow. But the coaching staff had a meeting on the 20 yard line for about 10 to 15 minutes after the Tigers defeated Fairfield Ludlowe 21-6 yesterday.

Kevin Callahan and his staff were not happy. Ridgefield let Ludlowe stay in the game. Ridgefield turned the ball over four times to a team that is not supposed to be as superior. And I’m sure the Ridgefield players can admit they played a sloppy game, one week after dominating Stamford.

Now the Ridgefield defensive line is for real. I have not looked at stats, but Ludlowe could not gain any yardage on the ground. A few times, Mike Sheehan ran it on a quarterback keeper for positive yardage. Tom Jordan is not only big, but he has some great technique. And as Callahan said, the National Champs (Florida) doesn’t just offer anyone a scholarship.

And Ludlowe head coach Matt McCloskey did a great job of play calling in the second half, which allowed Sheehan to find receivers like Nick Rossomando for a touchdown and Devin Brault for a few big gains.

Ridgefield is also going to cause some headaches with its Wildcat formations. Not only is starting quarterback Ryan Curnal taking snaps, but running back Drew Arcoleo is in the shotgun formation, as is senior transfer DeVaghn Millington, who was a starting quarterback in an option offense in upstate New York last season and is a Division I recruit as a cornerback.

And the bottom line is, a win is a win. Better for Ridgefield to have been sloppy in victory that to have been sloppy and lose.

So do we have an FCIAC Champion yet? A New England Prep School champ? No, but we do still have a lot of questions that need answering after one week of the regular season.

What’s Khairi Fortt’s status? We’re going to have to wait and see. Even if Fortt can play a week after suffering an undetermined knee injury, his presence at linebacker isn’t going to help Stamford’s offense, which gained just 8 yards against a stubborn Alex Howard-led Ridgefield defense before the JV players entered the game, when they play Greenwich this week.

Changing of the SWC Guard? New Milford defeated Brookfield on opening night. Newtown had no problem with Bunnell… and Newtown is a very young bunch. Masuk and Pomperaug are looking like the teams to beat. Seems like old times, if you consider earlier this decade to be old times.

Willie Ouelette or Turner Baty? I heard a lot of good things about Baty from people that attended the game. He just needs to get to know his receivers a little better, and to take some zip off the short passes. But for now Ouelette is the starter in New Canaan.

Who’s booming those kicks? Staples senior Santiago Cuartas and Ridgefield senior Sean Cobelli both banged 40+ yard field goals in their teams’ wins. New Canaan junior Brianna Valente booted an extra point for the Rams, and may be the first girl to have scored in an FCIAC game.

Bassick bad again? I don’t think so. Some New Canaan coaches were praising the Lions, adding that the team just needs a little more cohesiveness on the lines. Looking at Bassick’s schedule, which doesn’t get easy this week with a game at Central, I think they have a very good chance (on paper) of finishing at least .500 this year.

Will anyone slow down King? Silas Redd put up some gaudy first-week numbers. 262 yards rushing on 10 carries. I get to see them this week against Hamden Hall. I’m sure it’s going to be another huge game.

Warde for real? Already asked that one here. Let’s see. The Mustangs play Wilcox Tech in Week 2 (not exactly world-beaters). Week 3 is Bassick. What was once a game people laughed at me for annually attending could be one of the best games this season.

Which Norwalk team will experience more growing pains? I’d have to say McMahon. Damien Vega is a sophomore staring at center, and he showed he could be a good QB in this league. But Norwalk has senior leadership in Andrew Krasnavage. Though Krasnavage has handed the ball off most of his two seasons as a starter, he’ll be a calming presence in the huddle.

Just how good is Ridgefield? Let’s see. Junior lineman Thomas Jordan has offers from Florida and Boston College, and he just started his junior year. The defense gave up 8 yards to Stamford. Highly touted quarterback-cornerback transfer DeVaghn Millington will only play defense. Drew Arcoleo is one of the fastest backs we’ve seen in a while. I think this could be Ridgefield’s year.