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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Talk about big games no one was talking about at the beginning of the season?

This week was supposed to be all about Staples vs. Norwalk in the FCIAC, with the winner heading to the championship game. No one mentioned Brookfield vs. Bunnell with SWC playoff berths on the line.

But that’s where we now stand. Brookfield is 6-0, Bunnell is 6-1. Here’s Sean Patrick Bowley’s preview of tomorrow’s game for The Post (scroll down, or enjoy the other previews, your choice, they all involve Fairfield County teams).

Brookfield is on the rise, after two off seasons that followed the Scott Lutrus era. With the Treibt twins – Trevor and Travis – and Jordan Burandt sparking the Bobcats, they pulled off what was then considered an upset over Masuk in Week 5.

There was a lot of talk early on this season that Bunnell was not as great of an overall team as it was the past two seasons of its SWC and CIAC Class L championship run. And with FB-LB Oliver Aurelia and WR Mark Harrison out with injuries (Aurelia has a lingering hamstring injury, Harrison has a bad shoulder), its lack of depth has been exposed.

So let’s ask you – who is going to win this Week 8 battle in the SWC? The winner is not necessarily in line for an SWC championship game berth. If Bunnell wins, the road gets a little muddier. If Brookfield wins, it should give them a clearer path to the title game.

Make your pick below.

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By Tim Parry

We’ve seen the spread offense come into play in Fairfield County this decade, but we haven’t seen wide receivers put up earth-shattering numbers yet.

Let’s start with Rutgers-bound Mark Harrison. Even with a shoulder injury on Friday, the Bunnell star still had four catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. With Harrison sitting out the second half, the offense could not move against Masuk, and the Bulldogs lost 42-20.

Harrison’s numbers now look like this through seven games: 31 catches, 961 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Then there’s the FCIAC’s two undefeated teams, Darien and New Canaan.

Brian Kosnik – whose Blue Wave team is not running a spread offense – has 40 catches for 721 yards and eight touchdowns. Teams have tried to double team Kosnik, but Matt Wheelock just puts the ball up for the 6-foot-4 Kosnik, and he outleaps the corners.

And in New Canaan, Kurt Ondash is near pace to set the CIAC record for touchdowns in a season. Ondash has 12 through seven games, and 36 carries for 793 yards. Now New Canaan plays 11 regular season games, and could have two CIAC games as well. A 14th game, the FCIAC championship game, could happen, or the regularly-scheduled Thanksgiving Day clash with Darien could replace that.

And another receiver putting up monster numbers (and a player I haven’t got to see this season yet, hence no photo inclusion) is Chris Evans of Stamford. Evans is at 932 yards and 11 touchdowns on 59 catches in the high-octane Black Knights offense. He has two games this season with more than 190 yards receiving.

So, what do you think? All four are seniors, can we get them all to represent Fairfield County in the Hall of Fame Classic?

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Norwalk running back Chris Hines was voted BlueStreak Sports Training’s Fairfield County Player of the Week for his performance against Bridgeport Central.

Hines carried 42 times for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the Bears’ 39-26 win.

The co-runner-ups played against each other in Week Four: Bobby Wood, QB, New Fairfield (21-34-274 passing and 3 touchdowns, 9-85 rushing and 2 touchdowns) and Brandon Farrell, RB/DB, Bethel (15 carries 242 yards 3 TDs (66, 50, and 55 yards) 6 tackles, 1 sack).

Other nominees included: Vinnie Cannon, QB, Wilton; Mark Harrison, WR, Bunnell; Donnohue Lovelace, DT, St. Joseph; Mike McKnight, RB, Ridgefield; Kurt Nacewicz, WR, Newtown; Kevin Pierre-Louis, RB-LB, King, and Justin Warzhoa, QB, Greenwich.

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.

The award is presented by the FCIAC Football Blog.

The following media members voted: The following media members voted: Bill Bloxsom (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Zachary Eastright (WSTC-AM/WNLK-AM), Dan Farrand (News-Times), Scott Ferrari (Greenwich Citizen), Jason A. Intrieri (FCIAC Football Blog Live), John Nash (The Stamford Times), Ken Morse (Hersam-Acorn Newspapers), Matt Norlander (New Canaan News-Review), Mike Quick (MSG Plus), Dave Ruden (Stamford Advocate), Eliot Schickler (Westport News), Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post), Dave Stewart (New Canaan Advertiser), 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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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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