Voting has begun for the Fairfield County Player of the Year Award. You can meet the candidates and read all the rules here.

You can vote for multiple candidates, but you can only vote for one candidate per IP Address. So that means you can’t sit at a computer all day and vote for your favorite player.

BlueStreak Sports Training is the sponsor of the Fairfield County Player of the Year Award, and we hope you also choose to support the American Diabetes Association by making a donation on your candidate’s behalf (please note, a donation is not required if you want to cast a vote).

Popularity: 12% [?]

How did Staples head coach Marce Petroccio spend his birthday yesterday? He might as well have been tied to a stake, and that’s all my fault.

One typo in a quote in the Cheshire-Staples article I wrote for the Connecticut Post and Stamford Advocate caused Petroccio a lot of unnecessary grief. The quote has been fixed online, and I owe a huge apology to the Staples football program, family and fans.

In short, the quote made it appear that Petroccio threw a player under the bus and blamed him for the team’s overtime loss in the CIAC Class LL state championship game. To give you an idea how tough the typo was to notice to the naked eye, the person who told me about the personal Hell Petroccio went through yesterday didn’t know I was the author.

But everyone who knows Petroccio knows that he puts the team before the individuals, and has never been known to bad mouth a player of his team or the opposition. Petroccio has been the epitome of winning with grace and losing with dignity.

And everyone who knows me knows I am an awful typist and a horrendous speller. Most days I’m amazed I write professionally, since I couldn’t tell you a noun from a prepositional phrase.

But I grew up right, and was taught from an early age to admit to my mistakes and not blame other for what I have done wrong. And I was also taught to apologize for doing the wrong thing. Today I did that, I went to Staples and apologized both to Petroccio and to Matt Kelly, the Staples player who was unintentionally thrown under the bus.

The audio clip from the interview is below, and it’s further proof that Petroccio said “we just didn’t get it done today,” and didn’t point the finger at Kelly.

Again, my most sincere apology to the Staples Wreckers, their families and their fans for any grief that my carelessness has caused.

Marce Petroccio postgame comments Dec. 6, 2009

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Staples staged an epic second-half comeback to force overtime in its CIAC Class LL championship game against Cheshire, but lost in overtime 28-21.

Matt Kelly was stripped by Cheshire corner Brian Havlicek as he was being tackled by Luke Scinto, and Scinto pounced on the loose ball to preserve the victory.

Keith Gelman scored from one yard out with 1:44 left in the game to tie the game at 21.

More to come from this game later.

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Hey it’s not too late to nominate a candidate for the Fairfield County Player of the Year Award. This is an individual award, not a team award (Staples fans, love your enthusiasm about the Staples Defense, but last I checked, that’s 11 helmets out there, so you’re just wasting nominations).

Before you nominate a player though, pay attention: The following players will be on the ballot, so there is no need for your nomination:

• Christon Gill, QB-DB, Bridgeport Central
• Mike Lefflbine, QB, Greenwich
• Turner Baty, QB, New Canaan
• Silas Redd, RB, King
• Kevin Pierre-Louis, RB-LB, King
• Tyler Matakevich, RB-LB, St. Joseph
• Tom Jordan, OL-DL, Ridgefield
• Matt Kelly, RB-DB, Staples

Now, if you still want to nominate a player for the ballot (a player needs a minimum of 10 nominations for consideration), then go to the Zoomerang survey.

Good luck – we will shut the ballot box at noon Monday, Dec. 7.

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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.

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Will the FCIAC go 3-for-3 in state championship games this season? I wouldn’t be too certain. Here’s how I think tommorow’s games will go down though.

Class MM:
East Lyme vs. New Canaan, 2 p.m., at Bunnell High School (Stratford)
New Canaan’s offense has been a shell of itself since it ventured into Kennedy Stadium in Week 9 and lost 42-7 to the Hilltoppers. Talking with Turner Baty on Wednesday at the CIAC media luncheon, he said the weather had a lot to do with that Central loss. It’s going to be similar condition tomorrow at Bunnell.

Linebacker Cole Duncan said the New Canaan defense has been on the field a lot more than usual (about 70% of the time, he said), as teams are learning to control the ball to keep the Rams passing attack off the field.

East Lyme has a very good rushing attack, with two running backs surpassing 800 yards on the season. If the Vikings wanted to, they could have Jordan McCoy and Kevin Miao carry the ball all game and wear the Rams down.

East Lyme has a very good pass defense, with 17 interceptions and 20 passes defended. On top of that, East Lyme has 19 sacks and 20 fumble recoveries. The Vikings have given up just 64 points this season, including four shutouts, and game up a safety to Bacon Academy to close out another contest.

The Rams need to establish the run if they want to win a fourth straight CIAC Class MM title, and I don’t see it happening. New Canaan had shown the ability to run the ball earlier this season, but St. Paul Co-op shut Peter Park and Tim Robustelli down on Tuesday.

Two seasons ago, I was the only media member who thought New Canaan could beat Daniel Hand. Unless New Canaan finds a way to loosen up and have some fun on the field tomorrow, East Lyme will go home with the victory.

Class SS:
St. Joseph vs. Montville, 2 p.m., Ken Strong Stadium, West Haven
Montville head coach Tanner Grove knows how good Tyler Matakevich and Joe Della Vecchia are, and how strong St. Joseph is, and thinks they match up well on both sides of the ball with the Cadets.

Like the New Canaan-East Lyme game, St. Joseph’s defense will have its hands full with Montville’s run-oriented offense.

Montville runs a thunder and lightning type of offense, with a pair of junior running backs in Skyler McNair and Tyler Girard-Floyd. McNair is fast and shifty, and Girard-Floyd can pound the ball.

No doubt the father-son Della Vecchias will be looking for something to exploit in the Montville defense, as they did in its 56-7 win over Holy Cross on Tuesday. And Montville showed it can be vulnerable to the pass, losing to New London 28-26 earlier this season.

I think St. Joseph has a major deal of confidence on its side, and has been brilliant even in its losses to New Canaan and Greenwich this season. St. Joseph has waited 19 years for a shot at a state championship, and I think the Cadets (or Hogs) will rise to the occasion.

Class LL:
Cheshire at Staples, 7 p.m., Ken Strong Stadium, West Haven
(Listen Live on WWPTFM.com or 90.3 FM in the Westport area, starting with pregame at 6:30 p.m.)
When Cheshire head coach Mark Ecke told the CIAC media luncheon attendees that everything he learned about coaching defense, he learned from Staples head coach Marce Petroccio, everyone knew it would be a great game. Okay, maybe people knew before that, but now we know this will be a chess match for both schools.

Greg Palmer has rushed for more than 1,200 yards for Cheshire, and Dan Sweeney is at 909. If the Rob Gau, Jake Santora and Connor Bohling defense can shut down the run, then Kelly and Brendan Rankowitz should feast on Cheshire’s vulnerable pass offense.

Staples is the top team in the state for a reason. Each week, the Wreckers find a new may to win. If Matt Kelly can’t get the job done running the ball, Ryan Burke picks up the slack. If the offense can’t move the ball, the defense wins the game. And they have all picked up Keith Gelman, who inherited the quarterback job after a season-ending injury to Brandon Pacilio.

The Wreckers are a selfless group, and seem to be the team of destiny in 2009. They took Petroccio’s offseason message of playing as one unit to heart, and will ride that to victory tomorrow.

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It’s unanimous: Staples running back Matt Kelly is the Fairfield County Player of the Week for his CIAC Class LL semifinal performance in his team’s 31-28 win over Xavier.

Kelly carried the ball 25 times for 225 yards and had touchdown runs of 9, 54 and 3 yards. Kelly countered the Xavier running attack of 6-foot-2, 210-lb. running back Julian Hayes by answering the call of duty whenever Xavier got itself back in the game.

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.

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Trinity Catholic cornerback Vince Carter and Bridgeport Central defensive tackle Ernest Wiggins are the co-Fairfield County Player of the Week recipients for their performances on Thanksgiving Day.

Carter had three interceptions against Wilton, including two returned for touchdowns on back-to-back defensive plays. The touchdowns came just 17 seconds apart, and were good for 54 and 36 yards.

Wiggins tied a CIAC record for most sacks in one game with six in the Hilltoppers’ win over Harding. Wiggins’ feat also broke the FCIAC record of five sacks in one game, set by Central’s Trevardo Williams in 2006 and matched later that season by Andrew Kennedy of Staples.

Other nominees included:

• Conrad DeJesus, LB, Bullard-Havens
• Griffin McCarty, QB, Ridgefield
• Hunter Eldred, FS, New Canaan
• Matt Kelly, RB-KR, Staples
• Tyler Matakevich, RB-LB, St. Joseph
• Nate Ryan, RB, Ludlowe
• Santiago Cuartas, K, Staples

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.

Popularity: 6% [?]

It’s five days till Friday. And I am sure there are a lot of people who are still in shock about the FCIAC Championship Game match-up: Staples vs. Bridgeport Central.

Maybe the fans aren’t as surprised at Staples, which rose to its own challenge of playing Staples football. In the preseason, both Marce Petroccio and Brandon Pacilio talked about how the team’s chemistry improved through graduation and camaraderie, and how playing Staples football was more than just having an “S” on a silver helmet.

Okay, maybe Staples still is a surprise. Pacilio, the quarterback, went down with a season-ending broken leg in Week 6. Some of the media reports between that game at Harding and Keith Gelman’s first start at Ludlowe made it sound like doom and gloom, like Staples would crumble without its leader.

But Gelman proved he could be plugged into the Wreckers’ system, and that Staples would still be Staples.

Bridgeport Central was left for dead after its 21-0 loss to Trumbull in Week 4. Now everyone is scratching their head, wondering what Trumbull did to stop the Hilltoppers’ explosive offense.

It appears the Hilltoppers just didn’t show up that day, and learned from its mistake, which may keep Central from the CIAC Class LL playoffs. Something to point out here: the FCIAC Championship Games does not count in the state playoff rankings because it is not a regularly-scheduled contest.

Central is fourth in Class LL, but can be leapfrogged by Cheshire next Saturday, if it defeats West Haven. The Hilltoppers should defeat Harding on Thanksgiving, but won’t pick up many bonus points by defeating the Presidents and ultimately could need Greenwich to beat Staples to secure a state playoff spot.

So Friday, Central is really playing for everything.

You’ll see in this video that Bridgeport Central did a tremendous job keeping King stars Silas Redd and Kevin Pierre-Louis in check during an early September scrimmage. Say what you want about King, playing in the FAA and whatnot. But you can’t put any running back in the league on the same pedastool as Redd and Pierre-Louis.

Central is also, without a doubt, the most physican and athletic team in the FCIAC. Not only do the Hilltoppers hit, they hit people hard.

So what do you think? Do Christon Gill, Shabashe McIntosh, Dominick Luckey, Ernest Wiggans, Lucas Desousa, Christian Bish and Damien Francis bring its first FCIAC championship to Bridgeport Central? Or does Gelman, Ryan Burke, Matt Kelly, Jake Santora, Brendan Rankowitz, Devin Graber, Adam Rosenbloom and Santiago Caurtas give the Wreckers its first FCIAC title since 2003?

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King running back and linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis is the Fairfield County Player of the Week for Week 5.

Boston College-bound Pierre-Louis was a force on both sides of the ball for King in its 40-12 homecoming win over Kingswood-Oxford. Pierre-Louis carried the ball 9 times for 226 yards and scored four times, and had 20 tackles on defense.

Other nominees included:

James Barrett, DT, Greenwich: 12 tackles 1 sack, and 3 tackles for a loss.
Turner Baty, QB, New Canaan: 20-27-0-367 and 2 touchdowns, plus one rushing touchdown.
Matt Kelly, RB-DB-KR, Staples: 200 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns
Charlie Kunze, DL, Darien: 10 tackles and 4 sacks.
Willie Ouelette, WR, New Canaan: 6 catches for 113 yards.
Matt Reyes-Guerra-Dunn, WR, Wilton: 8 catches for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Jackson Wilbur, QB, Wilton: 15-20-0-238 and 3 touchdowns.

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.

Popularity: 11% [?]

And Staples is scarey good. Ridgefield stood no chance of a comeback in the Wreckers’ 30-0 win today.

I didn’t think Staples stood a chance against the Ridgefield defensive line, and I was sorely wrong. As soon as Ridgefield’s opening drive ended with a pickoff of Ryan Curnal by Chris Coyne, it was as if the Tigers folded.

Keep in mind than Staples went nowhere on its first drive – OK, a first down, but then Tom Jordan had a sack and Dan Sheldon a tackle for a loss.

But that first touchdown by Staples, a one-yard run by Brandon Pacilio at 6:53 in the first quarter, just crushed Ridgefield.

Some quick highlights: Santiago Cuartas had field goals of 29, 37 and 42 yards. Keith Gelman blocked a punt. Staples special teams stopped Duncan Cozens on a fake punt, Matt Kelly had a 49-yard punt return, and the Staples defense stopped Ridgefield on a goalline stand to end the game.

Notice there’s a lot of special teams mentioned there.

Anyway if you have Cablevision, you’ll be able to see this one Monday night on MSG Varsity.

Popularity: 12% [?]

By Tim Parry

If there’s anything Ridgefield head coach hates, it’s orange jerseys. But a few hours before his team kicked off to Staples last night, he had a box of them for his team.

Now Callahan said his team was focused on Staples this week, but just maybe the new threads gave Ridgefield the final bit of motivation it needed to beat Staples for the first time in his coaching career.

Ridgefield didn’t just defeat the Wreckers. Ridgefield dominated the Wreckers 37-6.

“We walk into the equipment room two hours before the game and Coach Callahan pulls out a surprise,” Ridgefield quarterback Matt White said. “And we figure we better get a win with these new jerseys.”

Heck, Ridgefield stormed out of the gate. Ridgefield got a safety, and then a 65-yard touchdown on the ensuing free kick by Drew Arcoleo. Arcoleo then scored on a 40-yard touchdown run on Ridgefield’s first offensive play, giving the Tigers a 16-0 lead just four minutes into the game.

“You can’t spot a team like that a 16-0 lead like that four minutes into the game,” Staples head coach Marce Petroccio said. “You have to give Ridgefield all the credit in the world, but we just made every mistake you can possibly make on both sides of the ball.”

White, for the record, completed just three of nine passes for 31 yards. But with Ridgefield getting the big lead and Arcoleo getting off to the strong start, White said he was fine with keeping the ball on the ground.

“He’s getting the job done, you’ve got to keep feeding him,” White said.

Arcoleo finished with 69 yards on 12 carries, and fullback Michael McKnight had 105 on 13.

The Ridgefield defense did most of the damage. They forced five Staples turnovers, including two fumbles that were recovered by Jimmy O’Dea.

Now it wasn’t all Ridgefield in this one. Brandon Pacilio hit Brendan Rankowitz on a 47-yard bomb. And Pacilio was able to find wide-open receivers downfield. Midway through the second quarter, Staples could have pulled within a touchdown, but a wide-open Matt Kelly couldn’t hang on to a Pacilio pass in the end zone.

Rankowitz finished with five catched for 93 yards.

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