By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
STAMFORD, Conn. – Around this time every year, Lou Marinelli points out that when his New Canaan Rams meet the rival Darien Blue Wave on the football field, the records can be thrown out the window.
This year, however, is different. The State’s top two teams come in with perfect 10-0 records and will play for not only the Coaches Memorial Trophy, given to the winner of the Turkey Bowl, but for the FCIAC championship as well.
Those two awards will be a welcome addition to either school’s trophy case, and they will be wrapped up for the winner of this year’s clash on Thanksgiving Day.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more as a high school coach to be in the situation we’re in,” Marinelli told the New Canaan Advertiser. “It’s exciting for our kids, it’s exciting for our coaches, it’s exciting for our school and for our town. Years like this don’t come along very often. It’s very special.”
So special in fact, that the showdown has received such overwhelming interest and the game was moved to Boyle Stadium in Stamford to accommodate extra fans.
Game time is 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning and will be for all the marbles. At stake is the FCIAC championship — New Canaan last won in 2000 and Darien in 1998 — and the Coaches Memorial Trophy, which has resided at NCHS since Darien’s last win in 2001.
“We’ve been treating it as the FCIAC championship — period,” Darien head coach Rob Trifone told the Darien Times. “”Obviously, everyone knows, kids included, it is the championship and Turkey Bowl for the Sikorski-Maher Trophy — all rolled into one”
Also on the line is the top seed in the Class MM tournament. The winner will be the top seed and will host a semifinal game next Tuesday. The loser could fall to No. 3, depending on the outcome of Thursday’s Hillhouse-Wilbur Cross game. If Hillhouse, which is also 10-0, wins, it would host the loser of the Turkey Bowl next Tuesday, Dec. 2.
With all that on the line, and the traditional rivalry taken to a new level, Boyle Stadium should be electric. As of Monday, the schools had sold 4,000 tickets, maxing out the capacity of New Canaan’s Dunning Field. To accomodate more fans, the game was moved to Boyle Stadium at Stamford High School, and each school was given 1,000 new tickets. Those were sold out by Tuesday afternoon, and now the league is expecting a crowd of 8,000 fans.
The move was not a welcome one for Marinelli and his Rams, who would have liked to have played the game on their home turf at Dunning Field. New Canaan already had to deal with a six-game road swing this season, so losing an extra home game was difficult, but the coach said his players will handle the situation as well as they’ve handled everything else this season.
Dealing with the hype will be another challenge, as the atmosphere for the game is sure to be electric.
“It goes without saying, Darien and New Canaan, although different towns — you might as well live in the same town,” Trifone said. “One of the things we have cautioned our kids against many times, is that hype will not win this game. Hype is for the kids in the stands who want to paint their face blue and white.”
Darien comes into Thursday’s game with an impressive resume of victories, having gone 6-0 against teams with .500 or better records. After beating Trinity Catholic 39-6 on opening day, the Blue Wave served notice to the rest of the league with back-to-back wins over Greenwich, 31-25 at DHS, and Ridgefield, 32-29 at Tiger Hollow. They’ve also beaten Wilton 41-14, Staples 12-0 and St. Joseph 21-14.
New Canaan is 7-0 against teams with .500 records or better, having defeated Trumbull 41-13, Ridgefield 40-13, Norwalk 25-0, St. Joseph 28-7, Staples 21-20, Trinity Catholic 29-6 and Wilton 28-7.
While Darien’s offense leans a bit more to the running game, led by senior halfback Nikki Dysenchuk, quarterback Matt Wheelock and some strong receivers make the Blue Wave tough through the air as well.
“They’re a lot like us,” Marinelli said. “They have some skilled athletes, they’re good defensively and it’s going to be a tremendous match-up. They’re a little bit more run-oriented than we are, but we’re similar.”
Wheelock is a two-year starter who delivered a tremendous performance against New Canaan in last year’s Turkey Bowl, which was won by the Rams 19-18.
This season, Wheelock has completed 85-of-183 passes for a 55.6 percentage, and has 17 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.
“He’s a winner and he’s been doing it for a while,” Marinelli said. “He almost beat us last year. If you look at him on film, it’s scary. Just like us, they have a lot of receivers — (Brian) Kosnik can really catch the ball — so they can throw.”
In New Canaan, Wheelock will be facing an opportunistic secondary which has reeled in 16 interceptions. Senior Frank Granito leads that group with six picks, including two in the Rams’ win at Staples.
Wheelock’s favorite target has been senior Brian Kosnik, who has 53 catches for 885 yards and nine touchdowns.
Dysenchuk is the star of the running game with 120 carries for 864 yards — a 7.2 average. He’s also scored 14 rushing TDs, and has 17 receptions for 370 yards and three more TDs.
On defense, Darien boasts a strong linebacking corps with seniors Michael Gencarelli (team-high 84 tackles and six interceptions), James Patton (74 tackles), Ryan MacDonald (74) and Dysenchuk (65), and senior defensive lineman Greg Klein (64). Kosnik, who plays safety, leads the Wave with six interceptions.
New Canaan counters with its potent spread offensive attack, led by senior quarterback Nate Quinn. Quinn is 129-of-212 passing — a 60.8 percentage — for 1,957 yards and 20 TDs, with nine interceptions. Quinn has also rushed 64 times for 376 yards and four TDs.
Kurt Ondash is the primary target with 46 catches for 908 yards and 12 touchdowns. Halfback Sean Simmons has 29 catches for 385 yards and a touchdown, and has rushed 75 times for 506 yards — a 6.7 average — with 14 TDs.
Junior Cody Newton has 18 receptions for 265 yards and three TDs, and Mike DiRocco has 17 catches for 188 yards and a TD.
Senior fullback Chris Sciarretta is also a weapon, with 12 catches for 87 yards and two TDs, and 365 rushing yards with three TDs.
On defense, the Rams feature linebackers Brandon Leeming (team-high 127 tackles), and Sciarretta (102), along with defensive ends Evan Otis (101 tackles, four sacks) and Nick DiRubio (93 tackles, 9 sacks). The secondary is led by Granito, Ondash, Simmons and Chris Milisits.
The defense has been a huge strength for the Rams this season, and has allowed just 79 points in 10 games. Opponents have scored just 11 touchdowns against New Canaan, and three of those came in the week seven win over Staples.
“We’re a little bit better defensively then we were last year and a lot of that is Joe Ditolla working his magic,” Marinelli said. “We’ve got Chris Silvestri in the secondary, Fred Word and Steve Lauten and they’ve all done a tremendous job. Having had a better defense this year has gotten us to where we are now. Defense wins championships.”
New Canaan has the definitive edge in experience on a big stage, having played in the FCIAC final versus Greenwich two years ago and having won two consecutive state championships.
“I think a difference between the two programs at this point in time is that you have New Canaan who has an established program over the last several years,” Trifone said. “Been to the state tournament how ever many times.”
With a few big games on the horizon — the state tournament starts next Tuesday for both teams — it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the season has nearly reached its conclusion. In just 10 days, the helmets and pads will be put away for the winter.
“This is a special group,” Marinelli said of the 2008 Rams. “They just keep going, they want to play and they’re excited. The said thing at this time of the year is that in about two weeks it’s all going to be over. Right now, today, it’s fever pitch and Thursday morning, we’ll roll the dice and see what happens.”
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com
