FAIRFIELD, Conn. — It’s difficult to decipher the outcomes from Week 1 of the high school football season. Is the winning team as good as it may have looked? Or is the victory simply an indication of a down year for the loser?
In the FCIAC, there’s still much to be determined, but there’s no denying that Fairfield-Warde’s 14-0 win over the Darien Blue Wave was a huge surprise.
Warde scored touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters, and the defense did the rest, as the Mustangs made new head coach Duncan Dellavolpe’s Fairfield debut a memorable one at Tetreau-Davis Field. Darien was last year’s FCIAC and State Class MM runner-up, losing both title games to rival New Canaan while finishing 11-2 overall. Dellavolpe played a big part in those games as the New Canaan’s offensive coordinator.
The Blue Wave had beaten Fairfield-Warde 42-14 last fall, and the Mustangs went on to post a 3-8 record. Darien, however, shot itself in the foot in this year’s season opener, turning the ball over twice inside the Warde 10-yard line.
Fairfield’s Craig Lowery started the scoring when he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Eric Burns in the first quarter. Darien blocked the PAT, but the Mustangs led 6-0. Warde clung to that six-point lead until the fourth quarter, when it finally opened up some breathing room, as Alex Delaney scored on a 4-yard run and also added a two-point conversion for the 14-0 win.
New Canaan keeps on winning
Defending FCIAC champion New Canaan picked up where it left off last season, racking up seven touchdowns in a 50-7 win over the Bassick Lions in the opener at Dunning Field.
Tim Robustelli, New Canaan
Photo by Richard Stieglitz
The Rams, who have won three consecutive state championships, now own a 17-game winning streak heading into Friday night’s home game against Trinity Catholic. Against Bassick, the Rams scored 16 points in the first quarter and led 44-0 at halftime.
Senior halfback Peter Park scored the game’s first two touchdowns on first-quarter carries of 17 and 19 yards. The defense then got on the scoreboard when Matt Brady sacked quarterback Rodney Lanham in the end zone for two more points and a 16-0 lead after one quarter.
Tim Robustelli scored on a 3-yard rush in the second quarter and quarterback Willie Ouellette hooked up with Peter Gronseth on a 13-yard TD pass. With 4:49 remaining in the half, the Rams scored again as Willie Gould recovered a botched snap in the end zone for a touchdown.
Brianna Valente then became the first female player to score in NCHS history when she booted the extra point to make it 37-0.
The Rams also got TD passes from QBs Turner Baty and Matt Milano in the second half, as they went on to win by 43 points.
Greenwich starts rebound year with win
Not many teams would call an 8-3 season a down year, but the Greenwich Cardinals are out to prove the 2008 season was an anomaly, and they opened in fine fashion, beating the Norwalk Bears 35-14 at Cardinal Stadium on Sept. 16.
Senior Camryn Ferrara scored the first touchdown of the game for the Cards when he carried the ball 11 yards to paydirt just 46 seconds after kickoff. Quarterback Mike Lefflbine, who was 12-of-19 passing for 219 yards in just one half of playing time, scored the next TD on a 1-yard keeper, which made it 14-0 after one quarter.
In the second, Peter Cavini scored on a 13-yard run, Lefflbine ran another TD in from three yards out and Lefflbine then hooked up with Evan Kavanaugh on a 26-yard pass for Greenwich’s fifth TD of the half. Cavini finished with eight carries for 90 yards and also caught two passes for 29 yards. David Josephson led Greenwich receivers with four catches for 90 yards.
Norwalk came back with two TDs and 14 points in the second half, as QB Andrew Krasnavage threw a TD passes of 27 yards Derrick Edwards and 36 yards to Chris Massimis.
Staples wrecks Trinity in opener
Another league power coming off a "down" year is the Staples Wreckers, who went 1-5 down the stretch and finished with a 6-5 record last season.
The Wreckers started 2009 with a 24-6 victory over the Trinity Catholic Crusaders in Week 1. Matt Kelly had 115 yards rushing and Ryan Burke ran for 110 more as the Wreckers’ ground game steamrolled to the win. Quarterback Brandon Pacilio ran for 77 yards and two TDs.
Tigers impressive in first game
The Ridgefield Tigers delivered a strong opening-night statement with a solid defensive performance and a 23-6 victory over the Stamford Black Knights at Boyle Stadium. The game was scoreless into the second half, when Ridgefield kicker Sean Cobelli booted a 47-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
On the ensuing Stamford drive, Ridgefield lineman Mike Sheldon recovered a fumble and returned it 13 yards for a TD and a 10-0 lead. The Tigers then added 13 points on two TDs in the fourth quarter. Bo McCarthy scored the first TD on a pass from quarterback Ryan Curnal, and Drew Arcoleo ran for the final Ridgefield touchdown. Arcoleo had 21 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Stamford’s night was even worse than the final score indicated, as standout linebacker Khairi Fortt injured his right knee in the second half and had to leave the game. Fortt, the No. 2-rated linebacker on many recruiting lists, is coveted by numerous Division I colleges, and has narrowed his choices down to Penn State, Georgia, USC, North Carolina, Michigan and Tennessee.
Gill has Central off and running
Bridgeport Central’s senior standout Christian Gill put the Hilltoppers on the FCIAC map for 2009, as he led his team to a dominating 53-28 win over the Fairfield-Ludlowe Falcons in the season opener at Kennedy Stadium. Gill figured in three of the Toppers’ first three touchdowns, as they rolled out to a 39-6 lead in the first half.
After Dominick Luckey opened the scoring with a 4-yard run to cap off the first drive of the game, Gill scored on a 52-yard carry for a 12-0 lead. Gill then added a pair of touchdown passes of 75 and 42 yards to Shabashie McIntosh for a 26-0 first-quarter advantage.
Gill finished with 83 yards rushing on three carries, and completed the two passes he threw for 117 yards and two TDs, and Luckey, another senior, ran for a pair of TDs and had 10 carries for 78 yards.
Central, which was 3-8 in 2008, also had two defensive touchdowns on fumble recoveries.
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.
