By Hal Levy, Shore Line Newspapers
Special to MaxPreps.com
Arguably the best high school football team in Connecticut history had a reunion Saturday night.
Members of the 1976 Fitch-Groton team, which won the first-ever CIAC Class LL state championship game, along with coaches, fans and a sportswriter who covered them, gathered at New London's Ocean Beach to remember and to raise money for a scholarship.
The Falcons took the state by surprise in 1976. No team from Eastern Connecticut had really earned respect beyond the region and Fitch was no different. Despite a regular season in which its closest win was by 17 points (25-8 over St. Bernard-Uncasville) and despite scoring 30 or more in eight of 10 games (the other was a 21-0 win over Waterford in a monsoon), Fitch was never ranked higher than second in the state poll until the playoffs.
That was the first year the state went to a playoff system and it crowned champions in four divisions (LL, L, M and S). Trumbull, the FCAIC champion, was a heavy favorite going into the Class LL game, played in the snow at New Britain's Willow Brook Park. But Fitch dominated in a 29-7 win and eventually got its reward. The Falcs were ranked first in the final state poll, first in New England and tenth in the country and, in 2000, were voted the best team of the 1900's in a poll.
More important, Fitch gave Eastern Connecticut football an identity and made it easier for subsequent teams like New London, Norwich Free Academy and Ledyard, among others, to get respect from poll voters. The state titles won by some of those teams helped matters along as well, but Fitch was the trailblazer.
Most of the players and coaches attended and the stories flowed freely. Head coach Bob Weiss, who subsequently went on to be an assistant at Dartmouth and a head coach at Worcester Tech, didn't appear to have aged a day and still displayed his sharp, sometimes sarcastic, always funny, tongue. Defensive back Larry Croxton (Fitch was almost 100-percent two-platoon in a day when that was almost unheard of in Connecticut), now a math teacher and a coach, was the chief organizer along with end/attorney Peter Hoops and lineman Bob Porter. All took their turns at the mike as well.
There was a DVD culled from as much tape as the guys could find (six of the 11 games made it) and there were commemorative shirts.
It was a chance to catch up and to re-read some of the stories and wonder "did I really write that?" In short, it was a great evening.
Columbus Day was a time to reflect. For years, the day marked the annual Milford Jai Alai media tournament, run by PR director Bob Heussler (now at WFAN). One of the regulars at the event, and the practice sessions leading up to it, was the late Bill Gonillo.
His final job was as the sports director for News Channel 12 in Fairfield County where he covered everything from the Pilot Pen tennis tournament and the Travelers Championship (golf) to local high school events or all sorts. Before that, at WELI-radio in New Haven, he pioneered broadcasts of high school football.
Gonillo died recently at age 44, apparently of complications from diabetes. He was a man who could always brighten your day. He had running jokes with most of the long-time members of the state media. We always went back and forth about food (Bill loved to eat) and jai alai (he reminded me he had won the tournament twice and I had only one win). He always had a line. When I showed up one year at the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America dinner, a black-tie event, with a date, his first remark was "You've stepped out of your class." Turned out he was right.
He was one of those people who made a difference simply by being himself and he will be missed, particularly on Jai Alai (aka Columbus) Day.
The Stratford High girls' soccer team recently ended an 86-game losing streak by playing to a scoreless tie against Notre Dame-Fairfield. Stratford's last win came 3-2 against Jonathan Law-Milford, Oct. 23, 2001. Since it began playing in 1993, the team has only two wins and two ties.
Second-year coach Erin Mucha was quoted in the Connecticut Post as saying "At first it was hard to keep their morale up, but I told the players to look at the big picture. They used to lose, 10-0, but now we're contending with teams. Things started to click and it showed on the field tonight."
St. Joseph (Trumbull) volleyball coach George Green recently got his 500th career win. Led by 32 assists from Meghan Mitchell, St. Joseph defeated Fairfield-Warde, 26-16, 26-28, 25-11, 25-13. St. Joe's also got help from Liz Travers, Brittany Capozziello and Alyse Hopkins, who combined for 32 kills.
Courtney Reilly's goal gave Daniel Hand-Madison a 1-0 win over Mercy-Middletown to open the girls' soccer season. That was career win number 300 for Hand coach Bob Faulkner.
Faulkner won 200 games as Hand's boys' coach and the last 100 as coach of the girls. As of this writing, the Tigers are undefeated (9-0-0) and ranked among the top 10 in the state.
