By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
GREENWICH, Conn. - It may have been Week One of the football season, but the biggest news over the weekend didn’t take place on the gridiron — it came on the volleyball court.
The Greenwich Cardinals rallied from a first-set loss to win the final three and knocked off the Darien Blue Wave, 3-1, last Friday, ending the Wave’s 140-match winning streak.
The streak dates back seven years to 2001, when Darien lost a 3-2 decision at rival New Canaan. During the past seven years, the Wave has won seven straight FCIAC and state titles, and has been untouchable.
The trend looked as if it would continue when last Friday’s match started, as Darien won the first set 25-22. Greenwich answered the bell, however, and rolled to a 25-16 win in the second set.
The Cards won the third set 25-17, and led 21-14 in the fourth when the Wave rallied for seven straight points to tie the score at 21-21.
Greenwich again had a response, however, and won the final four points for a 25-21 win.
Senior co-captain Erika Videtto had a huge day with 20 kills, while Katrina Wells added 24 assists and 10 service points. Senior co-captain Olanna Nissam has 12 service points and Sarah Gilly had seven kills and seven blocks.
Football: FCIAC delivers one upset and a few answers; Hillhouse wins in New Jersey
Fairfield-Ludlowe 17, Norwalk 14
One of the weekend’s biggest surprises came on Friday night, as the Ludlowe Falcons won 17-14 over the Norwalk Bears, a team which many have pegged as an FCIAC title contender.
Sean Anderson booted a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Falcons the upset win at Ludlowe HS.
The Bears led 14-0 after quarterback Andrew Krasnavage threw TD passes to Sam Rosa and Jeremy Dickens, but Ludlowe broke the shutout with a 20-yard TD strike from Rob Ferreira to Mike Deliberti. A two-yard run by Phil Tsopanides tied the game in the fourth quarter, setting up Anderson’s dramatic kick.
Ferreira had 116 yards passing in the rain, with Deliberti catching three passes for 60 yards. Norwalk was led by Chris Hines, who had 75 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Greenwich 47, Bridgeport Central 14
Two-time defending FCIAC and State champion Greenwich picked up where it left off last fall, beating the Hilltoppers 47-14 Friday night at Cardinal Stadium.
Greenwich racked up almost 400 yards of offense as QB Mike Lefflbine passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns to Mike Grant and running back Erik Camacho. Grant caught four passes for 130 yards and Camacho scored three rushing TDs.
Central had a 14-13 lead in the second quarter following touchdown runs of 9 yards by Giovanny Marmolejos and 8 yards by Shabashe McIntosh. A 25-yard run by Lefflbine put the Cards back in the driver’s seat and they extended the advantage to 26-14 by halftime. J.R. Nickelson had an 81-yard touchdown run in the second half, as Greenwich outscored Central, 19-0.
New Canaan 41, Trumbull 13
The New Canaan Rams answered some big questions with a big performance against the Trumbull Golden Eagles Saturday at Dunning Field.
Senior quarterback Nate Quinn completed 9-of-17 passes for 255 yards and six touchdowns, three of which went to senior Kurt Ondash, who had 156 yards receiving, as the Rams routed Trumbull, 41-3.
The six TD passes by Quinn tied for the second most in NCHS history, and ranks fourth in the Connecticut record books. The top spot is owned by Bloomfield’s Jason Manson, who had nine in a win against Hall in 2000. New Canaan’s Kurt Horton had seven against Rippowam back in 1970, and Southington’s Doug Fink had seven against Cheshire in 2001.
New Canaan’s offense wasted little time getting started, as Quinn threw a 61-yard scoring pass to Ondash just 1:40 in. Quinn and Ondash hooked up again, this time for a 46-yard TD pass, at 5:26, and Cody Newton caught Quinn’s third touchdown pass, for 10 yards, with 1:24 to play in the first quarter.
Newton caught a 19-yard TD pass in the second quarter and New Canaan made it 34-0 in the third quarter when Quinn and Ondash teamed up on a 49-yard TD.
The final TD was a 43-yard pass to Kevin Macari in the third.
Trumbull struggled to get anything started on offense, and managed just 177 yards and two four-yard TDs by Jeff John in the second half.
Eagles’ QB Mike Pope was 3-of-18 for 41 yards and an interception, while Kevin Newsome led the rushing game with 55 yards on six carries. John carried 11 times for 47 yards and two TDs, while Richie Edwards had eight carried for 44 yards.
Darien 39, Trinity 6
In a battle of two small school teams with high hopes this fall, Darien clobbered the Trinity Catholic Crusaders, 39-6, Saturday in Stamford.
Nick Cortese had given Trinity a 6-0 lead with a 46-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but it was all Blue Wave after that.
The Wave’s James Patton finished with two rushing TDs, and Nikki Dysenchuk scored once on a 10-yard run to make it 22-6 in favor of Darien by halftime.
Stamford 27. Norwich Free Academy 10
Stamford matched its win total from 2007 with an impressive 27-10 road decision over NFA on Saturday.
Quarterback Mitch O’Meara threw for four touchdowns, three of them to receiver Chris Evans.
The Black Knights scored the first two touchdowns of the game to take a 13-0 lead, but NFA rebounded to make it 13-10 at halftime. In the third quarter, O’Meara connected with Evans for TD strikes of 19 and 42 yards, and the defense was untouched in the second half to secure the win.
Bunnell 36, Middletown 17
Quarterback Chris Sloat passed for 275 yards and three TDs, and added 95 rushing yards as the Bunnell Bulldogs toppled Middletown, 36-17, on Saturday.
Sloat started the scoring with a 57-yard scoring strike to Tyler Navarro, while Mark Harrison had 155 receiving yards and two TDs. James McMahon added a 35-yard score on a fumble recovery and Jose Rocha had a 45-yard interception return for a TD.
Notre Dame-Fairfield 48, Archbishop Williams, Mass., 28
The Lancers racked up 48 points against Williams, as Mike Partell had two passing touchdowns and a rushing TD.
Joe Dobbins ran for two TDs and had 163 yards rushing on the day, while Conner Montross had an 87-yard TD run. Jose Rivera also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score.
Hillhouse 24, Hoboken, N.J. 6
New Haven Hillhouse used a stingy defense and an effective running game to emerge with a convincing victory on Saturday in New Jersey.
“The kids played well,” Hillhouse coach Tom Dyer told the New Haven Register. “To do an overnight trip on a Friday and to all stay in a hotel, it would be easy for the kids to lose focus.
“Hoboken is a real class act,” Dyer added. “They invited us to their team meal. We ate with them, and the players got to know each other, and (the Hillhouse coaches) got to talk with their coaches. This is something these kids are never going to forget for the rest of their lives.”
Hillhouse, led by safety Jeremy Moore (12 tackles, four interceptions, one 80-yard kickoff to start the second half) started slowly but built a 17-0 lead during the first half.
Senior quarterback Bernard Risco scored on runs of seven and three yards in the second quarter and Leo James added a 35-yard field goal.
Moore’s defensive performance earned him MSG’s High School Weekly defensive player of the week award.
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
