FOOTBALL: Wolcott Tech assistant coach Jennifer Stango gets ready for her second season with the Wildcats

By Peter Wallace, Register Citizen

 TORRINGTON -- What’s good about playing football?

“The contact,” beams Jennifer Stango, immediately gaining credibility in her position as an assistant football coach at Wolcott Tech High School in Torrington.

Stango, a 2005 graduate of Post University (Waterbury), has played in a national women’s league for nine years, the past two with the Connecticut Wreckers in Danbury.

At 5-feet-3, she’s a linebacker and a running back.

Recovered from an ACL tear last year, Stango knows contact.

“I don’t want to hear that ‘He’s bigger than me,’” she says in her coaches role with some of Wolcott Tech’s smaller cornerbacks and receivers. “Get down low; the low man wins.”

Stango, a social studies teacher at Waterbury’s Kaynor Tech in her day job, played soccer, basketball and softball at Sacred Heart High School and at Post. A former coach recruited her for a women’s football team in Hartford; later, she switched to another team in Danbury before the Wreckers were formed two years ago.

“The ball is smaller, but the rules are the same as college,” she says, explaining that there are 50 league teams in North America, including one in Canada. The regular season, running from April through July, has eight games.

 

By Register Citizen Staff
Torrington has offically offered the football head coaching position to former Sheehan High School offensive coordinator Gaitan Rodriguez.

“I was chosen,” said Rodriguez. “I am very excited and extremely excited to come home.”

He played at Torrington High School in the 90’s and was an All-NVL selection; he also began his coaching career with the Raiders.

Torrington Athletic Director Mike McKenna said they were looking for a coach who would be able to do more for the program than just coach on the field.

“We were looking for someone who’s going to develop young men academically and socially. Football is not the big thing that people are going to learn. What they get out of sports is way beyond what they learn on the field,” said McKenna. “I think Gaitan Rodriguez is the guy who can do that. I’ve known him since he was a freshman in high school. He’s absolutely what we were looking for.”


In other coaching news, Doug Cotto was hired at Bunnell and Rich Holmes was named head coach at Abbott Tech.

FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Platt Tech off to 3-0 start for first time

With a talented and experienced group returning this season, Platt Tech expected to be competitive.

The Panthers did last year, too, but the team fell short of their goals and finished at 4-6.

“Last year, on paper, we had some talent and expected to win six to eight games,” Platt Tech coach Vin Camera said. “But we had some injuries, and kids who didn’t come out that we were expecting to, and we won just four games.”

This year the Panthers took a different approach in managing expectations.

RUSH HOUR

North Haven senior Jalon White has certainly made the case that he is perhaps the state’s best running back.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Despite losing to top-ranked Xavier 49-12 on Sept. 21, White rushed 23 times for 235 yards. He scored on runs of 51 and 78 yards in the fourth quarter while the Falcons’ starters were still in the game.

This past week, the Indians earned an impressive 34-20 victory over previously unbeaten New London. White carried 36 times for 354 yards and all five touchdowns.

“It was a huge night for him,” North Haven coach Anthony Sagnella said. “He’s at a different speed right now. He was certainly a good player the first two years, but he’s also in a different role now. He’s taking on the role where he’s the guy now, and that’s great.”


HAND-XAVIER POLL

Who do you think will win Friday night’s contest between No. 3 Hand and No. 1 Xavier?

You can cast your vote right now at www.nhregister.com/sports/high_school. The poll will be open until just before game time.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Palmer Field in Middletown. Both teams are 4-0.


XAVIER, STAPLES, HAND lead Top 10 POLL 

WEEK 4 HIGHLIGHTS

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Hamden Hall Jr. WR Mike Breuler: Made seven catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Fieldston (N.Y.) on Saturday.

♦Haddam-Killingworth Sr. RB Nate Cruz: Rushed 26 times for 205 yards and four touchdowns in a ♦Hopkins Jr. RB Jim Martino: Rushed 16 times for 229 yards and six touchdowns in a 40-8 win over Rye (N.Y.) on Friday.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Cheshire So. DB Jack Cunningham: Had five tackles, two interceptions and blocked an extra-point attempt in a 48-13 win over Notre Dame-West Haven on Friday. Cunningham also rushed six times for 69 yards.

♦Hillhouse Sr. DB Andre Anderson: Made eight tackles and an interception in a 47-0 win over Law on Friday. Anderson also ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Amity Jr. Lyle Luth: Kicked two field goals and seven extra points in a 61-43 win over Guilford on Friday.  

♦Coginchaug Jr. Jack Granger: Returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in a 40-0 win over Lewis Mills on Saturday. Granger also scored on a 15-yard run.

ON THE AIR

♦Seymour at Ansonia, Thursday, 6:30 p.m.: 960-WELI, 960WELI.com, iheart radio

♦Hand at Xavier, Friday, 7 p.m.: 960-WELI, 960WELI.com, iheart radio


MORE HIGHLIGHTS

 Hyde continues to impress with 21-10 win over Cromwell

By Jimmy Zanor
Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Hyde football’s 2012 Redemption Tour continued to get rave reviews following the Howling Wolves’ 21-10 Pequot Conference victory against Cromwell Saturday at the Wilbur Cross Athletic Complex.

With last year’s 55-20 loss to the Panthers still fresh in their minds, Hyde took advantage of four Cromwell turnovers and grabbed a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

“The kids circled the calendar for this one,” said Hyde coach Melvin Wells. “We’ve got a group of seniors that played last year and they remember the feeling and it wasn’t a good one. We felt embarrassed. This year they dedicated themselves to getting better and today we came out prepared.”

An interception by Hyde linebacker Khalil Morant set up the Howling Wolves’ first score, a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Kevin Jones to Tyquan Franklin, who was open in the corner of the end zone.


VOTE for Hyde's KEVIN JONES for Saturday's STAR OF THE DAY! 

DIAZ LEADS OXFORD 

Oxford 55, Notre Dame-Fairfield 20: Quarterback Brennen Diaz threw two touchdown passes and ran for another and Chris Van Kamerik caught the two touchdown passes and added a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown to lead Oxford to its SWC Patriot win in Fairfield. Kamerik had five receptions for 72 yards and Dan Trombetta had five carries for 112 yards, including a 93 touchdown run, for Oxford (3-1).

READ MORE ROUNDUP HERE

PLATT TECH has been nominated for TEAM OF THE WEEK! VOTE!

DERBY VS. NO. 4 ANSONIA 

When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Nolan Field, Ansonia
Team records: Derby 2-0; Ansonia 2-0
Players to watch: Derby — Dillon McMahon, Sr., WR/DB; Tyrae Small, Jr., RB/LB; Duane Jones, Sr., OL/DL; Ansonia — Arkeel Newsome, Jr., RB/DB; Andrew Matos, Sr., WR/LB; Jh’Mel Trammell, Sr., OL/DL.
You should know: This game marks the 90th meeting between these two storied programs. Ansonia holds a 53-28-8 series lead. The Chargers have won the last five meetings (2002-2003, 2009-2011). The teams did not play from 2004-2008. Derby’s last win was a 14-12 victory in 2001. The last time the Red Raiders won the first two games in a season was in 1999. This contest is the first Naugatuck Valley League Brass Division title of the season for each team. Derby earned a hard-fought 21-20 victory over Naugatuck last week. Naugatuck scored late in the fourth quarter but Small blocked the extra point attempt and the Red Raiders survived. Derby’s defense was stingy, allowing just two touchdowns. The Greyhounds scored on a kickoff return on the game’s opening play. The Red Raiders will need to play nearly flawlessly to pull the upset here. Emotions should be high, and in a rivalry game, anything can happen. Ansonia, though, might be too skilled for Derby to contain for four quarters and is favored here.
Register’s pick: Ansonia.

OTHER GAMES

CSC
Prince Tech at O'Brien Tech, 7:00 p.m. Pick: Prince Tech

NVL BRASS
Watertown at Wilby, 6:00 p.m. Pick: Watertown

SCC DIVISION II EAST
East Haven at North Haven, 7:00 p.m. Pick: North Haven

Only two games on tap for Thursday.

Here are my picks:

CSC

O'Brien Tech at Wilcox Tech, 7:00 p.m.: Good shot for OB Tech to pick up a victory. Win would boost Condors' confidence. Pick: O'Brien Tech.

ECC INTER

Ledyard at Killingly, 6:30 p.m.: Killingly hasn't defeated the Colonels since 1998. Pick: Ledyard.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Whitney Tech set to embark on first varsity season

By Chris Hunn, Register Staff
chunn@nhregister.com / Twitter: @Chris_Hunn

HAMDEN — The story isn’t so much about tackles or touchdowns. It’s more than that.

Whitney Tech will be taking the field as a varsity program for the first time in school history this season. It’s been an uphill battle to get to this point, but the Owls have managed.

Hard work, perseverance and plenty of help from the community have been critical.

“We needed about $100,000 to start the team,” said head coach Victor Cooper recently at a team fundraiser event in Hamden. “You can get away with $50,000. You can maybe slide by with $25,000. We did it with $12,000.”

The circumstances aren’t ideal, but Whitney Tech is making the best of them.

Right now the team has no weight room and no home field. They try and build strength with workouts using their own body weight and are practicing at the old Hamden Middle School. The program only has two coaches and its borrowing equipment like tackling dummies and sleds from Hamden’s Pop Warner league.

“Problem is, these are made for little kids,” Cooper said. “The sled is this high (pointing at a small distance off the ground). We’re going to be low, which isn’t bad.”

As for jerseys, the Southern Connecticut State football team handed down Whitney Tech some old ones. It works out because they are both the Owls. Southern, along with Black and Decker and the Connecticut NFL Alumni Association, have also helped with generous donations.

Peter Dzialo, a teacher at Whitney Tech, gave a home weight set to the team. The school’s carpentry program made plyometric blocks for training and Adirondack chairs for the team to raffle off. University of New Haven football coach Pete Rossomando has offered free clinics for Whitney Tech, which is made up of mostly underclassmen with little to no playing experience.

Condors developing O'Brien Tech pride in program's second year

By Mike Pucci, Register Staff
mpucci@nhregister.com / Twitter: @MikePucciNHR

Emmet O'Brien Tech football players (left to right) Joe Fernandes, Steven Sabanski, Nick Coppola, Paul Makinano and Matt Gomulinski are photographed at the school in Ansonia on 8/31/2012. Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register AG0461B

ANSONIA — The O’Brien Tech players are confident, enthusiastic and, most importantly, proud as the Condors begin Year 2 as a varsity football program.

O’Brien Tech went 3-7 last season, the school’s first as a solo program after a co-op with Derby was disbanded after three seasons.

There will again be several challenges for the Condors: lack of suitable facilities and resources, an inexperienced roster and a new head coach, Nick Aprea, who takes over for Ken Roberts, who stepped down after one season.

But there’s several encouraging signs. Aprea says there’s about 40 players at summer camp and most are underclassmen.

Nick Aprea has been named the next football coach at O'Brien Tech. Aprea served as an assistant last season under Ken Roberts when the Condors fielded the first varsity team in school history.

Roberts stepped down in the off-season. O'Brien Tech athletic director Dan Nemergut temporarily took over the head coaching duties after Roberts' departure.

Aprea, a physical education teacher at Seymour, met with about 35 players on Friday. The Condors went 3-7 last season.

"The kids that were there were excited and enthusiastic," Aprea said. "It's nice to have the continuity from last season."

But there will be several challenges. O'Brien Tech doesn't have a weight room, there's no press box at the field and goal posts have yet to be installed. Aprea currently has just one assistant, Todd Pagano. With the head coach position in flux, the Condors decided not to have spring practice, instead opting for additional days in the summer.

Aprea said he hopes there's a commitment from both athletes and parents to make this transition a smooth one. With players living in surrounding towns, transportation to practice could become an issue.

"It's going to be a challenge," Aprea said.

The Condors open their season on Sept. 15 at home against Capital Prep/Classical Magnet.

O'Brien Tech athletic director Dan Nemergut will take over the head coaching duties for the Condors, he confirmed Tuesday. Ken Roberts recently resigned after leading the Condors to a 3-7 record in their inaugural season last fall.

Despite little football coaching experience, Nemergut decided to accept the job. Nemergut explained how the hiring process works:

The job must be posted for seven days for O'Brien Tech employees, who will be considered first for the position. Applicants who are employees of other state vocational technical schools will be considered next before the job gets posted to the public. Just one applicant applied from another tech school.

With Nemergut accepting the position, it allows for assistant coaches Nick Aprea and Joe DeVellis to remain with the program.

"I wanted to keep the continuity in the program," Nemergut said. "The two assistants are going to stay and we will move forward.

"The assistants we have working with us are very good. There's a good atmosphere with the kids and the assistants coming back. We're hoping to add staff, and we hope to inch the program forward."

Harrison Hudson rushed 18 times for 137 yards and four touchdowns for the visiting Panthers in this CSC win over the Condors at Shelton's Finn Stadium.

Anton Graham rushed 14 times for 166 yards and a score for Platt Tech (4-6).

Tom Buckles scored on a 21-yard run for O'Brien Tech (3-7).