HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: The pitch count grows for top prospects

Decisions, decisions.

A standout football player, especially an incoming senior, will likely soon decide where to spend the next four years after high school.

Some have already made their choice.

Ansonia running back Arkeel Newsome recently verbally committed to play at UConn. Early this year, St. Paul quarterback Logan Marchi also picked UConn, while Norwich Free Academy running back Marcus Outlow gave his verbal commitment to Boston College.
The recruiting process, though, can often be confusing and overwhelming.

“A little (overwhelming),” West Haven running back Ervin Philips said. “It’s all new. It just takes some time to get used to.”

Philips and Hillhouse running back Harold Cooper are arguably two of the state’s more sought-after players who have yet to commit.

Philips has already taken unofficial visits to Syracuse and Temple, which he lists as his top choices. Both schools have made offers. Philips said he also received interest from Boston College, Maine, Rutgers, UConn, UMass and Villanova.

According to the NCAA rules for football, a student-athlete cannot make an official visit until the start of classes of their senior year, which for West Haven is on Aug. 29.

“As of right now, I want to wait until my senior year actually starts so I can take my official visits to really get the school experience,” Philips said. “From there, that’s when I think I’ll make my decision, so maybe late August into September.”

YALE FOOTBALL: Defense shines, 1989 team honored at Blue-White game 

NEW HAVEN — Yale’s football future embraced its past Saturday afternoon as legendary coach Carm Cozza and his 1989 championship team were recognized following the Bulldogs’ annual Blue-White spring game.

Yale head coach Tony Reno, who will begin his second season this fall, is looking to build upon a winning tradition. And there was no better way for his 2013 squad to end its spring-practice session by taking a knee at the Yale Bowl and listening to Cozza speak about his last Ivy League championship team.

“It’s great to have the ’89 team back,” said Reno. “I think when you’re a program like this that has so much tradition and has so much success, to bring back a guy who was a Hall of Fame coach and his last championship team, and for an opportunity to put them in front of our players is something I embrace at every step.”

PHOTOS: Yale football scrimmage  

 

 UCONN FOOTBALL: Depleted Huskies still a defensive team  

EAST HARTFORD — This was a week of change in the world of UConn athletics, with the unveiling of new uniforms featuring a more ominous-looking mascot and groundbreaking on a basketball practice facility.

However, when the UConn football team took the field for its annual spring game, it looked as if some things haven’t changed. The defensive unit clearly still holds the upper hand over the offense.

During the 11-on-11 live portion of the scrimmage, the offense was unable to score a touchdown as the only scoring came on field goals of 46 and 20 yards by Bobby Puyol.

 

 SCSU FOOTBALL: Mallis hopes to be off and running for the Owls 

NEW HAVEN — Jack Mallis admitted he was a bit on edge heading into Southern Connecticut State’s annual spring football game.

Each of the past two seasons, Mallis, a junior running back, had limped off the field unable to finish the contest.

“I told my friends I felt a little weird about the game,” Mallis said. “My first year I played I pulled my hamstring. And last year I tore my PCL and my meniscus.”

But Mallis came out of Saturday’s contest injury free and hopes it’s an omen for a big season.
“It felt great to come out of this game healthy,” he said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Mallis and the Owls hope to improve on last season’s disappointing campaign when injuries and youth derailed the team’s season. There were games that Southern went as deep as its fourth-string quarterback to finish off contests.

The end result was a 3-8 mark in which the Owls were outscored 334-190.

 

 

 

 

(photo posted on University of New Hampshire website)

Sean Goldrich, a former standout at Notre Dame-West Haven, threw two touchdown passes in his collegiate debut. Goldrich's teammate at ND, Rob Bowman, started on the offensive line for New Hampshire. Below, read the article posted on the University of New Hampshire website. 

Worcester,  Mass. - The University of New Hampshire football team scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives of 98 yards and 95 yards in the second half to pull away from Holy Cross for a 38-17 Thursday night victory in the season opener for both schools at Fitton Field.

The Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 CAA) outscored the Crusaders (0-1, 0-0 Patriot League) 19-7 after halftime and amassed 531 yards of offense (279 rushing, 252 passing) to improve to 11-3 all-time in season-opening games under head coach Sean McDonnell.

Sean Goldrich (West Haven, Conn.) shined in his collegiate debut, completing 21 of 31 passes for 193 yards and two TDs. The redshirt freshman added a team-high 71 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Xavier junior quarterback Tim Boyle gave his verbal commitment to play at Boston College on Wednesday.

Thhe 6-foot-4, 218 pound Boyle also had offers from UConn, Florida, UMass, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

"BC was one of the first schools to offer," Xavier coach Sean Marinan said. "It wasn't until the last couple of months that he got all types of national interest."

Marinan believes Boyle has unlimited potential.

"I think he can go all the way (to the NFL)," Marinan said. "He has a great arm. He's a tall kid, and he's starting to put on weight. I think he's done growing up, but I think he will start to thicken up. I think he could get to 230.

"He's working hard in the weight room. I think everything's there for him. Now it's going to be about the mental aspect and the adjustment to the speed of the game at the next level. But he has the potential to play on Sundays."

Boyle shared time under center with graduating senior Pat D'Amato last season and helped lead the Falcons to the Class LL state title for the second consecutive year. Boyle threw for 850 yards and 15 touchdowns in six games last year. He did miss some time with a shoulder injury.

By Bill Cloutier, Assistant Sports Editor

Former Southern Connecticut State defensive lineman Ike Igbinosun signed a free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday after the conclusion of the NFL Draft.

Igbinosun, a 6-foot-5, 285-pounder out of Rahway, N.J., was one of the top defensive players in the Northeast-10 Conference last season. Igbinosun earned all-conference, all-region and all-ECAC honors last season and took part in the NAIA Senior Bowl.

He led SCSU linemen both with 58 tackles and seven sacks last season.

NEW HAVEN — The Southern Connecticut State football team lost 16 starters from last season’s 7-3 squad. The Owls lost All-American running back Rashaad Slowley, quarterback Kevin Lynch and nearly the entire defensive unit.

The talk around the powerful Northeast-10 Conference is that the Owls, a perennial conference contender, are rebuilding.

“Let us be the underdogs,” SCSU sophomore safety Dion O’Joe said. “It’s great that they think like that. It will just be more disappointing for the rest of the teams.”

Read more from Bill Cloutier here.

UCONN

EAST HARTFORD — Chandler Whitmer is certainly happy he’s not in Kansas anymore. And not just because he avoided a series of tornadoes last weekend that ripped through Butler County, where he attended community college last fall.

Whitmer, who transferred to UConn in January, made quite an impression in his Connecticut debut at Rentschler Field on Saturday. He completed 18-of-27 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns to lead his White team to a 14-5 victory during the Huskies annual spring game before a crowd of 5,500.

“I have a lot of friends still out there,” said Whitmer, a third-year sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining. “(The tornadoes) were scary for them. I’ll be honest, I do miss the place. But it’s definitely nice to be out here.”

Read more from Chip Malafronte here.

YALE

WEST HAVEN — As the spring session came to an end Saturday, Yale’s new head coach Tony Reno remained tightlipped about the Bulldogs quarterback situation.

“They both did a nice job and made some plays,” Reno said. “We want to let that thing sort out. We want to make sure we make the right decision on that one.”

PHOTOS: Yale Blue-White scrimmage

While Reno chose to remain quiet following the Bulldogs Blue-White scrimmage at the Yale Bowl, it’s hard to believe junior quarterback John Whitelaw doesn’t have an edge in the race heading into the summer. He’s the only quarterback on the roster who threw a pass for Yale last season.

Read more from Chris Hunn here.

NEW HAVEN

WEST HAVEN — University of New Haven sophomore running back Mike DeCaro thought he could’ve done better during the spring. According to DeCaro, he had missed some practices because of class and even in the spring game he didn’t think he performed well. However, the final score is all that counts, even in an exhibition game.

“There was 40 seconds left,” DeCaro said, “there is always an incentive to win.”

DeCaro’s 60-yard catch and scamper led to a Demetrius Washington-Ellison touchdown late in fourth quarter to give the White Team a 7-6 victory over the Blue Team at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium on Saturday morning.

Read more from Henry Chisholm here.