Morgan QB Alex Lipka

(photo courtesy Shoreline Times)

  

Morgan

Peter's Complex, Clinton

Coach: Mike Eagle (4th year)
Conference: Pequot
2012 Record: 5-5
2013 Kickoff: vs. Lewis Mills, Sept. 13, 6:30 p.m.
Top offensive players: Jake Ward, 5-10, 180, Jr., RB; Alex Lipka, 6-0, 195, Sr., QB; Mark Zumpano, 6-3, 170, Sr., WR; Thomas White, 5-11, 175, Sr., WR; Riley Cronan, 6-3, 245, Sr., C.
Top defensive players: Ward, Jr., SS; Joe Lee, 5-11, 185, Jr., FS; Jace Garcia, 6-3, 350, Jr., DL; Jake Teuner, 6-6, 220, Jr., LB; Eric Peterson, 6-3, 275, Jr., DL; Greg Lee, 5-10, 205, Jr., LB.
Key losses: Hunter Aiono, LB; Nick Sneider, DL; Marc Simmons, WR.
Outlook: The Huskies are experienced, with several seniors and juniors who have started since they were freshmen. There's speed and athleticism offensively, especially at wide receiver. Then there's the size factor. Eagle noted that from left to right on the offensive line his team goes: 6-6 220, 6-3 350, 6-3 245, 6-3 275, 6-2 255. Ward returns after rushing for 1,323 and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore. He is expected to be one of the top players in the Pequot Conference. Morgan must fill a huge hole at the inside linebacker position with the departure of Aiono, who graduated. There's athleticism at corner back, although that group is inexperienced.  Eagle said that minimizing turnovers and staying healthy and consistent week to week will be the main challenge and goal for this year's team. With Ward returning, several other talented skill players, and the size on the offensive line, Morgan is a legitimate contender in the Pequot Conference.

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Previous entries in the Inside The Huddle series:

Pomperaug
Sheehan  
Xavier

Elijah Nixon scored three touchdowns on a 50-yard pass from Kevin Jones, a 63-yard touchdown run and a 74-yard interception return to lead the Hyde football team to a 41-10 Pequot Sassacus Division win over Morgan Saturday in New Haven.

Ezekial Nixon rushed for 113 yards on seven carries, including a 63-yard touchdown run, and Jones completed 7-of-12 passes for 123 yards for the Howling Wolves (2-0). Defensively for Hyde, William Burroughs had eight tackles and a sack and Donery Evans added six tackles and a sack.

Jake Ward scored the lone touchdown for Huskies (1-1) on a 5-yard run.

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 Mistakes cost Hopkins in loss to St. Luke's

 

 

Several Milford Academy football players, including former Ansonia standout Montrell Dobbs, recently decided on their college destinations.

Dobbs, a running back and the 2010 Register All-State player of the year, will attend Temple, Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick confirmed Wednesday.

In his one season with the Falcons, Dobbs, finished the year with a team leading 20 touchdowns and 1,366 yards and became the school’s second leader rusher all-time.

Dobbs originally planned to attend UConn but did not meet the academic requirements. Dobbs then briefly considered playing at Marshall.

Temple is coached by former Cheshire High coach Steve Addazio.

“Playing for coach Addazio is going to be great for him (Dobbs),” Chaplick said.

Dobbs will enroll at the Philadelphia school on Tuesday.

Former Milford Academy running back Matt Brown will be a senior at Temple in the fall.
Running back Bernard Pierce recently decided to forego his senior season with the Owls to enter the NFL draft.

“It’s a perfect situation for (Dobbs),” Chaplick said. “By the time he settles in down there, he’ll have the chance to be the man.”

Former St. Joseph standout Tyler Matakevich, a linebacker and Dobbs’ roommate at Milford Academy, has also committed to play at Temple.

“They both had a great year with me,” Chaplick said. “All their hard work has really paid off.”

Three other Milford Academy players from this area also made their choice.

Quarterback Erich Berzinskas, a former standout at Morgan, reported this past Sunday to Purdue, while North Haven’s Eddie Glenn and Naugatuck’s Aaron Echevarria will both play at Southern Connecticut State.

Info. from Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick.

Quarterback Erich Berzinskas, a former standout at Morgan, reported Sunday to Purdue University. Erich led the Falcons to its first undefeated football season, orchestrating fourth quarter come-from-behind wins against Lehigh University and Army Prep.

Tyler Matakevich, a former Register All-State selection at St. Joseph, reports next week to Temple University. Tyler was the Falcons leading tackler and team captain, amassing 104 tackles, 48 solo tackles, 21 TFLs, 2 INTs, 1 Pass Deflection and 6 Sacks. Tyler will be playing for Coach Steve Addazio, former Head Coach at Cheshire High School and Offensive Coordinator for the University of Florida Gators.

North Haven's Eddie Glenn and Naugatuck's Aaron Echevarria both report to Southern Connecticut University within the next weeks. Eddie and Aaron were both consistent starters for the Falcons.

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North Branford gets past Hyde, eyes postseason

No. 3 Hand rolls past Guilford

H-K knocks off Valley Regional

Woodland sinks Seymour

Old Saybrook/Westbrook rallies past Morgan

Follow the action on our football scoreboard

By Mike Pucci and Joe Morelli, Register Staff
mpucci@nhregister.com; jmorelli@nhregister.com / Twitter: @nhrfootball; Twitter: @jmorelli44

With the regular season less three weeks away, there’s a real possibility that some area high school teams will lose this entire week of practice due to the destruction caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

The shoreline towns were hit particularly hard. Hand football coach Steve Filippone says there’s uncertainty as to when his team can take the field again.

“We’re prohibited from practicing, arguably, until next Tuesday,” said Filippone Monday.

Filippone said he was directed by school officials not to practice because of poor road conditions due to fallen trees and down power lines. The electrical power in Madison has yet to be restored.

“It’s still pretty bad down here,” Filippone said.

Read the full story here.

James Baker-Howard scored on a 3-yard run and passed for 100 yards to lead the Hyde football team to a 14-7 Pequot Conference Sassacus Division victory over visiting Morgan Saturday at Bowen Field.

Patrick Davidson rushed 20 times for 58 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown run for the Howling Wolves (3-0), who added a safety in third quarter.

Gary Ormond carried six times for 47 yards and Hashiem Roberson added 42 yards on nine carries for Hyde.

Nainy Bah caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Erich Berzinskas for the Huskies (1-2).

Quarterback Joe Perez completed 7 of 15 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Thunderbirds to this Pequot Conference victory at the Peters Complex in Clinton.

Perez tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cory Onofrio, a 64-yard TD pass to Cameron Smith and a 25-yard touchdown strike to Sal Varca. Perez also scored on a 2-yard run.

Dan Esposito and Dale Hausman added rushing touchdowns for North Branford (2-0).

Mike Eagle, a former assistant at Berlin and Valley Regional, won his first game last week as the head coach at Morgan after a 35-21 victory over Stafford/East Windsor.

Eagle is the third coach in four seasons for the Huskies. Eagle hopes to bring stability and unity to the program.

"It’s a new philosophy — a new culture," Eagle said. "The kids, and the parents, and the administration, everybody has really taken to it. I’m very happy with that. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of positives going on around the school and the community. We’ve done a lot of things in our locker room — just little things — to bring everyone together and to make a family out of this. That’s what a football team is all about. I think we’re establishing that."

Morgan hosts Pequot Conference rival North Branford on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Peters Complex. Morgan won last year, 48-25, snapping a long losing streak against the Thunderbirds.

Morgan's Nainy Bah, who'll be a senior this fall, has given an oral commitment to attend Temple in the fall of 2011, according to John DiCarlo, the editor of the
OwlScoop.com, the Temple site in the Rivals.com network.

Bah is projected to be a wide receiver when he gets to college. Bah was also used as a running back and a defensive back for the Huskies last season.

Mike Eagle, a former assistant at Berlin, has been hired at Morgan, replacing Tom Maffuid, who stepped down at the end of last season after leading the Huskies to a 6-4 record in 2009.

Tom Maffuid has resigned as the football coach at Morgan after two seasons with the school. The Huskies finished 6-4 this past season and 3-8 in 2008.

"The No .1 reason, really," Maffuid said, "is I didn’t feel I could put the time in to meet my own expectation level in order to run a program successfully."

Morgan was Maffuid’s first head coaching position. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Cheshire for two years prior to coaching the Huskies.

"It wasn’t a dry decision," Maffuid, a Cheshire resident, said. "It wasn’t something I knew 100 percent that I wanted to do. The best thing to do for Morgan was to step down and have them have ample time to get someone else in there. It was a very difficult decision."

Senior Jeremy Finkeldey rushed 33 times for 248 yards and a career-high six touchdowns to lead the Huskies (4-1) to a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division victory over the Thunderbirds.

It was Morgan's first victory over North Branford (2-2) since 1992.

Junior Nainy Bah rushed 20 times for 102 yards and one touchdown for the Huskies.

Junior quarterback Joe Perez gained 51 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns for North Branford.

Sal Varca had a touchdown run, and Anthony Vorio caught a touchdown pass from Perez for the Thunderbirds.