Below is a list of players who have decided on their college destination.




Andre Anderson Hillhouse Univ. of New Haven
Andrew Barton Ridgefield Bryant
Ben Berey Glastonbury Tufts
Brendan Bilcheck Hand Bowdoin
Tim Boyle Xavier UConn
Caleb Camacho New London Sacred Heart
Chris Devaney Newtown Bryant
Jonah Dorsey Xavier Stonehill
Quinn Fleeting Windsor Central Conn. State
James Frusciante Staples Princeton
Pete Gerson Hand Yale
Peter Gesualdi Darien Hobart
Chris Golger Fairfield Prep Tufts
Pieter Hoets Staples Trinity
Darryn Horner Hillhouse Stonehill
Andrew Isaacs Manchester Maryland
Cory Jasudowich Cheshire Academy UConn
Andrew Kalach Watertown Sacred Heart
Kevin Kearney Staples Bowdoin
Nick Kelly Staples Amherst College
Mike Lasala Wilton Washington & Lee
Marcus Little Manchester Boston College
Kris Luster Xavier Wesleyan
Andrew Matos Ansonia Rhode Island
Sean Merrill Sheehan Sacred Heart
Tom Milone Masuk UConn (baseball)
Colin Moore Avon Furman (lacrosse)
Je’Vaughn Moore Hillhouse Monmouth
Ryheime Moore Windsor AIC
Ryan Murtha Montville Sacred Heart
Tommy Myers Coventry/Windham Tech UConn
Liam O’Neil Greenwich Tufts
Darick Orange Windham Tech Central Conn. State
Cole Ormsby Windsor UConn
Lance Ormsby Windsor Central Conn. State
Brandon Robertson Montville Sacred Heart
Hector Rodriguez Berlin Dean
Patsy Romero Wilton Plymouth State
Connor Rowe Ridgefield Bryant
Max Schumann Xavier Univ. of Chicago
George Smith Holy Cross Bryant
Max Tylki Xavier Brown
Kyle Vaughn Staples Fordham
Matt Walsh Hand UConn
Hal Chapman Wingo Avon Georgetown

Class L champion Hand finished as the No. 1 team in the final Top 10 Poll.

Hand (13-0), which has won a school-best 26 straight games, is No. 1 for the third time (also in 1997 and 2004).

The Tigers took over in the top spot following a Week 5 victory over then No. 1 Xavier on Oct. 12. Hand emerged with a 40-20 win in that contest.

The Tigers defeated several of the state's top teams to maintain the top spot and finish the season unbeaten. Hand defeated West Haven and North Haven in successive weeks after Xavier, and then rolled past Platt, Masuk and Windsor to capture its second straight Class L title. The Tigers also defeated Class M champion Hillhouse earlier this season. Xavier went on to capture the Class LL title.

"I think there was a lot of pressure on us, as coaches, because we knew teams were going to play their best game against us and we knew one stumble is all it takes and you're done," Hand coach Steve Filippone said. "You might still go on to win a state championship; you might go on to be a Top 10 team, which is tremendous, but you're probably not going to go on and be the No. 1 team."

While the goal was to win another state championship, finishing at No. 1 is rewarding to the Hand players.

"It's pretty meaningful," Hand senior Pete Gerson said. "Our goal was a state championship; we did that. We knew with our schedule and all the teams that we played, if we went all the way, didn't fall down anywhere, won all our games - I'm not going to say guaranteed - but, most likely, we're going to come out on top. It means a lot for us and the team to have that ranking and go out as the top team in Connecticut. We couldn't be anymore happy with it."

All you need to know about high school football in this state this year is right here.

Below are links from the Register's 2012 preview.


Xavier lands at No. 1 in Preseason Top 10 Poll

Ervin Philips, Harold Cooper and Arkeel Newsome ready to run all over area defenses

Nutmeg Nuggets: Top 30 Players to Watch 

Sean Merrill, Sheehan thinking big this season

Haddam-Killingworth quarterback Alex DiMauro-D'Amico will miss senior season

Whitney Tech set to embark on first varsity season

Bob Barton: Many high school nicknames need a name change,  Everything you needed to know about nicknames

Hand's Pete Gerson, Matt Walsh lead tenacious Tigers 'D'


North Branford favored to win Pequot Conference

Xavier takes aim at a hat trick

Staples chases another championship season

Fairfield Prep focused on taking another step forward

Bryan Castelot, Bunnell hope to have foes on the run

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

CAP THIS

CCC Capsules

ECC Capsules

FCIAC Capsules

NVL Capsules

Pequot Capsules

Preps Capsules

SCC Capsules

SWC Capsules

FOOTBALL: Hand's Pete Gerson, Matt Walsh lead tenacious Tigers 'D'

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

MADISON — Hand defensive end Pete Gerson is strong, explosive and boasts a tremendous motor.

“Pete,” Tigers coach Steve Fillippone said. ”In my opinion, and I’ll probably get him and I in trouble for this at some point during the season, I don’t think there is an offensive lineman in the state who can block him one on one.”

And just in case Gerson isn’t a big enough problem for opposing offenses to deal with, teams have to worry about inside linebacker Matt Walsh, too.

“He always finds his way to the ball, no matter what,” said Gerson of his teammate. “He reads the play so fast, and he’s so quick and agile he will get there. He’s the heart of our defense.”

Together, Gerson and Walsh are arguably the top 1-2 defensive punch in the state and are a huge reason why the Tigers are contenders to repeat as Class L champions.

Fillippone says he’s never had a defensive duo this good, pointing out that Walsh (headed to UConn to play fullback) is the first Football Bowl Subdivision player and Gerson (committed to Yale) is the third Football Championship Subdivision player in his 23 years as head coach.