(photo courtesy of the Middletown Press)

 

 

 

Xavier

Palmer Field, Middletown

Coach: Sean Marinan (13th year)
Conference: SCC
2012 Record: 12-1 (Class LL champions)
2013 Kickoff: vs. Staples, Sept. 11, 6:30 p.m.
Top offensive players: Joe Carbone, 6-3, 215, Sr., QB; Andrew Meoli, 5-11, 180, Sr., RB; Nate Gonzalez, 6-0, 180, Sr., WR.
Top defensive players: Gonzalez, 6-0, 180, Sr., DB; Will Garrity, 5-11, 220, Sr., LB; Edwin Luster, 5-7, 145, Jr., CB; Chidi Broderick, 6-1, 220, Jr., DE; Mike Scherer, 5-10, 175, Jr., SS.
Key losses: Tim Boyle, QB; DeAngelo Berry, RB; James Sullivan, WR; Kris Luster, WR/SS; Max Tylki, TE/LB; Jonah Dorsey, RT; Kevin Dean, RG; Zack Creeron, OL/DL; Max Schumann, C/DE; Ben Lisle, LT.
Outlook: The Falcons, who won their third straight Class LL state title last season, lost a bunch to graduation, including Boyle, who will play at UConn. Despite the graduation losses, a talented roster returns. Carbone (picture above) completed just one pass last season, a 48-yard touchdown strike against Amity, according to stats inputted on Max Preps. Carbone, though, caught 18 passes, including four for touchdowns last season, so there's no doubting his athleticism. He may even be more dangerous than Boyle because of his mobility. Meoli is expected to take over the duties at running back after playing behind Berry last season. Meoli rushed for 408 yards and six scores as a junior. Gonzalez is a two-way threat. He only caught 11 passes last season but made 76 total tackles and seven interceptions. Garrity chipped in with 64 total tackles in 2012. Marinan said that developing a work ethic, minimizing mental mistakes and how well the team matures will be keys to this season. With the success Xavier has had in recent years, it's expected that the Falcons will be in the hunt for yet another state playoff berth.

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Previous entries in the Inside The Huddle series:

Pomperaug
Sheehan 

The Register has begun to run state championship previews both in print and on-line. The previews will continue through Saturday.

North Branford's Mark and Brandan Basil
have one game to go for a dream come true

EAST HARTFORD — Mark Basil did more than cheer and offer words of encouragement while watching his son compete at the youth football level.

He also mentally penciled in who he hoped would become his future starters at North Branford High, where he was the head coach.

Brandan and several of his buddies were among the players Mark envisioned as Thunderbirds.

Both Basils dreamed wildly in those days — sometimes Mark imagined Brandan’s senior season ending with a state championship.

The Basils are now one victory away from that dream becoming a reality. Third-seeded North Branford (12-0) faces No. 1 Ansonia (13-0) for the Class S title on Saturday morning at 10:35 a.m. at Rentschler Field.

“(Winning a title with Brandan) was a hope of mine,” Basil said. “Brandan and all these kids go back to the third grade, and I would watch them in youth football every year and I could see certain players fitting in my style of offense.”

Mark didn’t have to look any further than his kitchen table to find his quarterback. Brandan took over as the starter for the Thunderbirds last season.

READ MORE

FOOTBALL: Offensive line key to Xavier's success
FOOTBALL: Ansonia defense vs. North Branford offense — something's got to give
FOOTBALL: Who will win this weekend's championship games? VOTE NOW!

 

 

October win over Hillhouse a turning point for Xavier

EAST HARTFORD — When the Xavier football team gathers to collect the uniforms at the end of the season, it’s likely that the events that transpired on Oct. 26 will be discussed.

It was then that the Falcons rallied from a 28-point deficit and emerged with a one-point victory against host Hillhouse.

If not for that comeback, the helmets and shoulder pads might have already been packed away for the winter.

Instead, the Falcons (11-1) will vie for their third straight Class LL title.

Xavier was among the honorees at Monday’s media luncheon at Rentschler Field, the site of the four state championship games this weekend.

The third-seeded Falcons will face No. 5 Norwich Free Academy (12-0) on Friday night at 7:05.

Earlier in the season Xavier lost to Hand, making the Falcons’ remaining games all the more meaningful. Another loss could have ended Xavier’s postseason dreams.

Since losing to the Tigers, the Falcons have won seven straight and have scored 40 or more points in six of those contests.

 READ MORE

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Xavier takes aim at a hat trick

By Jim Bransfield, Special to the Register

(Catherine Avalone/The Middletown Press) Xavier seniors Kevin Dean, Jonah Dorsey, quarterback Tim Boyle, Ben Lisle, Zac Creeron, and center Max Schumann (kneeling) at practice Tuesday.

MIDDLETOWN — So what will the Xavier Falcons do for an encore?

It’s going to be tough to match the past two seasons, campaigns which saw Xavier go 26-0, win two Class LL championships and twice find itself named the state’s No. 1 team.

“We’ll be competitive,” said 11-year coach Sean Marinan Sr. “We can play with anybody. But I don’t know if we have the hunger, the mindset, necessary for the fourth quarter. We’re capable of going back to the playoffs and we expect to, but we need to find out where the kids are mentally.”

Xavier, which wasn’t challenged last season, lost 20 seniors to graduation.

“We’re not just replacing kids who graduated,” said Marinan. “We’re replacing some very talented kids. We have an awful lot of inexperience, even though we will be playing a lot of seniors. Right now we’re a work in progress. We’re trying to put kids in positions where they can be successful.

From press release:

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the names of the 26 finalists for the 2012 NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards, which will honor one young man from each of the country's five regions as the best and the brightest for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens at the high school level. The five winners, who are now playing college football but are being recognized for their previous accomplishments in high school, will be announced the week of October 8. 

Former Xavier standout Sean Marinan, Jr., now at UConn, is a Northeast nominee.

"We take great pride in the work of the NFF Chapter Network," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Each year our chapters honor thousands of student-athletes who have excelled in all aspects of their lives. It is an incredibly difficult task choosing 26 finalists from thousands of honorees, and even nearly impossible to select just one winner from each of our five regions."

With 120 chapters and more than 12,000 members, the NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 400,000 student-athletes at 4,800 high schools in 47 states each year. The centerpiece of their efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,300 of the nation's top scholar-athletes and distribute $1 million in scholarships. From this pool of 3,300 scholar-athletes, the chapters have nominated 26 individuals in 2012 as finalists for the highly sought-after NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards. During the week of October 8, a national committee will select and announce the five winners, one from each region, of the 2012 NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

The five winners will travel to New York City to be honored during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, on Tuesday, December 4, 2012, at the Waldorf-Astoria. First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Award has become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country. Criteria for the award include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. 

EAST REGION NOMINEES

·  Benjamin Fowler from Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pa. Nominated by the NFF Central Pennsylvania Chapter and currently attending Juniata College (Pa.).

·  Ryan James from Piscataway High School in Piscataway, N.J. Nominated by the NFF Bill Denny/Central Jersey Chapter and currently attending Lehigh University.

·  Charles Kassis from Pope Paul IV High School in Fairfax, Va. Nominated by the NFF National Capital (Va.) Chapter and currently attending Johns Hopkins University (Md.).

MIDWEST REGION NOMINEES

·  Luke Duffy from St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin, Ill. Nominated by the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter and currently attending Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).

·  Jesse Hiss from Basehor-Linwood High School in Basehor, Kan. Nominated by the NFF Sunflower (Kan.) Chapter and currently attending the University of Colorado.

·  Shawn Shillcox from Two Rivers High School inTwo Rivers, Wis. Nominated by the NFF Wisconsin Chapter and currently attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

·  Dayton Snyder from West Lafayette High School in West Lafayette, Ind. Nominated by the NFF Joe Tiller/Northwest Indiana Chapter and currently attending Case Western Reserve University (Ohio).

·  Patrick Towles from Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Ky. Nominated by the NFF Greater Cincinnati Chapter and currently attending the University of Kentucky.

NORTHEAST REGION NOMINEES

·  John Bieren, Jr. from Nashua High School South in Nashua, N.H. Nominated by the NFF Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter and currently attending the University of Massachusetts.

·  Sean Marinan, Jr. from Xavier High School in Middletown, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Gene Casey/New Haven (Conn.) Chapter and currently attending the University of Connecticut.

·  Will Twyman from Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Mass. Nominated by the NFF Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter and currently attending Brown University.

·  Samuel Jay Yules from Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I. Nominated by the NFF Emo DiNitto/Rhode Island Chapter and currently attending Stanford University.

SOUTH REGION NOMINEES

·  John Thomas Blasingame IV from Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta, Ga. Nominated by the NFF Greater Atlanta Chapter and currently attending Rice University.

·  Richard Tyler Campbell from Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C. Nominated by the NFF Corrigan/Faircloth (N.C.) Chapter and currently attending Guilford College (N.C.).

·  Britt Colcolough from Memphis University High School in Memphis, Tenn. Nominated by the NFF Memphis (Tenn.) Chapter and currently attending Princeton University.

·  Alex Lyons from DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas. Nominated by the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter and currently attending Rice University.

·  Tanner Moore from Seminole High School in Seminole, Texas. Nominated by the NFF Texas Tech Chapter and currently attending West Texas A&M University.

·  Darius Paulk from Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, S.C. Nominated by the NFF Midlands (S.C.) Chapter and currently attending North Greenville University (S.C.).

·  Alex Yacoubian from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, La. Nominated by the NFF Allstate Sugar Bowl (La.) Chapter and currently attending Washington and Lee University (Va.).

WEST REGION NOMINEES

·  Jeremiah Allison from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Los Angeles Chapter and currently attending Washington State University.

·  Charles Bertoli from St. Helena High School in St. Helena, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Northern California Chapter and currently attending Boise State University.

·  Jeff Lindquist from Mercer Island High School in Mercer Island, Wash. Nominated by the NFF Seattle/King County Chapter and currently attending the University of Washington.

·  Gerard Martinez from Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas, Nev. Nominated by the NFF Bill Ireland/Las Vegas Chapter and currently attending the University of Notre Dame.

·  David Trompke from Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian, Idaho. Nominated by the NFF Southern Idaho Chapter and currently attending Harvard University.

·  Joshua Weeks from Show Low High School in Show Low, Ariz. Nominated by the NFF Valley of the Sun (Ariz.) Chapter and currently attending Brigham Young University.

·  Cooper Wise from Powell High School in Powell, Wyo. Nominated by the NFF Wyoming Chapter and currently attending the University of Wyoming.

For tickets to the Dec. 4 luncheon in New York, please contact Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972-556-1000.

Xavier defensive end Sean Marinan, Jr. confirmed Friday that he’s been accepted at UConn and will join the football team as a preferred walk-on.

Sean Marinan, Sr., the Falcons’ head coach and Sean’s father, said Huskies coach Paul Pasqualoni contacted the family on National Signing Day (Feb. 1) and extended the offer to Marinan, Jr.

“My son wanted to speak to him directly,” Marinan, Sr. said. “That night they were able to talk and my son gave him the answer a couple of days after that.”

Under preferred walk-on status, a player is promised a roster spot and reports with the scholarship players for fall camp a few weeks before classes start. If money becomes available, then a scholarship could be awarded to that player.

This past fall, Marinan, Jr. (6-foot, 250 pounds) made 64 tackles and three sacks and led Xavier in quarterback knockdowns while leading the Falcons to their second straight Class LL state title.

Marinan, Jr. was considering attending Yale before former coach Tom Williams resigned in December. Since, Marinan, Jr. said the Bulldogs appeared to have lost interest in him. Marinan, Jr. then contemplated attending Wesleyan, until UConn offered.

“I was going to commit to Wesleyan, but I couldn’t pass up the offer (from UConn),” Marinan, Jr. said. “Everyone says I’m too short (to play Division I football), but now I have this shot to try to prove everyone wrong.”