VIA PRESS RELEASE

Ansonia junior running back Arkeel Newsome was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year at the annual Breakfast of Champions on Saturday.

Newsome, who rushed for 2,245 yards and 38 touchdowns for the Class S state champion Chargers, won the award for the second straight season.  Other finalists included: Xavier senior quarterback Tim Boyle and Hand senior linebacker Matt Walsh.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by NFP Sports, was presented to the family of the late Jack Hunt, former head coach at Ansonia High School who won seven state titles during his 19 seasons (193-26 record).

Hand, the Class L champion and state’s top-ranked team with a perfect 13-0 record, was honored along with the three other state champions – Xavier (Class LL, 12-1 overall record), Hillhouse (Class M, 11-2 overall record) and Ansonia (Class S, 14-0 overall record).

The state’s Coach of the Year award, presented by Stadium System, was shared by two coaches from the Southern Connecticut Conference whose teams won state titles in 2012 - Steve Filippone (Hand) and Tom Dyer (Hillhouse).  The other finalist was Tom Brockett (Ansonia). 

2012 WALTER CAMP ALL-CONNECTICUT TEAM

OFFENSE
QB: Tim Boyle (Xavier)
RB: Arkeel Newsome (Ansonia), Harold Cooper (Hillhouse)
WR: Andrew Matos (Ansonia), Kris Luster (Xavier)
TE: Andrew Isaacs (Manchester)
OL: Hector Rodriguez (Berlin), Jacob Basilica (Montville), Kyle Vaughn (Staples), Michael LaSala (Wilton), Max Schumann (Xavier)

DEFENSE
LB: Mike Jones (Capital Prep), Matt Walsh (Daniel Hand), Marquis Little (Manchester), Max Tylki (Xavier)
DB: Andre Anderson (Hillhouse), Joey Paparelli (Norwich Free Academy), Justin Potts (Platt), James Frusciante (Staples)
DL: Peter Gerson (Daniel Hand), Kyle Wilson (Ledyard), Tuzar Skipper (Norwich Free Academy), Cole Ormsby (Windsor)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker: Ed Groth (Shelton)
Punter:  Michael Nichol (Wolcott)
Returner:  Thomas Milone (Masuk) 

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."

MADISON — Most eyes will be on Xavier’s Tim Boyle on Friday night.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Boston College-bound quarterback is hard to miss.

He’ll be calling the signals for the Falcons’ offense when top-ranked Xavier faces No. 3 Hand at 7 p.m. at Palmer Field in Middletown.

But on the other side of the field, the Tigers feel they have a pretty good QB of their own in senior Brendan Bilcheck.

 Read more here.

MORE ON THE BIG GAME BETWEEN HAND-XAVIER

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Ticket, parking information for Friday's Xavier/Hand tilt

TALE OF THE TAPE: Hand at Xavier

Who will win the Hand-Xavier football game Friday? Cast your vote!

No. 9 West Haven thrashes Notre Dame-West Haven

By Mike Madera, Special to the Register

Ervin Philips (left) of West Haven runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against Notre Dame on 9/28/2012. Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register AG0464B

WEST HAVEN — The West Haven football team has had plenty of time to think about its last visit to Veterans Stadium. The contest, which resulted in a West Haven loss, was one of the reasons the Westies failed to qualify for the postseason last year.

Fast forward to Friday night and the Westies have new — and better — memories. Behind a powerful running game which accumulated 330 rushing yards, the Westies defeated Notre Dame-West Haven 34-13 in a Southern Connecticut Conference Division I East game.

“This is a real big win for us,” West Haven’s Ervin Philips said. “We worked hard in practice all week. We wanted to get a win here. We knew we needed a good showing on offense. We are just taking it a week at a time.”

No. 3 Hand cruises past Cheshire

By Dave Phillips, Special to the Register

MADISON — Steve Filippone called it a one-time only deal. But maybe the way Hand played Friday night, he ought to reconsider.

With the Tigers’ usual home at the Surf Club under water from the afternoon heavy rain, third-ranked Hand played for the first time at its high school turf field and was extremely impressive, dominating Cheshire, 35-7.

“I didn’t like it at all,” said a soaked Filippone after Hand upped its record to 3-0. “There’s nothing like the Surf Club, but we got this done tonight. We’re never going to play on this field again. This will be retired undefeated with Hand football.”

Hand, which runs out of the spread offense, rushed for over 280 yards a week ago in a 37-19 victory at Hillhouse. On Friday, the Tigers did most of their damage on the ground again.


ROUNDUP

Harold Cooper ran for four touchdowns and JaVaughn Moore ran for a 63-yard score as Hillhouse downed Branford 32-18 in Branford on Friday.

Cooper had touchdown runs of 78, 27, 27 and 13 in the win for the Academics (2-1).

Alex Borkowski had two rushing touchdowns and 116 rushing yards for the Hornets (1-2).


Hillhouse's Harold Cooper and Notre Dame's Cameran Tucker have been nominated for FRIDAY'S STAR

HAND

Coach: Steve Filippone (23 rd year, 188-66-6)

League: SCC

Last season: 13-0 (Class L champions)

Top offensive players: Kyle Anderson, 6-4, 190, Sr., WR; Ian O'Toole, 5-9, 175, Sr., RB

Top defensive players: Matt Walsh, 6-1, 225, Sr., LB (also a fullback); Peter Gerson, 6-3, 215, Sr., DE

Key losses: Henry Foye, QB; Kevin Frey, RB; Joe DeMichele, OL/DL; Vance Giarratana, DB; Nick Vitale, WR

Inside the huddle: Graduated 16 starters, relative inexperience on offense at key positions, tradition and defense will be a team strength.Walsh made over 60 unassisted tackles last season and was a Register All-Area selection. Gerson made 56 solo tackles, 15 sacks and recovered two fumbles in 2011. Filippone calls Gerson the most explosive player he's ever coached. Senior strong safety Alex Tuccero made three interceptions as a junior. Seniors Cam Gravina and Matt Saganelli will anchor the offensive line. Anderson, who made 49 catches and seven touchdowns in 2011, is one of the SCC's top receivers. O'Toole is expected to take over the running back duties full-time after Frey graduated. Senior Brendan Bilchek is expected to be the team's starting quarterback. Filippone says Bilchek has good arm strength and is a capable decision maker.

Recruiting watch: Walsh has given his oral commitment to play at UConn. Gerson will attend Yale next fall.