FOOTBALL: Gilbert/Northwestern hoping to be one point better

By KEVIN D. ROBERTS
Special to the Register Citizen

WINSTED — One point.

That is what kept the Gilbert/Northwestern football team out of a second straight Class M state playoff berth in 2011. The Yellowjackets were in the hunt until the final minute of a road game against Stafford/East Windsor on a cold November night in Stafford Springs. GN watched a 14-0 halftime lead, and a win, evaporate, 22-21 on a two-point conversion. The Yellowjackets ended the year at 7-3 and finished five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, which was taken by Bethel.

The mentality of this year’s Gilbert/Northwestern crop is simple. Jump on the opponent, and don’t let up.

“We want to get up early,” Yellowjacket head coach Scott Salius said after a Sept. 1 scrimmage against Lewis Mills and St. Paul Catholic at Van Why Memorial Field. “We want to come out of the box early, so we can get our No. 1’s rest.”

GN typically has small numbers, which means most players go both ways. As Salius put it after the Simsbury Jamboree on Aug. 29: “We don’t have 1’s and 2’s and 3’s and 4’s. We got us.”

Senior captain John Ambrozaitis doesn’t seem to mind.

“I think it’s better,” Ambrozaitis said. “You never come off, so you have a short memory.”

A short memory is a good thing, but Salius pointed out that going two ways for a whole game isn’t always good.

“We can’t go even with a big team,” Salius said.

The Register-Citizen's Kevin Roberts takes a look at St. Paul junior quarterback Logan Marchi. 

By KEVIN D. ROBERTS
Assistant Sports Editor

kroberts@registercitizen.com

WINSTED — He was making the right reads, firing precision darts, and completing pass after pass at Van Why Memorial Field on the campus of The Gilbert School on Saturday.

He is Logan Marchi, a solid quarterback with good vision and a quick release. Marchi is a Winsted native, so Saturday was a football homecoming for him, but he was wearing the dark blue helmet associated with the St. Paul Catholic Falcons football team. The right-handed junior quarterback has been pretty locked in this summer in St. Paul’s spread offense according to head coach Jude Kelly, and there hasn’t been much that opposing defenses can do about it.

Gilbert/Northwestern and Lewis Mills each had that same problem on Saturday during a scrimmage.

“I think he has great vision and he has great touch,” Yellowjacket head coach Scott Salius said.

By KEVIN D. ROBERTS
Assistant Sports Editor

The Register Citizen

 

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen Nonnewaug head football coach John Oko talks to his team after Tuesday's practice at Nonnewaug High School.

WOODBURY -- The Nonnewaug football team is moving quickly through the preseason.

With a new offense and new defense to learn before the first game, there's no choice.

Chiefs head coach John Oko ended Tuesday’s practice pleased with the effort that his team had put in.

“We did a good job,” Oko told the team in the post-practice huddle.
Nonnewaug had a few seniors decide not to come out for the team, but there are 37 others who are ready to work.

“I like their enthusiasm, their work ethic has been very good,” Oko said.

For more, click here.

By JOHN NESTOR
Register Citizen Correspondent

JOHN NESTOR/Register Citizen Correspondent Lewis Mills players work during a drill at Tuesday’s conditioning session at the school.

BURLINGTON — The numbers and enthusiasm are both up for the Lewis Mills football team as the Spartans look to move into the program’s next phase.

Coach Greg Todd is in his second season with the Spartans and the team is in its third year as a full-fledged varsity program. Lewis Mills has won the first and last games on its schedule in each of the last two seasons while building the foundation for a lasting program.

That work appears to have paid off at least in participation as the Spartans opened preseason camp this week with 65 players out for the team. The increased numbers are a good sign as is the fact that the Spartans are coming off a productive offseason.

“We’re really happy with the number of kids we have out for the team.” Todd said. “We had a good offseason in the weight room and with the spring passing league. With football, if you want to have a quality program it’s a year-round commitment. When I first got here the kids were a little hesitant with that. Things have changed and they have put in the work. We’re ready to go.”

For more, click here.

By JOHN NESTOR
Register Citizen Correspondent

Hungry for wins, Dunaj, Torrington football open practice

TORRINGTON — Torrington High football coach Dan Dunaj is looking to build a championship-caliber program and got to work on that goal with the current edition of Red Raiders on Monday at Torrington High School.

Entering his fifth season as head coach at Torrington, Dunaj has guided the Red Raiders to 14 wins over the past two seasons but is not content.

The Naugatuck Valley League had three playoff teams last season and two — Ansonia and Holy Cross — won state titles. Torrington has been competitive in the league of late and has gone 7-3 the past two seasons. Dunaj wants more.

“We’ve been moving forward as a program, but I’d like us to move forward faster,” he said. “We want to build a championship program, not just a team that is good for a year here and there. We’ve been 7-3 the last two seasons — that’s a nice record, but we want to get better.”

For more, click here.

Stories by Kevin D. Roberts

GRANBY

Rich Gadoury ready for challenges as new head coach of Bears

GRANBY – There is a new head football coach in Granby.

He may have been dressed in a similar hat, T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops that were his dress code as head swimming coach, but Rich Gadoury donned a different persona as Granby Memorial’s head football coach on Aug. 16 at Ahrens Park.

Gadoury raised his voice several times during the second day of conditioning on a warm, sunny afternoon and let his players know how he felt. The players got in line, and followed directions.

Gadoury likes what he sees out of his young football team.

Read more here.

CANTON 

Paul Philippon looking to bring discipline, respectability in first season as Warrior coach

CANTON – There is a new leader of the Warriors.

Paul Philippon is in his first season as Canton’s head football coach. Philippon has been around Connecticut football for a long time.

He spent last year coaching at Trinity College. Before that, there were stints at Glastonbury, Bristol Eastern for five years as head coach, and Conard in West Hartford for 15 years. Philippon takes over for Roger Pearl.

Philippon looks to instill discipline in the Warriors, who have 30-35 players.

Read more here.

AVON

Falcons working with less numbers, but still return talented running back Colin Moore

AVON – There are plenty of questions for the Avon football team as it enters the 2012 season.

The Falcons are down about 20 players from their normal numbers. Avon has varsity numbers in the low to mid 40s, along with about 25 freshmen, according to head coach Brett Quinion.

“That’s high school football, the ebbs and flows of it,” Quinion said during conditioning on Aug. 16.

A large group of seniors, along with players moving on to soccer or not coming back, led to the lower numbers.

Read more here.

From the Torrington Register Citizen:

WOLCOTT TECH ADJUSTS TO LIFE AWAY FROM HOME FIELD

TORRINGTON — The Wolcott Tech football team is used to adversity.

The team didn’t play a true home game in its first varsity season, 2008. The Wildcats played at Torrington’s Pop Warner field for its home games, with one final game on Thanksgiving against Lewis Mills’ junior varsity team.

In 2009, the home games were played at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School. There have been points since then where Wolcott Tech has had to move its home games to the road because of poor field conditions. Wildcat athletic director Ray Tanguay is hoping that the new softball field and drainage systems being installed on the athletic complex remedy that issue. The project comes from the State of Connecticut, as can be seen by the giant sign with Gov. Dannel Malloy’s name on it that sits just inside the property fence on Winthrop Street.

“It’s just a waiting game,” Tanguay said in an interview on Wednesday night.

 GILBERT/NORTHWESTERN EYES PLAYOFF BERTH

Gilbert/Northwestern, another team that started Wednesday, has around 45 players, according to head coach Scott Salius. The Yellowjackets went inside The Gilbert School’s gymnasium until the lightning cleared in the evening, then went back out to the practice field behind the school to work.

“There always seems to be something,” Salius said. “Fight against the weather, fight against time, everything else, but first day, we’re just trying to hit them with the very, very, very, very basics, either brand new for the new guys or just a review for the old guys.”

Gilbert/Northwestern doesn’t have time to waste, given it will be facing the same five games that it had to open the 2011 season. The Yellowjackets went 3-2 against Coventry/Windham Tech (loss), Enfield (win), Ellington/Somers (loss), SMSA/University (win) and Avon (win). GN finished 7-3 and was a mere two-point conversion away against Stafford/East Windsor (a 22-21 loss) from a second straight Class M playoff berth. The Yellowjackets went 8-2 in the regular season in 2010 before going 1-1 in the ‘M’ playoffs.

“This year’s kind of pivotal for us,” Salius said. “The future’s looking really good for us.”

Read more here.