2002 FOOTBALL HOME PAGE
INDEX-HOME PAGE
EASTERN DIVISION
New Canaan, Staples, Ridgefield win state titles while Greenwich
loses in the closing minutes.
By Ron Jones
.
The legendary singer Meatloaf said in one of his songs that two out of three ain't bad. However three out of four in any situation is reason to be estatic and FCIAC supporters have every reason to be proud of their teams in the 2002 state tournament. If not for a questionable penalty against Greenwich, we might have been looking at a clean sweep but three championships caps off a tremendous 2002 campaign for FCIAC football.
New Canaan had been there before, capturing last year's Class M crown. Coming off a second half explosion to defeat bitter rival Darien 40-22, the Rams were not about to suffer a letdown in the biggest and last game for coach Lou Marinelli's 22 seniors. " This was a special group. After all that we've gone through. ... well it's like a family breaking up."
The 21-0 win over Ledyard marked the end of the greatest three year run at New Canaan. The Rams reached the state finals three consecutive years, losing to Bloomfield in 2000 and defeating Seymour last season. Senior running back Chris Hoffman led the mighty New Canaan ground attack with 167 yards on a career high 33 carries to earn MVP honors.
The Rams defense shut down one of the most prolific offenses in the state, holding Ledyard to 104 yards of total offense. MVP Hoffman, although very happy with the win, realized that the special ride was over when he commented, "It's been a special time. There's been so much team unity. It's been a great experience, all the way back to our freshman year. It's hard to believe that these are our last moments together." Although this is the end of an era for Martinelli and his team, they can take solace in the fact that they are 2- time state champions which isn't a bad way to go out.
In a previous article concerning Staples High School, Coach Marce Petroccio was concerned about his team's ability to handle adversity. Outside of a 26-0 loss to FCIAC champion Greenwich, the Wreckers had seldom been tested in 2002. However, one moment that will stick in many minds as a turning point in the season was against Brien McMahon. the game was tied at 14 and late in the game Staples faced a fourth down and four. The result of this play would go a long way in determining the Wreckers fate in 2002.
Instead of using their patented running game, Petroccio called a pass play and it resulted in a touchdown as the Wreckers won 22-14. Faced with the same situation against Seymour, tied at 14, Petroccio called Georgia Orange 322. The pass from quarterback Rob Krauss would go to Jimmy Hughes , who set a FCIAC record for touchdowns in a season with 26. They ran it to perfection as Hughes scrambled 60 yards for the second of his three TD's, giving Staples (12-1) a 21-14 lead and the momentum to come away with a 35-14 win.
The Wreckers team speed was too much for Seymour to handle as an estatic Petroccio said after the game, " How can this not be great? I think our speed helped tonight. Tonight it was too much. We finally got on a carpet. No more rain, no more ice, no more snow. This team was made for this surface. Tonight , we showed how good we could be."
Ridgefield won both of their state tournament games by a single point defeating #1 ranked Amity 16-15 on a last second field goal in the Class L semi-final and thanks to two touchdown passes from quarterback Mike Short, defeated Windsor for the state crown 14-13. Short, who was named the MVP, connected with Peter Morell in the second quarter for a 73 yard score tying the score at seven. The Tigers scored again with just seven seconds left in the first half on a 10 yard pass from Short to Ryan Cazalet to make it 14-7, Ridgefield. Windsor closed the gap to 14-13 when Will Brown threw a 23 yard TD to John Manning but Luis Miguel-Romero's extra point was wide right and the Tigers were able to hold on for the victory and their first state championship since 1983. Ridgefield ends the 2002 campaign with a school record 11 wins and a return to the elite in the FCIAC.
The mood probably couldn't be described in any other way than agonizing in regards to Greenwich High School's 20-13 loss in the Class LL championship game. On the line for the undefeated Cardinals was the #1 ranking in the state and of course the Class LL title. What started as a day of sweet thoughts of winning the crown, ended with a sour taste in the mouths of the Cardinal faithful. Tied at 13 and West Haven facing a 4th and 1 with 39 seconds left in regulation, running back Phil Banks busted through the line of scrimmage and sprinted 50 yards for the game winning touchdown. " It was two great teams, and the better team won out on this day." said Gatorade Connecticut High School player of the year John Sullivan, one of 27 seniors on the Greenwich squad.
A questionable penalty hurt the Cards in the third quarter when Greenwich junior Kevin Longo ran 63 yards for an apparent TD, only to have it called back for an illegal block below the waist by center Pete Salvatore. It would have given the Cardinals a 14-7 lead but instead left everyone wondering what game were the referees watching including Greenwich head coach Rich Albonizio, "I've never seen that called on a center in 30 years. It was disappointing that a few penalties wound up hurting us as much as they did, but life is full of adversity. How you handle it is the kind of man that you are. We never let up and it was a very exciting game. It just didn't turn out the way we hoped."
The Cardinals end their season 12-1 and although the disappointment of Greenwich High can be felt county wide, the joy of the towns of New Canaan, Westport (Staples) and Ridgefield more than makes up for it. Congratulations to all of our 2002 state tournament finalists, you made the supporters of the FCIAC proud.
FINAL FCIAC FOOTBALL STANDINGS
EASTERN: DIV. OVERALL WESTERN: DIV. OVERALL
1)GREENWICH* (8-1) (9-1) 1)NEW CANAAN* (9-0) (10-0-1)
2)STAPLES (8-0) (9-0-1) 2)RIDGEFIELD (6-2) (8-2)
3)MCMAHON (7-2) (8-3) 3)DANBURY (6-2) (7-3)
4)TRINITY (6-3) (8-3) 4)TRUMBULL (4-4) (4-6)
5)DARIEN (4-4) (6-4) 5)FAIRFIELD (4-4) (4-6)
6)ST. JOSEPH (3-5) (3-7) 6)NORWALK (3-5) (4-6)
7)HARDING (1-7) (2-8) 7)STAMFORD (3-5) (3-7)
8)WESTHILL (1-7) (2-8) 8)BPT. CENTRAL (2-6) (3-7)
9)WILTON (1-7) (2-8) 9)BASSICK (0-8) (0-10)
* Clinched Division Title
SCHEDULE FOR DECEMBER 7:
State Championships:
CLASS LL:
#1 WEST HAVEN (11-0) vs. #2 GREENWICH (12-0-1) -2PM (Kennedy Stadium-Bridgeport)
CLASS L:
#2 WINDSOR (10-2) vs. #4 RIDGEFIELD (10-2) -7PM (Southern Connecticut State Univ.-New Haven)
CLASS MM:
#2 STAPLES (11-1) vs. #4 SEYMOUR (10-2) -7PM (Kennedy Stadium-Bridgeport)
CLASS M:
#1 NEW CANAAN (11-1-1) vs. #3 LEDYARD (9-1) -2PM (West Haven High School)
CLASS SS:
#3 HILLHOUSE (10-2) vs. #4 MONTVILLE (8-3) -2PM (Southern Connecticut-New Haven)
CLASS S:
#2 ANSONIA (12-0) vs. NOTRE DAME-FAIRFIELD (10-2) -7PM (West Haven High School)