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Norwich Free Academy head coach Jason Bakoulis laughed as he discussed his team’s schedule.
“It’s funny because every year people tell me, ‘Dude, you have a busy schedule,’” Bakoulis said. “Norwich Free Academy is who we are and we’re going to play the best of the best. “
The NFA began its season with the first of four non-league games on its schedule as part of the Connecticut High School Football Alliance. He lost Friday night 31-19 to Xavier, ranked eighth in Top 10 GameTimeCT / New Haven Register preseason media polls.
It certainly wasn’t how the Wildcats wanted to start the season, but Bakoulis believes there is an advantage to playing against Xavier in addition to the Eastern Connecticut Conference team’s schedule.
“Our guys are improving,” Bakoulis said. “Our program over the past five years that we’ve been doing this has grown so much.
“The guys we have who are playing college football right now, they are coming home and they feel better prepared because they are playing higher level competitions week after week (at the NFA).”
The NFA will play interleague matches against Darien, Shelton, Cheshire in addition to East Lyme, Fitch, Killingly, Waterford and, of course, his old friend New London at Thanksgiving.
Bakoulis saw a lot of things he loved about Xavier’s loss. Senior quarterback Jayden Desilus ran for two touchdowns and threw another at Max Pierre Louis. The two started for the Wildcats in 2019 when they advanced to the LL playoffs.
Bakoulis also praised the development of two-way lineman Jordan Ribeiro (6ft 2in, 300lb)
“He was a guy in 2019 who was kind of like the sixth, seventh offensive lineman,” Bakoulis said. “He’s completely transformed who he is. Physically, he’s a little taller. He worked on his flexibility to be able to use his strength and power. Tracking helped her footwork. He changed who he was since his second year.
“It was great to see him come out and play like we expect him to. He sort of overstepped a bit too.
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Fitch sophomore quarterback Ben Perry showed a lot of poise in his first game on Friday night, a 13-7 win over Stonington.
Perry was 5 for 6 passing the run-based triple option for 78 yards, carried 12 times for 36 yards and, with the game on play at the end of the fourth quarter, led the Falcons to four consecutive first downs to put away. the game.
Perry, who is 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, got the job when quarterback Shawn Beebe (hip flexor) was injured during the preseason.
“Ben is really calm and cool,” said Fitch coach Mike Ellis. “Shawn Beebe got injured early in the preseason and Ben played all the scrimmages, everything, he stepped up to the plate. For his first game, I think Ben did a great job.”
Perry scored Fitch’s first touchdown on a tough 9-yard rush in the second quarter. He tried to do the same on Fitch’s next possession, getting the call on the first and the 3 goal with 1:13 left in the half, but fumbled over the goal line. Ellis said maybe that was Perry’s only mistake.
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Montville head coach Tanner Grove took away some positives of Friday’s 41-18 loss to East Lyme.
The Indians have a few playmakers in attack, including seniors Chas Terni, Miles Sarmiento and Bernard Hawkins.
Sarmiento, a running back, scored three touchdowns and traveled nearly 100 yards.
Another positive point: Montville finally took the field for a match.
“We have to play,” Grove said. “We’ve been smart with all the COVID protocols and stuff. So we were fine there.
The Indians have this week to polish up a few rough edges before playing an opponent who is a better match than East Lyme, an ECC Division I team.
“Now we have a week off and then we play an Alliance game (September 24) against East Catholic, another small school like us,” Grove said. “We’re going to be in a situation where we could play a little deeper in the game against them because we might not face it in depth. “
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It’s easy to forget that most of the underclassmen had no college playing experience prior to this season.
East Lyme head coach Rudy Bagos was impressed with his sophomore’s play in Friday’s win over Montville.
“It’s a good second-year group. It hurts that last year we didn’t get anything. The last thing they saw was youth football. And we’ll see how they adapt. Took them a little while to get started, but you could see the talent they have.
“Aidan Patterson had a few touchdowns on the screens and he had a great long run. Jeremiah Jean had a great run for us. Another sophomore, Matt Leone, was great for us as a wide receiver and he is also the long snapper. “
Senior Will Anglin, who was a receiver before this season, has played well as a quarterback. He threw three touchdown passes and covered 16 yards for another score.
“He was great,” Bagos said. “He’s had those touchdowns and good scrums and good runs. He’s just a good athlete. And he’s our quarterback in defense as well.”
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Killingly has been rather notable over the years for producing running backs that deliver more punches than they absorb. Examples: Ben LaBelle was the centerpiece of Gene Blain’s 1996 championship squad, while Gatorade Player of the Year Spencer Lockwood led Chad Neal’s 2017 title squad.
The story around Killingly, 2021, is Jack Sharpe, the 220-pound senior backstroke who gained nearly 2,200 yards in sophomore year. Sharpe did not disappoint, gaining 140 yards in the team’s 42-14 win over Waterford on Friday night.
Now, however, there is another concern for the defensive coordinators: sophomore Soren Rief, whose 39-yard touchdown run and 72-yard intercept return earned him the honor of player of the game Waterford Dental Health. the GameDay.
“All the credit goes to the line,” said Rief. “Sometimes it’s two and three yards at the same time. That’s what the full-backs do.”
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Jack Zuro of Stonington blocked a punt in the fourth quarter that gave the Bears the ball at Fitch’s 8-yard line. Stonington scored from there on an 18-yard pass from Lucian Tedeschi to Brady Mullen and Josh Mooney scored the extra point to bring the team back to 13-7. Stonington coach AJ Massengale said the clearance block was something his team were working on ahead of the game.
“We were very confident that we could get at least one,” Massengale said. “We almost had another one earlier in the game. The reason we got the second was because of Jack’s angle and point of aim.”
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The post-game routine has changed a bit.
After East Lyme beat host Montville on Friday night, both teams stayed on the sidelines, skipping the usual post-game handshake line due to COVID-19 concerns.
Bagos and Grove met in the midfield to chat before speaking to their respective teams.
“They only told us about it at the start of the week,” Bagos said. “As long as we play, we’ll take it.”
It’s understandable that schools are taking precautions after not having a normal season last fall.
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