No issues at state semifinal

Cudos to the New London administration and staff for an incident-free Tuesday night.
Despite worries to the contrary, about the worst I overheard in the Class SS state semifinal was the crowd atop Bates Woods Hill on the Montville side singing the old mantra, "Na-Na-Na, Hey, Hey, good-bye!".
I can more than live with that.
One of the reasons for that, the game may have lacked the intensity of the first meeting that New London won on the last play of the game. It also lacked the fire and the atmosphere of the St. Bernard- Montville game on Thanksgiving Eve.
That's because the Whalers, trailing 7-0 at the half, essentially put the game away in the third quarter. Some folks even started leaving before the end of the third quarter.
At the end of the game, the New London and Montville teams not only shook hands at midfield, they hung around and talked to one another before getting into their individual huddles.
"We play hard and we tried hard and we kept digging, scratching and clawing against a team that
is going to go win the state championship," Montville coach Tanner Grove said. "They're going to go and beat Seymour on Saturday and I tip my cap to Jack Cochran and his entire team because that's a great team."
I tip my cap to both programs and schools for keeping the story line of this one on the playing surface, not the sidelines.

Just like that, it's gone

It's a funny thing about destiny, just when you think you have the opportunity to control it- it controls you.
Montville has dealt with the agony of defeat before, a one-point loss on the last play of a game against New London is as perfect an example as you can have.
That New London loss, however, may pale in comparison to the one that the Indians suffered Wednesday night at St. Bernard.
All the Indians had to do was win and a Class SS state playoff berth was theirs, now they have to hope that something they haven't had too much of all season, luck is on their side.
Montville's 14-12 loss to St. Bernard means the Indians can only get into the state playoffs with a Holy Cross win over Wolcott on Thursday. Everyone on the Montville team inclined to do so should probably be getting out their prayer beads about now.
Everyone will ask the same question; How did St. Bernard pull it off?
The answer is rather simple actually, the Saints executed when they had to.
Down by two touchdowns, Jordan Rando dived towards the end zone and the ball popped loose. There was defensive lineman Lucas Bowman to scoop it up and made it a one-touchdown game.
When Montville had to gain just a foot for a first down with one minute to play, there was Bowman to stuff Tyler Girard-Floyd and give the ball back to the Saints.
When there were 38 seconds left to play, there was Ryan Brahm,broken hand and all, pump faking the defender into falling down and lofting a 27-yard pass to Sean Kydd for the game-winning score.
Unfortunately, I wish the rest of the story was just as good. That there were handshakes and wellwishes afterwards between teams.
Instead, school officials and law enforcement had to intervene to not only keep the two sides apart, but to keep Montville players and some of its own parents apart. It was a scene that I hated witnessing, especially on Thanksgiving Eve.
So as we move on to Thanksgiving Day high school football, let's all remember one thing, it's high school football not the Super Bowl.

Ledyard pulls off the upset

There was a feeling in the air on Wednesday.
A feeling of confidence.
It was almost palpable when I visited the locker room to do a preview story on the Ledyard-New London game that took place Thursday night.
It also turned out to be well founded.
The Colonels weren't cocky, but they weren't afraid of the mighty Whalers either. They spoke in praise of their upcoming opponents, but never put them on a much higher pedastal than they placed themselves.
Thursday night, the Colonels proved they knew what they were talking about as they dropped beat New London in Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore's words, "convincingly", 27-6.
Defense not only wins championships, it also wins games.
The Colonels didn't allow an offensive touchdown as the only offense the Whalers could muster came from the legs of Richie Vitale.
Quarterback J.J. Jablonski may have put himself into the same sentence as New London's injured Jordan Reed and Griswold's Sean Brackett with a 183-yard, two-touchdown performance.Barquis Haley, a former Whaler, scored the only touchdown the Colonels would need in the third quarter. Jablonski hit Drew Roselle twice in the fourth quarter for scores and later crossed the goal line himself to account for Ledyard's scoring.
Lost in all the hoopla of beating New London was the fact that the Colonels also qualified for the Class M state playoffs with the win.
No one really cared, no one even mentioned it.
After all, they had just beaten New London.

Wethersfield takes 2-0 lead over East Lyme

Wethersfield has taken a 2-0 lead over East Lyme in the Class L boys soccer championship match at Willowbrook Park in New Britain.
Colin Doody scored 18:43 into the match when he took a rebound off a shot by Michael Morrissette and pushed it past East Lyme keeper Matias Francone.
The Eagles came back just eight minutes later when Andrew Whitehead took advantage of a three-on-one break and gathered in a cross from Brian Walsh to make it 2-0.

State championship weekend

After a marathon Class LL girls volleyball state champioonship match Saturday night which was won by NFA, 3-2, over Fitch, we're back at it on this Sunday.
Weather is playing a role at Willowbrook Park in New Britain this afternoon as East Lyme is battling Wethersfield in the Class L boys soccer championship.
The wind is whipping around at 20 miles per hour plus and East Lyme is going against it in the first half. The Vikings have had one good shot thus far when Jacob Stanford passed to Dom Cassrino in the middle,but his shot flew over the top of the Eagles net.
Wethersfield, with the wind, has four shots already and keeper Matias Francone has made two saves. The most dangerous opportunity was a header off a corner by the Eagles' Bill Noiset that went wide to the right of the East Lyme net.
Later on this afternoon, the St. Bernard girls team plays Immaculate in the Class S girls championship at 4:30 p.m. at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury.

NFA avoids shutout, down 2-1

Maybe the long second set took something out of Fitch.
The Falcons fell behind NFA early in the third set and never recovered as the Wildcats bested the Falcons 25-15 and now trail 2-1 in the Class LL volleyball state championship match at Newington High School.
Jennifer Escobido served up three points to put the Wildcats up 24-12, but NFA had to wait out three straight points by Fitch before it scored the game point on a tip by Kastine Evans.

Fitch outlasts NFA in second set

A net violation against NFA ended a marathon second set with Fitch coming out on top, 35-33, to take a 2-0 lead in the Class LL state championship volleyball match in Newington.
NFA had fought back from an early deficit behid eight consecutive service points by freshman Kaylyn Levine but the Falcons rallied to tie and forced the marathon overtime.
The Falcons finally took the advantage when the Wildcats couldn't return a tip and the net violation gave the Falcons the win.

Fitch dominant in first set

Norwich Free Academy has to be wondering why they can't play against Fitch like they did against Trumbull, Cheshire and Greenwich.
The Falcons dominated the first set of their Class LL state match at Newington High School and posted a 25-15 win.
Devyn Frank had three kills and two service aces while Rachael Dempsey served up eight points in a run that gave Fitch a 15-5 lead.
Kastine Evans has been a little frustrated early on as she has been called for three net violations.
Funniest moment of the first set: A ball was sent upward into the gym ceiling and never came back down, wedging itself between two steel beams.

Wild and windy ride

If you're coming up to Newington tonight, you know what I mean.
It's a good thing volleyball teams play inside as the weather outside is kind of frightful especially with some of those wind gusts blowing across the highway on Interstate 84.
Fitch meets Norwich Free Academy tonight in the Class LL state championship which is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m. The Class L final has just been completed with Darien beating Torrington 3-2.
The Falcons took their time in getting to Newington as the bus arrived around 7:15 p.m. The Wildcats were already in attendance as they left Norwich around 5:30 and got to Newington about a half-hour prior to Fitch's arrival.
THe Wildcats have to find an answer for the Falcons who have beaten them in the three meetings the two have had this season. They met twice in the regular season and again in the ECC championship. Fitch won the first meeting by only a 3-2 margin, but beat the Wildcats by the same 3-0 score in the next two encounters.

Hurry up and wait

Anticipation.
That's what East Lyme and St. Bernard are battling right now.
The Saints girls soccer team was supposed to play Immaculate on Saturday for the Class S soccer title while the Vikings boys were getting ready to battle Wethersfield for the boys "L" championship.
Those matches have been put on hold by the CIAC as it, too, has been hit by a wave of anticipation. Only in this case, the CIAC was anticipating Mother Nature.
The weathermen (who are always right 10 percent of the time) are calling for a rainy and stormy Saturday so the CIAC decided on Friday to move the championship games to Sunday. East Lyme will play at Willowbrook Park in New Britain at 2:30 p.m., St. Bernard will be in Waterbury at 4:30 p.m.
The delat could actually benefit the Vikings who were hoping to have leading scorer Phil Ziegler reeady for the game. Ziegler went down with an injury to his left knee late in the semifinal match against RHAM on Wednesday. An extra day of rest can only be helpful in that situation.
It means only one state championship match will be played Saturday and it's a big one. Norwich Free Academy and Fitch will duel for the Class LL volleyball championship a at 8 p.m. in Newin

Unexpected outcome for East Lyme

There was jubilation and a little disbelief after East Lyme shutout RHAM, 2-0, in the Class L boys soccer semifinals Wednesday night.
The jubilation was obvious, the disbelief was the fact that the Vikings had qualified for the Class L state championship game Saturday against Wethersfield.
"(At the) beginning of the year, I couldn't envision being here at this poin tin time, "East Lyme coach Paul Christensen said.
"The way these kids have worked so hard this year, the character they have had overcoming adversity, they've found different ways to win and that's a testament to this team. It's a runthat we didn't expect," he added.
East Lyme scored the goal it needed in the first half when Dom Cassarino headed in a cross from Phil Ziegler. After that, it was up to the defense led by players like senior Joe Wawrzynski.
"We're pretty happy, we did what we could," Wawrzynski said, "They had some good players out there, they're fast and we had to stay behind them and not let them get by us."
The Vikings then received an unexpected gift from the Sachems as an own goal early in the second half sealed the deal for East Lyme and sent the Vikings to their second state title game since 2002.
Back then, East Lyme finished in a tie with Wethersfield to end as co-champions. Wethersfield will again be on the other side of the field come Saturday in New Britain.
"Wethersfield is a tremendous team with a history of success, but (East Lyme) kids have one too, we're no slouch," Christensen said. "It's a great feeling to get this program back to that level."
The one concern the Vikings will have going into Saturday's match is the health of leading scorer Phil Ziegler. The junior banged up his knee late against RHAM and was brought to the bus on a golf cart. Christensen is hoping that Ziegler will be able to give it a go against Wethersfield.

Lyman and Bacon have no regrets

Gassed.
It's the best word to describe how the Lyman girls soccer team looked as it walked off the field Monday night after finishing in a 1-all tie with Nonnewaug in the Class M quarterfinals.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it wasn't over as they still had to endure a round of penalty kicks which went to the Chiefs, 3-2. That put Nonnewaug into the Class M semifinals opposite a member of their own Berkshire League, Lewis Mills.
"They were on fumes, but they went out there and did their best. I'm very proud of them," Lyman coach Mark Morello said.
The Bulldogs had to battle adversity all season long and the quarterfinals just brought more of it as one of their best midfielders, Julie Jahoda, tried, but just couldn't stay on the field due to illness.
"Julie was sick all day (Monday) and she gave us everything she could - about 10 or 15 minutes- but she shouldn't have been out here," Morello said. "The kids stepped up, it was a team effort out there, and I'm nothing but proud of the whole group."
Morello was in good company on Monday as the Bacon Academy squad had similar feelings after losing to Lauralton Hall, 3-0, in another Class M quarterfinal.
The loss finished Bacon's season at 16-2 and coach Christine Taylor, although disappointed by the loss, was satisfied with the season.
"I don't look at the season as a failure, we did a lot of good things," Taylor said. "We did the best with what we had to play against and with. It's just the game of soccer and the best team doesn't always walk off with a win."
The Lyman boys try to become the first team in the area to qualify for a state championship game this fall as they take on Somers in a Class S semifinal at Rocky Hill High School at 6 p.m.
Bundle up if you're going as temperatures are supposed to drop into the 20's and there may even be a breeze.
The Stonington girls field hockey team also shoot for a state championship berth as the Bears take on Granby at Sheehan High School at 4 p.m. in a Class S semifinal today.

Lyman readies for Nonnewaug

Now comes the fun part, adjust on the fly.
That's what the Lyman girls soccer team will be doing Monday night when they host Nonnewaug at 6 p.m. in a Class M quarterfinal.
"They come from Woodbury," Lyman coach Mark Morello said through a grin when asked what he knew about Monday night's opponents after Lyman's win over Montville on Friday afternoon.
"They're a Berkshire League team and this year, the top three Berkshire League teams beat up on one another, but I still have to do a little work on them," Morello added.
The other top two Berkshire League teams, Shepaug Valley and Gilbert, have both lost to St. Bernard in the Class S tournament.
"It's a quarterfinal game and since Suffield (the Class M top seed) went down, it's a wide open field and I think everyone knows that," Morello said.
Junior midfielder Julie Jahoda agreed that Lyman has a shot at it, especially if they play as they did in a 1-0 win over the Indians.
"If we play like (Friday) every game, I think we have a chance at it. We're doing a great job," Jahoda said.
Ashlee Coutu, who scored the only goal of the game, said the team has had to fight through some adversity this year including an injury to herself which cost her two games of the season.
"It feels good (to be in the quarterfinals) because, in my opinion, adversity strengthens and it's made us a stronger team," Coutu said.
""We play with our hearts and don't leave anything on the field and we deserve it. It just feels good to be back in it because last year, we didn't get that chance."
Should Lyman get past Nonnewaug, it will then have to play Lewis Mills in the Class M semifinals.
Should the Bulldogs do that and should Bacon Academy beat both Lauralton Hall in the quarterfinals on Monday and St. Joseph's in the semifinals; it could be a Bacon-Lyman state championship game Saturday in Waterbury.
Just something to look forward to.

Ledyard sets up showdown

Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore was happy Friday night and rightfully so.
Not only had his Colonels football team beat a highly-regarded Plainfield squad, they beat them "convincingly", 40-14.
"It was just a great all-around team effort by us, a lot of guys were involved, and that included great play up front because we were under-sized," Buonocore said.
Quarterback J.J. Jablonski had his best technical game of the year as he threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, both to Fred Hewett. Sam Saccomano pulled down five of the 12 completions that Jablonski had for 106 yards and Barquis Haley rushed for 107 yards and four touchdowns, one coming on the defensive gem of the game.
It was the Ledyard linebacker's interception of a pass by Plainfield quarterback Steve Vanase that he returned 24 yards for a score that turned the tide in Ledyard's favor for good.
"It was the first mistake of the season for Steven," Plainfield coach Pat Smith said. "He didn't see the kid, I don't think anyone saw the kid, here comes a white jersey out of nowhere and then he steps into the end zone- that was the back-breaker."
It's a well-deserved week off for the Colonels now who had to weather a 13-12 loss to NFA and a 14-7 win over St. Bernard prior to the Plainfield game. Now, their attention turns to New London in two weeks.
The Colonels have to be considered a threat to New London which just survived against Montville to win a thriller on the Whalers home field Friday night.
New London doesn't get that break, the Whalers play Griswold this Friday night and clinch the Medium Division title with a win.

Bad day is good day for Saints

It wasn't exactly the most enjoyable day to go out and watch a soccer game.
The wind was threatening to make little Mary Poppins out of everyone as it blew umbrellas around and blew rain even into the faces of those who wielded them. It also became a little chilly and on the field- a little slippery.
"It was getting slippery towards the end as we worked on the field," St. Bernard junior Jillian Kowalski said. "There was less and less grass, it was harder to get a grip. The goal area was harder, the corners were harder."
But the Saints, one of the few host local teams to play on this ugly Thursday, were happy with the results as they shutout visiting Gilbert, 1-0, for a berth in the Class S state tournament quarterfinals.
"I told the kids it would probably come down to a set piece," St. Bernard coach Chris Ghiglia said as the weather conditions rendered a passing game almost useless.
Fortunately for St. Bernard, that set piece showed itself in the form of a corner from Kowalski to freshman Caroline Kozlowski who scored her 25th goal of the season 34 minutes into the match.
"It was a brilliant goal," Ghiglia said. "Jillian's crosses, all year, have been excellent and Caroline has been sticking it in the net."
That one goal held up and sends St. Bernard into the quarterfinals on Saturday against another Berkshire Conference team that will have a long drive to Uncasville, Shepaug Valley.
The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday although as Ghiglia surveyed the soggy field Thursday, he wondered aloud if it would be ready for play by then.
Lyman's was not and the Bulldogs game with Montville was moved to Friday at 2 p.m. to be followed by Lyman's boys against Shepaug Valley at 5 p.m. The Bacon Academy Bobcats girls also play Friday against East Catholic, that game was also postponed.

Big mistake for Morgan

It's a big reminder that these are high school kids and that they are prone to mistakes.
This one just happened to be a big one.
William Morgan, the third-leading scorer in the area , was a key ingredient in Lyman';s third-consecutive Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division title run. He was expected to be one of the main reasons why Lyman was hoping to do well in the Class S tournament.
Late Wednesday morning, that all changed.
Morgan found himself in the presence of the school's vice-principal; i facing disciplinary action for undisclosed reasons. Those reasons were serious enough that it forced coach Ryan Fabry to kick him off the boys soccer team for violating the school's athletic policy.
His teammates, fortunately, persevered without him to score a 2-0 win over Canton in a first-round state tournament match.
"I told them they could hang their heads or not and they chose not," Fabry said.
The coach called the team together for an impromptu team meeting prior to the match with Canton and put together, in his estimation, one of his best inspirational pregame speeches he has ever delivered, team captain Jake Duff agreed with that.
"He's the most passionate coach I've ever encountered and I've played for many," Duff said. "He knows how to speak and fire you up; it's why our teams are good, he knows how to get you ready."
It worked as sophomore Chad Barrett, playing up front in place of Morgan, scored both of the Bulldogs' goals and led them to the win.
"They all stepped up and played out of their minds," Fabry said. "The situation is done and over with and the way we played (Wednesday), we can play with anybody."
The situation may be done for the team, but it certainly is not over for Morgan. He now faces the cold reality of not only facing some sort of discipline, but facing his former teammates as well.

Mixed blessings for Saints

The St. Bernard boys cross country team saw Justin Missey-Higgins win the Class S boys cross country individual state title today at Wickham Park in Manchester and right behind the junior in third place was senior teammate Joe Massad.
"I didn't really expect it, I thought we would go 2-3," Massad said about the pretty spectacular finish for the Saints."I thought the kid from East Hampton was going to win the race, but when I saw Justin pull ahead, I knew he had it all the way."
That was the good news for the Saints, the bad news came a bit later. Despite the first and third-place individual finishes for the Saints, St. Bernard placed third as a team, one spot out of automatically qualifying as a team for Friday's State Open.
"I thought it was between us and East Hampton (for second), so when I heard Thomaston was fourth, I was like 'Oh no'," St. Bernard coach Steve Moon said.
"It would be nice to get to the Open, that's our goal, but we ran our best and I can't ask for any more."

Mirecki, LeClair finish in top ten

Brianne Mirecki of East Lyme was the top local finisher in the girls Class L race at the CIAC state championship cross country races today.
Mirecki finished seventh overall and qualified for the State Open championship next Friday.
"I'm happy with that, you can't ask any more from your first season (in cross country)," the junior said of the top ten finish.
Brandy LeClair of Fitch finished ninth overall.

Chilly, raw day awaits cross country runners

They won't have any worries about overheating today.
An overcast, breezy and raw day has so far greeted high school cross country runners for today's state championship races at Wickham Park in Manchester.
The first race, featuring the Class L girls, is off on time at 9:30 a.m. this morning. East Lyme and Fitch are the only two local schools involved in the first race. One unusual event has already taken place, the Class L girls were recalled to the starting line as officials weren't happy with the start of the race.
Fitch runs in the Class L boys championship race at 10:05 a.m. with the NFA girls running in the Class LL race at 10:35 a.m.

Small school football lives

People stood on the sidelines talking shop.
The sidelines were cordial to one another.
And the game on the field was competitive.
Welcome to small school football which was on display Saturday at Ellis Tech in Danielson.
The Putnam Clippers and Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech Tigers won't win any championships this year so these are the games they cherish- the games against one another for bragging rights.
Putnam was coming off games against Montville, Stonington and defending state champion, Ledyard. Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech opened with Waterford, St. Bernard and Plainfield.
"We're having a tough time in Northeastern Connecticut," Tigers coach Tim Panteleakos said. "I know the youth leagues are working their (backsides) off, and we're getting better. Games like this give our kids a chance to work their butts off and to stretch their abilities and reach a little higher."
The Clippers are still undermanned, only 27 players, 12 of them on the varsity level. The Tigers have about double that number, but are overstocked with freshmen and sophomores.
It was their chance to shine on Saturday and several, like Putnam running back Brian Gardner, did. The senior scored three times and rushed for 116 yards in addition to doing just about everything else for the Clippers.
It was a fun day for these two small school programs, but those fun days are fewer in number than both would like.
Will Putnam, and for that matter, Tourtellotte stay in the ECC much longer?
That's a harder question to answer as Putnam's first-year athletic director Pat Devine continues to explore the possibilities for Putnam including a possible jump to the Constitution State Conference, one of the few conferences left on this side of the state to offer refuge to small school programs.
Consider one thing, if Putnam and Tourtellotte do join the CSC, it will almost re-create the old Quinebaug Valley Conference. Ellis Tech, Windham Tech, Grasso Tech, Norwich Tech, Parish Hill and Holy Family are all former QVC members.
It will be just like old times again, and that may be a good thing for these two schools.

ECC AD's try again

The Eastern Connecticut Conference athletic directors meet this morning to, once again, discuss next year's alignment for the league.
Let's give them a helping hand.
Let's concede that football is a different animal and that maybe, just maybe, we have to look at it a little differently.
I propose a one-year plan from now on, let's re-evaluate and re-align every season.
Crazy?
Not really.
By doing so, the league could insure parity and a bit of harmony. Not everyone will be happy, of course, but a little common sense injected into the arguments and a look at each other's roster for the upcoming season and the knowledge that it's just for one year might bring about consensus.
Here's my plan for 2009.
Large Division: NFA, East Lyme, Fitch, New London and Ledyard.
(Ledyard will argue that its now smaller, by enrollment, than Bacon Academy. But the Colonels program is much more suited for the Large Division.)

Medium Division: Waterford, Windham, Griswold, St. Bernard, Montville, Stonington
(The Saints have proven themselves and can play these Medium Division schools, they can also take on a Large school or two. Griswold is smaller than Plainfield but has a program better suited for the Medium Division. Stonington and Montville are not Small Division teams and shouldn't pass themselves off as one.)

Small Division: Plainfield, Putnam,Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech, Bacon Academy, Woodstock, Killingly
(Bacon Academy and Woodstock are Large Division schools but neither football program is ready for that kind of competition. Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech is a co-op but certainly is not capable of playing up right now. Plainfield will lose 20 seniors this year.)

Remember, this is a one-year deal. If Ledyard's program falls on hard times or if Bacon or Woodstock suddenly emerge as powerhouses, the order can change the following year.
Just my thoughts.
What are yours?
In any case, we'll find out when the league principals meet on October 28th.

Woodstock now the team to beat

The Centaurs now own the target.
Woodstock's win over Bacon Academy Tuesday afternoon established them as the team that everyone else in the Eastern Connecticut Conference aspires to be this season in girls soccer.
Both the Bobcats and Centaurs went into the game riding nine-game win streaks, Woodstock's extended to 10 as it nipped Bacon in Colchester 2-1.
The problem for the Centaurs; It ain't over yet.
Woodstock has won plenty of respect around the league but still has some work to do before the ECC Large Division crown is theirs.
That work begins later on this week when the Centaurs meet Ledyard on Thursday and NFA on Friday night.
The one thing the Bacon win did bring was more in the way of confidence.
"It's a big win," junior Jess Little said. "We're all so excited that we won. We all knew that we could win, but we did win and that's all that matters."

ECC looks at changes

Jim O'Neill once said to me that he could put together the perfect schedule for everyone very easily.
O'Neill, the former New London and Waterford athletic director and one of the architects of the expanded Eastern Connecticut Conference, said it's simple really.
All you have to do is guarantee each high school nine football games, all of them guaranteed wins and eight of them on their home field.
Like he said; simple.
Tell that to the ECC principals, athletic directors and principals.
A conference re-alignment is always fun with everyone lobbying for what's in the best interest of their school, not necessarily the league.
Take the co-op question as an example. There are some that want to see the cooperatives placed based on their enrollment which catapults Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech and St. Bernard/Norwich Tech into either the Medium or Large Division.
I can't wait to see all those Tourtellotte/NFA or Tourtellotte/New London games, can you?
St.Bernard is in a different boat, the Saints are very competitive. The question will be can you look at two co-ops in separate ways?
That's just one of the questions, there are more.
The league football coaches voted for a two-division format. That didn't fly with the athletic directors who yesterday voted for a five (Large), five (Medium), six (Small) divisional breakdown.
I get the idea that will change by the time the principals decide things on October 28th.
After all this is the ECC where it's all for one, not one for all.

Putting up points

Griswold trailed East Lyme in the first quarter 19-7, but there's something to be said for a mobile quarterback.
Sean Brackett, who scored the Wolverines only touchdown in the first quarter on a 56-yard scamper, let his arm do the talking in the second quarter. He found Drew Gardner open over the middle for a 12-yard score and then launched a perfect strike to Rob Foisey in the corner of the end zone to give Griswold a 21-20 lead over the Vikings at the break.
There's a good crowd at Griswold tonight, but its certainly football weather as there is a definite chill in the air.

As you may know, not everything can fit in the paper every day so I just wanted to share these stats with you as further evidence of why Putnam should look for a better option than the Eastern Connecticut Conference:

(Overall records since Putnam joined the ECC in 2000)
Football: 15-64
Boys soccer: 51-73-3
Boys Basketball: 104-80
Baseball: 35-124
Boys track: 18-54
Golf: 55-86-1

ECC Small Division titles:
Basketball 2000-2001; 2001-2002
Soccer 2004
Golf 2008


Girls Sports
Soccer: 48-77-7
Volleyball: 34-111
Basketball: 60-109
Softball: 40-118
Track: 14-54-1

ECC Small Division Titles:
Girls Basketball 2006-2007

The titles are few, and success is just not in the cards.
Unfortunately at the high school level, little in the way of success generally translates to less students coming out for athletics. That's something that Putnam just cannot afford considering its enrollment numbers.
I know, for some in Putnam, going to the Constitution State Conference may seem like a step down.
It is.
But it's a step back that has to be taken and the numbers don't lie.

Cool night at Thompson

It's a cool night at Thompson Speedway with fans sporting light jackets rather than shirt sleeves, a sure sign that summer is on the wane.
South Killingly's Scott Michalski outdueled Deep River's Danny Field for his third win of the season.
Scott Sundeen finally put an end to Ledyard driver Larry Barnett's win streak as the Douglas, Mass. driver captured the checkered flag in the Limited Sportsman division and Rick Gentes of Woonsocket, R.I. was best in the Late Models as he beat Putnam's Jeff Hartwell to the finish.
It will be interesting to see what transpires in the 50-lap Sunoco Modified feature. Keith Rocco and Bert Marvin had a lengthy, unpleasant exchange in the pits after their heat race. Now they have to go at it for real in the feature.

The next-to-last hurrah for Defenders

It's hard to believe I'm sitting here at the next-to-last home game of the season for the Connecticut Defenders.
Where did the summer go?
Unfortunately for the Defenders, once again, there will be no playoffs. After Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Rohlinger were called up, the Defenders started to fall in the Eastern League standings. With nine games left to play, Connecticut is five games out of first place. Do the math and there's little chance for any postseason action.
About the only unanswered question the last week of the season will bring is whether or not Connecticut can finish above .500. The Defenders finish up their home season Sunday and go on the road for the final week of the season.
The Defenders came into tonight's game one game under the break-even mark, but currently trail Erie, 3-1,after four innings.

Manfredo knocks out McCrary

It wasn't the most popular of decisions when referee Joey Lupino stepped between Peter Manfredo, Jr. and Donny McCrary and stopped the fight between the two 1:24 into the second round with Manfredo walking away with the knockout victory at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.
Manfredo hit McCrary with a hard left hook to knock him down early in the second round.
"That's my left hook, baby," Manfredo said. "It's been working for me all training camp and I just saw him crumble to the floor."
Lupino checked McCrary and determined the fight could continue, but Manfredo followed with a combination which left McCrary unable to defend himself.
The second-round knockout gave Manfredo, Jr. the NABF interim super middleweight championship belt.

Manfredo up next

It's taken awhile, but Joey Spina's knockout of Jim Strohl in the second round of their scheduled six-round super middleweight fight has set the stage for Killingly boxer Peter Manfredo, Jr. to take to the ring tonight at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.
Manfredo is scheduled to take on a fellow television "contender", Donny McCrary, in a 12-round bout for the NABF interim super middleweight championship.
Other winners on the card tonight included Angel Camacho, Jr.; Sandy Tsagouris, Edwin Rodriguez and Jesus Caro. Two bouts finished in a draw as Bobo Starnino, a crowd favorite in the Providence area, battled Joey McCreedy to a draw. Omar Pena, in his pro debut, battled Rasool Shakoor to a majority draw as well.

Camping out series begins Sunday

The high school football season is underway, at least, the wonderful conditioning part of it all.
High school teams have been out on the field for the last week working off the summer pounds and beginning to throw around the football. No pads were allowed this week, but that all changes when double sessions begin on Monday and scrimmages won't be far behind.The preseason jamborees take place on Friday, Sept. 5 with the official start of the season on Sept. 11.
The Norwich Bulletin begins its coverage of the high school football season on Sunday with our "Camping out" series. We'll begin with the Griswold Wolverines and follow that up over the next 20 days with a story from each of the local high school football camps.

Manfredo fights tonight

"The Pride of Providence" is back in the ring tonight at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.
Peter Manfredo, Jr., a resident of Killingly, will be taking on Donny McCrary for the NABF interim Super Middleweight Championship. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds and is part of a card that will feature eight fights.
Manfredo (30-5, 15 KO's) is scheduled to be in the ring at about 11 p.m.
Two other fights have already been contested with Omar Pena of Providence boxing Rasool Shakoor to a draw in a four-round junior lightweight fight.
Jesus Caro of Providence picked up his second win in his second professional fight as he scored a first-round knock out over Clarence Smith from Brooklyn, N.Y. who was making his pro debut.

Pasteryak picks up home track win

Chris Pasteryak was pretty animated in victory lane at Waterford Speedbowl.
And why shouldn't he have been.
Pasteryak, who ran in the Legends and S-K modified divisions at Waterford, returned to the Bowl as a True-Value Modified driver and captured his first win in the Division.
In fact, he not only captured the win, he blew away the field.
The Lisbon driver opened up a full-stretch lead over Kirk Alexander when the 100-lap race went green for 36 laps. A caution flag on lap 96 didn't help but Pasteryak took off on the rest of the field in the single-file restart and took his first checkered flag.
"It doesn't get any better than this," Pasteryak told track announcer Matt Buckler in victory lane.
Buckler then asked Pasteryak how he was able to make the move off the restart.
"The car was great, weren't you watching," Pasteryak said with a big grin to Buckler.
After that, Pasteryak proceeded to douse his pit crew and other supporters in victory lane with champagne.

Yuhas wins first feature at Waterford

Ron Yuhas, Jr. of Groton hadn't seen victory lane in an S-K Modified since 2005, but that changed tonight at Waterford Speedbowl.
Yuhas took the lead 12 laps into the 35-lap opening feature at Waterford's Wings and Wheels program and survived three restarts to take the checkered flag ahead of Waterford's Rob Janovic.
A large crowd is on hand at the Speedbowl tonight with the NEMA's, True Value Modified Series and ISMA features still to come.

Waterford draws big crowd to Wings and Wheels

The parking lot is chock full and the stands are pretty much the same.
No wonder officials at the Waterford Speedbowl are smiling on this Saturday night.
According to public relations director David Dykes, this program was a risk, but it has paid dividends as he looked over the crowded stands.
Waterford brought in not only the True Value Modifieds for a 100-lap feature, but added a 50-lap ISMA feature, a 25 lap Northeast Midget feature and a 35-lap SK modified feature to the program.
The other thing that has worked in the Speedbowl's favor, the weather has been very cooperative.

A base hit would have been nice

Waterford could have turned this into a real close ball game in the top of the sixth.
Ben Farina reached on an error with one out and an errant pick-off attempt moved him to second.
Pat Epps got just the second hit off Aizenstadt as he slapped it into right field for a single to score Farina. Epps went to second on a base hit by Jake Simon, both advanced on a passed ball, but that's where they stayed as Aizenstadt got a key ground ball out.
Massachusetts champion, Hanover, still leads Waterford 6-3 through six innings.

Waterford catching up

It's not over yet.
Waterford fell behind Massachusetts 5-0 in its American Legion baseball Northeast Regional losers bracket game this morning at Muzzy Field in Bristol.
But the Connecticut champs rallied for two runs in the top of the fourth. Mickey Amanti got the first hit of the game off Massachusetts starter Andrew Aizenstadt, a solid single to center. Amanti went to third and Pat Epps found himself on second after his ground ball was mishandled.
A balk by Aizenstadt allowed Amanti to score and Epps came home on an infield ground out by Jake Simon.
Waterford starter A.J. Turnier has recovered after he allowed nine men to come to the plate and five to score in the first. He set down the next eight batters and got out of a first and third jam in the fourth inning.

Ouch!

The one thing Waterford didn't need, a big first inning by its opponents.
Hanover, Mass. did just that, however, as it sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs in the first inning to take the big early lead at the American Legion baseball Northeast Regionals in Bristol.
Massachusetts starting pitcher Andrew Aizenstadt helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly to plate the first run for Massachusetts. Jack Hocking had an RBI single as he dropped one in front of Jack o'Keefe in left field. Eric Haughn plated Hocking, who stole second, with a slow grounder that took a bad hop past Pat Quinn at first and into right field.
Haughn came home when Kevin Lambert smoked a shot to center-field for an RBI double, he came home when Ryan McDermott singled past Pat Renehan at third.
Aizenstadt has set down the first six Waterford batters.

Aizenstadt sets Waterford down in first

It won't be easy for Waterford to get its bats going in its second game of the American Legion baseball Northeast Regionals in Bristol.
Hanover, Mass is throwing tall and lanky Andrew Aizenstadt who sports an 11-0 record. The right-hander has struck out 37 and walked only six this season and he put down Waterford in order in the top of the first inning.
A.J. Turnier (4-1) is pitching for Waterford.
As would be expected for an early Friday morning, the crowd for this game is sparse.The weather has so far been cooperative although showers are in the forecast for later on this afternoon. There was a 2 1/2 hour rain delay on Thursday which affected the Waterford game, pushing it back to 7 p.m.

Turnier going for Waterford

The hopes for the Connecticut American Legion baseball champions, Waterford, will rest on the arm of A.J. Turnier this morning.
Waterford fell into the loser's bracket of the American Legion baseball Northeast Regional tournament when it lost to Portland, Maine Thursday night.
That meant little in the way of rest for the weary as Waterford will play Hanover, Mass. this morning at 9:30 a.m.
11 walks were the downfall for Waterford against Maine as both Pat Quinn and Colin O'Keefe had their problems on the mound. That means Turnier will have to be solid today to give the rest of the Waterford staff a little rest.
If Waterford wins today, it will play again tomorrow afternoon.

Bud 150 underway at Thompson

Due to concerns about the weather, Thompson Speedway moved up its running of the Bud 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified tour. Rain has been skirting the Northeastern edge of the state, but has not fallen on the race track.
Todd Szegedy leads the race with 23 of the 150 laps run, there was one caution on lap four.
Other winners at Thompson Speedway tonight included Plainfield's Ernie LaRose in the Limited Sportsman division; Scott Michalski of South Killingly won the Mini Stocks race. Keith Rocco was the first across the line in the Sunoco Modifieds, George Bessette won the Pro Stock race and Brian Sullivan nipped Danielson's Glenn Boss in the Thompson Modifieds.

Worries abound at Bud 150

This is one race that the NASCAR Whelan drivers have become decidedly nervous about. The Bud 150 has had a bad history recently at Thompson Speedway as two drivers have been killed in this race in the last three years.
Tom Baldwin, Sr. died in 2004 and last year, John Blewett III lost his life in an accident with his brother, Jimmy, just outside of turn one.
A prayer was said prior to the start of tonight's racing for John Blewett III and the Blewett family is selling memorabilia in his honor on the midway.
The racing started just about on time despite a severe thunderstorm that struck Thompson around 2:30 p.m.
Brian Sullivan won the first feature event as he took the 20-lap Thompson Modifieds race just ahead of Danielson's Glenn Boss.

Thompson still running

A severe thunderstorm passed through Thompson around 2:30 this afternoon, but track officials have been working hard to clear the water from the track and it looks as like the Bud 150 will run tonight.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is in town for a 150-lap show that will be preceded by the Thompson Modifieds (20 laps), Mini Stocks (15 laps), Limited Sportsman (20 laps), Sunoco Modifieds (30 laps), Pro Stocks (30 laps) and Late Models (25 laps).
The Bud 150 is scheduled to begin around 8:45 p.m. tonight.
Thompson Speedway's phone system was struck by lightning during the storm and is apparently out at this time.

Big crowd for Wild n Wacky

The line stretched deep into the parking lot on Wednesday night, waiting to file in to Waterford Speedbowl for the Wild 'n Wacky Wednesday features.
The popularity of the Wednesday night series has been growing and the factors could be many.
One thought is that here we are, in the middle of vacation season, and many people have elected to stay close to home and are looking for things to do.
Why not go to the races?
A lot of people apparently made that choice.
It has people at the Speedbowl pleased as punch.
They're looking for a repeat performance Saturday night when the Speedbowl hosts one of its biggest shows ever with the ISMA Super-Modifieds, True Value Modifieds and NEMA midgets.

Who is this guy?

Mike Mooney came to the Connecticut Defenders with little fanfare.
In fact, Connecticut manager Bien Figeuroa said he knew little about his new outfielder Friday night although it was clear that "he had a little pop in his bat."
That could be the classic understatement of the season.
Mooney hit a home run last night and followed that up with a pair of homers in tonight's doubleheader opener against Portland which Connecticut won, 14-6.
Mooney hit one into the Dunkin Donuts sign on the left-field light tower for a first inning grand slam and followed that with a two-run dinger in the fourth. He also added an RBI double in the sixth to give him seven RBIs on the night, two shy of the all-time franchise record.
If anything, everyone knows who Mooney is now.
The Defenders could use more of that production in game two, they trail Portland 2-0 in the top of the third.

Home run derby at Dodd Stadium

The celebrity home run derby was held a couple of weeks ago, this is the Defenders own version of it.
Connecticut has hit four home runs in the first two-plus innings to take a 9-1 lead over Portland.
Mike Mooney hit his second homer for Connecticut in just his third game with the team as he slapped a grand slam off the Dunkin Donuts sign high on the left field light tower.
Antoan Richardson hit his first homer in a Defenders uniform in the second inning and Simon Klink and Dave Maroul both went yard in the third with back-to-back shots.
Here's hoping the Defenders have something left for the second game of this doubleheader.

Waterford has had some scares

Waterford is well ahead of Berlin in the American Legion state championship game, 6-0, at Palmer Field in Middletown after seven innings.
They have had a couple of close calls, however, most of them remedied by pitcher Pat Quinn.
The soon-to-be freshman at the University of Maine saw Berlin load the bases against him in the second inning. Quinn got out of the jam with a nicely executed pickoff at second base in conjunction with shortstop Mickey Amanti.
Quinn got out of a fourth inning first and second pickle with a called third strike and did the same in the fifth inning, only this time with a swinging third strike.
Since then, Quinn has retired the last six batters in a row, has allowed just four hits and has struck out nine.

A beautiful day for baseball

After plenty of battles with the elements, it's once again a beautiful day for baseball and Waterford is taking advantage.
The Zone VI champs are matched up with Berlin in the championship game of the American Legion baseball state tournament and already own a 3-0 lead after the first inning.
Ben Farina took 15-year-old Anthony Marzi over the left field fence on the young lefty's third pitch of the game. Mickey Amanti followed with an infield single, stole second and scored on a Jake Simon double.Simon came around when Jack O'Keefe lofted one over the head of Berlin's second baseman, but Kyle Turnier, who had reached on a fielder's choice, was cut down at the plate attempting to score on the play.
Pat Quinn (8-1) set Berlin down in order with two strikeouts in the top of the inning.
Should Waterford win, it advances to the Northeast Regionals in Bristol beginning Thursday. A loss means a second game today against Berlin, 30 minutes after the first game ends.

Mooney looking good

He's only playing in his second game for the Connecticut Defenders, but he will quickly become a crowd favorite if he keeps this up.
Mike Mooney, who was 0-for-3 in his debut Wednesday night, is two-for-two in the nightcap to the doubleheader with Portland.
The centerfielder doubled over the head of Portland centerfielder Josh Reddick in the second inning and scored. He followed that up in the third inning with a solo homer to left that briefly gave the Defenders a 5-2 lead over Portland.
Portland has since rallied to take a 6-5 lead into the top of the sixth inning.

Bye-bye Johnny

Defenders' on-field announcer Johnny Gill worked his last game for Connecticut against Portland tonight.
Gill is leaving Norwich and will be headed south to work in corporate sales for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League who are based in Raleigh, N.C.
Gill spent the last five years as on-field announcer for the Defenders, he worked in sales in his off-field guise.

Defenders capture first, 1-0

Connecticut climbed within a game of the .500 mark with a 1-0 win over Portland in the completion of a suspended game between the two teams.
The completion of the game took less time than it did to get it started as there was a one hour, 47-minute rain delay before the first pitch was thrown.
Carlos Sosa scored what proved to be the game's only run when he walked, stole second, went to third on a single by Dave Maroul and scored on a sacrifice fly.
One interesting note; Portland starter Kris Johnson (7-7) took the loss even though he didn't throw a pitch on Friday. Johnson was responsible for Sosa as the game was suspended with Sosa at the plate with a 2-1 count on him.

About time!

The suspended game between the Connecticut Defenders and Portland Sea Dogs is finally underway at Dodd Stadium.
Despite little in the way of actual rain, the threat of rain held off the resumption of the game (originally scheduled to begin at 5:05) until 6:52.
Portland and Connecticut are locked in a scoreless tie with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Both games of this double dip are scheduled for seven innings.

Running late? Don't worry, so are the Defenders

The completion of the suspended game between the Portland Sea Dogs and Connecticut Defenders was scheduled to begin at 5:05 p.m.- it hasn't yet.
Some rain has passed through and more is on the radar still to come which may mean it will take awhile to get this one started.
The two teams are scoreless in the bottom of the fourth in the suspended game. Joey Martinez is pitching against Kris Johnson in the suspended game. Ronnie Ray is slated to go for Connecticut in the second game against Mike James and Portland.

Waterford to race tonight

The Waterford Speedbowl's Wild 'n' Wacky Wednesday race card will take place tonight despite Lake Waterford on the front stretch.
Today's dose of heavy rain left a large amount of water on the infield, including a large body of standing water on the entrance to pit road on the frontstretch. Due to the fact that most cars running tonight have treaded tires, the water is not as big a concern and racing will go on as scheduled although there was a half-hour delay.

Talking mercy in Middletown

No one in the press box wanted to say, but everybody is thinking it.
Waterford has the potential to end its game with Berlin early.
The Zone VI champs own an 8-0 lead in the fifth inning and need just two more runs to invoke the seven inning, 10 -run mercy rule.
The latest Waterford tally came in the bottom of the fifth when Jake Simon reached on an error, stole second, advanced to third on a base hit by Matt Tuneski. Kyle Turnier brought home Simon with a single.
The Legion tournament schedule has also changed due to rain in Torrington today. Windsor Locks and Shelton have to complete a suspended game with Windsor Locks leading, 9-4, through seven. That game has been moved from Torrington to Middletown on Wednesday.
That completion will take place at 11:30 a.m. with the winner playing Simsbury at 1 p.m. Norwalk and Oakville will play at 4:30 p.m.and the winner of that game will play the 1 p.m. game winner.
The only problem, rain is in the forecast for Wednesday.
At least, there are no games in Torrington.

Turnier in control for Waterford

A.J. Turnier has pitched three innings of two-hit ball for Waterford against Berlin at Palmer Field in Middletown tonight.
Turnier got the side in order in the first inning, but allowed a lead-off single in the second inning. Matt Carasiti was stranded at second base after Turnier made a nice play covering first base.
Turnier also allowed a single to Jake Matuszak in the third inning, but he never left first base. Turnier struck out two in the third inning and has three K's for the game.
Waterford helped its pitcher in the bottom of the third inning with three more runs. Matt Tuneski drove in his third run of the night when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, a ground out and a passed ball produced the other two runs.

Amanti's arm looks OK

If there was a question about Waterford shortstop Mickey Amanti's arm, it was answered in the first inning.
Amanti, who experienced numbness in his throwing arm in Waterford's 8-6 win over Oakville earlier today, had to range to his right to get a ground ball by Joe Balowski of Berlin and threw across his body to get the runner.
A.J. Turnier put Berlin down in order in the first inning, but Berlin's 15-year-old southpaw starter Anthony Marzi did not do the same.
Ben Farina had a check-swing, infield single, but was out on a force play. Amanti reached on the force play and went to second on an errant throw. Pat Epps walked and Amanti scored when Simon reached on an error. Matt Tuneski then delivered two runs with a solid double to left field.
That gives Waterford a 3-0 lead going into the second inning.
The winner of tonight's game advances to the American Legion state tournament championship game Friday night here at Palmer Field in Middletown.

Waterford readies for Berlin tonight

A trip to a pizza restaurant and a little rest, Waterford is hoping that's the ticket to success tonight at Palmer Field in Middletown.
Waterford can't afford to bask in the glory of an 8-6 win over Oakville for long as it has to play Berlin tonight and to the winner of tonight's game go the spoils; a trip into the state championship game on Friday night at Palmer Field.
A.J. Turnier is going to pitch for Waterford tonight against Berlin. The other factor that Waterford has to be concerned about is the health of shortstop Mickey Amanti.
His arm went numb in the sixth inning of the first game due to a recurring nerve problem, but he finished the game.

Wheels back on for Waterford

A half-inning after the wheels almost fell off for Waterford, Ben Farina put them back on again.
The Waterford centerfielder hit a two-run homer to right field to help give Waterford an 8-4 lead over Oakville going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Oakville had scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a one-run game,but Pat Renehan walked and Farina deposited one into the empty bleachers in right to make it 7-4.
After a strikeout, Pat Epps walked, Jake Simon singled and Kyle Turnier drove in another run with a single.
Matt Fulton is still on the mound for Waterford.

What the doctor ordered

Waterford needed a good pitching performance from Matt Fulton in its first game today at Palmer Field in Middletown.
So far, it has got just that.
Fulton has held Oakville scoreless through four innings and both the offense and defense have done the rest.
Waterford now leads, 5-0, after a second sacrifice fly from Pat Epps in the top of the fourth inning.
Fulton has allowed three hits, but has also been helped by three double plays.
The winner of this game meets Berlin at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Middletown. The winner of that game advances to the American Legion baseball state championship game on Thursday night.

Waterford is having fun in Middletown

Four runs, three double plays in the first three innings.
It sounds like a winning combination and, so far, it has been for Waterford as it has opened a 4-0 lead over Oakville in the American Legion baseball state tournament at Palmer Field in Middletown.
Waterford scored three more times in the third inning as Ben Farina singled and went to third when Mickey Amanti reached on an error. Amanti stole second, Pat Epps lofted a sacrifice fly and Jake Simon doubled home another run.
After Jack O'Keefe walked, Kyle Turnier singled to drive in the fourth run.
About the only thing that didn't go right was Turnier being thrown out at the plate after a fly ball by Matt Tuneski.
Waterford pitcher Matt Fulton was helped again in the third inning by the third double play of the game for the combo of shortstop Amanti and second baseman Tuneski.

Waterford up through two, 1-0

Waterford knew it had to make the plays to survive.
That has been the case thus far this afternoon against Oakville at Palmer Field in Middletown.
Starting pitcher Matt Fulton has flirted with fire, but has been saved by a pair of double plays. The second of those came in the second inning after Vic DeSimone reached on an error, Mickey Amanti was able to turn a double play at short. Fulton then allowed a single and a walk, but got Kyle Tehan to ground out to end the threat.
The score after two innings, Waterford 1-0.

Waterford has a little early luck

It's nice to be good, it's great to be lucky.
Waterford got a little of that in the first inning of their American Legion state tournament game at Palmer Field in Middletown.
Mickey Amanti hit a one-out chopper that he beat out to first base. A ground out advanced him to second and Jake Simon followed with a hot shot down to third that resulted in a second infield hit.
Jack O'Keefe got the luckiest of all as his pop up to short left field was lost in the sun and dropped for a single that scored Amanti.
Starting pitcher Matt Fulton was also a little lucky as he walked the first two Oakville batters he faced before he got a called third strike. That was followed by a line drive to Matt Tuneski at second who flipped to Amanti for the double play.

Waterford needs as little as three more wins

Hurting.
That's the word from the Waterford bench when it comes to pitching and that could be a key today in Middletown for the Zone VI champs.
Waterford will play a doubleheader today beginning at 1 p.m. when it meets Oakville. If it wins, it goes into a 7:30 game tonight against Berlin, the winner of that game gets a bye into Thursday's state championship game.
If Waterford loses to Oakville, it plays Trumbull at 4:30 and would have to come back tomorrow to play a loser's bracket game either at 4:30 or 7:30 p.m.
Matt Fulton (2-1) gets the nod for Waterford on the mound in the first game today against Oakville.
Weather-wise, you couldn't ask for better as temperatures are around 80 degrees with plenty of sun and a pleasant breeze.
All in all, not a bad day to play two.
That's provided you have the pitching.

Niantic ready to play

The Niantic American Legion baseball team did the smart thing- it stayed in Torrington Friday night.
Trust me, you don't get to Torrington from Eastern Connecticut. At least, not very fast.
Niantic plays Shelton this morning in the first game of the Legion Senior state tournament. Shelton comes in with a 23-4 record and is labeled as one of the teams to beat.
Nate Belke (4-1) gets the nod for Niantic this morning against Shelton's Jason Foster (7-1).
The weather is supposed to deteriorate as we travel through this Saturday. That's bad news for Waterford. The Zone VI champ is scheduled to play Plainville this afternoon at 4:30 here in Torrington.

Palmisano gets his revenge

The top four cars in the second 25-lap Late Model feature at Thompson Speedway were the same as the top four in the first 20-lap Late Model feature of Thursday Night Thunder.
Only the top two spots were reversed.
Marc Palmisano of Hadley, Mass. stopped Jeff Zuidema from winning his fifth feature of the year as he held off the North Brookfield, Mass. driver in the final feature of the night.
Larry Barnett of Ledyard won his second Limited Sportsman feature of the season as he easily bested Scott Sundeen (Douglas,Mass.) in the 20-lap race.
Woody Pitkat made it two straight in the Sunoco Modifieds as he won the 30-lap event to better his position in the national short-track standings.

Boss wins at Thompson

It wasn't exactly an easy race for Glenn Boss, but the veteran Thompson Modifieds driver has had several of these in his career.
This time, it was one of his friends who wasn't so friendly as Kurt Vigeant of Oxford, Mass. and Boss bumped one another throughout the 20-lap feature.
Boss was able to withstand those bumps, including one that came on lap 19, to capture the checkered flag in a rain-delayed Thursday Night Thunder feature at Thompson Speedway.
Even before the track was completely dry, cars were running on it with Jeff Zuidema taking the first of two, 20-lap Late Model features.
Fred Michalski was leading the longest race of the year for the Mini-Stocks, a 25-lap event, but saw a good night fall well short as he broke before the halfway point and took several cars with him as he tried to get off the track.
Danny Field of Deep River eventually won the race, just ahead of Mike Romano.
Mike O'Sullivan of Springfield, Mass. won the Pro Stock 30-lap race as he held off the hard-charging Derek Ramstrom, the 16-year-old crowd favorite from Worcester, Mass.

Racing resumes at Thompson

After about a two-hour rain delay, Thursday night Thunder has begun at Thompson Speedway.
The Late Models are running in the first of two features for them. The first Late Model feature is a make up from the Icebreaker.
The track isn't completely dry as the lower groove remains a little wet from two bouts with rain earlier this evening. The Late Models have not had any problems with the wet spots.

Raining again in Thompson

Rain and Thursday Night Thunder at Thompson Speedway.
Two things that seem to go together this season.
While I'm sitting and watching the trucks go around and around trying to dry the track and get racing underway,I had a chance to talk to a few Red Sox fans about the trade of Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this afternoon.
I'm shocked! (Please note: I say this with sarcasm), but I couldn't find anyone who objected to Manny's departure to Chavez Ravine.
"That's beautiful!," Bob Wynn, a Sox fan from Wallingford said. "Now, (Boston) will play like a team and won't play like they have a broken lugnut."
Spoken like a true baseball fan at a race track.
Mike Alberto of Blackstone, Mass. was donned in a Red Sox shirt and cap, but there were no tears visible.
"I think it's a good thing because he wasn't playing up to his potential and the Sox need someone in left field," Alberto said.
I talked to a host of people and couldn't find a one that wanted to see Manny stay.
The other thing they were all in agreement about- they all wanted the rain to leave.

Killingly-Brooklyn can't pull it out

The pizza arrived around 7 p.m.
It seemed to be just about the right timing as Meriden held a 9-1 lead over Killingly-Brooklyn in the Senior League state tournament.
But there was a near-prophetic statement from the Meriden third base coach as the pizza delivery was made.
"What are you trying to do? Jinx us?," the third-base coach said as he strolled back towards the Meriden bench.
I don't know if it was the smell of pizza or the lack of pitching, but the pizza wasn't ready to be consumed for another 75 minutes as Killingly-Brooklyn put on a valiant effort that fell just short, it lost 10-9 to Meriden, a team it had beaten 6-4 on Saturday.
The good thing for the Killingly-Brooklyn Senior League All-Stars, it's a double-elimination tournament and Wednesday's loss was its first. It has another shot at Meriden tonight at 5:30 p.m. in Somers.
To the winner tonight go the spoils; a trip to New Jersey for the Northeast Regionals.
That's the good news.
The bad news: No rest for the weary.
The first game of the Regionals, with the Connecticut champ playing, is slated for 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

Niantic makes it look easy

They made it look easy although it truly never is.
A one-game playoff where the loser goes home puts a little pressure on teams although it was tough to tell by the way Niantic played Tuesday night.
The Zone VI runners-up made short work of Waterbury in South Windsor as they posted an 11-0, mercy-rule win. The victory sent Niantic into the state tournament this weekend where it joins Zone VI champion, Waterford.
Dylan DelaCruz had a pair of doubles and four RBIs to lead Niantic offensively, two of those RBIs came in the first inning when Niantic scored four runs.
Other key players included lead-off hitter Kyle Weiss who got on base three times (two walks and an error), and scored three times. Ryan Fuller tossed in a two-hit, three-run, two RBI night.
Probably the best thing for Niantic, it only had to play seven innings. Thus, starting pitcher Tyler Tonucci, who went the distance, will likely be available for Sunday. Nate Belke, who was ready to pitch Tuesday night, will instead pitch on Saturday for Niantic.

Niantic takes 5-0 lead over Waterbury

Niantic is making a strong bid to become the second Zone VI team to qualify for the state tournament.
The second-place team has taken a 5-0 lead through three innings of the its play-in game with Waterbury in South Windsor tonight.
Dylan DelaCruz doubled home two runs in the first inning, Ryan Fuller and Wes Aylward added RBI singles. Fuller added another RBI single in the second.

Niantic waiting to start

It's a nice night for baseball, that's a good thing, because it may be awhile before Niantic gets a chance to play Waterbury.
The first game of the American Legion baseball play-in tournament in South Windsor on this Tuesday night has gone to 11 innings with Branford and Plainville tied at two.
Niantic, the 2nd-place team from Zone VI, was scheduled to play Waterbury at 7:30 p.m. The hope is to get it started now by about 8 p.m. The winner moves on to the state tournament this weekend in Middletown and Torrington. Waterford, the Zone VI champion, has already qualified for the double-elimination tournament.

Zone VI teams eliminated

The local American Legion Zone VI baseball teams experienced some success on Saturday, just not enough.
Montville defeated Bridgeport, 12-7, to make it a second game in South Windsor, but lost in the nightcap, 5-2, to Branford.
Norwich also picked up a win, 5-3, over Torrington, only to be knocked off by Fairfield 11-1.
Danielson, Jewett City and New London all lost their first games and were eliminated from the play-in tournament.
That leaves just one team to play on Sunday with a chance to make the state tournament. Niantic will play at 1 p.m. in New Britain with the hopes to join Waterford at the Zone VI representatives next weekend in Middletown.

A good crowd turned out for a nice night of racing at the Waterford Speedbowl Saturday night and it became a night to remember for 15-year-old Max Zachem of Preston.
Zachem captured the 20-lap Legends feature, the first win of his three-year racing career.
It happened the hard way as Zachem was passed by Jason Palmer on the next-to-last lap, but a caution flag saved the Norwich Free Academy junior.
"I would have settled for second, I wasn't going to drive stupid to try and catch up to him. The car did all it could do and he got ahead of me," Zachem said.
That's when Lady Luck intervened and the caution flag flew. Zachem went to the bottom of the race track, gave Palmer a little bump out of the second turn and captured the victory.
Other winners on Saturday night included Ben Bargnesi of Norwich who won for a third time this season in the Mini-Stocks.
Another Norwich driver, Tim Jordan, captured the 30-lap Late Model feature with Albert Stone III of New Haven winning the 20-lap Sportsman feature.

I got a chance to talk to an old friend the other day.
Plainfield High baseball coach John Schiffner has a fun summer job, he manages the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League, one of the premiere wooden bat summer leagues in the country.
Schiffner has had his troubles this summer with injuries. His A's sport a 15-19 record thus far in the Cape Cod League, only six points out of a playoff spot, but that's not as easy as it may sound.
Chatham has been battling injuries, the A's have eight players out with injuries currently and with only a couple of weeks left in the season, six points is a lot of ground to make up.
Check out the Norwich Bulletin on Sunday for a special feature on how the Cape Cod League has stocked teams like the Boston Red Sox and Schiffner's take on those former Cape players who are now in Red Sox uniforms.
On another note, it hasn't been a good day for American Legion Zone VI baseball teams in the play-in round of the state tournament.
Danielson was beaten by Orange this morning, 5-0, in South Windsor. Jewett City was in East Hartford and lost a morning game to Glastonbury. New London was on the field this afternoon and lost to Middletown.
As of about 6 p.m. Saturday, that left just Norwich, Montville and Niantic still with a chance to qualify for the state tournament next weekend.Niantic doesn't have to play until Sunday at 1 p.m. in New Britain.
Also on Sunday in the Bulletin, we'll have complete coverage of the Waterford Speedbowl Saturday night program.

Most of the coaches in American Legion Zone VI baseball like the idea.
I don’t know if I do.
Back in March, those that oversee the Legion baseball state tournament voted to go back to the old format for the play-in round of the state tournament.
Four sites with all of the teams that qualified for postseason play peppered all over the place.
It’s probably more exciting for the players as they get to see new faces.
It’s probably a little less exciting for those who go to watch.
Why?
None of the sites for the play-in round are exactly next door.
South Windsor, Simsbury, Windsor Locks, and New Britain with East Hartford sprinkled in for good measure is not exactly a trip to Ledyard High like last year. (Part of that is our own fault, no local site was willing to host a play-in round).
Add in the $4-plus-a-gallon for gas and it’s even less enticing for those who may want to go and watch the games. (Newsflash: There’s actually a station in Connecticut selling gas a little below $4 a gallon, I guess we’re supposed to be happy about that).
So it’s off to East Hartford for Jewett City; to Simsbury for New London and Norwich; to South Windsor for Danielson and Montville and to New Britain for Niantic this weekend.
One local team gets to sit back and watch. Zone VI champ Waterford already has a space reserved for it at the state tournament in Middletown next week.

It's certainly not the high school athletic season.
So, let's start talking about some other activities throughout the local area.
Wednesday night was racing or there was supposed to be racing at the Waterford Speedbowl.
It didn't happen due to Mother Nature which decided to send a thunderstorm over the Speedbowl but spared Interstate 395 less than a mile away.
Such is the fickle fate of the sport especially at a facility like Waterford where people are constan tly discussing the future of the track.
We may know more soon.
According to spokesman David Dykes, Waterford is set to make a major announcement on Monday at Groton Motor Inn.
And the announcement is certainly a positive one.
Other than that, Dykes was pretty cryptic as to what is going on.
Just a personal note, if you want to have some fun, stay close to home and see some good auto racing, check out the action at Waterford, Thompson Speedway or Stafford Speedway. It's a great way to spend a summer evening and all of those tracks have programs that run through the month of August.
You can also keep up with local racing in the Norwich Bulletin every Friday with our Local racing page.

Unfortunately for the Lyman Bulldogs, two consecutive state championships was not to be had.
The Coginchaug Blue Devils hung on to the 1-0 victory to nip Lyman in the Class S softball state championship game Saturday at DeLuca Field in Stratford.
The Bulldogs (19-6) had their best chance in the third inning, but a missed sign, a strikeout and a ground out prevented them from getting a run and Brittany Hill was giving up nothing else.
The Coginchaug senior, who will play at Southern Connecticut, held Lyman to just a Chrissy Bourgoin single, struck out seven and took home MVP honors.
It was just a short ride up I-95 to I-91 to Middletown where the St. Bernard Saints baseball team now tries to become the first ECC team since East Lyme in 1988-89 to capture two state titles in a row.
One thing is for sure, it's hotter here in Middletown than it was at Stratford. A nice sea breeze kept things a little cooler. I guess the Connecticut River doesn't provide that.

Lyman coach Gary Hoyt elected not to bunt in the third inning when Lyman had runners on 1st and 2nd.
Did it cost him?
Coginchaug leads Lyman in the Class S softball state championship game, 1-0, through 3 1/2 innings at DeLuca Field in Stratford on this warm and sunny Saturday.
Tori Delvecchio doubled off the left-field fence, some 190 feet away from home plate, in the bottom of the second inning. She was sacrificed to third and scored on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs had Chrissy Bourgoin reach second in the top of the second after she had the only hit off Coginchaug pitcher Brittany Hill thus far.
Lyman also put two runners on in the third inning when Hill walked both Jenelle Jahoda and Ashlee Coutu. But Hoyt elected to swing away and neither Chrissy Sabo nor Katie Fitton could advance the runners.

The key to today's state championship games- stay hydrated.
The heat is already building at DeLuca Field in Stratford as we approach game time between Lyman Memorial and Coginchaug in the Class S softball state title game.
Temperatures are supposed to reach the mid-90's this afternoon, a kind of heat we haven't seen all season.
Traffic on the way down I-95 was not bad (anotherwords, no construction, no accidents).
Lyman is hoping to repeat as Class S titlists, the Bulldogs beat Coginchaug 3-2 in 10 innings in last year's title game.

Rachele Fico apparently has met her nemesis.
The Masuk pitcher, who sports an astronomically low 0.04 earned run average, has problems when Stacy Pouliot is in the park.
The Fitch catcher stroked a home run in a 1-0 Fitch win a year ago and Pouliot struck again this afternoon. She smoked a Fico pitch to center field for a solo home run off the Masuk junior, but Fitch still trails 2-1 after three innings of the Class LL semifinals at DeLuca Field in Stratford.
The Panthers (25-0) scored two runs in the top of the first on a Fitch infield error and a double by Fico. A ground out by Chaise Courbron scored the second Masuk run.
The winner today plays in the Class LL state championship game this weekend.

Just in time for Pat Lowery.
The St. Bernard ace relieved Harrison Smith in the top of the fourth with Cromwell up 1-0 and his teammates gave him the lead in the bottom of the inning.
A two-out double by Smith and consecutive singles by Jeff Nossek and Bryan Hall has given St. Bernard and Lowery a 2-1 lead through four innings of a Class S quarterfinal baseball game at ECSU.
Cromwell had taken the lead with a run off Smith in the third on an RBI double by Nick Melino.
St. Bernard is the last ECC team with a chance to advance. Montville, Fitch, and Waterford all lost earlier on Sunday afternoon.

The St. Bernard Saints are the last of the Eastern Connecticut Conference baseball teams left playing in the state tournament on this Sunday.
Earlier today, Montville, Waterford and Fitch all saw the baseball season come to a close with losses in quarterfinal games across the state.
The Saints, ranked 10th in Class S, are locked in a scoreless duel with the Cromwell Panthers thus far this evening at ECSU.
Harrison Smith started for St. Bernard and has allowed two hits in the first two innings, but 15th-seeded Cromwell has been unable to score.
Cromwell ace Nick Melino started for the Panthers and has allowed just one walk through the first two innings.

Last year was pretty tranquil on the football coaching front.
So much for tranquility.
Yesterday's announcement that Mark Ambruso will likely only coach one more year at Norwich Free Academy continues the coaching carousel that began when Ledyard's Bill Mignault decided to retire a couple of months ago.
Since then, Jim Buonocore has moved over from Fitch to Ledyard, leaving the Fitch job open. St. Bernard coach Marc Romano is rumored to be in the running for that position which would leave the Saints' job vacant if that becomes the case.
When Ambruso departs, it's likely Jemal Davis takes over. Davis is now the former coach at Woodstock after he resigned last Friday for "potential future possibilities" elsewhere (i.e. NFA).
That leaves Woodstock and Fitch open for now and one or two others could join that list.
Why?
Everybody knew Mignault's retirement may set off a chain reaction as it did with Buonocore moving over.
Ambruso will move up into the administration at Bacon Academy meaning he will no longer be able to coach. Davis, who started the Woodstock program, was just looking for a more-established program to be a part of.
As the saying goes, stay tuned.

Call it swagger and it's not a bad thing to have.
The Lyman Bulldogs girls softball team come in with the attitude that they're going to win, every time they step on the field, and coach Gary Hoyt is happy to see it.
"The senior class think their freshman year was not a successful one and yet, we went from 3-17 to 9-12," Hoyt said. "Their attitude was we were only 9-12. We started 17-0 the next year and I told them we weren't going to win them all and they were like 'Why not?'."They've been that way and it's a good thing. They walk on the field expecting to win."
Such as the Bulldogs did on Wednesday as they pounded out 14 hits in a 10-1 win over St. Bernard. Chrissy Bourgoin and Holly Shinkle both homered in the game for the Bulldogs who improved to 8-0 on the season.

Matt Smith said he spoke to his high school vice-principal l shortly after noon time and was amazed to find out that the golf match between his Tourtellotte Tigers and the Putnam Clippers was still on.
Indeed it was.
On a day that was not suited for the sport, the top two ECC Small Division teams met at Putnam Country Club and it was to be the home team's day. Putnam, thanks to a 36 by Andrew Senecal and a 38 by Josh Rice, easily knocked off their neighbors to the north.
Interesting side to this match, though, the transformation that Putnam Country Club is going through. The course only has nine holes open as its entire back nine is undergoing a facelift with new tees and a lot less trees than those familiar with the course will remember.
On Tuesday, of course, that facelift also meant a lot more mud on the side of the fairways especially along the first hole.

If there's one thing you should bring with you when you go to a game down in Southeast Connecticut this time of year- it's a jacket.
The sun was shining brightly on Monday afternoon down in Groton, but it did little to account for the chill coming off the water.
That left those who were sitting in the bleachers and chairs along the sidelines at Sutton Park in Groton huddled under blankets and heavy jackets to watch the Fitch Falcons blank the NFA Wildcats 2-0 in an early season ECC Large Division matchup.
The win for the Falcons should come as no surprise, many had them picked as the team to beat in the ECC. The Falcons have one of the best and most experienced pitchers, Kristina Torres, in the circle. They also have a tough lineup headed by Brittany Duclos and Arielle Cooper.
Fitch also had a secret weapon on Monday.
Brianna Turgeon may only be a freshman, but as coach Jon Grossman pointed out, she has a good pedigree for the sport. Turgeon, batting third for Fitch, delivered the game-winning two-run triple in the fifth inninng for the Falcons.

Cold, but happy.
The East Lyme Vikings are showing signs they will be one of those teams that will have to be reckoned with this spring when it comes to high school softball in the Eastern Connecticut Conference.
The Vikings, who dropped their first two games, have found their hitting stroke as evidenced by their 11-1 win in Montville on a chilly Friday afternoon.
Add to thata senior pitcher in Rachelle Fecteau who limited the Indians to one hit and an experienced coach and you have the makings of a contender.
"(East Lyme coach) Judy (Deeb) always has a well thought out program and kids who can do the job," Montville coach Allison Delaney said. "You can never count East Lyme out- goodness, no."
The nice thing for Deeb, it's also a team that she's having fun with.
The Vikings were all smiles on Friday afternoon, joking around with one another and their coach in the dugout as the game went along.
Of course, as Deeb pointed out, it's a lot easier to do that when you scored eight runs in the first two innings.

Its about time, it fijnally felt like baseball weather at Montville H igh School on Thursday afternoon.
People actually out in shirt sleeves and shorts, wearing sun glasses, and watching a baseball game.
Gotta love it!
Unfortunately, it's not going to last as wein New England all know.
Teams were already in the process of moving games from Saturday to Friday to try and escape the rain that Mother Nature is predicted to throw our way on Saturday.
Montville, who walked away with the 4-3 victory over Norwich Free ACcademy on Thursday, moved the scheduled game with East Lyme to Friday to try and beat the anticipated weather as did Putnam and Ledyard.
The Indians will come into Friday's game with a good feeling about themselves as they played well, especially defensively, against the Wildcats.
Tyler Seeley, who was playing in just his second varsity baseball game, made a huge play for the Indians to save a run in the fifth inning.
The question for Montville, as with many teams this time of year, when will its offense make an appearance. The Indians scored five runs in a win over Bacon Academy in their opener and just four runs against NFA. Montville also mustered just three hits against the Wildcats.

To every good thing, must come an end.
The Griswold Wolverines have found that out this season as they no longer have someone named Arremony in the circle and it hasn't been an easy adjustment.
Griswold saw its record slip to 1-2 Wednesday afternoon as Alicja Wojtkiewicz pitched well, but ran into trouble after the fifth inning and Plainfield took advantage to score the 3-2 win.
Griswold coach Rick Arremony doesn't want to use the term rebuilding, but the Wolverines have some work to do.
Wojtkewicz is normally an infielder but has been pressed into service pitching for Griswold. The rest of the Wolverines, meanwhile, are trying to find a new identity.
Arremony, himself, admits to being a little torn this season. Hiis daughter, Jessica, now plays for UConn and his coaching inhibits his ability to go and see her play.
Still, when the state tournament rolls around, expect the Wolverines to make some noise.

Here we go again.
After a brief two-week break, high school sports is back..
The thing about the spring season, however, is that while it may be the busiest in terms of the number of different sports going on, it's also the shortest.
On Wednesday, we embark on a brief two-month run that will see upwards of 50 sporting events per day at times on the high school calendar (more with rain outs).
High School baseball and softball play threee games per week in most instances, as do the tennis teams. Don't forget lacrosse, track and field, golf and even boys volleyball.
As we begin the new season, the high school page in the Norwich Bulletin will returrn with one change. All of the linescores will now appear on page C4.
Look for our seasonal notebooks to return as well with softball and baseball notebooks running on Mondays and other sports throughout the week.
Just a couple of other notes, look for our Connecticut Defenders preview on Thursday as the Defenders open their season at Dodd Stadium on Thursday night. Our local high school previews also continue with boys lacrosse Wednesday and girls lacrosse on Thursday followed by track and field and tennis.

If there's one thing Bolton-Coventry-Lyman didn't want to do, it was fall behind early.
That's exactly the situation the Whalers find themselves in, however, after one period of play in the Division III hockey state championship at the Ingalls Rink at Yale University in New Haven on this Saturday.
The Whalers were a man down late in the first period and Rockville-Manchester made them pay for the mistake. Sean Stoneman found Richard Bidwell coming down the center of the ice, slipped a pass to the senior, and Bidwell beat B-C-L goalie Shane Hickey from about 15-feet out to give RMU the 1-0 lead.
B-C-L was the early aggressor but "Man-ville" took control late in the period. B-C-L's Tim Lebreux went down after getting hit in the left thigh but left the ice under his own power. He has come out on the ice to start the second period.

It was an early wake up call for the Bolton-Coventry-Lyman Whalers hockey team on this Saturday morning.
But it came with much anticipation.
The Whalers will be playing in their first Division III state championship game at the Ingalls Rink on the campus of Yale University at 11 a.m.
On the other side of the ice, the team that shares the same home rink with the Whalers, Rockville-Manchester United.
The two teams have split the two-game regular season games with Rockville-Manchester winning 3-2 in overtime and the Whalers taking a 2-0 win in the rematch.
This one, however, is for much larger stakes.
As far as early crowd indications are concerned at the always loud Ingalls Rink, Rockville-Manchester's student section is already here in force and asking across the ice where the B-C-L fans are.
You get the idea that they are in route.

The last of the area's future Division-I college basketball players has joined Killingly's Shane Gibson and NFA's R.J. Evans on the sidelines.
New London's Allan Chaney and his Whalers teammates found the end of the road in New Haven Tuesday night as Maloney of Meriden downed them in the Class L semifinals, 72-50.
To a man, including coach Craig Parker, the Whalers felt they were outworked by Maloney. That the Spartans just wanted it more as evidenced by their work off the boards and a tremendous third-quarter run that, essentially, put the game away.
The 6-foot, 8-inch Chaney finished with 28 points and left the high school game with a promise for his new coach, the University of Florida's Billy Donovan.
"There are things that are going to come out of my game next year that I guarantee you, people have never seen," Chaney said. "That's how hard I'm going to work."
That statement doesn't surprise New London senior Eli Braboy.
"I will see him next year on the TV, but that's my big man," Braboy said. "I wish him the best of luck wherever he goes, whatever he does."
That's a sentiment that will be echoed by many.
Tonight, the last team from the area that has a chance to make a state championship game, Stonington, is on the court. The Bears take on the Hartford Public Owls at 7 p.m. at Eastern Connecticut State University in a Class M semifinal.

You had to guess this one was going to be close and the Windham-Stonington Class M boys basketball quarterfinal didn't disappoint.
14 3-pointers went up in the first half, Stonington had two more than Windham did and enjoyed an 11-point halftime lead.
But Stonington coach Michael Reyes knew one thing, the Whippets were not done and he was right.
Windham closed to within two in the final minute before Tim Sartor finally sent the Bears to their first state semifinal with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left for the 77-75 win.
"Every time we play them, it brings out the best in each team," Stonington guard kevin Donahue said. "We played them four times this year and, in fact, every time I have played them over the last four years that has been the case. Even though it doesn't seem like it, this really is a rivalry."
Something interesting that occurred off the court, the two student cheering sections some how wound up side-by-each in the same set of bleachers across from the Windham bench. The nice thing about that, besides just a beach ball being tossed between the two, there were no incidents.

Al Lewis must be smiling.
The East Lyme basketball coach has his team in the thick of things at halftime of the Class L state championship game with Kolbe Cathedral. The Vikings only trail 24-21 after the first half.
East Lyme's Emily Walker has been a force inside as she has put down 13 first half points, the only player with more than two points for the Vikings.
East Lyme has settled back into a 2-3 zone defensively as the Cougars have not shown the ability to hit the outside shot. Kolbe Cathedral is just 9-of-38 from the floor and is 0-for-9 beyond the 3-point arc. Ashley Prim is the only Cougar player in double figures with 10 points.
The turnout for the game is one of the smallest in the four games played at CCSU today.

If you think the East Lyme girls are coming into tonight's Class L girls basketball championship game tight- think again.
Just about 20 minutes from game time, the Vikings have been smiling and laughing as they warm up for their showdown with the Kolbe-Cathedral Cougars at Central Connecticut State University.
It's the first time an East Lyme girls basketball team will get a shot at a state championship, something that three other schools have already claimed this Saturday.
Former Tourtellotte High School head coach took his new team, Bloomfield, to a state title as it won the Class S championship. The team that took out Montville in the Class M semifinals, Avon, captured the title with a win over Morgan. The surprise of the day came in the Class LL final when Career Magnet bested the team that was playing in its hometown, New Britain, 71-66.
That Career-New Britain game, not surprisingly, also drew the largest crowd of the day. Although people are still filing in to the gym, the crowd will not be as impressive as it was for the LL final.

This is a tough time of year to be a high school senior athlete.
Take, for instance, the Montville girls basketball team Wednesday night.
"I was trying to hold it in, but I came over here (where her team was) and some of the young girls are crying and saying they're going to miss us," Montville guard Caitlin Quinn said.
That was after the Indians lost to the Avon Falcons 47-35 in a Class M girls basketball semifinal game at Norwich Free Academy. The furthest Montville had ever advanced in the girls basketball tournament.
"It's tough having them leave," Montville coach Derek Wainwright said of Quinn and Lindsay Stergio.
"I have never coached without them and, from day one, it was supposed to be a four-year process with the goal being a state title this year.I watched those kids grow from freshman, getting the (heck) beaten out of them by teams every single day. They stuck with it and they're going to leave a legacy here. This is the best girls team Montville has had."
Montville's loss leaves just one local girls basketball team in the hunt for a state championship. East Lyme will battle Kolbe Cathedral at 8 p.m. Saturday at Central Connecticut State University.

Everyone knew how many points R.J. Evans needed to reach 2,000 for his career Tuesday night but was the NFA senior forward counting?
Evans put down 14 of the 16 points that he needed in the first quarter and scored the first basket of the second quarter to reach the milestone rather quickly in a 74-49 win over Staples in the first round of the Class LL state tournament.
"I was just playing, I wasn't thinking about points or anything," Evans said. "I just came out playing and my team played did well."
"So happy," fellow guard Wes Murphy said. "He's one of my greatest friends and one of the best basketball players I have ever seen. I love playing with him."
2,000 points in a high school career may seem more commonplace now that both Evans and Stonington's Heather Buck reached that number this season. But both were the first in the history of their respective programs and both were only the second player ever to score 2,000 points in their schools. Alex Jensen reached the mark for Stonington, Krista Rappahahn for NFA.
"Tremendous accomplishment," NFA coach Neal Curland said. "Four years of hard work and he can score, there's no question about that. That's a lot of points."

Reaching 1,000 points in a career is a great achievement for any high school basketball player and is, fittingly, celebrated.
Hitting 2,000 points in a career is another thing entirely.
That's 500 points a season or about 25 points a game in a 20-game season. Some, if they're lucky enough to play for teams who qualify for post-season play might see 24 or 25 games in a season, but few achieve the milestone.
That's what makes it so special.
Stonington's Heather Buck did so earlier this season, but it looks like she will be joined by another special player on Tuesday.
Norwich Free Academy senior R.J. Evans needs only 16 points at home against Staples in a Class LL first-round state tournament game to also eclipse the 2,000 point mark.
It just goes to show how special this high school basketball season has truly been. Three future Division-I boys basketball players in the Eastern Connecticut Conference, unheard of.
The crowd at New London on Friday night to watch NFA play the Whalers for the ECC Championship- spectacular.
The end of Heather Buck's high school career- why so soon?
Hope you enjoyed it, it may be awhile before it happens again.

It was the last hurrah for Heather on Saturday night although, clearly, she didn't want it to be.
Heather Buck, the Stonington center who is bound for UConn next year, did everything she could to keep her Stonington Bears in the Class L state tournament. She scored 39 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and played defense wherever she was needed.
In the end, East Lyme just found too many weapons as the Vikings scored from where ever Buck was not present; beyond the 3-point arc, driving the back door, getting rebounds on the weak side.
Buck held back the tears afterward as she realized her storied, four-year high school career had come to an end.
But she will have plenty to look fondly back on, a state championship, 2000-plus career points and just about every award conceived.
The nice thing for those who have followed her career, they won't have to go far to continue to watch her progress as she takes her show to UConn to play for the best women's college team in the nation.
She may have been a little saddened last night, but Heather Buck has plenty to be happy about too.
Just a little aside, the state semifinal sites have been set. East Lyme will play Pomperaug at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Branford High School in Class L. Also on Tuesday, the Wheeler Lions meet Bloomfield at 6 p.m. in Manchester. On Wednesday, Montville stays close to home as it meets Avon in a Class M semifinal at 6 p.m. at NFA.

Unstoppable.
It's a good word to describe New London center Allan Chaney on Wednesday night as he and his teammates took all of the fight out of Killingly early and ran away with the Eastern Connecticut Conference semifinal between the two, 85-53.
If third-seeded Killingly had any thoughts of upsetting the second-seed and host, those hopes were quickly dashed by Chaney's play. The Redmen had no one to guard the six-foot-eight-inch center and eventually were forced to put their own future Division-I player, Shane Gibson, on him.
Gibson blocked a couple of Chaney's shots to no avail. Chaney simply picked the ball back up on both occasions and stuffed it home. That's what a six-inch height advantage will do for you and how a few hang-on-the-rim slam dunks can take the will away from an opponent.
The Whalers move on to meet NFA in the final Friday night on New London's court. The Wildcats won it last season, and do have a couple of six-foot-six-inch pivot players to go after Chaney with. The odds-on favorite, however, New London.

Have you ever felt like the air just went out of a gym?
That's what it was like Tuesday night at Norwich Free Academy.
After a fun and entertaining girls basketball championship game on Friday night with a large crowd and two good teams, NFA and Stonington, on the floor. Tuesday night seemed to have all the thrill of a midseason game in January.
It really wasn't that way, of course, as we're already into the win or go home portion of the season. NFA started off a little slow but gradually imposed its will upon Newington and walked away with a 74-50 win.
The next task won't be so easy as the Wildcats have to play the Golden Hurricanes of New Britain on the road on Thursday. New Britain, the two-time defending state champ, had a rough start to the season, but are right back near the top of the state poll and feature one of the best players in the state.
Tonight, you might want to check out the Eastern Connecticut Conference semifinals in New London, three future Division-I players and a future Division-II player all on the floor as fourth-seed Stonington meets top-seed NFA in the first game at 6 p.m. The second at 7:30 pits third-seeded Killingly against No.2 seed and host, New London.

Here's a little insider info from the press covering the State Open wrestling championship.
We were just about all in agreement that a Sunday final round was the best scheduling that could occur.
Why?
It's simple, really.
On Sunday, I wrote about how busy Saturday was. Well, that was not only for the Norwich Bulletin but also just about every other newspaper in the state with basketball tournaments and the like. So, it was much easier for all of us when the snow on Friday pushed back the championship round to Sunday.
The athletes didn't seem to mind, either.
Of course, it won't stay this way because the CIAC has a strict policy regarding regular schedules on Sunday- it isn't allowed.
But one thing that could happen as Sunday proved, could we move up the time on the finals (when they occur on Saturday as well) to 4 p.m. like yesterday?
Just some thoughts from press row at the State Open wrestling championship.

If there was one thing to be said about Saturday- it was busy.
Actually, one of busiest days of the year when it comes to local athletics.
We had the championship game of the Eastern Connecticut Conference girls basketball tournament, won by Stonington for the first time since 1994.
Those who attended, and the gym was just about full to capacity, saw an entertaining game that the Bears just pulled out 53-48.
Remember, that game was supposed to be played on Friday night but old man winter got in the way. That meant the girls title game had to compete with the ECC boys quarterfinals going on just down the road at St. Bernard.
The top four seeds, NFA, New London, Killingly and Stonington, did what they had to do there and advanced to Wednesday's semifinals.
Also going on, the State Open wrestling championships in New Haven where the Eastern Connecticut Conference made a good showing in the first day with Ledyard in second place and Windham in fourth.
There was also the ECC Cheerleading championships in Waterford where the host team, Griswold and Putnam won titles.
Let's not forget the ECC fencing championship, nor the Constitution State Conference boys basketball quarterfinals and just to add to the fun, both the UConn men and women were playing.
You know what I call all that - fun.
See you today at the State Open Wrestling championships. If you can't make it, read all about it on line today at norwichbulletin.com or in the paper tomorrow.