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.