The fun is just beginning in Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling.
Waterford has won the first set of battles, but the war is far from lost for programs such as Bacon Academy and Ledyard going into this weekend’s ECC championship at Waterford High School. The tournament begins tonight and continues through Saturday with the championship finals slated to begin around 4:30 p.m., that afternoon.
The championship tournament counts toward the regular season standings and even though Waterford swept through the first six matches against its Large Division foes, the Lancers still haven’t won anything yet. The same could be said for the Small Division title as Montville and Killingly have one more opportunity to decide things.
“If we’re not on our ‘A’ game, we’re not going to be challenging for anything,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said after his now-No. 7 Lancers upset the No. 5 team in the state, Bacon, last weekend in Colchester.
“I tell my guys what really matters is the ECC and state tournament because if you go there and fall on your face, all of a sudden that (6-0) record means nothing, because you don’t have anything to show for it.”
Waterford had a battle with both Ledyard and Bacon, needing a point to move past the Colonels and two to beat the Bobcats. Bacon had it a little easier with the Colonels in handing them a 35-21 loss on Jan. 29.
“I’m just hoping that Jason’s (Ledyard coach Lanoue) premonition of what’s to come, (Ledyard) not being counted out, actually comes true,” Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland said after his team’s loss to Waterford. “But I hope we finish ahead of them.”
Just like Gamble was telling his team that it hadn’t won anything yet, Voiland was telling his team that it hadn’t lost anything yet either.
“It’s always a battle in the ECC (Championship) and we’re just hoping to place as many guys as we can in the top four,” the coach said.
In a tournament setting, it’s not always how many weight-class championships a team take, but rather, how many wrestlers place that determines a squad’s fate.
“Last year, we only had two champions, (Ryan) Quinn and (Sean) Burgess, and we placed second above Windham and were just a few (points) away from Ledyard,” Voiland said. “I don’t see anyone dominating it this year. I think it’s pretty open.”
One thing going against Bacon is that it doesn’t have a full complement of wrestlers, as it will have a forfeit in the middle of its lineup in the 135-140 pound range.
“That’s a gimme,” Voiland said. “We realized the second week of practice that it was a hole.”
Waterford had a hole of its own last week when Reggie Allen was out due to sickness. Mental fatigue, meanwhile, could plague all the teams involved this weekend.
“Wrestling is mental and there are probably kids right now that are cashing out, because it’s a grind, (and) it’s hard to go to practice every day now,” Gamble said. “You’ve been sick, coach has been nagging you and telling you that you have to hold it together. The mental part is huge right now.”
While the Large Division will be a battle between Waterford, Ledyard and Bacon with other teams and wrestlers having their say, the Small Division championship will likely come down to Montville and Killingly.
The teams have met twice this season and on neither occasion was there a clear-cut winner, although Montville was declared the winner twice by criteria. The Indians won, 40-39, at the Killingly New Year’s duals on Jan. 3 (which didn’t count toward the league standings) and, in the regularly scheduled league match, they beat the Redmen, 34-33, at home.
Montville senior Jessica Bennett will be making her final appearance at the championship and thinks the Indians are going in with high hopes.
“Our record for the ECC Small is looking pretty good,” she said. “Generally speaking, we’re a pretty good tournament team, although this late in the season we do have a lot of injuries and illness. It should be a great tournament.”
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CIAC, Mohegan Sun announce partnership
It’s been well known for a couple of months that the boys and girls high school basketball state championship games were coming to the Mohegan Sun in March.
The two parties, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and Mohegan, just made that official on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
For the first time, the girls and boys championship games will be held on the same weekend, in the same venue.
The first session, consisting of two games, will be played on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. That will be followed by six games on Saturday, March 21, beginning with the second session at 9 a.m. Two other games will follow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. before an intermission. The last session will be played at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on that Saturday.
The CIAC will wait and see what kind of match-ups take place before it makes a decision as to who plays when. Admission will be a flat rate for each session with a $10 ticket granting admission to all games in that session.
The big question on the mind of CIAC Executive Director Mike Savage on Tuesday was not whether there will be fall-out about having high school games played in a casino venue, but rather how many seats of the 10,000 in the Mohegan Sun Arena will be filled.
“We are always worried about that, because it’s an issue of our draws,” Savage said. “If we get quality draws, highly competitive teams with large spectator draws, it won’t be a problem. If we don’t, it could be.”
It’s not like the CIAC is on the hook for a lot of money. It’s more of a case of whether or not Mohegan will continue to host the games beyond this March. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal and Savage is hoping that if the March games are successful, a multi-year deal could be struck.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate a financial package that is of minimal risk to the CIAC based on past attendance,” Savage said. “Our use of the Mohegan Sun is not a financial risk to us.”
The CIAC has come to Mohegan for several reasons, according to Savage. One was that the member of the state’s educational hierarchy have become less concerned about the casino’s gambling activities as proms and other high school activities are held regularly on the site. The Eastern Connecticut Conference actually opened the door to negotiations when its superintendents and principals approved the league’s championship games to be played at the arena, something that was eventually displaced by the state championship games.
There was also the fact that the CIAC had nowhere else to go. Central Connecticut State University in New Britain — a facility that the CIAC “loves,” according to Savage — holds only 2,800 people. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs was not available either, and frankly, according to Savage, the “time was right to re-kindle negotiations with the Sun,” which had been smoldering for about 12 years.
Since the announcement was originally made, Savage said he has received just one negative e-mail.
“Our biggest concern is hosting an event at a substantial distance from many of our member schools and the travel,” Savage said. “We are not particularly concerned about the issue of exposing our kids to a gambling facility because we’ve been assured that can be handled in a limited way.”
The senior vice-president of sports and entertainment at the Mohegan Sun, Paul Munick, expects more will be said about the partnership between the two and the issue of gambling, but he doesn’t expect it will be a long-term discussion.
“The colleges came in and that caused an uproar for a day or two,” Munick said. “I remember we were having a Nike clinic and I was standing next to (Duke coach Mike) Krzyzewski, (UConn coach Jim) Calhoun and the Marquette coach and the press asked me a few questions and I said, ‘If you really think there’s more gambling going on here — because the issue is about gambling on basketball — than on the campuses of these three schools, I think you’re all nuts.’ ”
The coming of high school basketball to Mohegan could pave the way for another athletic opportunity for the facility as it’s actively engaged in negotiations with two college basketball conferences to bring their postseason tournaments to Mohegan.
Although Munick declined to name the conferences, he did say another conference looked eager to come to the arena but the Sun turned them down out of fear of a lack of attendance.
“If high schools can do it, why can’t colleges do it?” Munick said.
The two parties, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and Mohegan, just made that official on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
For the first time, the girls and boys championship games will be held on the same weekend, in the same venue.
The first session, consisting of two games, will be played on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. That will be followed by six games on Saturday, March 21, beginning with the second session at 9 a.m. Two other games will follow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. before an intermission. The last session will be played at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on that Saturday.
The CIAC will wait and see what kind of match-ups take place before it makes a decision as to who plays when. Admission will be a flat rate for each session with a $10 ticket granting admission to all games in that session.
The big question on the mind of CIAC Executive Director Mike Savage on Tuesday was not whether there will be fall-out about having high school games played in a casino venue, but rather how many seats of the 10,000 in the Mohegan Sun Arena will be filled.
“We are always worried about that, because it’s an issue of our draws,” Savage said. “If we get quality draws, highly competitive teams with large spectator draws, it won’t be a problem. If we don’t, it could be.”
It’s not like the CIAC is on the hook for a lot of money. It’s more of a case of whether or not Mohegan will continue to host the games beyond this March. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal and Savage is hoping that if the March games are successful, a multi-year deal could be struck.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate a financial package that is of minimal risk to the CIAC based on past attendance,” Savage said. “Our use of the Mohegan Sun is not a financial risk to us.”
The CIAC has come to Mohegan for several reasons, according to Savage. One was that the member of the state’s educational hierarchy have become less concerned about the casino’s gambling activities as proms and other high school activities are held regularly on the site. The Eastern Connecticut Conference actually opened the door to negotiations when its superintendents and principals approved the league’s championship games to be played at the arena, something that was eventually displaced by the state championship games.
There was also the fact that the CIAC had nowhere else to go. Central Connecticut State University in New Britain — a facility that the CIAC “loves,” according to Savage — holds only 2,800 people. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs was not available either, and frankly, according to Savage, the “time was right to re-kindle negotiations with the Sun,” which had been smoldering for about 12 years.
Since the announcement was originally made, Savage said he has received just one negative e-mail.
“Our biggest concern is hosting an event at a substantial distance from many of our member schools and the travel,” Savage said. “We are not particularly concerned about the issue of exposing our kids to a gambling facility because we’ve been assured that can be handled in a limited way.”
The senior vice-president of sports and entertainment at the Mohegan Sun, Paul Munick, expects more will be said about the partnership between the two and the issue of gambling, but he doesn’t expect it will be a long-term discussion.
“The colleges came in and that caused an uproar for a day or two,” Munick said. “I remember we were having a Nike clinic and I was standing next to (Duke coach Mike) Krzyzewski, (UConn coach Jim) Calhoun and the Marquette coach and the press asked me a few questions and I said, ‘If you really think there’s more gambling going on here — because the issue is about gambling on basketball — than on the campuses of these three schools, I think you’re all nuts.’ ”
The coming of high school basketball to Mohegan could pave the way for another athletic opportunity for the facility as it’s actively engaged in negotiations with two college basketball conferences to bring their postseason tournaments to Mohegan.
Although Munick declined to name the conferences, he did say another conference looked eager to come to the arena but the Sun turned them down out of fear of a lack of attendance.
“If high schools can do it, why can’t colleges do it?” Munick said.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bennett brings home 100th career victory
It came a lot easier for Montville senior wrestler Jess Bennett than the previous 99 victories.
Bennett became the first female wrestler in Connecticut history to record 100 career victories Monday when she stepped to the middle of the mat and accepted a forfeit from New London in the 103-pound match of the Indians’ 77-6 win.
“I would rather have had it be an actual match,” Bennett said. “It’s nice to reach that kind of milestone, but at the same time, I wish it were a true win. Just the fact that I made weight makes it feel like I haven’t achieved much (Monday night).”
Her coach, Gary Wilcox, begged to differ.
“This girl has more than earned her 100 career wins,” Wilcox said. “She hasn’t had many forfeits, because most all teams have a 100-pounder, and if they don’t, we usually bump her up to 112. So she doesn’t get it too easy.”
Wilcox and Bennett both believe her feat to be a first in the state; the records listed on the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance web site indicate the same thing.
That’s not a surprise, according to Wilcox, as Bennett has been able to do something that’s a must for female wrestlers: Maintain her weight over the four years of her career.
“I believe it’s going to be awhile before we get another one, because if a girl goes up too high on her weight, the testosterone and the strength (of males) really becomes different,” Wilcox said. “A girl has to remain at 103 and wrestle varsity for four years and average (more than) 25 wins a season to do this. It’s really quite a feat.”
It’s one that Wilcox feels compares favorably to a girl scoring 2,500 points in basketball.
Bennett began wrestling when she was 7-years-old, inspired by her brother Dylan, although it wasn’t exactly her mom’s choice of sport.
“I’m extremely proud of her and amazed, too,” Kim Bennett said. “She first told me that she wanted to do this, and I just so didn’t want it for obvious reasons. I was unfamiliar with the sport and it’s rough, but she’s quite the little firecracker and she was right and I was wrong.”
Bennett’s role started as a little sister on the wrestling team, according to her mother, but that role has gradually changed as she is now, as a senior, more like a mother to some of the younger Montville wrestlers. Her teammates, however, respect what Bennett accomplished Monday night.
“It’s pretty special,” junior captain Dustin Wilcox said. “Girls hardly can compete in this sport most of the time. Most of the time they’re lucky to be a good varsity wrestler, and she’s been great.”
Bennett said she knew there was a possibility she could reach the 100-win plateau when she was trying to consider whether she could reach 28 wins for the extra seeding point in state competition.
“I realized if I did that, I would reach 100,” Bennett said. “My goal in wrestling has always been to do the best that I can. This milestone means you’re a fairly accomplished wrestler.”
Bennett is making the most of her final year of high school wrestling. Her future plans have changed and they don’t include the sport. She has been offered an academic scholarship to Purdue University where she plans to pursue veterinary medicine.
“My ultimate goals in life are bringing me in a different direction,” she said. “I still want to be an active athletic person, but on a less competitive level. Women’s wrestling and veterinary medicine didn’t really mesh too well.”
Bennett became the first female wrestler in Connecticut history to record 100 career victories Monday when she stepped to the middle of the mat and accepted a forfeit from New London in the 103-pound match of the Indians’ 77-6 win.
“I would rather have had it be an actual match,” Bennett said. “It’s nice to reach that kind of milestone, but at the same time, I wish it were a true win. Just the fact that I made weight makes it feel like I haven’t achieved much (Monday night).”
Her coach, Gary Wilcox, begged to differ.
“This girl has more than earned her 100 career wins,” Wilcox said. “She hasn’t had many forfeits, because most all teams have a 100-pounder, and if they don’t, we usually bump her up to 112. So she doesn’t get it too easy.”
Wilcox and Bennett both believe her feat to be a first in the state; the records listed on the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance web site indicate the same thing.
That’s not a surprise, according to Wilcox, as Bennett has been able to do something that’s a must for female wrestlers: Maintain her weight over the four years of her career.
“I believe it’s going to be awhile before we get another one, because if a girl goes up too high on her weight, the testosterone and the strength (of males) really becomes different,” Wilcox said. “A girl has to remain at 103 and wrestle varsity for four years and average (more than) 25 wins a season to do this. It’s really quite a feat.”
It’s one that Wilcox feels compares favorably to a girl scoring 2,500 points in basketball.
Bennett began wrestling when she was 7-years-old, inspired by her brother Dylan, although it wasn’t exactly her mom’s choice of sport.
“I’m extremely proud of her and amazed, too,” Kim Bennett said. “She first told me that she wanted to do this, and I just so didn’t want it for obvious reasons. I was unfamiliar with the sport and it’s rough, but she’s quite the little firecracker and she was right and I was wrong.”
Bennett’s role started as a little sister on the wrestling team, according to her mother, but that role has gradually changed as she is now, as a senior, more like a mother to some of the younger Montville wrestlers. Her teammates, however, respect what Bennett accomplished Monday night.
“It’s pretty special,” junior captain Dustin Wilcox said. “Girls hardly can compete in this sport most of the time. Most of the time they’re lucky to be a good varsity wrestler, and she’s been great.”
Bennett said she knew there was a possibility she could reach the 100-win plateau when she was trying to consider whether she could reach 28 wins for the extra seeding point in state competition.
“I realized if I did that, I would reach 100,” Bennett said. “My goal in wrestling has always been to do the best that I can. This milestone means you’re a fairly accomplished wrestler.”
Bennett is making the most of her final year of high school wrestling. Her future plans have changed and they don’t include the sport. She has been offered an academic scholarship to Purdue University where she plans to pursue veterinary medicine.
“My ultimate goals in life are bringing me in a different direction,” she said. “I still want to be an active athletic person, but on a less competitive level. Women’s wrestling and veterinary medicine didn’t really mesh too well.”
Friday, February 6, 2009
Windham/RHAM gets past NFA
Things got a little too close for comfort for Windham/RHAM coach Carlos Flores, so he had to do a little lineup shuffling late in a swim meet against NFA at the Norwich YMCA Friday afternoon.
The shuffling worked as a slim eight-point lead blossomed into a 98-72 win for the cooperative program, but NFA coach Tom Theve took it as a compliment. After all, Windham/RHAM is in second place in the Eastern Connecticut Conference with a 7-2 record and NFA (2-8) has struggled.
Windham/RHAM broke out to a 46-32 lead behind the talents of junior Rob Husta. Husta captured the 50-yard freestyle in a swift 23.40 — just shy of his personal best. He followed that with a 59.22 to win his favorite event, the 100-yard butterfly. Prior to those two first-place finishes, Husta teamed with James Flores, Kevin Philips and Kevin Gryk to take first in the 200-yard medley relay.
Despite those Windham/RHAM victories, NFA hung tough. Senior Dan Carroll won both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle (2:01.91) races. Jason Depina captured the 200-yard individual medley and NFA only trailed, 59-51, going into the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“I didn’t really prepare the kids for NFA,” Carlos Flores said. “The lineup was pretty much matched up to see how (we) would do against another team and I was getting those times. At the end, I had to do a little switch to make sure we had it in the bag.”
Flores took Hustus off his first 200-yard relay team and installed him as the anchor leg on his No. 2 squad. The moved worked, as Philips, Elliott Mitchell, Derek Johnson and James Flores captured first in 1:43.93 and Windham/RHAM’s second team touched the wall just behind them to outscore NFA 12-2 in the event and give the Whippets a 71-53 lead.
Windham/RHAM also outscored NFA 9-7 in the 100-yard backstroke, despite a first-place finish by NFA’s Justin Paz. ook the first two spots in the 100-yard breaststroke to finish off the Wildcats.
“It was real close,” Husta said, “but they’re a pretty good team. Everyone underestimates them, but they have some good swimmers.”
Carroll was one of the best for the Wildcats as he not only won his two individual events, but also joined Matt Exley, Paz, and Depina to finish first in the meet-ending, 400-yard freestyle relay.
“We felt good, really good, coming into this meet,” Carroll said. “It’s our home pool, we had all of our friends and family here, there was a general air of really good will, and we felt really strong and confident.”
Carroll wasn’t the only one who was feeling the hint of upset in the air coming into the meet, Theve put in some overtime to try and make that happen.
“They’ve beat some real good teams and we wanted to make them earn it — actually, we wanted to win,” Theve admitted. “I spent two hours looking at their lineup, looking at their times, what they did the first meet (vs. NFA). I know the guys here have been working, Waterford beat us by 31 (points) the first time and the second by eight. Maybe by the ECC’s, we’ll be there, and be in the mix.”
The shuffling worked as a slim eight-point lead blossomed into a 98-72 win for the cooperative program, but NFA coach Tom Theve took it as a compliment. After all, Windham/RHAM is in second place in the Eastern Connecticut Conference with a 7-2 record and NFA (2-8) has struggled.
Windham/RHAM broke out to a 46-32 lead behind the talents of junior Rob Husta. Husta captured the 50-yard freestyle in a swift 23.40 — just shy of his personal best. He followed that with a 59.22 to win his favorite event, the 100-yard butterfly. Prior to those two first-place finishes, Husta teamed with James Flores, Kevin Philips and Kevin Gryk to take first in the 200-yard medley relay.
Despite those Windham/RHAM victories, NFA hung tough. Senior Dan Carroll won both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle (2:01.91) races. Jason Depina captured the 200-yard individual medley and NFA only trailed, 59-51, going into the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“I didn’t really prepare the kids for NFA,” Carlos Flores said. “The lineup was pretty much matched up to see how (we) would do against another team and I was getting those times. At the end, I had to do a little switch to make sure we had it in the bag.”
Flores took Hustus off his first 200-yard relay team and installed him as the anchor leg on his No. 2 squad. The moved worked, as Philips, Elliott Mitchell, Derek Johnson and James Flores captured first in 1:43.93 and Windham/RHAM’s second team touched the wall just behind them to outscore NFA 12-2 in the event and give the Whippets a 71-53 lead.
Windham/RHAM also outscored NFA 9-7 in the 100-yard backstroke, despite a first-place finish by NFA’s Justin Paz. ook the first two spots in the 100-yard breaststroke to finish off the Wildcats.
“It was real close,” Husta said, “but they’re a pretty good team. Everyone underestimates them, but they have some good swimmers.”
Carroll was one of the best for the Wildcats as he not only won his two individual events, but also joined Matt Exley, Paz, and Depina to finish first in the meet-ending, 400-yard freestyle relay.
“We felt good, really good, coming into this meet,” Carroll said. “It’s our home pool, we had all of our friends and family here, there was a general air of really good will, and we felt really strong and confident.”
Carroll wasn’t the only one who was feeling the hint of upset in the air coming into the meet, Theve put in some overtime to try and make that happen.
“They’ve beat some real good teams and we wanted to make them earn it — actually, we wanted to win,” Theve admitted. “I spent two hours looking at their lineup, looking at their times, what they did the first meet (vs. NFA). I know the guys here have been working, Waterford beat us by 31 (points) the first time and the second by eight. Maybe by the ECC’s, we’ll be there, and be in the mix.”
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Beaudreault, Partosan sign on dotted line
Spencer Beaudreault had to stop in the hallway for one last bit of advice from the man who has guided him through the last four years.
Beaudreault, heading into the Windham High School gym, handed football coach Brian Crudden his tie, neatly folded in his hand, and Crudden took it and showed his quarterback how to tie a “Windsor” knot.
Fortunately, Crudden’s teaching on the football field was much more effective than it was in tie-tying 101 as Beaudreault was lost on the second step of the process.
What was not lost on Crudden, Beaudreault, or teammate Chaz Partosan was the significance of the moment. This is what the conditioning drills in the August heat the games in the November mud and the summers of weightlifting are all about; a cold day in February with flashes going off around the two of them as they signed on the dotted line of ceremonial Letters of Intent to play football for Sacred Heart in Fairfield next fall.
“I went on my official visit a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it,” Beaudreault said, “plus, it was the only Division-I offer I had.”
Partosan wasn’t sure about his future until a week or two ago when Sacred Heart came forward with an offer for both Whippet players.
“It was quick because I hadn’t talked to them before that,” said Partosan who will play on the defensive line for the Pioneers, “I talked to a lot of colleges before that and I was most likely going to go to a different college, then they came up.”
Not every high school football player gets the chance to play at the next level, Beaudreault and Partosan are two of the chosen few who got to put the ink to the paper on National Signing Day.
“I think it’s a dream come true for those guys,” Crudden said. “I know that their intent for four years has been to work every day to get better, be a better football player at this level to move on to the next level and they’ve accomplished that.”
Together.
Partosan moved to Willimantic from Norwich when he was in the eighth grade and quickly struck up a friendship with Beaudreault. The two played youth football together and moved on to high school where Beaudreault threw the passes and Partosan chased down opposing quarterbacks for the first couple of years. Partosan then began catching those Beaudreault passes as a junior tight end and the two, according to Crudden, are like “peas in a pod.”
“It’s fitting,” Chaz’s mom, Linda, said of the two moving on to the same college.
“If either of them went without the other,” Partosan added before quickly re-thinking that statement, “it wasn’t going to happen, they were going to go (together), regardless.”
Partosan said the Division-I AA Pioneers plan to use him on the defensive line while Beaudreault may get a shot at quarterback early as an injury could slow down the progress of Sacred Heart’s incumbent quarterback. If not, Beaudreault hopes to get a shot at either slot receiver or in the backfield where Beaudreault could utilize his biggest weapons, his legs.
Just as important; the classroom. Partosan plans to use his scholarship to study political science at Sacred Heart, Beaudreault was going to enter the criminal justice program, but went to a criminal justice class on a second visit to the institution and may have already changed his mind.
“I like the psychological part of it, criminology, forensic science — I want to be in the FBI,” Beaudreault said.
Beaudreault, heading into the Windham High School gym, handed football coach Brian Crudden his tie, neatly folded in his hand, and Crudden took it and showed his quarterback how to tie a “Windsor” knot.
Fortunately, Crudden’s teaching on the football field was much more effective than it was in tie-tying 101 as Beaudreault was lost on the second step of the process.
What was not lost on Crudden, Beaudreault, or teammate Chaz Partosan was the significance of the moment. This is what the conditioning drills in the August heat the games in the November mud and the summers of weightlifting are all about; a cold day in February with flashes going off around the two of them as they signed on the dotted line of ceremonial Letters of Intent to play football for Sacred Heart in Fairfield next fall.
“I went on my official visit a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it,” Beaudreault said, “plus, it was the only Division-I offer I had.”
Partosan wasn’t sure about his future until a week or two ago when Sacred Heart came forward with an offer for both Whippet players.
“It was quick because I hadn’t talked to them before that,” said Partosan who will play on the defensive line for the Pioneers, “I talked to a lot of colleges before that and I was most likely going to go to a different college, then they came up.”
Not every high school football player gets the chance to play at the next level, Beaudreault and Partosan are two of the chosen few who got to put the ink to the paper on National Signing Day.
“I think it’s a dream come true for those guys,” Crudden said. “I know that their intent for four years has been to work every day to get better, be a better football player at this level to move on to the next level and they’ve accomplished that.”
Together.
Partosan moved to Willimantic from Norwich when he was in the eighth grade and quickly struck up a friendship with Beaudreault. The two played youth football together and moved on to high school where Beaudreault threw the passes and Partosan chased down opposing quarterbacks for the first couple of years. Partosan then began catching those Beaudreault passes as a junior tight end and the two, according to Crudden, are like “peas in a pod.”
“It’s fitting,” Chaz’s mom, Linda, said of the two moving on to the same college.
“If either of them went without the other,” Partosan added before quickly re-thinking that statement, “it wasn’t going to happen, they were going to go (together), regardless.”
Partosan said the Division-I AA Pioneers plan to use him on the defensive line while Beaudreault may get a shot at quarterback early as an injury could slow down the progress of Sacred Heart’s incumbent quarterback. If not, Beaudreault hopes to get a shot at either slot receiver or in the backfield where Beaudreault could utilize his biggest weapons, his legs.
Just as important; the classroom. Partosan plans to use his scholarship to study political science at Sacred Heart, Beaudreault was going to enter the criminal justice program, but went to a criminal justice class on a second visit to the institution and may have already changed his mind.
“I like the psychological part of it, criminology, forensic science — I want to be in the FBI,” Beaudreault said.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New football playoff system proposed
The first step to another round of high school football playoffs has been taken.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s football committee passed forward a proposal to the CIAC’s Board of Control calling for an expansion in the playoff system with a quarterfinal round to be added to the existing semifinal and championship games in all six CIAC divisions. The proposal raises the number of playoff qualifiers from 24 to 48.
“It’s good for high school football and good for the athletes,” Ledyard High School football and CIAC football committee member Jim Buonocore said.
“I’m a strong supporter because it’s a positive for the kids,” he added, “I’ve been fortunate to have participated in the playoffs four times, including a state championship this year, and it’s exciting. It’s exciting to experience the playoff talk and the fever and this affords more opportunity without diminishing or tarnishing anything. There will be some very, very good teams and some very, very good games.”
The proposal now goes to the superintendents, athletic directors and coaches of the 142 CIAC member schools to give them a chance to comment on it before the Board of Control votes. The Board of Control will be briefed on the proposal on February 26, but the CIAC said in a press release that final action will not be taken until all constituent groups have had the ability to respond.
The plan calls for teams to play nine regular season games (10 in an 11-game year) with the quarterfinal round played on the Thursday night prior to the week of Thanksgiving, no regular season games will be played that week.
The playoffs then take a break to allow for the traditional Thanksgiving Day games prior to the semifinals. Those games will continue to be held the follwing Tuesday, and the championships will remain on the following Saturday.
“It’s a good thing, but it’s a tough time frame; that’s a lot of games in a short amount of time,” Windham coach Brian Crudden said.
Montville coach Tanner Grove shuddered, however, at the thought of what could have happened this past season. His Indians could have played either Wolcott Tech or Plainfield in a quarterfinal, followed by St. Bernard on Thanksgiving Eve, then New London the following Tuesday. That’s part of the reason why he didn’t support the proposal.
“I like where we are because when you make the football playoffs, it’s a big deal, an accomplishment in itself,” Grove said.
Windham principal Gene Blain, who sits on both the Board of Control and the football coaches committee, agreed that the prestige of current system may be a stumbling block. When the coaches proposed the plan and a mock-up of the past several years was done, several teams with 6-4 and 7-4 records would have made the quarterfinals.
“Football has always been different,” Blain said. “It changes philosophy and, something that we have to be aware of at the Board level, it sets a precedent.”
That precedent is having teams play a state tournament game, followed by a regular season game, followed by another state tournament game. In all other CIAC sports, regular season games must be completed prior to the start of the state tournament.
There is also the question of Thanksgiving and the big rivalries that exist on the national holiday. Could this playoff plan diminish the meaning of those games, some with traditions older than all of us who watch them?
“Every team, every coach is a competitor and Thanksgiving will continue to shine as a great day for high school football,” Buonocore said.
The Ledyard coach added that he had to play a semifinal game this year, four days after a Thanksgiving Day game, and it didn’t change his prep or his starting lineup.
Grove agrees that coaches will continue to want to win on Thanksgiving, but those who have already won a quarterfinal game and are prepping for a semifinal may think a bit about how long certain players will be on the field.
“Knowing that you have to play the following Tuesday, you may start doing things that you wouldn’t normally do in a game,” Grove said.
No matter what, this is a decision that won’t be take lightly.
“The football committee passing it forward gives it integrity,” Blain said, “but I’m going to need some time to look at it and think about it.”
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s football committee passed forward a proposal to the CIAC’s Board of Control calling for an expansion in the playoff system with a quarterfinal round to be added to the existing semifinal and championship games in all six CIAC divisions. The proposal raises the number of playoff qualifiers from 24 to 48.
“It’s good for high school football and good for the athletes,” Ledyard High School football and CIAC football committee member Jim Buonocore said.
“I’m a strong supporter because it’s a positive for the kids,” he added, “I’ve been fortunate to have participated in the playoffs four times, including a state championship this year, and it’s exciting. It’s exciting to experience the playoff talk and the fever and this affords more opportunity without diminishing or tarnishing anything. There will be some very, very good teams and some very, very good games.”
The proposal now goes to the superintendents, athletic directors and coaches of the 142 CIAC member schools to give them a chance to comment on it before the Board of Control votes. The Board of Control will be briefed on the proposal on February 26, but the CIAC said in a press release that final action will not be taken until all constituent groups have had the ability to respond.
The plan calls for teams to play nine regular season games (10 in an 11-game year) with the quarterfinal round played on the Thursday night prior to the week of Thanksgiving, no regular season games will be played that week.
The playoffs then take a break to allow for the traditional Thanksgiving Day games prior to the semifinals. Those games will continue to be held the follwing Tuesday, and the championships will remain on the following Saturday.
“It’s a good thing, but it’s a tough time frame; that’s a lot of games in a short amount of time,” Windham coach Brian Crudden said.
Montville coach Tanner Grove shuddered, however, at the thought of what could have happened this past season. His Indians could have played either Wolcott Tech or Plainfield in a quarterfinal, followed by St. Bernard on Thanksgiving Eve, then New London the following Tuesday. That’s part of the reason why he didn’t support the proposal.
“I like where we are because when you make the football playoffs, it’s a big deal, an accomplishment in itself,” Grove said.
Windham principal Gene Blain, who sits on both the Board of Control and the football coaches committee, agreed that the prestige of current system may be a stumbling block. When the coaches proposed the plan and a mock-up of the past several years was done, several teams with 6-4 and 7-4 records would have made the quarterfinals.
“Football has always been different,” Blain said. “It changes philosophy and, something that we have to be aware of at the Board level, it sets a precedent.”
That precedent is having teams play a state tournament game, followed by a regular season game, followed by another state tournament game. In all other CIAC sports, regular season games must be completed prior to the start of the state tournament.
There is also the question of Thanksgiving and the big rivalries that exist on the national holiday. Could this playoff plan diminish the meaning of those games, some with traditions older than all of us who watch them?
“Every team, every coach is a competitor and Thanksgiving will continue to shine as a great day for high school football,” Buonocore said.
The Ledyard coach added that he had to play a semifinal game this year, four days after a Thanksgiving Day game, and it didn’t change his prep or his starting lineup.
Grove agrees that coaches will continue to want to win on Thanksgiving, but those who have already won a quarterfinal game and are prepping for a semifinal may think a bit about how long certain players will be on the field.
“Knowing that you have to play the following Tuesday, you may start doing things that you wouldn’t normally do in a game,” Grove said.
No matter what, this is a decision that won’t be take lightly.
“The football committee passing it forward gives it integrity,” Blain said, “but I’m going to need some time to look at it and think about it.”
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wolverines heating up
What Griswold needed was something to lift their confidence.
What it got was a win over Montville last Friday.
Will it be enough of a boost for the Wolverines girls basketball team to make the postseason remains to be seen, but Griswold took another step in that direction on Monday night as it dropped New London, 56-36.
“I think we’re a new team now,” senior Cailin Sorder said. “We didn’t have a good record before that (Montville) game. We know we have to win the next three-out-of-five to make states and, hopefully, we can accomplish it.”
Griswold coach Tim Lagace stepped back and rolled his eyes a bit when he considered the question of making the state tournament. He has to hope to steal a win against two of the top 15 teams in the state as the Wolverines play Windham tonight and Bacon Academy on Friday. If that doesn’t happen, they would have to win out against the likes of Stonington, Killingly and Woodstock.
“Who knows?” Lagace said. “Anything can happen. We beat Montville and, with a little bit of luck, who knows? It, obviously, has to be our goal now.”
But the Wolverines (5-10) have to take it one game at a time and the first hurdle was the much-improved Whalers.
The problem for New London on Monday night was poor shooting. The Whalers made just 17-of-57 attempts from the floor.
“We had a lot of attempts, a lot of nice shots —the shots we wanted them to take,” New London coach Linda Pfeiffer said. “We just couldn’t put it in the basket.”
Still, the Whalers (8-7) hung around and trailed by only five points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, 36-31. Griswold’s Cailin Sorder (nine points) and New London’s Kendra Ferraro (nine points, eight rebounds) traded baskets before Griswold caught fire.
Katherine Pearce sank a free throw and Taylor McGrath put one in from outside to make it 41-33 Griswold. Catlyn Hughes added all six of her points on the night to put the Wolverines up 13 with 2:59 left. Samantha Rentz (who scored a team-high 13 points) finished off the Whalers as her four consecutive points gave Griswold a 15-point lead with two minutes to play.
“We just wanted to settle it down, control our offense, run our plays and get good looks,” Rentz said of the fourth quarter rally. “We were just going for open shots and open layups and if we had a fast break, we were just going for it.”
It’s a good thing the Wolverines got the points from the floor, because the foul shots were a whole other issue. The Wolverines helped keep the Whalers in the game a bit longer by making just 8-of-25 from the charity stripe.
“I was a big part of that,” Sorder said. “Next practice, definitely, a lot of foul shooting.”
Lagace just turned and shook his head when he thought about the free-throw shooting.
“I don’t know what to say about that, it’s not like we don’t shoot free throws,” Lagace said. “You don’t what it is; it could be that we were working hard on defense and didn’t have the legs, but you know how free throws go — it can be up and down.”
What it got was a win over Montville last Friday.
Will it be enough of a boost for the Wolverines girls basketball team to make the postseason remains to be seen, but Griswold took another step in that direction on Monday night as it dropped New London, 56-36.
“I think we’re a new team now,” senior Cailin Sorder said. “We didn’t have a good record before that (Montville) game. We know we have to win the next three-out-of-five to make states and, hopefully, we can accomplish it.”
Griswold coach Tim Lagace stepped back and rolled his eyes a bit when he considered the question of making the state tournament. He has to hope to steal a win against two of the top 15 teams in the state as the Wolverines play Windham tonight and Bacon Academy on Friday. If that doesn’t happen, they would have to win out against the likes of Stonington, Killingly and Woodstock.
“Who knows?” Lagace said. “Anything can happen. We beat Montville and, with a little bit of luck, who knows? It, obviously, has to be our goal now.”
But the Wolverines (5-10) have to take it one game at a time and the first hurdle was the much-improved Whalers.
The problem for New London on Monday night was poor shooting. The Whalers made just 17-of-57 attempts from the floor.
“We had a lot of attempts, a lot of nice shots —the shots we wanted them to take,” New London coach Linda Pfeiffer said. “We just couldn’t put it in the basket.”
Still, the Whalers (8-7) hung around and trailed by only five points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, 36-31. Griswold’s Cailin Sorder (nine points) and New London’s Kendra Ferraro (nine points, eight rebounds) traded baskets before Griswold caught fire.
Katherine Pearce sank a free throw and Taylor McGrath put one in from outside to make it 41-33 Griswold. Catlyn Hughes added all six of her points on the night to put the Wolverines up 13 with 2:59 left. Samantha Rentz (who scored a team-high 13 points) finished off the Whalers as her four consecutive points gave Griswold a 15-point lead with two minutes to play.
“We just wanted to settle it down, control our offense, run our plays and get good looks,” Rentz said of the fourth quarter rally. “We were just going for open shots and open layups and if we had a fast break, we were just going for it.”
It’s a good thing the Wolverines got the points from the floor, because the foul shots were a whole other issue. The Wolverines helped keep the Whalers in the game a bit longer by making just 8-of-25 from the charity stripe.
“I was a big part of that,” Sorder said. “Next practice, definitely, a lot of foul shooting.”
Lagace just turned and shook his head when he thought about the free-throw shooting.
“I don’t know what to say about that, it’s not like we don’t shoot free throws,” Lagace said. “You don’t what it is; it could be that we were working hard on defense and didn’t have the legs, but you know how free throws go — it can be up and down.”
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