Mark Fritz was part of the foundation of Rocky Hill football as a player, helped construct a playoff program as an assistant coach, and has now transformed the Terriers into a state powerhouse as the head coach.

“We have the same goals every year, we want to win our division and we want to qualify for the state tournament,” said Fritz, who graduated from RHHS in 2006 after starring on the local fields for four seasons, “We don’t talk about the championship until we get there. Last season was the first time it’s every happened in the history of our program. It’s not something that we expect to happen every year, but it’s definitely our goal to get back.”

Fritz and his team literally came within inches of winning a state title a season ago, losing a heartbreaker to Ansonia in the Class S championship game.

The coach and his returning players have moved on from the loss, but haven’t forgotten that empty feeling.

“It haunted me all winter, it haunted me all spring. All of my offseason sports factored into losing that game. I’m still thinking about it, I think about it every day,” said senior running back Joe Catania, who ran wild for 1791 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior, “I feel confident, especially after coming off last year and I’m absolutely driven because of what happen in the championship. I was totally revved up and I was so happy to get back on the field. It feels like home again.”

The team captain is being counted on more than ever this season, adding strong safety and kicker to his list of responsibilities. The full workload doesn’t faze the gridiron gladiator.

“It puts a lot more pressure on me, but I love being out there every play. Football is my passion and it’s what I want to do. It’s a good challenge for me,” added Catania, who is blessed with both blazing speed and brute strength, “Nothing is better than blowing by a safety untouched, but I also love being able to hit and run through somebody.”

Catania is the exactly the kind of student athlete the fits what Fritz values, “He buys into what we’re telling him. We preach to the kids that you need to be able to turn the page and you need to be able to refocus on the next thing and he’s just one of those guys who is willing to be coached and is willing to work hard and it translates onto the field.”

Quarterback Danny Cavallaro is another pigskin prodigy that has put his blood, sweat, and tears into the program. He’s been under center for the Terriers since the beginning of his sophomore year and has literally, and figuratively, grown into the position.

“Every year for every player, the game slow down for you. You really embrace it and it’s like slow motion. That’s what has happened to me, the game slowed down and I can really pick up more things on the run now,” said the three-year starter, “I love being a senior and being on top of the food chain out there. I’m at the helm and I’ve got to lead. If you don’t have a good quarterback you’re not going to have a good team, so I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I’m going to yell at our linemen, I’m going to yell at our skills players if it’s not perfect, because that’s what we are here for. We all have to work to get better.”

The quarterback’s maturation hasn’t gone unnoticed by his coach, “His confidence has grown exponentially. We lean on him on the offensive side of the ball to take control of the huddle and to be the coach on the field. He needs to be able to calm people down and he needs to be able to get people fired up and ready for the next play. He started to do that as a sophomore a little bit and last year in the playoffs he started doing it a ton.
This year he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s been doing it in the weight room and in summer conditioning and especially now in the season.”

Catania and Cavallaro are two of several seniors that have an extra special bond with the fourth-year head coach. They were freshmen when Fritz took over the reins.

“I always look back to when I was a freshman. I was new to the high school and he was new to the coaching job. We grew together and we built up the team,” reflected Catania, “I love coach Fritz and it’s been great to be able to grow with him and help grow the program.”

“When I went to college I was part of my head coach’s first recruiting class, so I kind of understand what they are going through,” recalled Fritz, who played safety at Central Connecticut State University.

“A lot of our seniors this year started playing varsity as freshmen and to see the caliber of their play increase every single year and to see them stay hungry and not be satisfied with just playing varsity minutes has been really great. To see how far they’ve come and to have a senior class of 16 kids that come all the way through the program and play together is special.”

After CCSU, Fritz was an assistant coach in Rocky Hill for three seasons. In 2013 the Terriers won their first ever playoff game and the next season he took over as the head coach.

The new head coach played several freshmen in his first season and the team finished 5-6 in 2014. The turning point was following a 27-0 loss against Avon to open the 2015 season.

After being shutout at home, the even-keeled coach said, “We have a good group of kids that will bounce back from this, they’re all great kids. There’s not a doubt in my mind that they can pick up what we’re trying to do as a team. We have to get better every day if we want to give ourselves a chance to compete. We did a lot of good things that we can build on going forward. The goal is to get better every day.”
Since that gloomy night in September, the Terriers have won 22 of 25 games, including a pair of postseason games.  Whether it’s a demoralizing loss or a historic win, Fritz’ message remains the same.

“We let the guys celebrate the wins, but as soon as we come back Monday we are ready to work and we refocus on the next team. Winning football games isn’t easy. They have to understand that when we come back on the practice field we have to be ready to turn the page and work again. They do a good job at that. There’s always something that we can do better, whether it’s correcting a play on film or correcting a coverage. Football is a beautiful game in that way, there’s always something that you can improve upon.”

The team is off to another impressive start this fall, winning their first three games, including a 42-6 thumping of Plainville last Friday.

Catania and backfield brother Joseph Ferreira were in full locomotive mode and the Terriers scored all 42 points in the first half before coasting to the easy victory. Catania ran for two scores and was six for six on extra point attempts, and Ferreira had the best game of his high school career, rushing for 219 yards and three touchdowns. Cavallaro added a sixth score on an eight-yard QB keeper.

Fritz said it’s been great to see the Catania and Ferreira feed off of each other, but he’s still looking for more consistency in other areas, “We’re still trying to find our identity in some places and we’re still trying to find the right guys for some positions.”

The biggest challenge has been rewiring the offensive line, which lost four of five starters from last season to graduation.

“It was hard in the beginning. We didn’t think we were going to be as good on the line, but they’ve work really hard,” said Cavallaro, “Our mentality is next man up and that’s how we’ve got to do.”

Anthony Feliciano is the only returning starter from last fall. He’s joined by a rotation of players that includes Ryan Pirre, Alex Boutin, Kyle Sanzo, and quasi-linemen/full backs/tight ends Dante Baker, Greg Fern, and Cole Fishberg.   

“Whenever you lose four of your five guys there’s going to be a ton of changes that you have to adjust for. To their credit these guys have stepped up,” added Fritz, “Some of them waited their time until their senior year and they’re making the most of it. Kyle Sanzo is a great example. He didn’t play offense for us last year and this year he’s our starting tackle and going a great job. He’s one of those guys. He waited his time, he earned his playing time, and he’s making the most of it.”

The line has done a nice job protecting Cavallaro and paving the way for the Dueling Joes. They have also excelled on the other sides of the ball, fronting a defensive unit that has surrendered only 28 total points through three games. The Baker Brothers, Dante and Diamante, along with Matt Osgood and Will White have set the tone defensively. The defense should get even better with the return of Jack Hansen, who missed the game against Plainville with an injury, but adds versatility and experience in the secondary.   

Next up is a road game against Hartford’s three-headed dragon Bulkeley/HMTCA/Weaver at Buckley High School on Sat, Sept 30 at noon.

By the end of October the Terriers will have played five of their first seven games away from Rocky Hill. The silver lining to the brutal road schedule is that they’ll be hosting the final three regular season games, including back-to-back bouts against bitter rivals Berlin and Cromwell.

“We’ve done a lot of good things, but we still have a lot to clean up. It’s still early in the season and we have a lot of new guys playing varsity minutes this year so we expected it to take a little time, but I’m so proud of my guys for how they’ve handled themselves,” added Fritz, “I look forward to seeing what this team can do moving forward.”

(Captains Brett Robbins, Jack Shauck, Bryce Karstetter, and Matt Wolak helped the Panthers defeat North Branford 44-0)

Junior quarterback Bryce Karstetter threw two touchdowns and ran for another as the Cromwell/Portland Panthers crushed visiting North Branford 44-0 at Pierson Park last Friday night, improving the team to 2-0 under first-year head coach Randell Bennett.

It marked the second straight season the Panthers have shutout an opponent in their home opener, also blanking Coginchaug 55-0 last September.  

“It feels good. North Branford is always going to play tough and coach Basil’s team are always going to play hard,” said Bennett, who added that defense was going to be the key this season, “We knew we had lot coming back on offense and I told the defense that it was going to take a team effort for us to win the Pequot again and fight for that state championship. They took a big step tonight by shutting out a good North Branford team.” 

Brett Robbins exploded for 163 rushing yards and scored the game’s first two touchdowns. The senior is one of several backs and receivers who got touches Friday night.

“We had an injury to Kittrell Lauray and we had decided that we were going to build things around him. Once he got hurt we didn’t know who was going to be that guy and Brett has done a great job of being that guy for us,” added Bennett, who also got quality carries from Bryan Lockwood, Justin Stergos and Devon Kilham, “Any of these guys can carry the ball and they’ve stepped up when their name has been called.”

The stable of backs had room to roam thanks to the work in the trenches, which is Bennett’s bread-and-butter. The coaching staff had to shift things around on the offensive line Friday night, but the unit didn't miss a beat as seniors Matt Wolak, Kyle Martin, Max Colavecchio, Jack Shauck, and junior Ismar Kandic paved the way to nearly 250 total rushing yards.

“The familiarity of the seniors allows them to play a lot of different positions and it makes it easier for us to sneak a guy in and still be successful,” added Bennett, “It’s been a lot easier because I was the JV coach and Bryce was my quarterback so we are real familiar with his skill set and what he likes to do. That made building the offense around him pretty easy. A lot of these guys played last year so we know their strengths, we know their weaknesses and we’re not going to ask them to do things they can’t.”

Both of Karstetter’s touchdown tosses went to his favorite target Dianta Highsmith, who nabbed five balls for 107 yards. The second of Highsmith’s scores came with 15 second remaining in the first half when Karstetter delivered a beautiful throw down the left sideline, which the senior receiver hauled in for a 40-yard score, providing the home team a commanding 36-point lead at the break.

Earlier in the second quarter, Liam Coleman helped setup Highsmith’s other score when he made a great adjustment in between a pair of North Branford defenders to come down with a 34-yard reception down the right sideline. Two plays later, Highsmith scored from 31 yards out after catching a bubble screen and shaking several defenders.

The offensive supplied the highlights but it was the defense that did the dirty work, holding the Thunderbirds out of the end zone and adding a safety in the third quarter when Lauray and Highsmith combined to tackle running back Lou Raffone in the end zone.

Lauray has a cast on his right hand which prevents him from carrying the ball on offense, but it hasn’t stopped him from creating chaos on the defensive side of the ball.  

Kilham polished off the game’s scoring with a 37-yard sprint late in the third quarter.

So far it’s been another great September for the Panthers, who opened the season with a convincing 54-20 road victory over Rockville.
Despite the fast start, there’s no rest for Bennett and his boys.

“We’re happy right now, but Sunday morning I’ll be stressed out again trying to figure out a way to beat Lewis Mills.”

The game against the Burlington-based Spartans is this Friday, Sept 22 at Pierson Park. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.

Both the Wethersfield and Rocky Hill girls’ soccer teams refused to lose and both squads left it all out on the field last Tuesday night. The result was a double-overtime scoreless tie following 90 minutes of back and forth action at McVicar Field.

Each team had chances to break the tie in regulation and in the extra sessions, but swarming defenses and fantastic goalie play foiled each and every attempt.

Wethersfield goalie Megan Keleher faced a lot of pressure, especially over the first 40 minutes, but the junior keeper stood her ground against the attacking nature of the Terriers.

Keleher’s most impressive save of the night came in the waning seconds of regulation when Rocky Hill’s Bella Montalvo broke free and raced towards the goal, but Keleher sprinted out of the goalie box and made a sliding kick save.

Montalvo’s shot didn’t find the back of the net, but it wasn’t because to a lack of effort. The sophomore, who is coming off an all-conference selection as a freshman, never stopped moving and ran what seemed like a marathon on Tuesday night.

“It’s in their blood. Her mother was the same way and the whole family is non-stop. They have it in their heart,” Rocky Hill head coach Annmarie Catania said about the Montalvo family, who have a rich bloodline of athletic excellence in Rocky Hill, “You can’t teach that never give up attitude. It just has to come to you and she has it.”

Junior Annie White is also coming off an all-conference season and has taken her game to a new level this fall. She nearly netted a penalty kick in the second half, but the shot was a tad high, and she also had a handful of perfectly placed corner kicks, including one late in the second overtime session.

The Terriers were unable to capitalize on the opportunities, but it showed that it’s just a matter of time before White and her offensive mates turn those near misses into points.     

“Annie is the engine of the team. She keeps going and she makes the play before the play happens,” Catania said of White, “She also goes non-stop.”

Rocky Hill’s offense was unable to generate any points, but their defense held an opponent scoreless for the second time in as many games.
Goalie Samantha Steinman made several saves, including three in a four minute span in the second half.

“Her confidence is much better this year,” Catania said of her senior goaltender, “That’s very important for a keeper. If you have your confidence, the game comes to you.”

Steinman also blanked Newington in the season opener, a 1-0 double overtime victory. Montalvo scored the game’s only goal with 40 second left in the ‘do-or-tie’ frame.

“I think it absolutely helps,” Catania said of playing extra minutes early in the season, “It gets us ready for tournament time too. You might as well get it over with. We went to overtime in the first game and the second time isn’t as scary.”

Steinman shares the captain duties with fellow seniors Marisa Anderson, Abigail Stock and Grace Moore, who is the vocal and emotional leader for the Terriers.

The defense has received an additional boost from junior Emma Molloy, who Catania said has made the biggest leap in production from the end of last season until now.

“Emma has been phenomenal. She’s in the back on defense and her skill level has raised unbelievably.”

On the other side of the field, the Eagles have a lot of new faces after losing three all-conference players to graduation.

Chloe Troy, Kendall Cathcart, and Jane Rumley are sharing the captain responsibilities in Wethersfield.
Rumley had a chance to break the tie in the second half and in the first overtime, but both shots just missed the mark.

Alexis Szymecki and freshman Madison Righi also had opportunities on the offensive end and Righi is one of a handful of freshman getting valuable playing time this season. Fellow freshmen Sierra Judson and Gabi Villagra shined on the defensive end, preventing the Terriers from easy looks at the net.

The young Eagles opened the season at home, cruising to a 7-0 home victory over New Britain, and ended the week with a narrow 2-1 loss to RHAM at Cottone Field last Friday.

The Terriers closed the week with a 2-0 loss to East Catholic last Friday.

Despite Friday’s losses, the arrow is pointing up for both local teams.  

“It’s a great group of girls. They are all working together and they’re passionate about the game. They all have the same goals and they’re working together as a team,” added Catania, who would like to see certain areas improve as the year progresses, “We have to work on our communication and our passing. They have to get their confidence when they’re under pressure and continuing to play with control. We have kinks and we have little wrinkles that we’ll iron out, but it’s going to be a great season. I’m looking forward to it.”

(Middletown QB Stone Belzo is pursued by Wethersfield's Bobby Balesano. Belzo threw for a touchdown and ran for two more in his debut under center)

Stone Belzo had an impressive debut as the starting quarterback at Middletown, totaling three touchdowns to help the Blue Dragons defeat Wethersfield 29-12 at WHS last Friday night.

Belzo is replacing all-state signal caller Tyshaun James, who is now playing at Central Connecticut State University, and picked up right were James left off. The lefty senior engineered a seven-play scoring drive on the opening series of the season, connecting with DeAaron Lawrence on a 24-yard post pattern to give the Blue Dragons a 6-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

“It was important because that got me in a flow and it felt good for the offense,” said Belzo, who doubles as a defensive tone-setter at safety, “It’s been pretty easy because I was used to leading the defense and now I can lead on both sides of the ball.”

Belzo finished with 167 total yards, with 117 coming on the ground, to cap a successful night under center. All told, Middletown churned out 325 yards on the ground Friday night.

The visiting Blue Dragons added a safety late in the first half after a Wethersfield punt snap went out of the back the end zone during a torrential downpour that hit Cottone Field.

The eight-point lead at the break could have been larger, but the Middletown turned the ball over twice inside the red zone in the first half.

“We talked about limiting our mistakes at halftime and just locking in because our thing is we just don’t flinch. That means that when our backs are up against the wall, we don’t go backwards,” added Belzo, whose brother Hunter starred for the team a few years back and is now running wild at Springfield College, “We just keep going forward and keep pushing. That’s what we did in the second half and it worked out for us in the end.”

Wethersfield narrowed the gap to 8-6 in the third quarter on a wild play when quarterback Brendan Dowd shook off a defender and heaved the ball downfield to a wide open Ryan Skelly, who polished off a miraculous 59-yard catch and run. However the score was sandwiched in between a botched field goal attempt and an interception at midfield when Blue Dragons defensive tackle Osbourne Richards stepped in front of a screen pass.

Middletown broke the game open in the fourth, Belzo scored twice on the ground and Tyreece Lumpkin added a leg-churning 22-yard scoring run with less than two minutes to play.

“I dropped back and saw some open gaps. When I started to feel the pocket collapse I knew it was time to go,” said Belzo, who rushing touchdowns came from 7 and 11 yards out, “We wanted to run the ball more in the second half and that worked for us.”

Belzo led the team in tackles a season ago and is again manning the secondary on defense, deflecting three passes. He’s getting senior leadership help from standout defenders Mike Souza, Nico Cavaliere, James Johnson, and Gage Davis. Souza led the team with nine tackles Friday night.

“I think we’re closer than we were last year. We getting leadership from all of our seniors and I think a lot of the younger guys matured, especially our juniors now.”

Richards, shifty running back Xzavier Reyes, and fiery linebacker Michael Foster were a trio of juniors that shined under the bright lights. Reyes finished with 148 yards on the ground, including a 70-yard scamper in the second quarter, and Foster had a sack and several bone crushing hits.

For Wethersfield, it’s back to the film room.

“We’ll look at the film and make some adjustments. My message to the kids is that we have to look deep down inside to see what we did wrong and you have to have pride in yourself to fix some of those things,” said Wethersfield head coach John Campanello, “We fell apart in in some areas. We need a lot of improvement to have the kind of season that we want to have.”

Campanello’s defense was solid, holding the visitors out of the end zone for the second and third quarters, but the tired unit ran out of steam once the fourth quarter rolled around.

“The defense was on the field a lot and it’s hard to be on the field that long. We need to get things going a little more offensively to take the pressure off the defense,” added the veteran coach, “We’ve got to do a little bit better blocking up front. We have to be a little bit more consistent and get the running game going. It’s about doing your assignments and being disciplined across the board and we have to be a little more physical up front on the offensive line.”

Dowd, who started six games at quarterback as a junior, ended up with a pair of touchdown tosses, including a 28 yarder to David Colon in the final minute of the game.

The touchdown reception capped a terrific night in all three phases of the game for Colon, who forced a fumble and recovering another from his defensive back positions. The junior also blocked an extra point in the first quarter.

Colon is part of a talented and deep secondary, which has become a staple at Wethersfield. Skelly, Luke Saharek, Bobby Balesano, and sophomore Connor Pace also played well in the back half of the Eagles defensive Friday night.

Middle linebacker Ro DiGiacomo also excelled in the opener, forcing runs outside and recovering a fumble in defeat.

Next up is a back-to-back road game for the Eagles, starting this Friday the 15th at E.O. Smith (1-0) at 6 p.m.

Middletown heads home for two straight, beginning with Bristol Eastern (0-1) this Friday at 7 p.m.


Cromwell/Portland: New Era, Same Hard-Nosed Attitude for Panthers

Former line coach Randell Bennett takes over the head coaching duties in Cromwell, replacing Chris Eckert. In Eckert’s final season, the Panthers won their first nine games and upset previously undefeated Bloomfield in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Ansonia, the eventual Class S champion, in the semifinals.

Quarterback Bryce Karstetter has his sophomore season cut short by an injury, but he’s back and better than ever following an impressive 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio during his first season under center. The junior signal caller also has his favorite target back in Dianta Highsmith, who hauled in eight touchdowns in 2016. The Karstetter-Highsmith connection will be counted on more this season after the departure of all-state halfback Kristian Sapp, who graduated after amassing 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground in 2016.

Captains Matt Wolak and Jack Shauck, along with Kyle Martin, are back to stabilize the offensive and defensive lines, which are coach Bennett’s specialty and were a major part of the Panthers success a season ago.

Defensive dynamo Kittrell Lauray is back for his senior season after leading the team in tackles as a junior and this season he’ll be asked to assume a bigger role in the offensive backfield. Also keep an eye out for seniors Brett Robbins and Liam Coleman, along with juniors Devon Kilham and Zac Cry. All four were productive last year and give the Panthers versatility on both sides of the ball.

The Bennett era got off to a great start last Friday night, rolling to a 54-20 win over Rockville. The Panthers led 41-6 at the half and held the Rams to a mere five rushing yards in the game. Next up is the team’s home opener this Friday the 15th against North Branford (1-0) at Pierson Park. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

Newington: New Sherriff in Newington

The Eric Hennessy tenure in Newington ended with a disappointing 3-7 campaign last fall, which included three straight losses to end the season. Enter Jason Pace, who takes over the head coaching responsibilities after six successful seasons as the HC at Wolcott High.

Pace inherits a roster that is highly motivated with a great deal of experience and talent. Robert Sanchez split time at the quarterback position as a junior, leading the team with 10 total touchdowns in 2016. The senior will take on an even larger load this season and will again be sharing the backfield with running back Aveontae Frazier, who burst onto the scene last fall with 800 rushing yards and an all-conference selection as a sophomore.

Lineman Damon Stewart, who earned all-state as a junior, is back for his senior season and will again anchor both the offensive and defensive lines. Leading tackler Luke Pappalardo, along with Nick Kerlejza, Connor Brennan, and Brandon Kamansky will shoulder the bulk of the defensive responsibilities.

Also don’t sleep on seniors Cooper Johnson and Carlum Caldwell, who have a knack for making big plays in all three phases of the game.

​The Indians made an early season statement last Friday night, jumping out to a 35-0 lead at half before coasting to a 42-14 victory over Massachusetts-based Chicopee. Sanchez threw a pair of touchdowns and added another on the ground and Frazier tallied 166 rushing yards and another score in the blowout. Next up is a trip to Farmington to battle the (0-1) Indians on Friday the 15th. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m.

Rocky Hill: Title Town for Terriers?

Last fall, Rocky Hill won 11 games and came within a bad bounce of knocking off Class S monster Ansonia in the state championship game. Head coach Mark Fritz is entering his fourth season as the main man on the sidelines and is tasked with replacing all-state studs Grant Nieves and Ricky Montalvo, but does have several key pieces are returning.

Senior Danny Cavallaro returns after a full season under center and will again be joined in the backfield by dynamic running back Joe Catania. The C&C TD Factory will be featured even more this season and will have some new faces up front after four of their five starting offensive linemen graduated.

Linemen Anthony Feliciano and Greg Fern are back to solidify a young line and two-way stars Dante Baker, Matt Osgood, Will White and Jack Hansen all have a year of varsity experience under their belts following standout junior campaigns.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding junior Bellal Matar and sophomore Alex Boutin, so keep your eyes peeled for these diamonds in the rough.
The team returned to championship form last Saturday afternoon, scoring touchdowns in all three phases of the game and easily defeating rival Northwest Catholic 35-6. Catania and Joe Ferreira each ran for over 100 yards and scored touchdowns. Next up is another road test against rival Bloomfield. The Terriers have lost back-to-back heartbreakers against the Warhawks and the last three meetings between the two teams haven’t been decided until the final possession. Kickoff is Friday the 15th at Phil Rubin Stadium, 7 p.m.

(Brendan Dowd is back at the helm for Wethersfield)

Cromwell/Portland: New Era, Same Hard-Nosed Attitude for Panthers

Former line coach Randell Bennett takes over the head coaching duties in Cromwell, replacing Chris Eckert. In Eckert’s final season, the Panthers won their first nine games and upset previously undefeated Bloomfield in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Ansonia, the eventual Class S champion, in the semifinals.

Quarterback Bryce Karstetter has his sophomore season cut short by an injury, but he’s back and better than ever following an impressive 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio during his first season under center. The junior signal caller also has his favorite target back in Dianta Highsmith, who hauled in eight touchdowns in 2016. The Karstetter-Highsmith connection will be counted on more this season after the departure of all-state halfback Kristian Sapp, who graduated after amassing 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground in 2016.

Captains Matt Wolak and Jack Shauck, along with Kyle Martin, are back to stabilize the offensive and defensive lines, which are coach Bennett’s specialty and were a major part of the Panthers success a season ago.

Defensive dynamo Kittrell Lauray is back for his senior season after leading the team in tackles as a junior and this season he’ll be asked to assume a bigger role in the offensive backfield. Also keep an eye out for seniors Brett Robbins and Liam Coleman, along with juniors Devon Kilham and Zac Cry. All four were productive last year and give the Panthers versatility on both sides of the ball.

The Panthers start the season on the road, facing Vernon-based Rockville on Friday, Sept 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Middletown: No Rebuilding, Just Reloading for Blue Dragons

Since Sal Morello took over as the head coach in Middletown the Blue Dragons have been championship contenders every season, including last fall when they won eight of ten regular season games and outgunned Platt 56-36 in the first-round of the Class L playoffs.

The team’s first priority this season will be replacing the immense talent and production of quarterback Tyshaun James, who is currently slinging the rock at Central Connecticut State University. Defensive tone-setter Stone Belzo could see some time at the helm and junior Jontae Dempsey may be the next in line to head the Blue Dragons potent offense.

Regardless of who is under center, the team may rely more on their ground game behind a seasoned offensive line and the blazing speed of tailback Deshaun Bradshaw, who average seven yards per touch in 2016.

Max Cry, James Johnson, Derrick Vereen, and Osbourne Richards will help pave the way for Bradshaw and the foursome also provides the team a devastating defensive front. Belzo, Nico Cavaliere, and DeAaron Lawrence are incredible athletes that will be protecting the second level of the defense.

Returning all-state kicker/punter Michael Aresco gives the team an added threat on special teams and watch out for Stephen Hill Jr, who could be in line for a breakout 2017.

The Blue Dragons start the season with a bang, visiting rival Wethersfield on Friday, Sept 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Newington: New Sherriff in Newington

The Eric Hennessy tenure in Newington ended with a disappointing 3-7 campaign last fall, which included three straight losses to end the season. Enter Jason Pace, who takes over the head coaching responsibilities after six successful seasons as the HC at Wolcott High.

Pace inherits a roster that is highly motivated with a great deal of experience and talent. Roberto Sanchez split time at the quarterback position as a junior, leading the team with 10 total touchdowns in 2016. The senior will take on an even larger load this season and will again be sharing the backfield with running back Aveontae Frazier, who burst onto the scene last fall with 800 rushing yards and an all-conference selection as a sophomore.

Lineman Damon Stewart, who earned all-state as a junior, is back for his senior season and will again anchor both the offensive and defensive lines. Leading tackler Luke Pappalardo, along with Nick Kerlejza, Connor Brennan, and Brandon Kamansky will shoulder the bulk of the defensive responsibilities.

Also don’t sleep on seniors Cooper Johnson and Carlum Caldwell, who have a knack for making big plays in all three phases of the game.
​
The Indians aim to make an early-season statement, welcoming Massachusetts-based Chicopee to NHS on Friday, Sept 8 at 6:30.

Rocky Hill: Title Town for Terriers?

Last fall, Rocky Hill won 11 games and came within a bad bounce of knocking off Class S monster Ansonia in the state championship game. Head coach Mark Fritz is entering his fourth season as the main man on the sidelines and is tasked with replacing all-state studs Grant Nieves and Ricky Montalvo, but does have several key pieces are returning.

Senior Danny Cavallaro returns after a full season under center and will again be joined in the backfield by dynamic running back Joe Catania. The C&C TD Factory will be featured even more this season and will have some new faces up front after four of their five starting offensive linemen graduated.

Linemen Anthony Feliciano and Greg Fern are back to solidify a young line and two-way stars Dante Baker, Matt Osgood, Will White and Jack Hansen all have a year of varsity experience under their belts following standout junior campaigns.

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding junior Bellal Matar and sophomore Alex Boutin, so keep your eyes peeled for these diamonds in the rough.

The Terriers kick off their season on the road game against Northwest Catholic, Saturday, Sept 9 at 12:00 p.m.

Wethersfield: Fresh Start for Healthy Eagles

Injuries riddled the 2016 season in Wethersfield, but the team still managed to win their final two games and finish 5-5. The rash of injuries derailed the Eagles chances of a third straight playoff appearance, but it did provide several younger players the opportunity to step up and receive valuable playing time.

Senior Brendan Dowd is back guiding the Eagles offense. Dowd is a duel threat quarterback who started six games and totaled five touchdowns last fall. Junior Craig Elliott, who played admirable as a sophomore in relief before sustaining an injury that put him on the shelf for most of the season, is also back to add depth at the QB position.

Three-year starter Conor Keane and Josh Cronkhite will solidify the line and Ryan Skelly and Luke Saharek will provide leadership and productions on both sides of the ball.

The team also has a large junior class, who dominated at a JV level and got experience at a varsity level due to the injuries last fall. The group, which includes David Colon, Mitchell Quadrato, and Bobby Balesano, are the future of football in Wethersfield.

Luke Kelleher and Rossano DiGiacomo are two more players that should be household names before the 2017 season is over.

The Eagles start at home, kicking off the season with their annual bragging rights barnburner against Middletown on Friday, Sept 8 at 7 p.m.


(Rocky Hill senior Joe Catania aims to muscle the Terriers back to title game)