Above: Highlight reel for Fitch DE Donte Paul, one of the seniors new Fitch coach Mike Ellis will be counting on to lead the program out of the doldrums in 2015.
Vitals
- Coach: Mike Ellis (First year)
- Conference: ECC Division I
- Playoff Class: L (565 boys enrollment)
- Home: Dorr Field, Groton
- 2014 Record: 0-11 (0-10 ECC)
- 2015 Kickoff: Sept. 11 at Plainfield, 6:30 p.m.
- Team website: MaxPreps
Fitch’s Luke Letellier, an All-ECC large receiver last season (Photo via Hudl)
Top players
- Donte Paul, Sr. DE/RB (6-2, 220)
- Trent Evans, Sr. DE/SE (6-2, 200)
- Parker Gibson, Sr. LB/RB (5-7, 175)
- Jake Caramante, OLB/SE
- Ben Guzman, Sr. DT/OG (5-7, 295)
- Luke Letellier, Sr. DB/SE (6-2, 185)
- Tyric Scott, Sr. OLB/RB
- Robert Duncan, Sr. DB/QB (5-10, 183)
- Jonathan Johnston, Sr. RB/DB (5-10, 170)
Key losses
TE Quinn Luethy, WR/CB Cooper Robinson, DE/NG Adrian Albo
Outlook
A once-proud and dominant football program, Fitch has fallen on desperate times. The Falcons won four games two years ago and promptly fell off a cliff in 2015.
With only a handful of seniors and loads of underclassmen, Fitch got wiped out on the scoreboard, losing games by an average score of 44-14. It finished winless for the first time in decades.
That was enough for the Groton school district, which declined to renew coach Jordan Panucci’s contract for a third year.
Fortunately, the program didn’t have to look far for someone with a good resume. Enter Mike Ellis.
Ellis, who resigned after over a decade at nearby Waterford, was willing and able to take the job.
The bad news is Fitch is, once again, starting over and must adjust to a new coach and a new way of doing things. The good news is just about everybody’s back. So at least Ellis inherits a foundation and some experience.
Fitch, which has only suffered three losing seasons over the last 12 seasons, will be depending on a nice core of seniors to get the program turned in the right direction again. In particular, Ellis said he’s counting on leadership from hulking defensive ends Trent Evans, Donte Paul, RB/DB Jonathan Johnston and, of course, All-ECC linebacker Parker Gibson and All-ECC receiver Luke Letellier. Ellis’ biggest concern will be the defense, which surrendered an insane 485 points last year.
Placed in the ECC’s Division I, Fitch places many of the league’s best teams, including an early, four-week stretch that includes East Lyme, New London and Norwich Free Academy. Unless something miraculous happens, Fitch might have to find victories in the season’s second half.
2015 Schedule
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| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11 | at Plainfield* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 18 | at East Lyme** | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sept. 25 | vs. New London** | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 2 | BYE | |
| Oct. 9 | vs. Norwich Free Academy** | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 16 | at Guilford | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 23 | vs. Bacon Academy** | 6:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 30 | at Waterford* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 6 | vs. Killingly* | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 13 | vs. Woodstock Academy** | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 20 | BYE | |
| Nov. 26 | at Ledyard* | 10 a.m. |
*Conference game
**Division game
