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New Canaan quarterback Drew Pyne (10) makes sideline conversation with quintin O'Connell (6) during the 11th Annual Brian Wilderman Memorial Red and White football game at Dunning Stadium in New Canaan on June 15, 2018. lessNew Canaan quarterback Drew Pyne (10) makes sideline conversation with quintin O'Connell (6) during the 11th Annual Brian Wilderman Memorial Red and White football game at Dunning Stadium in New Canaan on June ... morePhoto: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media
NEW CANAAN — It’s tough to learn a ton during the abbreviated spring sessions in high school football, but if there’s one thing that New Canaan made clear in the 11th Annual Brian Wilderman Memorial Red and White game Friday afternoon, it’s that the Rams have a chip on their shoulder coming into the 2018 season.
After winning three-straight titles, New Canaan was eliminated in the state semifinals a season ago.
This season, with plenty of talent and experience returning, the Rams are once again title-minded.
“Experience is crucial and experiencing wins and losses, that really develops you as a person and as an athlete,” said Quintin O’Connell, a rising-senior receiver. “To lose, I think we learned more than when we won my sophomore year. We went into last season and didn’t carry a chip on our shoulder. We thought four-peat, this is our season and it didn’t happen. But we learned from that and we’re hoping to take the lessons from the last two teams and combine them and be the best we can be.”
The game is named for Brian Wilderman, a 1997 New Canaan grad who was All-State in football and wrestling and passed away in 2000. The game has the team split in two with half donning red and half white.
The lone player in black was Notre Dame-bound rising-junior quarterback Drew Pyne, who played automatic quarterback for both squads in the first half.
Pyne and O’Connell have proved to be one of the most dangerous combinations in the state the past two years, and wasted no time in showing why Friday — combining for a 35-yard hookup on the first play for the red team.
Of course, once Pyne switched back to the white side and overthrew an open receiver down the left sideline it was O’Connell — his best friend — immediately heckling him from the sideline.
That playful comradery speaks to the mindset of the Rams, who have adopted a team-first, win at all costs mentality for the 2018 season.
“At the end of the day we could have good players and not be a good team,” Pyne said. “We’re just trying to focus on being one team more than anything else. We’re used to having the X on our back, so we’re ready for it.”
QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
Spring football creates position battles and has a tendency to raise more questions than it answers.
Some of those riddles will be solved in the summer training sessions, some during the season.
One position that will need to be addressed is running back. JR Moore was solid in 2017 as a complementary back and figures to get the first shot in the lead role, but guys such as rising-junior Drew Guida will push for playing time all year.
On defense, end Garrett Braden returns for his senior year to anchor the line, and Division I-bound offensive tackles Jack Stewart (Michigan) and Jack Conley (Boston College) will rotate in to provide a boost.
“We have a pretty strong, old and mature line and linebacker corps,” Braden said. “Not a ton of playing experience, but a lot of guys hungry to show what they’ve got. We’re confident in what we got going right now.”
SWITCHING GEARS
After a heartbreaking, one-goal loss to Darien in the state semifinals, members of the lacrosse team had little time to dwell on the defeat as they had to turn their attention immediately to football just days later.
“New week, new sport,” O’Connell said. “It’s fun. I think that’s why we play multiple sports. By the end of the season you want to win a championship, but once it ends you’re ready to get going to the next thing. It’s healthy because it keeps you engaged.”
NEW WRINKLE
For the first time in the Red and White game, the referees on hand were instructed to blow the whistle when the ball-carrier was wrapped up. In other words, New Canaan wasn’t tackling — for the most part.
The idea revolves around safety, but it proved easier said than done with coach Lou Marinelli having to yell, “don’t tackle him” on multiple occasions.
ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL
While there’s big things to come at the next level in the future for multiple players on the team, one thing was made abundantly clear on Friday, and that’s that college visions and personal accolades mean nothing to these Rams.
“I’m confident in what I can do and what my guys can do around me,” Braden said. “And as much as it looks nice and is cool to get those personal achievements, that’s really not what it’s about. We’re about winning. The team goal is 13-0. I don’t care about breaking records or anything like that. I want to win.”
At the end of the day, the Red team came away with a 24-21 victory, but that’s nothing more than a footnote on a day where the players got to go out and do the one thing they love to do.
Play football.
“Winter was brutal with the cold and spring we’re finishing up school, so this is the best time of the year other than the fall,” Pyne said. “It’s great to get back on the field and get ready in a simulation-type game. It’s great to be out here with all these guys.”
aparelli@bcnnew.com @reportedbytheAP
New Canaan is probably the favored contender in class L this year ( assuming that isn’t changing ). Masuk will have a rebuilding year as they are losing a lot of Seniors and Roberge to Cheshire Academy. North Haven lost Montano and a few other key starters and has the perennially tough SCC tier 1 schedule to contend with. NDWH is likely to have a down year, and I’m not sure what Windsor or Middletown are looking like.
New Canaan’s biggest problem could be coming from their own league where they have to get by Darien, Greenwich, and St. Joes. Darien will probably reload, although I don’t know if they’re going to have quite the squad they did last year. Greenwich is bringing back most of their key players and has a huge squad from which to find new talent and is likely going to be a playoff contender in class LL, and St. Joes has Summers coming back and should be pretty good this year as well. Any one of those teams has the capabilities to beat New Canaan on a good day. They’d be in possible trouble for playoffs if they lost to all three. Should be great games though.
Kind of a bummer that Darien and Greenwich, two of the best teams in the state last year, and in the same leauge, don’t play each other in the regular season for a second year in a row. It would have been nice to see that happen.
What will be nice is NC v Hand, 12/8/18,
you can mark that down…
It is so awesome to see programs like this, Greenwich, Trumbull and North Haven run such successful spring practices. Other teams in the state are NOT having such success. Too many kids playing spring sports (which is not a bad thing). The other major issue is the number of kids on the team……..Teams can’t risk injuries in the spring because of a lack of depth.
I ran into an AD from the NVL last week and he was telling me how several programs in the NVL are struggling terribly to get players. He mentioned teams like Waterbury Career, Wibly, Sacred Heart, Woodland & Holy Cross as having very low numbers. Teams like Waterbury Career, Wilby & Sacred heart could be in jeopardy of losing their football programs unless they coop with another school.
I hope they all find a way to get more kids involved.
*Wilby, NOT Wibly. Sorry for the typo.
I guess they have poor recruiting for football
Waterbury Career, Wibly, Sacred Heart, Woodland & Holy Cross sounds like the schedule of an NVL Power.Actually if some of these Teams drop Football or merge it may open up a few weeks to go out of Conference.
out of conference opening up for NVL football again would be super helpful.
Now that the new divisions for football have come out does anybody want to make any predictions?
LL: New Canaan over Greenwich
L: Hand over Maloney
M: St. Joes over Hillhouse
S: Ansonia over everyone. Ok I have to pick the number 2 S school. Bullard Havens Tech
Is there a link available? I saw enrollment was determined, didn’t see the breakdown for football classes
You mean Darien over Greenwich…NC is “L”, unless there’s something I missed.
Interesting to see New Canaan move up to LL. And with no asterisk next to their name. Which means they likely reached it by population increase. I actually think that’s going to make it a little tougher for them to get a title as I think LL teams have the toughest opposition in the state.
M division should be a clear win for St. Joseph’s unless Summers has a big injury that prevents him from playing. Their toughest competition appears to be Hillhouse, but the Hillhouse team that defeated St. Joes for the championship in 2016 is gone, and I have no idea if their upcoming talent is comparable to the 2016 team. I gotta give the edge to St. Joes here, and I don’t think any of the other competition in class M other than Hillhouse is going to even remotely be a threat for the title. Moving St. Joes “up” to M almost seems like gifting them a championship. YMMV.
L Division has only a few which I think will be true contenders. Hand, North Haven and Windsor would get first nod, with Hand probably bringing back a good team. And without New Canaan in class L you gotta give Hand the favored nod to win the whole shebang.
And in S, I don’t see anyone winning it over Ansonia, although Cromwell and Rocky Hill are looking to be their toughest competition in the class.
If I had to make a too early, probably wrong prediction in each, it would probably look like this for top 3 in each class followed by nod for the overall championship win:
In LL: Greenwich, Darien, Shelton with Greenwich winning it all ( although I’d personally prefer Shelton did of course ! )
In L: Hand, North Haven, Windsor with Hand winning it all
In M: St. Joes, Hillhouse, Killingly with an overall championship going to St, Joes.
In S: Ansonia, Bloomfield, Seymour with an overall win by Ansonia.
CIACFOLLOWER:
There is.
https://www.gametimect.com/the-2018-ciac-football-playoff-divisions-success-modifier-added-new-canaan-bumped-barely-to-class-ll/