Above: Highlight reel for New Milford’s three-year starting quarterback Tyler Hansen, who returns after setting single-season team passing records as a junior.
Vitals
- Coach: Larry Badaracco (2nd year, 3-8)
- Conference: SWC Colonial
- Playoff Class: LL (707 boys enrollment)
- Home: New Milford HS Field
- 2014 Record: 3-8 (2-8 SWC)
- 2015 Kickoff: Sept. 11 at Stratford, 7 p.m.
- Captains: Tyler Hansen, Alex Pitser, Brian Santivanez, Chris Ryan
- Team website: MaxPreps
Top players
- Tyler Hansen, Sr. QB (6-1, 215)
- Matt Ryan, Sr. WR (6-2, 205)
- Chris Ryan, Sr. LB (6-2, 220)
- Brian Santivanez, Sr. OL (5-11, 200)
- Dallas Kelly, Sr. OL (5-10, 270)
- Jackson Olson, Sr. WR (6-2, 195)
- Liam Kenny, Jr. WR (5-11, 170)
- Brett Leonard, Sr. LB (5-11, 180)
- Ryan Christopher, Jr. ATH (5-9, 175)
- Max Vaughey, Jr. WR (5-9, 170)
- Alex Pitser, Jr. DL (6-2, 215)
Key losses
DL Denzell Phillips, WR Mike Carrozza, WR Robert Sherry Jr.
Outlook
Despite its 3-8 record, New Milford had a wild season under first-year coach Larry Badaracco, at least offensively. Behind second-year starting quarterback Tyler Hansen, the Green Wave set new school passing records en route to scoring 337 points, the fifth-best in the SWC.
But the defense. Oh, the defense. It really mucked up the works. New Milford allowed 352 points and fell short in quite a few shootouts. A three-game win streak at midseason was wiped out by five consecutive losses to end the year.
Hansen, an All-SWC performer who threw for 2,135 yards and 30 touchdowns against nine interceptions last year, is back for his third season as a starter. “We’re expecting big things out of Tyler,” Badaracco said. “He really put in a lot of good offseason work. Now he’s bigger, faster, stronger. He’s a captain and he’s a leader for us.”
New Milford brings back almost all of last year’s targets, including All-SWC receiver Matt Ryan, who led the team with 14 touchdown catches last year. Though New Milford returns only one starter on the offensive line, captain Brian Santivanez, Badaracco says the unit fell short of expectations last year. “Though we scored a lot of points, (the offensive line) was a sore spot for us,” Badaracco said. “We’re expecting to be 180 degrees better.” Seniors Dallas Kelly, Chris Ryan, Matt Carlson and junior Alex Pitser will be charged with beefing up the line.
But, the defense… Simply: It must improve if New Milford wants to be taken seriously. “We did two things well last year, offense and special teams. Defensively, we fell well short,” Badaracco said.
Exacerbating things is the loss of All-SWC lineman Denzell Phillips, who made 71 tackles (six for a loss) and six sacks last year, and leading tackler Caleb Anderson, who made a team-best five interceptions last year but opted not to play this season.
But the Wave do return sever other starters including leading linebackers Brett Leonard (76 tackles) and Christopher Ryan (68 tackles, three sacks). Alex Pitzer, who had 46 tackles will lead the defensive line. After that, Badaracco said he and his staff are searching for players who want to fly around and get physical.
“Fundamentally, we weren’t very strong on defense and we still have a long way to go,” he said. “We’re working on being physical at the point of attack. Fortunately we played a lot of younger kids and they’ve put in a lot of hard work into the offseason. They really worked their tails off. They’re stronger, faster and, hopefully, they’re better.”
New Milford kicks off at Stratford, then plays SWC contender Brookfield and Bunnell back-to-back. A midseason stretch that includes games vs. Masuk, Pomperaug, Bethel and Newtown will say plenty about this group.
“New Milford has a lot to prove,” Badaracco said. “We have been a sub-par program for the last 12 years. Our expectations are high, but we have a lot of work to do.”
2015 Schedule
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| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 11 | at Stratford** | 7 p.m. |
| Sept. 18 | vs. Brookfield* | 7 p.m |
| Sept. 25 | at Bunnell** | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 3 | at Notre Dame-Fairfield* | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 9 | vs. Masuk** | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 16 | BYE | |
| Oct. 23 | at Pomperaug** | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 30 | vs. Bethel* | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 6 | at Newtown** | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 13 | vs. Weston* | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 20 | BYE | |
| Nov. 26 | vs. New Fairfield* | 10 a.m. |
*Conference game
**Division game
