By Ted Sihpol
FCFL co-champion New Canaan 3rd Red and Black youth football teams. Contributed photo
New Canaan 3rd Grade Red and Black teams finished off their seasons with a coveted FCFL Dual Championship last weekend.
NC 3rd Grade Red 12, Wilton White 6
As the autumnal moon rose in the cold November sky, so rose the ire of New Canaan’s Third Grade Red football team. Eager to push ahead in an epic battle against a Wilton team of mighty character and keen mental fortitude, the two would meet at the storied Fujitani Stadium – filled just shy of capacity with dedicated and adoring fans. Most often a match up of these proportions is only seen in decades old rivalries, but with a long and arduous season nearly behind them, the two teams stood ready at the helm to best the storm that would propel one of them to the placid sea of victory.
Guided by Head Coach Bill Bryant and his lucky handkerchief, Red’s captains for the night Billy Heyn, Sam Besesi, and Gray Tamasco chose to defer and would call on their defensive squad to mount a mighty front in the battle that would follow.
New Canaan Youth Football 3rd Grade Red Team, co-FCFL champs in 2014
Steadied in the backfield by safeties Max Barna, Lucas Alverez and Christofer Ippolito, Linebackers James Wise and bolstered by the defensive line of Keirnan Shin, Harrsion John, Owen Lydon and Benj Sibbett, the defense would produce a result that would make any coach blush with pride. Under the watchful eye of Defensive Coaches Mark “Bear Crawl” Michaels and Bill “Chop Block” Heyn the defense would endure repeated success throughout the game.
On the other side of the ball Red’s offense would stand proud as they forged ahead in that dark night. Buttressed by an offensive line manned by Wilson Crowley, Carter Sihpol, Oliver Borthwick, and the new and improved Colin Smith the offensive surge was spearheaded by Luke Bryant, Cooper Smith, Ben Micheals and Abe Wheeler.
While both teams would put forth a valiant effort, the Red team would emerge from the final pile as victorious and proud. NC 3 RED’s success can be largely attributed to the beautiful and talented team mom who fearlessly and repeatedly braved extreme weather conditions, dirty laundry, lost equipment and extreme parents to manage the team to a league championship.
The boys struggled through weather, tragedy, midseason slumps and many many untied shoelaces but ultimately rose to the challenge – and the championship.
New Canaan 3rd Black Team, co-champs of the FCFL in 2014. Contributed photo
NC 3rd Grade Black 12, Wilton Blue 6
Following Red’s victory, Black defeated Wilton Blue in a 12-6 double overtime thriller to secure the dual championship for New Canaan.
NC Black’s league leading defense was typically stout. Luke Reed, Trey Kaupp, Keegan Noone, Michael Fico, Chris Harrison, Jackson Roeder and Hayden Roeder ate up blocks and made big stops all afternoon. On Wilton’s first drive, Alex Benevento and Colin Finnigan combined for a strip tackle while Thomas Garcia alertly pounced on the ball to give their team momentum.
New Canaan’s Alex Benevento Gets the Edge vs. Wilton Blue. Contributed photo
Soon after, NC Black’s tough blockers led by Luke Bopp, Ryan Barnard, Charlie O’Connor, Gian Karimnejad, Logan Gilbert, Drew Russell and Ryan Axon would open up a nice hole for Benevento, who broke two tackles and turned on the jets for a 60 yd TD and 6-0 lead.
Wilton Blue was a tough out, though, and capped a long 2nd quarter drive with a TD on the last play of the half. O’Connor and Roeder combined to stuff Wilton’s power-back on the conversion to keep the score knotted at 6-6. Wilton would again threaten in the 4th quarter, but Roeder would blow-up a sweep for a 5 yd loss, while Bradley Werneburg and Benevento combined to thwart a 4th down trick play.
In ‘Texas Shoot-Out’ overtime, NC Black defense was relentless and pushed Wilton backwards. With the chance to win the title on their own possession, New Canaan swept left and scored, but was ruled to have lost possession before crossing the plane.
Momentum against them, NC Black kept their composure and opened double-OT with another touchdown on a Benevento bootleg. With opportunity at their fingertips, NC Black’s D shut down Wilton on 4 plays, punctuated by Doster Crowell’s fourth down interception, to cap off an undefeated season and claim dual championships for New Canaan 3rd Grade.