‘There Might Be Something Special Here’: New Canaan Football Routs Trumbull 44-14

Ryan O’Connell has unquestionably been New Canaan’s most important player in 2016, leading the team on both sides of the ball and in the locker room all season long. This fact makes the No. 2 Rams’ 44-14 win over Trumbull (5-3) on Friday night all the more impressive considering New Canaan (8-0) played virtually the entire game without its senior co-captain, who was sidelined with an ankle injury suffered on the team’s opening offensive series. “Other kids just picked it up,” New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com. “I think that’s why there might be something special here.

New Canaan Football Blanks Norwalk 43-0

It was one heck of a way to start a football game. Ryan O’Connell had a season’s worth of highlights in the game’s early moments, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter and adding three interceptions in the first half—including a pick-six on the game’s first play from scrimmage—to lead New Canaan to a 43-0 win over the Norwalk Bears Friday night at Dunning Field. “He’s been everything,” New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli said of his senior co-captain. “He’s the best around on both sides of the ball since [current New Canaan defensive coordinator and former star player] Chris Silvestri’s been here.” High praise indeed.

Second Half Surge Propels New Canaan Football Over Greenwich 40-16

The first half of what was coined the “Marinelli Bowl II” seemed to follow the script of the first meeting between father and son head coaches last year. Lou Marinelli’s New Canaan Rams got out to an early lead, then John Marinelli’s Greenwich Cardinals came back to pull close. The Rams were on their heels, clinging to a 13-8 lead over the Cardinals at intermission. But as the fog rolled across Dunning Field, so did the offense for the Rams as No. 2 New Canaan (6-0) put up 27 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters en route to a 40-16 win over the Cardinals (4-2) Friday night.

Did You Hear … ?

U.S. Postal Service officials have the keys to their new building and say they’re hoping to open the Post Office on Locust Avenue in New Canaan “this winter.” A more specific date is not yet available. “We are ‘postalizing’ the interior by installing counters, electronic equipment, security features and other necessary items to conduct postal business,” USPS spokesperson Christine Dugas told NewCanaanite.com. ***

Originally scheduled for next week, the Grace Farms application to come before the Planning & Zoning Commission will be heard at the group’s Nov. 29 meeting, officials say. ***

Town officials say the motor vehicle that veered off of Old Stamford Road/Route 106 on Sunday morning and crashed into the Old Studio Road sign near the sharp bend there was traveling at about 60 mph.

New Canaan Reigns Over Westhill 35-7

 

There was no deluge as had been forecast by local weather outlets, but that didn’t stop the No. 2-ranked New Canaan Rams football team from raining points down on Westhill Saturday afternoon. The Rams (4-0) scored the first 21 points of the game and never looked back on the way to a 35-7 road win over the Vikings (1-3) at J. Walter Kennedy Stadium. Both teams put last year’s controversial move of a Friday game to Monday due to rainy weather behind them, as this season’s game was completed without any lingering acrimony. “I thought those Westhill kids played hard and did a really good job against us,” New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com. “Offensively, we’re coming.