Sports

‘It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This’: 2016 New Canaan Rams Football Preview

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For the first time in recent memory, the New Canaan Rams will be heading into their season without a defined quarterback situation. It’s a scenario that may be amplified for the Rams—who will look to defend their three consecutive Class L State Championships—given the graduation of All-State signal caller Michael Collins, who has taken his considerable talents to the University of Pennsylvania this fall. It’s not that New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli lacks choices. In fact, as many as eight QB’s were in the running for the starting job through the summer—a talent pool that has been whittled down to five as New Canaan’s opening game against Trinity Catholic approaches this Saturday. “We’ve started all over again,” Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com.

Sports

Collins, Niang Sign National Letters of Intent

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New Canaan High School seniors Michael Collins and Lucas Niang signed their National Letters of Intent to play at the college level during National Signing Day on Wednesday. Joined by more than 50 friends and classmates in the NCHS auxiliary gym, plus three TV crews and multiple local media outlets, the midday ceremony was run by NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan. Collins will head to the University of Pennsylvania while Niang is bound for Texas Christian University. Several administrators and teachers there as well, including Principal Bill Egan, longtime Phys Ed teacher Priscilla Schulz and Assistant Principal Ari Rothman. Collins—who signed what could be called a “likely letter” in that although Ivy League schools offer no athletics scholarships per se, can issue agreements signifying their commitment to admitting a recruited athlete—had arguably the most prolific season at quarterback in New Canaan High School history, setting a state record with 54 touchdown passes this year and also tying a single-game state record when he threw nine TD passes in a 69-26 win over Trumbull on November 6, 2015.

Sports

New Canaan Rams Football Names 2016 Captains

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There’s a saying that there is no off season for someone on the road to being a champion, and the Class L State Champion New Canaan Rams began their journey down that road last Thursday night as they announced their captains for the 2016 season. James Freyre, Teddy Hood, Ryan O’Connell and Tommy Root were selected by their teammates to lead New Canaan’s title defense next season as the Rams will try to win their fourth consecutive state crown. Freyre emerged as New Canaan’s top tackler in 2015 as the junior linebacker had 84 total stops, including 50 solo tackles and two tackles for negative yardage. As a result New Canaan’s defense was able to answer major question marks this past season after being decimated by the graduation of 2014 stars Zach Allen, Alex LaPolice and Michael Kraus, and suffering season-ending injuries to starters Cass Knox and Jarrett Torromeo.  

Hood was a stalwart of New Canaan’s offensive line, a unit that gave record-setting quarterback Michael Collins substantial protection as the Rams scored 523 points in 2015, averaging more than 423 yards per game.

Sports

New Canaan Football Outlasts North Haven 42-35 for Third Straight Class L Crown

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It was billed as a matchup of two heavyweights with polar opposite styles—the 21st century run-and-gun spread offense of the No. 6 New Canaan Rams versus the old-school ground-and-pound, Single-wing formation of the top-seeded North Haven Indians. It turned out to be North Haven’s passing that kept the game close, but it was New Canaan’s ground attack that ultimately won it. Led by senior running back Matt Cognetta’s 225 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Rams outlasted the Indians 42-35 in a classic Class L championship showdown at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven—one that had just about everything and anything you could have asked for from a high school football game. “It was a great football game to be at,” Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com.

Around Town

Collins Sets State TD Mark as New Canaan Football Beats Notre Dame-West Haven in Class L Semifinals

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After two uncharacteristically shaky performances in the past two games, the big question heading into Monday night’s Class L semifinal at Dunning Field between New Canaan and Notre Dame-West Haven was: “Will the real Michael Collins show up?”

It only took one snap to get the answer. On New Canaan’s first offensive play, the New Canaan quarterback threw a 79-yard touchdown pass deep over the middle to a wide-open Kyle Smith, setting the tone for the rest of the game and leading the Rams to a 51-27 win over the No. 7 Green Knights. “We were just glad to get him back,” New Canaan head Coach Lou Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com. “People were really concerned, but this week he came back strong.