The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Area teams brimming with optimism
Middletown chasing a fifth straight postseason berth
The Connecticut High School football season opens Friday and optimism abounds at area high schools. Xavier and Cromwell/Portland have new coaches and are aiming for the postseason while Middletown High will be going for its fifth consecutive postseason berth.
Middletown
“We should be a contender for our league title,” said coach Sal Morello (125-33 overall; 56-21 at Middletown), who returns for his eighth season at MHS.
“We have plenty of experience on both sides of the ball as we have eight starters back on defense and seven on offense. We have All-State kicker Mike Aresco back and our special teams should be very good.”
Morello went on to say that both lines return and that his club has speed at the skill positions.
The key returning players to watch for the Blue Dragons will be seniors Stone Belzo, who replaces Tyshaun James (CCSU) at quarterback/safety, Mike Souza (RB/LB), DeAaron Lawrence (WR/DB), Nico Caviliere (WR/DB), James Johnson (OL/DL), Max Cyr ((OL/DL), Chris White (OL), Brandon Goodwin (TE), Camryn Wynn (TE), DeShaun Bradshaw (WR/DB), Derrick Vereen (OL/DL), Mike Aresco (P/PK), and juniors Steve Hill (LB), Osbourne Richards (OL/DL), Nygel Smikle (OL/DL) and Cam Barrett (OL/DL).
Morello said that among his promising newcomers are first-time seniors Garrett Dandridge (WR/ DB) and Gage Davis (RB/LB).
“We have to build on our depth,” said Morello. “And to be successful, we have to play well right out of the gate. We have to build on last year to be a legitimate contender in Class L.”
Middletown, 9-3 last season and 1-1 in the Class L playoffs, opens at Wethersfield Friday at 7 p.m., where
it has lost the last two times it has played. Morello said that Bristol Central, Newington, Hudson Catholic (New Jersey) and Platt will also offer strong challenges.
Xavier
“We are very optimistic for the upcoming season,” said first-year coach Andy Guyon. “Our expectations are to compete for the Class LL state championship.”
If quarterback is the most important position on the field — and it is — then the Falcons are in very good shape with highly-regarded senior Will Levis. Other key returning players are seniors Kyle MacGillis (WR/DB), Ryan Cartelli (LB/OL), Shane Kolstad (DL/OL), Griffen Saks (DL/ OL), Danny Taylor (WR/ DB), Ty Abrahams (RB/DB) and Danny Morin (OL/LB).
Among a large group of promising newcomers are juniors Nick Hasselman ((RB/LB), Mike Goralski (WR/RB), Ryan Terlecky (OL/DL), and Isaac Cogguillo (OL/DL) plus sophomores Jake Anapol (OL/ DL), Andrew Brown (WR/ DL), Davon Colon (OL/DL) and Braedon McCarthy (LB/FB).
Guyon said his club’s strengths are at quarterback and on defense. He pointed to the offensive line and cornerback as areas of early concern.
The Falcons, 6-4 and out of the postseason last year, open up Friday night at Larry McHugh Field on the campus of Xavier High with Norwich Free Academy.
Cromwell/Portland
The Panthers were 10-2 last year and 1-1 in the postseason. They won the Pequot championship and, as usual, that’s the goal again.
First-year coach Randell Bennett said, “Our secondary will be our strength and we return eight starters on offense. I question whether our front defensive seven will make enough plays to get us over the hump.”
Bennett said his key returning players are seniors Dianta Highsmith (WR), Brent Robbins (DB), Kyle Martin (OL) and Liam Coleman (WR) and junior quarterback Bryce Karstetter.
Among the promising newcomers are juniors Kevin Hinkle (CB), Dudley Salmon (WR) — of whom Bennett said was the fastest player on the team — and freshmen Zac Thomas (WR) and Cam Latronica (LB).
Cromwell/Portland opens at Rockville, which dropped out of the Central Connecticut Conference, Friday evening at 6:30.
Vinal Tech/East Hampton/Goodwin Tech
The bad news is that Vinal/East Hampton/Goodwin was 2-8 last season. The good news is the Bellhawks improved and won two of three at season’s end.
This is a young team with only three seniors, which can be either good or bad news.
“We are a predominately junior team,” said coach Joe Cefaratti, now in his eighth season. “We have some varsity experience, but we have a largely inexperienced offensive line.”
Cefaratti pointed to Mark Francis (QB), Tyler D’Anna (FB), Nehemiah Brown (RB), Ethan Martin (SE/ DE), Justin Czerencha (TE/ LB), Manny D’Arce (G/LB), Angel Estrella (LB), Derek Reyes (G/DT) Josh James (T), Lance Harbec (C), Josh Alston (T) and Yerido Castillo (T/DE) as keys to his team’s success.
Among the newcomers is transfer Jordan Camp (RB/ FS).
The Bellhawks will play in the new Connecticut Technical Conference, which means VT/EH/GT won’t be facing the likes of Capital Prep and Bassick. The Bellhawks open Friday evening at 6:30 with Prince Tech of Hartford at Palmer Field.
Haddam-Killingworth
The Cougars made progress last season, climbing to 4-6. The hope is this year to climb over .500. Once a team does that, all kinds of possibilities open up.
“We’ve had a positive preseason,” said fourth year coach Mike Baklik. “We look forward to seeing what we can do against the competition to come.”
The key returning players include the three senior captains, Kevin Dougherty (LB/RB), Jake Frith (RB/ DB/LB) and Trevor Hines (OL/DL), plus junior Tobey Callender (QB/RB/LB).
Among the promising newcomers are juniors Aiden Maher (OL/DL), Cody Ellex (QB/WR/DB/K), Jordan Callahan (WR/DB/K) and Colton Lavoie (C/LB).
“We have a many other capable seniors and juniors and a couple of players who have come back to the sport after missing a year who will help,” said Baklik.
H-K opens at home Saturday evening with the Hartford-based cooperative team of SMSA/University/ Classical Prep at 6:30.
Coginchaug/Hale-Ray
Coginchaug was in a coop with Vinal Tech, then went it alone for several years, and now is in a coop with Hale-Ray, the first time Hale-Ray has had football in its long history.
“I believe the future is very bright for the Coginchaug/Hale-Ray football team,” said first-year coach Eric Becker. “We will play fast, exciting football that the players, parents and fans will be proud of.”
The key players for the Blue Devils will be Anthony Curry (WR/DB), Kevin Cross (WR/DB), Dave Skelps (RB/LB), Bobby Huscher (OL/LB), Ryan Genest (WR/DB), Eli Rivera (QB/LB), Terry Lockwood (OL/DL), Josh Stagon (WR/DB), Justin Gagner (OL/DL), Zach Albin (OL/ DB), Kenny Trawicki (OL/ DB), Trevor Smith (OL/LB), Colin Sheehy (WR/DB) and Pat Ladas (RB/LB).
Coginchaug/Hale-Ray opens up Saturday at home with Canton at 1 p.m.
Valley Regional
Winning is a tradition at Valley. The Warriors have been to the playoffs five times since 2010 and won it all in 2014. In 2016 Valley was 10-2, including 1-1 in the postseason.
But it might be a little tougher to get to the Promised Land this time around.
“We lost a lot, including four starting linemen, our quarterback and our top running back,” said coach Tim King, now in his 21st year at Valley. “It’s hard to replace all of that at a small school.
“So we’re a little inexperienced and it’s kind of a rebuilding year, but we’ll be competitive and if we can avoid injuries and we jell, along about the middle of the season we might be OK.”
King said his key players are seniors Mike Cullina (QB), Ian Nevaiser (C/DT), Ernest Jean-Pierre (WR/S), Roan Sullivan (WR/LB), Blair Allen (WR/LB) and Jake Kruszewski (RB/CB), plus juniors Jason O’Brien (WR) and Ryan Santos (WR/CB).
King said his team has been hard hit by injuries. “Last Tuesday we had 17 kids watching from the sidelines,” he said. “We’ve had everything from a hangnail to a kid with a broken leg who is lost for the season, to another will be out four to six weeks, and assorted other things.”
Valley opens at home with Ellington Saturday at 1 p.m.