The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Becker trying to build a culture at Coginchaug in football
DURHAM — Erik Becker motioned toward the Valley Regional/Old Lyme football team with admiration after Saturday’s game. He told his own players basically this: The Warriors program is what we want to be over the long haul — unified, successful and respected.
Becker coaches Coginchaug/ Hale-Ray/East Hampton, and he was ruminating after his Blue Devils hung in there for the first 30 minutes before Valley squeezed out a 13-0 PequotSassacus victory at the Walter Camp Sports Complex.
Becker grew up in Daniel Hand’s program, where he played and later morphed into a coach under Steve Filippone. In Year 2 at Coginchaug, he’s preaching patience, discipline and competitiveness, all characteristics of a Valley program that has been a regular Class S playoff contender under Tim King.
“What Valley is, is a testament to coach King. He’s built that program brick by brick over 20 years,” Becker said. “In the Pequot, they are the closest thing to a Hand. We’re trying to build that pedigree here. It comes down to belief and culture. I thought our team matched up athletically pretty well with Valley.
“The culture is the next step and it’s going to take a while to build it here.”
After a scoreless first half Saturday, Valley (3-0) scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to decide the outcome. The game
was a scrum in the first 24 minutes. The Blue Devils (1-2) spent that time mostly in the single wing, producing only 30 yards on 20 carries. They had success throwing it (65 yards in five attempts) while Becker alternated between Eli Rivera and Aaron Faiella at quarterback.
“We thought they would put the ball up more, but we weren’t sure about who would be playing quarterback either,” King said. “We thought they’d throw it more, but we were wrong. They pounded the ball.”
Coginchaug had a terrific chance to have the lead just before halftime, but Rivera was stripped at the goal line on a QB keeper on thirdand-goal at the 7 and Valley recovered with 22 seconds on the clock.
“That was hard (not scoring). We would have liked to get that one,” Becker said.
The Warriors, who were held to 24 total yards in the first half, got on the board on their second possession of the third quarter. After pinning the Devils deep in their own territory, a short punt gave Valley possession at Coginchaug’s 37. On second down at the 38, senior receiver Jae’len Arnum made a one-handed snag on a ball thrown behind him and took it to the 1-yard line.
On third-and-goal from the 2, quarterback Ryan Santos found Jason O’Brien in the left corner of the end zone. Brian Funk’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:42 left in the third.
The Warriors’ second score came on their next possession, a 63-yard drive that began with a 35-yard pass play from John Cox to Santos and also featured Santos converting on fourth-and-3. Arnum scored on a seven-yard run with 53 seconds to go in the quarter. Funk hit the right upright with his PAT.
Coginchaug, though, was in the game for four quarters. “What we were able to do, I’m proud of them,” Becker said. “No one quit for a second. That’s what you want to see. Sometimes you do everything you can and it doesn’t go your way.”
King is 50-9 with a state championship in Valley’s last five seasons and had 142 victories entering this season, his 22nd. He said he can appreciate what Becker is trying to instill in his program in Durham.
“He’s doing an incredible job, a phenomenal job. Last year and this year, we’ve been in an absolute dogfight with Coginchaug,” King said. “And each year they’ve narrowed the gap against us. You can tell there’s success in what he’s doing just by the size of the program. When you’re not a good program and you’re not going in the right direction, your roster is down in the 20s. He’s got a tri-op, so there are numbers, I know, but still you’ve got to get the kids out. And he’s got almost 60 of ’em believing, which is a huge part of it. And besides, he’s a very good coach. There is a great base to build off of there.”
AROUND THE GRIDIRON
Friday night, the county’s game of the week will play out at Pierson Park, where Cromwell/Portland hosts Haddam-Killingworth. Both teams are 3-0 and can score. H-K is averaging 34 points a game and has a strong ground attack led by Tobey Callender (four TDs in the last two games).
Cromwell/Portland looks like the team to beat in the Pequot. Bryce Karstetter has thrown for 763 yards, and his favorite target, Nick Wright, has 521 receiving yards. The Panthers have weapons all over the place and an overtime win over North Branford to their credit, and they scored 55 against winless Lewis Mills on Saturday.
Both Coginchaug and Valley are on the bye this week. After that, Valley enters a three-game stretch that will impact the Pequot and Class S races. The Warriors have Old Saybrook/ Westbrook on the road and North Branford and Cromwell/Portland both at home.
“It’s a doozy,” King said. “We’ve got to start putting it together.”
Middletown had an easy time against winless Hartford Public, winning 44-7. Xzavier Reyes rushed for 203 yards and three scores and Jonta’e DempseyBrown threw TD passes to Kenny Fountain, Tyreece Lumpkin and Steve Hill Jr.
Xavier (1-2) had the legs to put away Wilbur Cross on Friday night and end a four-game losing streak dating to last season. Their multi-option running attack and the play along both lines were the biggest factors in a 21-20 win over the Governors.
The offensive line was largely responsible for the win, creating gaps for quarterback Ryan Miner, helping Kareem Grisham and Marcelius Ruiz to sweep outside and Nick Hasselman to power his way off tackle.
Ruiz (four carries, 16 yards) was limited by an ankle injury, so fellow junior Grisham got carries and ended up rushing for 47 yards. Meanwhile, Hasselman ran for two first downs in the final two minutes to ice the game. Hasselman, who also plays linebacker, carried 11 times for 69 yards.
“We were hoping to get Marcelius healthy, but he has a tender ankle,” Xavier coach Andy Guyon said. “We also were trying to keep Hasselman fresh for defense, so what Grisham was able to give us was crucial.”
The Falcons are heavy on underclassmen, who are coming together in the face of a brutal schedule. A win is a win, the tape will roll and Guyon and his staff will get them ready for the next one — at 3-0 East Haven on Friday night.
IN THE SCHOOLS
** The Middletown High girls soccer team beat Bristol Central 1-0 for its third win of the season. Sofia Pflaumer scored off an assist from Carleigh DeFrance. Victoria Correll had nine saves for the Dragons.
** Xavier’s soccer team continues to roll, improving to 7-0 after Saturday’s 4-1 win over Notre Dame of West Haven.
** Mercy remained undefeated through five matches with a 2-1 nonconference win over Pomperaug. The Tigers are heavily favored to win the SCC title. Emma McMurray and Kaila Lujambio scored for Mercy, and Lindsay Stevenson and Katie Bogucki each had assists.
** The Cromwell girls volleyball team started the season with five straight wins before losing to H-K in four games. Sadie Budzik and Kaitlin Lewkowicz are among the Panthers’ top players.
THIS AND THAT
** Wesleyan was held to two field goals and a thirdquarter touchdown, and Tufts held on for a 16-13 win in Medford, Mass. The Cardinals outgained the Jumbos 334-217 and had the ball for nearly 37 minutes. Middletown’s Dario Highsmith had seven catches for 57 yards for the Cardinals, who host Hamilton for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.
** Amalia Sessoms, a freshman forward at St. Michael’s College, had an assist in the Purple Knights’ first victory of the season. Sessoms played four years of varsity soccer at Middletown High.
** DeAaron Lawrence has been returning kickoffs in his first season at Stonehill College. Lawrence was a standout three-sport athlete at Middletown High.
** Joey Logano finished 14th at Richmond on Saturday, the second race of the first round of NASCAR’s playoffs. The Middletown/ Portland driver was fourth in the playoff opener at Las Vegas and remains a good bet to advance when the playoff field is cut from 16 to 12 after next Sunday’s run in Charlotte.
** Middletown High grad Nico Cavaliere is playing football at Worcester Academy this fall. In the Sept. 15 opener against Cheshire Academy, he scored on a 70-yard pass play in the team’s 38-12 loss. Cavaliere was a receiver and sprinter for the Blue Dragons.
** When the Nationals were eliminated from wildcard playoff contention last week, I took it as karma for the front office’s shabby treatment of former manager Dusty Baker. After the 2017 season, Baker hung around in Washington for a week waiting to hear if he’d get a new contract. The Nationals told him they hadn’t made a decision. Baker flew home to California. When he got there, the phone rang. The Nats were moving on without him.
** Johnny Manziel was sacked five times by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night. Xavier graduate Jovan Santos-Knox did not get to the former Heisman Trophy winner, but he did have six tackles in his team’s win. Santos-Knox, of Middletown, is second on his CFL team in tackles (65) and third in sacks with four.