Ready to rebuild
Young Stamford made progress in preseason
Like most teams in the state, Stamford returns no players with any varsity experience and will likely be relying on a lot of underclassmen as they begin to rebuild.
Leading the charge this fall will be a familiar name taking snaps at quarterback in Jack Stokes, the son of former Trinity Catholic head coach and Stamford assistant coach Pete Stokes.
At 6-foot-3, Stokes gives the Black Knights a tall pocket quarterback after years of smaller and faster players at the position.
“I see the most progress with the quarterback and wide receivers because they were able to play in so many 7-on-7s in the offseason,” Stamford coach Jamar Greene said. “Our offensive line has room to grow, but we like what we have seen from them in training camp. The key for us will be execution. This is a very young group and we need to try and be mistake free. The FCIAC is very tough week-to-week.”
Stokes will have some weapons, starting with Nyshawn Johnson at wide receiver. Greene describes Johnson, who played in two varsity games as a sophomore, as the team’s most gifted athlete. Stamford intends to get him the ball.
Shifty sophomore Cameron Jean Pierre will start at running back with some other players filling in behind him.
Defensively, Stamford has Aiden Nestor, who started a few games as a sophomore in 2019, on the line with Johnson playing strong safety and sophomore Declan Nestor starting at cornerback.
Mother Nature has not been kind to Stamford with one scrimmage canceled due to excessive heat and another postponed with the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumping rain on the area.
The Black Knights will face Harding and Amity in their Alliance games after opening with Danbury Sept. 17. “It’s always good to play teams from outside the FCIAC,” Greene said. “It will be good to play games
outside of the FCIAC against evenly matched opponents."
Stamford was supposed to open at Ridgefield this weekend, but Lancaster Field at Tiger Hollow is not ready and that game was moved to the original bye week of Oct. 8.
"We wish we were starting next week like everyone else because our guys are ready to go," Greene said. "But the extra time preparing will also be valuable.”
VITALS
COACH — Jamar Greene (8th season, 26-45)
CONFERENCE — FCIAC West PLAYOFF CLASS — LL (1,088 boys enrollment)
HOME — Boyle Stadium, Stamford 2019 RECORD — 4-6
2021 OPENER — Friday, Sept. 17 vs.
Danbury, 7 p.m.
TEAM SOCIAL MEDIA
— Twitter: @BlackKnightsFB
TOP PLAYERS
Aiden Nestor, Sr., OL/DL Declan Nestor, Soph., CB/QB/WR Jack Stokes, Sr., QB Nyshawn Johnson, Sr., SS/WR Cameron Jean Pierre, Sr., RB
2021 SCHEDULE
Sept. 17 – DANBURY, 7 p.m. ** Sept. 24 – at Amity, 7 p.m. # Oct. 1 – at Harding, 7 p.m. # Oct. 8 – at Ridgefield, 7 p.m. ** Oct. 15 – TRUMBULL, 7 p.m. ** Oct. 22 – at Staples, 7 p.m. ** Oct. 30 – LUDLOWE, Noon * Nov. 6 – ST. JOSEPH, Noon ** Nov. 13 – at Greenwich, 3 p.m. ** Nov. 25 – WESTHILL, 11 a.m. ** Home games in CAPS **Division game *Conference game
#CT HS Football Alliance game