Future looks bright
Blend of youth, experience highlights Danbury’s spring game
DANBURY — The first edition of Friday night action in 2019 came extra early for the Danbury football team.
The Hatters held their BlueWhite spring game on day before breaking for the summer, and it captured the excitement that continues to grow for the Hatters as a mix of youth and experience combine to exert potential. Danbury has embraced second-year coach Augustine Tieri’s program vision as the talent level has risen.
“Last year we were getting to know him,” said center Jordan Agosto, one of the team’s two captains. “He’s more reliant and dependent on us; he doesn’t yell at the team. He yells at us and we get it done.”
If year one was getting to know his new family and set down a philosophy, then year two will be about laying down the next set of building blocks for a successful program. The Hatters will hope to improve upon a 4-6 mark in Tieri’s first season, which was a significant improvement from not winning at all in 2017.
The Hatters’ ground game put up impressive numbers a year ago, and that will be the foundation this fall. Part of Friday was spent was showing that off as D.J. Donovan and Malachi Hopkins have the potential to be the Hatters’ version of thunder and lightning, with others waiting in the wings.
Patrick Rosetti and Jackson Ciccone will battle for the new starting quarterback position for Danbury; Rosetti filled in at parts a year ago as a sophomore.
Boston College commit Jah Joyner will be a senior in the fall and patrol both offensive and defensive lines, which could be one of the strengths. Fellow seniors Kile Jackson and Agosto will also be key pieces there. An intense workout regimen installed by the staff has yielded the most benefits in the trenches.
“When we’re in the weight room, coach (Brandon) Davis always say embrace the work instead of hate it,” Agosto said. “We think ‘What if the other team is watching us right now?’ and that makes us work.”
“On top of the other team watching us, we think about what comes from the work, like winning,” Jackson said. “We just take it and run with it.”
Tieri went out of his way to praise Jackson, who has an offer from Wagner College and has led
the team in the offseason.
But it’s the youth that draws the most potential in town. The Hatters’ freshman team had a stellar record in 2018 — including holding their own against several FCIAC heavyweights — and many could see action as sophomores. Ciccone led that squad while wide receiver Nick Smith and running back Artez Taft are potential impact players.
“They’re a really confident group and they’ve played together their entire lives,” Tieri said. “There’s a lot of chemistry there, a lot of confidence; the thing I love about them is that they don’t care who is wearing the opposite-colored jersey. There is zero fear from them and a lot of poise.”
Both Taft and Xavier Ross are two who transferred back from Archbishop Stepinac to grow up with their Hatters teammates.
“After all the seniors are gone they’re going to be great, and we wouldn’t expect anything less,” Jackson said.
With spring football on the decline across the state, Tieri’s view of the matter was quite clear after another successful June.
“I genuinely don’t understand why any coach wouldn’t take advantage of this opportunity,” Tieri said. “I coached in New York my whole career and wished for something like this. Being out here, this is the way it’s supposed to be. High school is supposed to have spring ball.”