A TEAM EFFORT
Barlow triple-option offense far from a one-man show
For the second time in program history, Joel Barlow football is playing for a CIAC state championship.
The Falcons (10-2) run out one of the most complicated offenses in the state, utilizing the tripleoption behind senior quarterback Danny Shaban, who was a New Haven Register 3rd Team AllState selection a season ago.
While Shaban’s name has become a familiar one, Barlow’s depth in the backfield has been crucial in making the machine operate at the level it has. On any given day, anybody can play the
hero.
“It is kind of funny because each week we walk in and the guys are like ‘Oh, we don’t know who it is going to be this week’,” Joel Barlow coach TJ Cavaliere said. “It tends to be that way. The offense is very much systematic, they do this and we try to adjust with that.”
Four players on the Falcons roster have rushed for over 500 yards this season while averaging
over 50 rushing yards per game. Through 12 games, the offense has totaled 4,374 rushing yards, which averages out to 364.5 yards per game.
“Obviously with triple-option football, the more you spread it out the more each of the pieces have a chance to being successful,” Cavaliere said. “When a team tries to take away your fullback, that opens the door for the quarterback or the running backs. This past week we had a situation where Cromwell/Portland tried to take away our outside, and we hit them with the fullback.”
In last week’s 40-35 Class SS semifinal victory over Class S defending champion Cromwell/ Portland, the multitude of Barlow offensive threats was on clear display.
In that game, it was junior fullback Cole Peterson who paced the offense. Peterson rushed for 212 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns.
“Obviously our top (runner) is our quarterback, that is Danny
Shaban,” Cavaliere said. “He is the decision maker and he is very athletic. Any time he touches the ball he can take it to the house.”
Shaban has been the most prolific piece of the offense for the majority of the season, rushing for 1,873 yards and 30 touchdowns (averaging 156.1 rushing yards per game).
“Our two fullbacks are Cole Peterson and Scott Romano,” Cavaliere said. “Cole is a little bit bigger, Scott is a little bit faster and both of them will play throughout the game. We rotate them fairly frequently.”
Peterson has rushed for 599 yards this season (54.5 yards per game) with four touchdowns, while Romano ranks second on the team with 712 rushing yards (59.3 per game) with eight touchdowns.
“Our offensive line is great and is one of the main parts of our team,” Peterson said. “Danny (Shaban) is great obviously, and he makes the right reads. (Dylan) Taylor and (Mason) Leavitt are all great runners and great players, our offense is one of the hardest to stop probably.”
Mason Leavitt and Dylan Taylor are Barlow’s primary A backs, the pitch options in the backfield.
Taylor ranks second on the team with 11 rushing touchdowns and has compiled 670 rushing yards on the season, averaging 55.8 yards on the ground per game. Leavitt has 374 rushing
yards on the season with five rushing touchdowns.
When all else fails, Barlow has a not so secret weapon in the air as well.
“Evan (Corazzelli) plays tight end for us,” Cavaliere said. “We use him a lot for blocking, but again, when teams want to load the box it does open up for a lot of one-on-one matchups. We have been blessed this year in the sense that our quarterback can throw the ball down field and our receivers are able to go and get it. Actually in the last couple of weeks we have been able to diversify a little bit with some different guys getting into the passing game a little bit.”
Corazzelli, a senior, leads the offense with 433 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. No one else on the team has over 100 receiving yards this season.
“It is awesome, I know I don’t always have to take the ball,” Shaban said. “I can trust my teammates and I know anybody can have a big day.”
Romano has rushed for over 100 yards twice this season, including in last week’s semifinal victory. In Barlow’s regular season 34-21 win over Wethersfield he rushed for three touchdowns.
“Scott Romano is a great running back,” Leavitt said. “So fast. Speedy, you would not expect it. He is a small back, but he is very speedy.”
Taylor has found the end zone in five straight games and has not done so in only four of his team’s 12 games
this season. He has one receiving touchdown and has completed his lone passing attempt.
“Dylan Taylor is a do it all guy,” Leavitt said. “He is a do it all guy. He is an A back, he can play quarterback, and you can even put him in the slot and can catch the ball. He is a very good offensive mind in general.”
Leavitt rushed for over 100 yards in Barlow’s 47-13 regular season victory over SWC opponent New Fairfield, and ran for two touchdowns in the Falcons 44-6 win over Stratford. He has also caught three passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns this year.
“I am more of a blocking back I would say for offense,” Leavitt said. “I have some yards and some touchdowns, but that is where I see myself in terms of strengths.”
“If one blocking assignment is missed, that can be the difference between a six yard gain and an 80-yard gain,” Leavitt said. “It can really change any given play. Every block matters, every player matters on the offense and it really comes down to that.”
Leavitt joined the team last season, defecting from his previous sport, soccer. Like his teammates, he had to be a quick study in learning one of the most intricate offensive schemes in the state.
“It was an interesting concept to start, it is very complicated in the beginning and can be tough to learn,” Leavitt said. “One you learn the blocking assignments and where you have to go on the field, they dive key and the read key, you see the field a little better and understand the offense better. That is what has put us in a great position as a team.”
The well oiled machine operates from the top down, as coaches and returning captains must instill a learning mentality from the onset of preseason.
“We have a great coaching staff that has very good experience,” Leavitt said. “They have been around the block, they know what is going on. We also have a great leadership core and great captains.”
The early season outlook was optimistic for Barlow, but reserved.
“I feel like we have met the goals we set at the beginning of the season,” Leavitt said. “We thought the sky was the limit and we took every game as it was. Go 1-0 every week, that was our motto. We didn’t look to the championship, but we knew what we wanted to do as a team.”
Now in a state championship game for the first time since 2017, when it lost the Class M title to Killingly 41-14, Barlow will look for its first ever state title against Valley Regional/Old Lyme (11-1).
“It has been a lot of fun so far, but we want to win this game,” Peterson said. “They are a tough team though. They are in the finals for a reason, but our end goal is to win.”