LOOKING BACK | BY GEORGE ALBANO
10 YEARS AGO
The Norwalk High football team doubled its pleasure on Thanksgiving morning as the Bears not only shut out city rival Brien McMahon 17-0 at Jack Casagrande Field, but in the process clinched a Class LL state playoff berth for the first time in 13 years. It was the 51st meeting between the two local schools and Norwalk’s fourth win in the last five years cut McMahon’s series lead to 31-19-1. After linebacker Bobby Stringfellow partially blocked a punt in the first quarter, Gil Araujo provided NHS with its first points when he caught a screen pass from quarterback Delshawn Wilson and broke several tackles to complete a 33yard touchdown play. John Anzalone added a one-yard TD plunge in the second period and Wilson ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 while Jon Wilkins closed out the scoring with a 32-yard field goal. The Bears’ defense did the rest, posting the first shutout in the rivalry in 11 years and Norwalk’s first since 1998. That was also the season NHS made its only other state playoff appearance.
A pair of college football players who were part of the Norwalk-McMahon rivalry a few years earlier received league honors with their new teams. Former Senator Willie Epps, a junior wide receiver for Southern Connecticut State University, was named All-Northeast-10 Conference for the second consecutive year ... Meanwhile, Cyprian Oyomba, a former NHS player and a senior linebacker for Wesleyan University this past season, was selected to the All-New England Small College Athletic Conference second team.
25 YEARS AGO
The 36th edition of the Brien McMahon-Norwalk High football rivalry produced one of the most exciting finishes as the Bears held on to nip the two-time defending FCIAC champs 18-17 on a frigid Thanksgiving morning in front of over 3,000 fans at Joseph Andrews Field. McMahon jumped out 7-0 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Charles Covington late in the first quarter, but Norwalk ran off 18 unanswered points. Dwayne Lofton, who rushed for 154 yards, accounted for the next two TDs with a 35-yard run to make it 7-6 at halftime, and then an electrifying 75-yard run in the third period to put NHS ahead 12-7. The Bears appeared to put the game away when QB Mike DePalma hit Gianni DiMeglio with a 17-yard touchdown pass to make it 18-7 with 4:43 to go. But Covington returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for his second touchdown and he also hit Dwight Johnson with the twopoint conversion pass to cut the lead to 18-15. Norwalk then fumbled the kickoff and McMahon recovered on the Bears’ 2-yard line, but the Senators proceeded to fumble the ball away on first down and Anthony Marabella recovered for NHS. Backed up against their own end zone, the Bears took an intentional safety on fourth down, cutting their lead to 18-17. The free punt gave the Senators the ball on its own 42 with 1:44 left and they got as close as the 23 before the drive stalled and Norwalk ran out the closing seconds. NHS snapped McMahon’s five-game winning streak in the city rivalry and cut the Senators’ series lead to 23-12-1. Both teams finished with identical 6-5 records, marking the first time the two programs posted winning records in the same season.
The Norwalk Hurricanes ended their regular season in the Inter-City Touch Football League with a 9-0 record after overpowering Glenbrook 46-0. George Diamantis scored two touchdowns and picked off three interceptions, while Mike Bouton also scored twice and quarterback Tom Taliercio fired six TD passes.
50 YEARS AGO
Central Catholic High School stamped an exclamation mark on one of the most successful football seasons in school history with a dramatic 13-12 victory over St. Mary’s of Greenwich in the 10th annual showdown between the two Catholic school rivals. The game was scheduled for Thanksgiving morning, but bad weather wiped out all but one game around the state, forcing the 7-1-1 Cavaliers and 4-4 Blue Knights to play Saturday afternoon. The visiting Norwalkers took a 6-0 lead on their second possession as Larry Anastasia scored on a four-yard run. But St. Mary’s blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety and added a 32-yard field goal to make it 6-5 at halftime. The home team then returned a punt 65 yards for a TD in the third quarter to take a 12-6 lead, but Central’s Jim Sutton answered with a 75-yard punt return on the second play of the fourth quarter to tie it and Tim Eagen kicked the extra point to make it 13-12. The last St. Mary’s drive reached the CCHS 44, but a desperation fourth-down pass was knocked away by John Laverty and the Cavaliers ran out the clock. Central Catholic’s 8-1-1 final record matched the best mark in school history set by the 1966 team, which lost its final game against St. Mary’s.
Fred DeVito, looking to get a few more rounds of golf in before winter arrives, scored a hole-inone at Oak Hills by sinking his tee shot on the third hole with his 9-iron.