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SportingNewsCT.com to broadcast American Legion Baseball this Summer !!!
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Week 7 - Ray Curren's SCC Football Report |
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October, 2007 - I was going to call this column, An Ode to Ties, until I figured out that it was a stupid title and I really can‘t write poetry.
So you’ll have to be content with the reasons why I think ties, at least in the regular season, have gotten a bad rap and don’t need to be completely obliterated from the American sports scene. This is a topic that I have been discussing as it relates to the SCC and the CIAC playoff system for almost a decade now, dating back to the infamous 1997 fight between West Haven and Notre Dame that began when the Westies decided to kick an extra point late in the game to tie underdog Notre Dame. The Blue Devils went on to the playoffs that season on the basis of that tie, and four years later went to the playoffs again after they and Hand finished even at the Surf Club. That night, the Tigers weren’t all that thrilled with West Haven running out the clock in a tie game.
But Ed McCarthy was smart enough to know that while losses can be deadly to playoff hopes, ties are not. Evidently, and it is a recent development, the CIAC - like college football and the NHL before it - has decided that ties are evil and need to be eradicated at all costs.
The points for a tie were lowered before the season (rightfully so, as a tie was previously worth more than half a victory in football) in the hopes that all of the state’s conferences would institute overtime. But the SCC and the Nutmeg Conference chose to keep things the way they were, and the SCC has had four ties this season. Now it appears the CIAC may give zero points for ties next season, which will force the SCC to reluctantly institute the extra period for 2008. Maybe it’s just my soccer background or the fact that more overtimes could mean more deadline problems on Friday nights, but I don’t see anything wrong with ending a game - a regular season game, at least - in a tie.
Of course, the main problem comes with the method used in breaking the ties. Everyone complains that playoff soccer matches are decided by penalty kicks, which have little to do with the actual sport itself, and puts too much of an emphasis on one player, the goalkeeper. All of which is true, but soccer hasn’t found a better way to solve the problem quite yet, so they’re stuck with penalty kicks.
Which everyone laughs at, but the current football overtime set-up in college and in high school is not really any different, even though you may think so. The most important player in the overtime is probably the lightly-regarded kicker. In last week’s South Carolina-Tennessee contest, Tennessee was stopped and kicked a field goal. South Carolina’s drive stalled and they attempted a field goal, but it went wide right, give the Vols the victory. Kind of sounds a lot like penalty kicks, doesn’t it?
It’s even worse in the current high school set-up. With the ball starting at the 10, there are always a good chance that both teams will score touchdowns. Then the kickers come in, and whomever misses is likely going to be the loser. Teams can go for two points, but they don’t have to, and even then, it makes the game come down to one play from the 3-yard line, hardly a fair way to decide a well-fought contest.
The South-West Conference instituted overtime a few years back, and Stratford may have paid the price last week when a tired squad lost to Pomperaug in three overtimes, handing the Red Devils their first loss of the season, but what may be a fatal blow to their Class SS playoff hopes with rival Bunnell awaiting on Thanksgiving. With a tie, Stratford probably makes the playoffs. By the way, a little talked about rule change by the CIAC this season says that if a championship game is tied after three overtimes, it will be declared a tie and co-champions will be named. Now that is a scenario that makes penalty kicks look pretty darn good, isn’t it?
LOOKS O.K. TO ME: After Geoff Schultz left the game two weeks ago against Hand with a leg injury, there were questions whether he would be ready for last week‘s showdown with Hillhouse. Schultz answered any questions about his health emphatically, as he carried the ball a ridiculous 43 times for 262 yards and four touchdowns as the Gaels got past Hillhouse, 28-19, to stay in the Class LL playoff picture.
“When the game is on the line, Geoff is a gamer,” Shelton coach Jeff Roy said. “This was by far his best game of the season.” With speedster Andre Henderson still out for a couple more weeks with a separated shoulder, expect Shultz to carry the load again as Shelton hosts a dangerous Xavier team Friday night at Finn Stadium.
Even with Schultz’s heroics, the result could have been very different for both teams (the loss severely damages, if not destroys any chance for a second straight state title for Hillhouse). Shelton led only 15-13 at halftime, and was actually outgained in the first half 218-75, but Hillhouse fumbled three times inside Shelton territory.
SECOND VERSE, SAME AS FIRST: It wasn‘t quite as good as his much-written about debut, but Nick Merullo‘s second start at quarterback was still worth talking about. Merullo’s statistics against Notre Dame were fairly impressive, but not outstanding: 9-of-17 passing for 103 yards, and 21 carries for 83 yards. However, with the Tigers trailing 20-16 late in the game, Merullo led his team to the winning touchdown, throwing the game-winning pass with 22 seconds remaining on a 20-yard pass to Dylan Taylor on a 3rd-and-14 play. “Everybody was calm, everyone was confident,” Merullo said.
Not bad for a sophomore on the road in a contest that marks the opening - finally - of Veterans’ Field in West Haven for Notre Dame varsity football games. It appeared that, despite some expected traffic and parking problems, everything went very well, with the field itself getting rave reviews, even when it did rain toward the end.
So for the record: Merullo in two starts has beaten two of the SCC’s best teams, both on the road, both in fairly adverse weather conditions. All of it may make this week’s game at the Surf Club against West Haven seem like a cakewalk. But looks can be deceiving.
EXTRA POINTS: Speaking of adverse weather conditions, Cheshire best Cross, 14-0, Saturday afternoon in a mud patch that doubled as Cross‘ home field. The Rams put Billy Ragone back at quarterback, and used fullback Casey Nugest liberally in the mud, at one point, putting together an 18-lay, 8-minute drive in which no play went for more than eight yards. Meanwhile, inept wouldn‘t really do enough to describe the Governors‘ offense, as midway through the fourth quarter, they had managed just 4 yards of total offense and one first down. On the plus side, the game took less than two hours to complete with all the running …
Derby got a chance to visit Ken Strong Stadium last week, and probably doesn‘t want to be back any time soon, as the Red Raiders were down 40-0 in the second quarter against an angry West Haven team before falling 46-8 …
Branford, with only one win this season, led Guilford 12-7 at halftime, and was still in the game until an Indian outburst in the fourth quarter gave Guilford a 34-12 “blowout“ victory. Fred Turcio, held in check for much of the night, scored on runs of 43 and 89 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away. In all, Turcio finished with 209 yards rushing on 22 carries. The spoiler tour continues next week as Guilford hosts Jonathan Law in the first varsity game on the new turf at Kavanaugh Field …
The Amity-Xavier game was supposed to be a defensive battle, but Ryan Katon and the Falcons had other ideas, particularly in the second half. Katon threw for five touchdowns, four in the second half, as the Falcons scored a ludicrous 41 points after halftime in a 55-34 win at Palmer Field. Katon finished 19-of-31 for 389 yards, with receivers Will Tye and Derek Williams both going over 100 yards receiving …
North Haven which blew out East Haven, 42-0, is two drives away from being a perfect 7-0 with Hand. Remember, on Opening Day, the Indians led Law late before falling and was a minute away from beating Guilford two weeks ago. Still, winning their last three games may be enough to sneak into the Class MM playoffs and a possible date with Hand.
GAME OF THE WEEK Xavier at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. - This may be Shelton‘s final obstacle between them and a return to the Class LL playoffs, but with Andre Henderson reduced to a cheerleader because of a shoulder injury, this is a scary game for the Gaels. The good news is they should be able to move the ball on Xavier‘s defense, but if the weather is good, Ryan Katon, who threw for nearly 400 yards last week, will come out firing to a plethora of athletes that could result in one of the more entertaining games of the season. But, then again, it seems like every Shelton game is.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Geoff Schultz, Shelton - With apologies to Ryan Katon and Fred Turcio, who both had monumental performances, but Schultz‘s meant the most to his team, who needed every one of his 262 yards, 43 yards, and four touchdowns, as Shelton kept its postseason hopes alive with a 28-19 win over Hillhouse last week. Schultz may be able to look forward to a similar workload this week against Xavier in another huge contest for the Gaels.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 9
Number of times Xavier‘s John Galer had to kickoff last Friday night in Xavier‘s 55-34 win over Amity. Compare that to the 14-0 Cheshire win over Cross where there were only four kickoffs in the entire game, one at the start of each half and one after Cheshire‘s two touchdowns.
POWER RANKINGS
1) Hand (7-0, Last Week 1) -- Looked a little dicey for a while, but Tigers pulled it out in end.
2) Shelton (6-1, LW 2) -- If Gaels can get by Xavier, should be clear sailing to postseason.
3) Fairfield Prep (5-2, LW 3) -- Still a fighting chance for playoffs if they win the last three.
4) Jonathan Law (6-1, LW 4) -- Intermission portion of schedule is done with Guilford next.
5) Hillhouse (5-2, LW 5) -- Had a real shot to do some damage in both crossover contests.
6) Notre Dame (4-3, LW 7) -- Things don‘t get any easier for Knights with trip to Cheshire.
7) Xavier (4-3, LW 8) -- Seem to always have a chance to spoil Shelton‘s season in some way.
8) North Haven (5-2, LW 9) -- Like Prep, have a fighting chance for playoffs with three wins.
9) Guilford (4-2-1, LW 10) -- Can send a message with an upset win over Law on the home turf.
10) Amity (4-3, LW 6) -- “Defense may be among the most underrated in the entire league.” Oops.
11) West Haven (3-4, LW 11) -- Still plenty of good seats available at Ken Strong Stadium.
12) Cheshire (3-4, LW 12) -- If you have to play Cheshire, do it in the first half of the season.
13) Wilbur Cross (1-5-1, LW 13) -- Not much life in the Governors Saturday, maybe the weather?
14) Hamden (1-4-2, LW 14) -- Still 0-13-2 against anyone not named Cheshire in last two years.
15) Lyman Hall (3-4, LW 15) -- Was Law that good or is Lyman Hall slipping a little bit?
16) Sheehan (2-4-1, LW 16) -- Impressive second half from the Titans should build confidence.
17) Derby (2-5, LW 17) -- Seems like Derby is defeated before they show up in crossover games.
18) Foran (1-6, LW 18) -- Chances to post a few more wins are running out in a hurry.
19) Branford (1-5-1, LW 19) -- Played better last week, but still have nothing to show for it.
20) East Haven (0-7, LW 20) -- They still have No. 18 and No. 19 left on the schedule, still a chance.
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