GRAVEYARD SHIFT: Jeremiah Crowley ran for 526 yards, Wolcott rallied from a 28-point deficit, and 588 other words
Imagine if you owned a time machine. Oh, the things you could do. You could go to the Triassic period and check out the dinosaurs, making a hasty retreat before a Tyrannosaurus Rex used you as floss.
You could travel to 2,500 B.C. and watch the Egyptians build the Pyramids of Giza. Better yet, you bring the foreman back to our time and have them build a better I-84 and I-91 interchange.
We here at Polecat HQ would likely abuse a time machine for frivolous things. Among them — fetching a young Tom Landry as he was making his bones as a defensive savant. Then we'd drop him off at, oh, say a Baylor game, and see if his placid façade devolved into that of a howling madman.
Football has become so offensive which, depending on your view, is great or, well, offensive. It's all been made possible by things such as better athletes, spread offenses, the emphasis on the passing game, and rules committees neutering defenses.
Let's use Friday night as an example. Jeremiah Crowley, enabled by his offensive line, ran for a state-record 526 yards in a 49-37 win over Stonington. Crowley ran 37 times and scored seven times.
Everyone here at Polecat HQ are advocates of the manly discipline of the running arts, so HATS OFF to Crowley and the Montville offensive line.
Down in The Valley, Wolcott overcame a TWENTY EIGHT POINT DEFICIT and beat Seymour, 48-41.
Wolcott trailed by scores of 26-0 and 34-6 in the second quarter.
Vincent Gambino threw a 21-yard touchdown to Jason Pelletier with 11.6 seconds left to give Wolcott the win.
The Eagles tied three others for the biggest comeback in state history, according to the Connecticut High School State Record Book. St. Joseph (1974), Bacon Academy (2010) and Xavier (2012) all share the record having rallied from 28-point deficits.
It bears repeating — one has to be a masochist to be a defensive coordinators nowadays.
Here's how the Top 10 in The Day coaches' poll done did Friday:
T1. Ansonia ransacked Holy Cross, 62-13.
Arkeel Newsome ran 11 times for 306 yards and three touchdowns. Kountry Kyle Brennan of the Rep-Am reporting.
T1. New Canaan (2-0) plays Greenwich (1-1) today, 4 p.m.
ROAD TRIP.
3. Norwich Free Academy beat Fitch, 40-14.
Some dude for TEAM DAY reporting.
4. St. Joseph (2-0) plays host to Ridgefield (2-0) today, 1:30 p.m.
The first game of your Gold Coast ROAD TRIP.
5. Southington blanked Simsbury, 38-0.
The Blue Knights allowed 49 yards. Praise Carson that some folks can still defend. Paul Angilly of The Herald reporting.
6. North Haven thrashed East Haven, 54-28.
Hopefully voters don't drop North Haven below East Haven.
There was no game report to be found. The only thing that could be found was that North Haven led at halftime, 41-0.
7. Darien bounced Bassick, 51-16
Nick Lombardo caught two touchdowns and ran for another. Hearst Inc. has a blurb here.
8. Middletown trounced previously unbeaten Bristol Eastern, 40-0
Dario Highsmith ran 12 times for 116 yards and three touchdowns. Gentleman Jim Bransfield of JRC Amalgamated reporting.
T9. Shelton downed previously unbeaten Amity, 49-30.
Mark Piccirillo threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Mike Fornabaio of Hearst Inc. and Chris Hunn of JRC Amalgamated both reporting.
T9. Windsor beat Bristol Central, 47-0.
John Nolan threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a 29-yard run. The Hartford Courant has a blurb HERE.
More later. Thanks for reading
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