Seymour not a nice neighborino to Oxford, Whoa (Tyler) Nelli, everything else you've grown to love about the Tuesday Polecat.
Howdy,
The Seymour football team fans and coaches expected to see all season emerged with a vengeance last week.
Opposing coaches had labeled the Wildcats the team to beat in the Naugatuck Valley League based on their returning talent. They didn't get four games into their year when they were upset by Wolcott. Nemesis Ansonia ground them up three weeks later.
Seymour hosted neighbor Oxford last Thursday in a must-win game for both team's playoff hopes. The Wolverines had been playing as well as anyone in the NVL not named Ansonia and won five straight, including one over Wolcott.
The Wildcats did everything short of pushing Oxford’s bus into a ravine as they won in astonishing fashion, 54-0, to stay in the CIAC Class S playoff race.
"We knew what the stakes were," Seymour senior lineman-linebacker Charles Ritchel said. "It was a personal battle for us (playing) our neighboring town. We just kept our foot on the gas pedal for all 48 (minutes)."
The Wildcats (7-2) moved up to fifth in the Class S race while all but ruining Oxford’s chance to qualify. A Thanksgrabbing Eve win over their other border neighbor, Woodland, would all but clinch them one of the eight seeds.
“It’s a rivalry game for us,” Seymour head coach Tom Lennon said after Thursday's mauling.. “A lot of these kids are still young enough that some of them played football together when they were younger for Seymour Pop Warner.
Oxford students used to attend Seymour before the town opened its own school in 2007.
“(Oxford’s) coach (Joe) Stochmal played for Seymour (High)," Lennon said. "I played for Seymour. He lives in Seymour. I live in Oxford, so there’s a lot of crossover. The kids know each other, so that was big. I didn’t have to get them ready for the game or fire them up.”
The Wildcats had won their first three games when Wolcott upset them, 33-30, on Oct. 7. The Eagles scored the game’s first 20 points and led 33-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Nemesis Ansonia routed Seymour three weeks later, 41-20 (Oct. 28). The Chargers graduated nearly every starter and had few players returning with much varsity experience, yet led 35-6 early in the fourth quarter and cruised to their 13th straight win against the latter.
Oxford (7-2) had won five in a row prior to last Thursday. It also knocked off Wolcott, 32-18 (Nov. 28).
The Wildcats that struggled in their two losses definitely didn’t show up against Oxford. Jaylen Kelley baffled it most of the night with the zone read with either him or Bobby Melms running the ball.
Kelley ran 22 times for 199 yards and four touchdowns and threw another for Seymour. Melms added 17 carries for 206 yards and two touchdowns, including one for 95 yards.
The Wildcats’ defense was equally dominant as it held Oxford to 97 yards, impressive given that the latter had used its brawn to push many teams around. It began the night averaging 212 yards a game and 5.7 yards per carry.
Seymour attacked the Wolverines all game and held them to 74 yards on 36 carries (2.1 per carry). They finished with 97 yards.
“They’ve been a little bit one dimensional (Oxford had attempted just 62 passes prior to Friday), so we really focused all week on stopping the run,” Lennon said. “When you do that, you’re challenging your corners because when (opponents) do take their shot, they’re home runs if you’re corners aren’t up to it.
“Both Tamer Coverson-Epps and Ryan Keough did a great job. They challenged Tamar with a reverse pass, took a couple of shots on him, and he was able to break up a few big plays. There were big performances across the board.”
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It’s been a disappointing season for Fitch. It’s lost three games by nine-or-less points and won just three games.
The Falcons could have a bright future as they’ve found their quarterback in sophomore Tyler Nelli.
Nelli leads the team in carries (133) and rushing touchdowns (10) and is second in yards rushing (562).
“I think Nelli has improved every single game,” Fitch head coach Mike Ellis Jr. said after last Friday’s 54-10 loss to Killingly. “I don’t think there’s any question about it. You saw tonight, for the first time, where on a couple of plays earlier in the year he was getting sacked, now he’s spinning out of there and getting some yards down the sideline.
“He made some audibles and hit some passes when we thought they were blitzing, so for a sophomore, he’s really handled a lot and his demeanor is tremendous.”
The Falcons would also benefit from the return of Hollis Scott. The junior has run for a team-high 851 yards (6.92 yards a carry) with four touchdowns.
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BEHOLD, The Day of New London Top 10 state coaches' poll: 1. Darien (11 first-place votes); 2. New Canaan (one first-place vote); 3. West Haven; 4. Southington (one first-place vote); 5. Windsor; 6. Newtown; 7. Ansonia; 8. Shelton; 9. Bloomfield; and, 10. New London.
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The New Haven Register/GameTimeCT.com Monolith Top 10 media poll: 1. Darien (23 first-place votes); 2. New Canaan (four first-place votes); 3. West Haven (one first-place vote); 4. Southington; 5. Windsor; 6. Newtown; 7. Bloomfield; 8. Ansonia; 9. Shelton; and, 10. New London.
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Ned Freeman’s cold, calculating computer rankings for CalPreps and MaxPreps: 1. West Haven; 2. New Canaan; 3. Darien; 4. Shelton; 5. Newtown; 6. Notre Dame-West Haven; 7. Ridgefield; 8. Xavier (computer loves its schedule); 9. New London; and, 10. Greenwich.
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Dig the ballot Polecat HQ filed for the New Haven Register/GameTimeCT media poll:
1. Darien
2. New Canaan
3. West Haven
4. Southington
5. Shelton: May have ranked it too high after two straight losses, but we weren't going to drop it out of the top seven. Saw the Gaels live and can vouch for their skill.
6. Windsor
7. Newtown
8. Notre Dame-W.H.
9. Ridgefield
10. Greenwich
11. Bloomfield
12. Ansonia
13. St. Joseph
14. New London
15. Cheshire
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Programming note — we shall return to you either Tuesday night or some time Wednesday with BRACKETOLOGY.
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Thanks for reading. More soon.
Vaya con dios....
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