Howdy,

The Fitch defense allowed 236 yards in the first half of its game at Branford on Oct. 13.

The Falcons allowed just 114 yards during the entirety of its 42-7 thumping of Waterford last Friday.

Yep, that's some improvement.

"At practice (leading into Waterfrord), we were slacking and we came out flat," Fitch middle linebacker Hollis Scott said. "And then Thursday, we had a great pregame and we just went from there. Practice translates to the game."

The Falcons' defense was on tilt for over a half against Branford. Fitch won, 72-26, but the lopsided score wasn't always so lopsided because it struggled with pass defense. The Hornets finished with 282 yards.

Waterford ran 29 offensive plays in the first half of Friday’s game. Fitch dropped it for a loss eight times.

Lancers quarterback Peter Turello was dogged by the Falcons. He finished 7 of 19 for 67 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. His 29-yard touchdown to Max Mazzella in the fourth quarter came against the Falcons' reserves.

“We knew we had to improve a lot in the secondary,” Fitch head coach Mike Ellis Jr. said. “We tried to really stress that during the week. Make sure we were communicating. Making sure we were covering people. Making sure that we’re coming up and open field tackling. Wrapping, taking people down. So it was nice to see that improvement.”

The Falcons were ferocious at times and swarmed to the ball. Outside linebacker Zach Letellier had two sacks. Fellow outside linebacker Tyler Andrews had two interceptions, the second which he returned for a 67-yard touchdown to give Fitch a 28-0 lead with four minutes, 27 seconds left in the first half.

Waterford ran for 44 yards.

“The thing that Waterford hurt us with in the past is on that power read play where they fake the jet (sweep) and the QB keeps it,” Ellis said. “We’ve had guys in the past that want to play everything and they play nothing.

“What Zach was able to do was just zone in on the Q (quarterback), and every time they were doing (the power read), just get the Q. Go get the Q. That was the play that Spencer Hoagland hurt us with big-time last year. So it was nice to see us being disciplined and being able to shut it down this year.”

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East Lyme’s 50-14 victory over Ledyard on Friday night made it the first Vikings win in the series since 2009 and the first in five seasons under coach Rudy Bagos.

East Lyme lost the matchup 32-12 last year on the way to a 1-9 season, but stands at 5-1 overall in 2017, 2-0 in ECC Division I.

Bagos, a Ledyard graduate and former quarterback, said the Colonels resemble last year’s East Lyme team, struggling at 2-4 overall, 0-2 in ECC Division I, yet making great strides. Ledyard completed several long passing plays behind quarterback Jacob Sylvia, who took over when starter Max Ebdon suffered a season-ending injury.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people and they say coach (Jonathan) Hernandez has this program going in the right direction,” Bagos said. “I’m just glad it wasn’t against us. … We threw our kids to the wolves their freshman and sophomore years. That’s kind of what Ledyard’s going through right now.”

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Fitch's Hollis Scott is a rare breed — he's a fullback, and dang happy to be one.

"I love being a fullback because I constantly make contact (with defenders) and that's what I like to do," Scott said. "People know me for that, and they're scared to hit me up top, so they dive for my legs. And that's how I break those arm tackles and get big runs."

Scott ran up the gut on the Falcons' first offensive play for a 70-yard touchdown. He finished with 115 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries.

The fullback has become a rarity in modern-day football due to the popularity of one-back formations with multiple receivers.

The fullback is a key part of the flexbone formation, which is the Falcons' base look to their triple option offense. The fullback is the first option and, when they get the ball, barrel straight ahead.

Scott, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, has done more with less. He's third on the team in carries (54), but leads them in rushing yardage (531) and touchdown runs (11).

Scott also has five catches for 121 yards and two scores.

"I'd rather put my shoulder down instead of juking (the defender) out," Scott said. "It makes a statement not to tackle me head-on."

• • • •

East Lyme has a key league game this week against NFA and will finish with home games Fitch (Nov. 10), Guilford (Nov. 16) and Waterford on Thanksgiving. “We’re right where we want to be, but we’ve got a tough road ahead of us,” Bagos said. … Andrew Haase and Matt Malcom had interceptions for East Lyme. ... A public request to ECC coaches and athletic directors — please update your rosters that are posted at CIACSports.com, or that are handed out at the game (and if you're not handing them out at games, please do). Honestly, why did you take the time to upload them to the CIAC website if you didn't bother including jersey numbers? You wasted your time.

• • • •

For your planning purposes, the Week 8 schedule (WEEK 8? ALREADY?): Ledyard (2-4) at Montville (2-4); New London (1-5, 0-1 ECC D-I) at Fitch (6-0, 1-0); Norwich Free Academy (3-3, 1-1 ECC D-I) at East Lyme (5-1, 2-0); Stonington (1-3, 1-0 ECC D-II) at Waterford (0-5, 0-1); and Valley Regional/Old Lyme (5-1, 4-1 Pequot Sassacus) at Cromwell/Portland (6-0, 5-0). All games are Friday night at 6:30.

• • • •

Thanks to Vickie Fulkerson for providing notes on East Lyme-Fitch.

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Thanks for reading. More soon.

Adios.