Prep 35 – NDWH 8
The Fairfield Prep Freshman Football season got off to a roaring start with a 35-8 victory over NDWH. Joe McBride, Elijah Langston, Conor Kelly and Chris Golger led the offense and special teams, while James Marussi, Davonte Young and Greg Gentile led the defense.
The defense got a quick stop and Langston returned the ND punt 30 yards. McBride finished with a 20 yd. TD run on the first carry. Then he kicked the XP and it was Prep7-0. Another stop, a 3o yd Langston punt return and a short pass form Bobby Abriola to McBride for another TD. Prep 14-0. Another stop and a Langston punt return and then a 40 yd TD pass to Kelly made it 20-0. McBride added a 40 yd TD run and Langston caught a 2 pt conversion pass from Abriola to make it 28-0. Chris Golger closed out the Prep scoring with a 15 yd jaunt to make it 35-0 at the half.
Marussi led the defense with 8 tackles and a forced fumble. Golger, Young Gentile and Tyler Stimpson all had QB sacks to lead a strong defensive effort. Special teams were indeed special and Prep enjoyed great field position throughout the game. The only ND score came on an interception returned for a TD.
Hand 28 – Prep20
The Hand Tigers used superb execution to top the Prepsters 28-20 at Prep’s Alumni Field. Hand scored on their first drive and took an early 7-0 lead. After trading punts Prep put together a nice drive and Bobby Abriola threw a 5 yd TD pass to Joe McBride, who kicked the XP and tied the game at 7-7. Prep then used a key block from Andrew Hatton to spring Elijah Langston on a 40 yd punt return to the Hand 1 yd line. Langston finished with a one yard TD run and the kick made it Prep14-7. Hand, aided by a Prep penalty scored right before the half to tie it at 14.
Hand dominated the 3rd quarter scoring twice to take a 28-14 lead, but Prep used most of the 4th quarter to put together a 12 play, 75 yard TD drive capped by a 1yard run by Strecker Backe. Prep was unable to recover the onside kick and Hand won 28-20.
The defense was lead by James Marussi and Dylan Duffy who each had 7 tackles, Davonte Young who had 2 QB sacks and Richie Sekerak who had on interception. Eli Langston had 88 yards rushing on 11carries and Joe McBride added 44 yards on 8 carries.
Prep 43 – Jon Law 6
The Prep Frosh won their first game on the friendly confines of Alumni Field beating Jon Law 43-6. A gang-tackling defense led by Joe McBride, Greg Gentile and Devante Young and a potent offense led by Elijah Langston, Matt Montani, Strecker Backe and Dan Coyle led the way. The special teams had a great day led by James Marussi’s blocked punt and Dan Featherston’s 25 yard fake punt run.
McBride scored the first two TDs on runs of 20 and 3 yards. He kicked one XP and Backe scrambled to get a 2 point score. Langston scored the next 2 TDs on short runs. Coyle caught a 12 yd TD pass from Conor Kelly right before the half and Matt Festa scored on a 12 yard run in the 3rd quarter.
On defense, pressure from Young and Gentile allowed McBride to set up his own TD with a first quarter interception. The defensive leaders all had tackles for losses as did Andrew Hatton and Jon Myers.
All 51 players played and made significant contributions to a nice victory over an always tough opponent.
Amity 34 – Prep 22
The Preppies were unable to overcome 4 turnovers, poor tackling and beautiful weather and lost to the Amity Junior Spartans 34 -22. Joe McBride led the offense with 3 TDs on 104 yards rushing and 52 yards in pass receptions. Strecker Backe and Bobby Abriola combined to go 11-15 passing, for 125 yards. Prep opened the game with a 14 play, 75 yard drive for a TD capped by short McBride run and the XP made it Prep up 7-0.
The defense struggled with a strong Amity rushing game and gave up a couple of long runs. Greg Gentile, Eli Langston and Dylan Duffy led the defense with 8 tackles apiece.
Prep 32 – Hillhouse 6
In absolutely miserable weather conditions, Prep was able to overcome hypothermia and a massive Hillhouse line and prevail 32-6. Joe McBride set the tempo for the game when he returned th opening kickoff 75 yards for a TD. He kicked the XP to make it Prep 7-0. After a quick defensive stop, Prep go the ball back and Strecker Backe scored on a 15 yard run. The D got the ball back quickly and Prep drove the field and scored on a McBride 15 yard TD run. Prep 20-0. Elijah Langston capped off the scoring for the first half with a 10 yard TD run and Prep led at the half 26-0.
Halftime was spent under the bleachers and mercifully out of the rain and snow. Conditions in the natural grass field deteriorated in the second half and Prep forced three fumbles. One was a strip by Dante Cioffi, who returned the ball 55 yards for his first TD, increasing the Prep lead to 32-0. Devante Young and Matt Festa also recovered fumbles.
Prep 21- Shelton 14
The Prepsters bent but didn’t break and won a thriller 21-14 over an excellent Shelton Gael squad and enjoyed their first victory over that outstanding program in 5 years. Elijah Langston, Bobby Abriola and Andrew Hatton led the offense who put together three time consuming scoring drives. The defense forced three turnovers led by interceptions by Richie Sekerak and Langston and a critical Matt Montani fumble recovery, forced by Dylan Duffy.
Prep opened the game with a long scoring drive capped by a 2 yd. dive by Langston. A Joe McBride XP made it Prep 7-0. Prep scored in the second quarter when Bobby Abriola closed the deal with a quarterback sneak for a TD. McBride made in Prep 14-0. Shelton stormed back and scored on the last play of the first half making it 14-7.
Momentum had shifted to the Gaels in the second half as Prep was unable to move the ball and the Gael offense got rolling and tied the game at 14-14. Then the Prep defense stiffened and forced critical turnovers. Richie Sekerak’s second interception of the year enable a 65 scoring drive capped by a 5 yd. jaunt by Langston, a McBride XP and a Prep lead at 21-14. The key play on the drive was an acrobatic 14 yard pass reception by Conor Kelly and then the heads-up play of Andrew Hatton who recovered the Prep fumble to keep possession and enable the score.
Shelton, unphased, began another drive but it was halted on the Prep 12 yard line when Duffy forced a fumble which was recovered by Montani. Prep got the first down it needed on a 4 yd blast by Langston and Prep was able to knee out and win 21-14.
October 29, 2009Prep 21 – Hamden 0
The Junior Jesuits were led by solid efforts in all phases of the game and beat the Hamden Green Dragons 21-0 on the road. The defense was led by James Marussi and Joe McBride who each had 7 tackles and assists and an interception, and Chris Golger who had 2 tackles, 2 QB sacks and a fumble recovery. Dillon Ryan, Strecker Backe and Elijah Langston also had inceptions for a freshman record 5 in one game. Credit also goes to the defensive front of Greg Gentile, Will Riley, Tyler Stimpson and Devante Young for pressuring the passers.
Mistakes by both teams led to a scoreless first quarter. Hamden penalties and errant long snaps resulted in a loss of 45 yards from the Prep 10 yard line. Prep could not move the ball and a miscue left the ball on the Prep 35. One of the 5 Prep interceptions stopped the drive and the offense drove and scored on a 1 yard run from Backe; Prep 7-0.
Langston and McBride had 95 and 83 yards rushing respectively as Prep rolled up 240 yards on the ground. Each scored a TD and McBride converted all 3 XPs for the final score of 21-0. The offensive line of Jon Meyers, Michael Carter, Evan Field, Anthony DiLeo, Devante Young, Dan Sullivan and Dante Cioffi set the pace for the game.
November 5, 2009Xavier 28 – Prep 14
Prep snatched defeat form the jaws of victory shooting themselves in the foot three times deep in Xavier territory and lost to arguably the number one freshman team in the state 28-14. Xavier won the toss and deferred and Joe McBride set the tone by running the opening kickoff back 85 yards for a TD. His XP kick made it Prep 7-0.
Xavier stormed back and converted a 4th and 15 into a 30 yd TD pass and tied the game at 7. Prep responded with a long drive capped by a Conor Kelly 8 yd. TD run to go up 14-7, but the XMen picked off a Prep pass and returned it 35 yards for the game tying TD. Prep passed their way down to the Xavier 12 but ran out of time in the first half. A strong Xavier running game in the second half led to two more scores. Prep had one drive reach the 5 yard line, but stall due to penalties. And a late game rally failed when a sack move Prep off of the 5 yard line yet again.
The Prep offense had 165 yards on the ground and 135 through the air for 300 yards of offense against a stout defense. Prep special teams added another 140 yards of offense. Bobby Abriola was 7 for 9 passing for 64 yards and McBride led all rusher with 94 yards while Conor Kelly added 64 yards.
James Marussi led the defense with 6 tackles, 1 QB sack and a few QB knockdowns. Andrew Hatton added 5 tackles and defensive end Tim Peterson added 4 tackles. Greg Gentile added a tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery.
November 10, 2009Prep 14 – Cheshire 6
The Preppies fought the flu and a short week to win their final game in the friendly confines of Alumni Field to win their sixth game of the year, beating Cheshire 14-6. Elijah Langston provided the touchdowns, scoring on a short run and a 75 yard punt return, enabled by a crushing block from Devante Young, and Chris Golger added the 2 extra points for Prep’s 14 points. The defense only allowed one TD, late in the game enabling just 14 points to stand up for the victory.
Langston led all rushers with 72 yards and Bobby Abriola and Conor Kelly combined to complete 8 of 14 passes for 46 yards. Kelly also added the year’s most exciting run, covering about 120 yards, to turn a huge loss into a 10 yard gain. Andrew Hatton and Dan Coyle led the receiving corps with 2 catches each.
On defense the Preppies were able to put steady pressure on the quarterback and record 4 sacks by Young, Hatton and James Marusi. Golger led al tacklers with 8 tackles and he added an interception.
The special teams units did their usual excellent job giving up little and adding the 75 yard punt return which cinched the game.
November 19, 2009Prep 20 – West Haven 34
Prep closed out their season with a 34-20 loss on the road to the always tough West Haven Blue Devils. It was a back and forth game as Prep jumped out front, fell behind, caught up and fell behind one last time.
Prep opened the game with a 12 play 92 yard drive. Elijah Langston capped the drive with a 16 yard TD run and Joe McBride converted the extra point kick to make it 7-0 Prep. The Westies drove right back and scored. Prep went offside three times on the ensuing extra point inviting the Westies to an easy 2 point conversion making 8-7. The Westies used their momentum and scored again on a short pass followed by a 20 yard run, and then they intercepted a screen pass and returned it to the Prep 30 and completed a long pass with time running out in the half to make the score 22-7 West Haven.
It was time for a gut check at halftime and the coaches challenged the players to play harder and with more passion; and they did. Prep kicked off, exchanged possessions and then Langston forced a fumble which Dillon Ryan recovered. Prep was stopped on the West Haven 20 on 4th and short, but the Westies mishandled a lateral, which Devonte Young recovered. An Andrew Hatton 12 yard reception and a 12 yard run by Langston for a TD made the score 22-13, but Prep missed the 2 pt. conversion.
On the next possession, Prep’s James Marusi picked off a screen pass and returned it 29 yards to the West Haven 9 where Langston finished the drive with a 2 yard run. The kick made it 22-20. Unfortunately the Westies were able to put together a time consuming scoring drive using up six minutes in the fourth quarter. Marusi again gave Prep life when he blocked his second extra point of the day to make it 28-20.
Prep go the ball with three and a half minutes to go. It’s hard to pass when you have to and the Westies were waiting and picked off a pass leading to a score to end the game 34-20.
Langston led the offense with 73 yards rushing and three TDs. Joe McBride and Andrew Hatton each had two receptions for 25 yards. On defense, Devante Young set a season high with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery and James Marusi was all over the field with 5 tackles, and interception and two blocked extra points.
Prep ended the season at a record of 6-4.
Reflection on the 2009 Season:
It only seems like yesterday when we all arrived at Barlow Field for our first workout and meeting together. There were 80 candidates and few even knew each other. How far we have come. Was it a successful season? You would have to take in mind what our goals and objectives were from the start:
1. Have fun
2. Learn to play football the Fairfield Prep way
3. Win
Did we win? At 6-4 we did not win as many as we would have liked, but with one exception we gave everyone a tough battle. What we learned was how to find ways to win when things were not going well.
Did we play football the Prep way? Our teams have always been characterized by tough, hard-nosed play and this team, although small, was all of that. We have always had a solid work ethic which enables us to get prepared in the proper way. Prep teams always play hard and never quit, and that was characteristic of this team; there were a number of strong second half performances. Prep players are dedicated to each other and they always put the team over any self interests. This team was truly special. They took pride in everything they did and did everything we asked them to do.
Did we have fun? You have to ask the players. Speaking on behalf of the coaching staff we had a wonderful time working with these young men. They have great spirit and character and we love every one of them.
There is much work to do and our opponents will never rest, but we have a very solid nucleus for the future and I look forward to watching these young men grow and develop. Congratulations for a great season and thank you for all of your support.
Coach Tom Shea