THE NVL - YEAR IN REVIEW
The teams I've seen -
Seymour: Injuries. The Cats just couldn't overcome early-season injuries to star players Shugrue and Searles. Things looked a little brighter when Shugrue came back, but it was already too late. Who knows what type of season the Cats would have had with all of their players in there every week? I think they would have finished around the .500 mark this season.
Highlights: Ranked #5 in the state to start the season. Not really much else to say here except for the fact that they played Wolcott tough down the stretch.
Holy Cross: Big win over Ansonia at Municipal Stadium. They looked good and were dominant. They then went on to underachieve the rest of the way, playing close games down the stretch and eventually losing to Naugatuck at home.
Highlights: Shut-out win at St. Paul's, win over Ansonia, NVL Championship win over Wolcott, entered as the top seed in the Class SS field before being clobbered by St. Joe's
Ansonia: The Chargers surprised me by, yet again, making the state playoffs. I thought this team lacked talent as opposed to the Ansonia squads of previous seasons and thought they would finish 6-4 or 7-3, at best. Next year will be another tough year for the Chargers, especially losing Kinnebrew. Dobbs will be back and he is fired-up for next season, after that horrible loss to NWC. There are a few kids that will be stars on defense, such as Tyler Wood, but the biggest question mark on this team is the quarterback position. I wouldn't be surprised if current freshman Tyler Lester is the starting QB for the Chargers next season. I've seen this kid in the freshman games. He can throw and is a monster on the ground. I'm sure the Derby and Naugy guys can tell you, if they attended any freshman games this season.
Highlights: Big win over Hillhouse in Week 1 at Veteran's in West Haven, 6 TD game by FB Kinnebrew at Seymour, Class S playoff berth
Naugatuck: Another team that was hit hard by injuries. Players were going down like flies, more so during the Derby game than any other. After the win at Seymour, many around the league, including fans from other teams, thought Naugy would be one of the top-three teams in the NVL.
Highlights: Big win over #5-ranked Seymour at DeBarber Field, 8-0 shutout at Holy Cross just before the end of the season.
Derby: It depends who you ask, but Derby was said to be a team that would finish at .500 or better than .500 in the NVL after playing in the SCC for years. But that never happened. Derby started the year by losing a tight game to St. Paul's and winning three-straight after that, only to drop five out of their next six games, to finish at 4-6 this season.
Highlights: Beating Seymour at DeFilippo Field in front of a big crowd, the overtime win at Naugatuck, come-from-behind win at Crosby.
Woodland: This team will make some noise next year with arguably the best running back in the NVL, Jack DiBiase. This kid runs hard every play and will run over you every time if he gets the chance! I've seen him do it at Seymour! It was an up-and-down year for the Hawks. Blown out by Wolcott at home and losing a tight one to St. Paul's. A 7-win season isn't so bad, though. They'll be a contender next season. Maybe Kyle can chime-in with his thoughts on The Woods.
Highlights: Big win at Seymour prior to Turkey Day
St. Paul: A well-coached team that will get better. They had some players at QB, RB, and two really good WRs. I thought they were an exciting team to watch.
Highlights: Finished 7-2 in NVL play their first year in the league, Class MM playoff berth and was one 2-pt conversion away from dethroning 3-time Class MM champion New Canaan.
Sacred Heart: Lots of offense and no defense was the story all year long.
Watertown: Big win at Ansonia.
As far as the other NVL teams go that I did not get a chance to see this season:
Crosby: Not who we all thought they were.
Torrington: Underachieved? I don't know much about what went on there this season.
Wolcott: The big boys of the league that had their shot to make the playoffs and missed it.
Wilby: I saw them play at Ansonia for a couple of minutes. They had some speed and a decent QB but I couldn't tell you much more. I do know that they were very much improved, as their record showed. At least they can call themselves the Kings of Waterbury this season.
Kennedy: Saw them play twice last season vs Ansonia. This season was a dramatic disappointment compared to last season. I would love to show them some love, but I have no more so say about these Eagles.
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Feel free to add your own thoughts on any of our NVL teams!
