The NVL Football Blog: August 2010

Ansonia's first scrimmage vs. ND-WH

The Chargers started their pre-season scrimmaging at Veteran's Field vs. state champion NDWH.

NDWH looked like they didn't lose a step. Their QB (same as last year) looked even better and with those state track champions at his disposal, the Chargers had a hard time stopping the assault. I counted at least five NDWH TDs to zero for Ansonia. Ansonia could not put together a good drive. Their best drive went for something like 40 yards - most of those yards coming off of a nice run by the incoming freshman, Newsome. Look out for this kid. See him for yourself. He'll be the real deal if he stays with this team.

Each team ran 10 plays on offense before giving-up the ball. Dobbs didn't have any big runs. He looked good, though. He doesn't seem hurt unlike last year when he was battling little injuries here and there during pre-season.

Ansonia's secondary needs some work. There are new kids everywhere on offense and defense. The Chargers have two seniors and one of those is Dobbs. The QB, Chudwick, looked like he has put in work as far as his mechanics go. His drops looked good along with the way he held the ball and his release. He wasn't getting any blocking whatsoever today and the receivers stopped running to the ball when it was up in the air, which didn't make Chudwick look good at all. Chudwick also forced some balls (1 INT, one dropped INT by NDWH). I think this was good for him because he'll learn from it and he'll be able to make sound decisions when the games count.

The Ansonia defensive line had trouble reaching the ND quarterback all afternoon. They got a good push, 2-3yds into the backfield, but it seemed like they hit a wall once they reached that point. ND had all the time in the world to get their passes off...mostly posts (two for long TDs). Ansonia's 3-deep D was getting worked. ND also ran the wheel about five times but did not connect on those attempts. Dobbs was not in the secondary for Ansonia today.

The bright side, for Ansonia, is that this is just a learning experience...I'd say a really big one. I have never seen this team get dominated the way they did today.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, I am worried. There needs to be improvement leading into the Woodland game. I hope we'll see it.

Next-up for the Chargers are West Haven and Shelton - both at Nolan Field.

Let's go Chargers.

Likely Surprises and Disappointments in 2010

Surprises:

Copper: Naugatuck - Naugy will improve on their 4-6 record from 2009. With their arsenal of speed guys returning, they should score loads of points this year. Last year's situation at QB was quite scary for Naugy. Which leaves me wondering...how many games will they drop as a result of shaky QB play?

Brass: Derby - Naturally, I don't want to admit this. Football-wise, I'm comfortable with it. Derby will finish the season at 6-4 with a - mark it down - BIG win over Ansonia. - just kidding :) If that happens, I'll wear red for a day. Jacob Tomzcak is Derby's big-play threat and if he doesn't get going, Derby will have a tough road. The Raiders do have some skilled guys with size on the outside. If Kreiger can get the ball to these guys all year, teams will have trouble stopping Big Red.

Honorable mention: Sacred Heart - The Hearts will improve on their two-win season. Ifill is my pick for NVL player of the year (don't call me crazy).

Disappointments:

Copper: St. Paul -I think the Falcons will fall hard this season and finish-up at 3-7 or 4-4. They lost many of their skill guys on offense. They were very dynamic last season from what I witnessed. I don't see them traveling down the same road this year. I wanted to go with Woodland here, but I will wait until I see them during week one.

Brass: Seymour - Hate to do this to the 'Cats, but this is my gut feeling. I think Seymour will improve drastically in 2011, just not this year. That team was on the ropes last season and with a new cast of characters at QB, WR, and RB in 2010, my feeling is the 'Cats will have to take their licks before being a playoff contender once again.

Dis-honorable mention: Wilby - Awesome season last year. Pruden was great to watch. Not happening this year, sorry.

Feel free to agree or disagree.

It's almost here

The bleachers are IN at Nolan Field. You know what that means. It's about that time.

I caught a glimpse of the Chargers leaving the practice field this evening before my fun began at Nolan Field.

Some of these kids look like they weren't playing around in the weight room. I like that. Their first scrimmage is next week.

Just when you thought the Chargers were young, they got even younger. Caught wind of some good news a few weeks ago. There's not much to talk about yet, because this guy is just a freshman, but I'm sure he'll make some noise sooner or later. That's when you'll find out.

I will also be at the Derby scrimmage vs. Hamden Hall and the Seymour scrimmage at Shelton. The latter should be interesting, although it's only the first scrimmage for both teams. I haven't seen Seymour since they were shellacked by Woodland. Have they gotten better or worse? We'll see. I think Derby will only improve on what they did last season.

Kyle, any news on The Woods?

NVL Team Websites

Listed below are the current team websites (all that I could find).

I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about Wilby and Derby football websites. Please, kick the knowledge. Let me know and I will add them to our sidebar. Thanks.

Naugy's website seem to have some issues. If anyone knows who I can contact regarding this, give me a shout.

Ansonia Chargers Football

Crosby Bulldogs Football

Holy Cross Crusaders Football

Kennedy Eagles Football

Naugatuck Greyhounds Football (Naugy's website is throwing ASP errors)

Sacred Heart Hearts Football

Saint Paul Falcons Football

Seymour Wildcats Football

Torrington Red Raiders Football

Watertown Indians Football

Wolcott Eagles Football

Woodland Hawks Football

Week 1 Match-ups

I can't believe the season is only one month away.

Here's a very short preview of the upcoming Week 1 match-ups.

Please add your thoughts.

# 9 - Wolcott at Killingly - :yawn:

# 8 - Sacred Heart at Cheney RVT - Dear Hearts, please score 50 and do not give up more than 10 points. Thanks.

#7 - Holy Cross at Wilby - Will the Crusaders be that dominating squad we saw in a couple of games last season or will they continue to squeak-by mediocre opponents?

#6 - Watertown at Kennedy - This game will tell us all we need to know about Watertown and its new coach. Or maybe not. It's only week one. I'd love to see this game just to see what Watertown has in-store for the rest of the league.

#5 - Torrington at East Lyme - I saw Torrington earlier this week. I think they are a decent squad but they definitely need some work in a few spots if they want to be the real Raiders of the NVL. East Lyme had a hell of a run last season. I only saw one of their games and don't know who they have returning. Even then, this makes for an interesting week one match-up.

#4 - Seymour at Naugatuck - This has the potential to be an outstanding game. That is, if the 'Cats can roll into Naugatuck and put a hurting on the Greyhounds. I think what's more likely to happen is that Naugy wins by two TDs. Just think of how disappointing it would be for the Hounds to drop their opener to the young 'Cats after several people have said the Hounds have a good squad this season.

#3 - Crosby at St. Joe's - Obviously a really tough game for the Bulldogs. Hopefully this isn't a disaster for the league. I would love for Crosby to pound St. Joe's. However, from what I saw last season and knowing St. Joe's still has a lot of firepower coming back, I'll be surprised is Crosby brings this one home. Go 'Dogs.

#2 - Derby at St. Paul - Welcome back to the NVL, Derby. Enjoy that awesome...ugh, long, bus ride up to Bristol. I know JoeTheShot will be there with some updates for us. I've seen Derby twice this off-season and they will come at you big time. Everything I've heard about Coach Kelly is that his teams are always well-coached and ready to play. This will be a really good battle and we'll see if the Falcons can continue where they left-off (tough loss to New Canaan, but it was a nice ride). They've lost some big-time players. Derby looks like they have more firepower this year, especially at wide-out. I'll take Derby over the Falcons. The Raiders will be pumped as hell after this game. This one's for you, oldschool. Cheers.

#1 - Woodland at Ansonia - On paper, this has the potential to be the biggest week-one brawl within the NVL. DeBiase vs. Dobbs. Young QBs. Young everything for the Chargers. I'm excited to see how the Chargers play. Couldn't ask for a better opponent to start the season. I expect this game to be the grudge match of all grudge matches. Woodland's play-action will be key. Ansonia's blocking up-front will be key. I'm also anxious to see Lester out in the open field. Just a month away.

2010 Scrimmage Schedule

Thanks to Kyle for gathering this data.

I have times for the Ansonia scrimmages and will confirm as many other game times as I possibly can as we get closer to these dates.

Ansonia:
8/31 3:30pm at Notre Dame-West Haven (Veteran's Field in West Haven)
9/3 6pm vs. West Haven (Nolan Field)
9/10 6pm vs. Shelton (Nolan Field)