What Happened
Let's start with the Chargers' dominance of the Red Raiders. Most of us seemed to have overrated Torrington, whether we picked them or not (like I did). The important thing for the Raiders is that they don't dwell on the loss and get back to work. They've still got Brenden Lytton, who won't face many more defenses like Ansonia's. For the Chargers, the speed and intensity of the team was perhaps even better than some people were expecting, headlined by Arkeel Newsome's incredible performance. It looks like we've got a clear-cut NVL favorite (as if we didn't already).
A number of offenses around the league were better than many people were expecting. Woodland's offense, led by Matt Zaccagnini and Tanner Kingsley, looked to be perhaps the most balanced unit in the league with three touchdowns each coming by the ground and the air. Derby showed its offense might not suffer too much without Jacob Tomczak (defense could be a different story) as Ray Kreiger and Dillon McMahon picked apart the Falcons. Naugatuck also turned in a good offensive day with Jake Yourison and Zack Mercer. And let's not forget about Jon Wilson's attention-grabbing game on the first night of the season for Seymour against O'Brien Tech.
Holy Cross didn't do anything too special against Crosby as the Crusaders' offense wasn't as sharp as they would have liked, but David DiGiorgi and Isaiah Wright could make a darned good one-two punch. Watertown and Wilby both put up solid nonconference performances. Anthony Avoletta and Jay'Len Mahan could be two of the better playmakers in the league for the Indians and Wildcats, respectively.
In a few disappointments, neither Wolcott nor Kennedy were great in the battle of the Eagles. DeVante Bonvillian, the best player in that game, made enough plays to lead Wolcott. But it looks like those teams could be at the bottoms of their divisions. St. Paul's defense was the worst in the league in Week 1, giving up 42 points to Derby in a quarter and a half, while Sacred Heart struggled on both sides of the ball. The loss of David Coggins was apparent in that game and Javon Martin still has a way to go before he becomes a consistent offensive threat. Crosby showed some promise but had too many mistakes on both sides of the ball.
Who Did It
Newsome is our first NVL Blog Player of the Week for 2011 after his 319-yard, six-TD performance against Torrington. His shiftiness and ability to hit the corner could make him the hardest player to stop in this league.
New quarterbacks were impressive for two of the Copper contenders. Kingsley was 7-of-8 passing for 123 yards and three TD in the first half against Sacred Heart while Mercer was 8-of-12 for 161 yards and two TD against East Longmeadow.
Several players had strong rushing performances. 100-yard rushers included Newsome, Wilby's Jacob Thomas (198 yds, TD), Zaccagnini (187 yds, three TD), Yourison (171 yds, TD), Avoletta (173 yds, two TD), DiGiorgi (154 yds, two TD), St. Paul's Jordan Rowley (138 yds, two TD), Lytton (127 yds, TD), Mahan (118 yds, TD), and Wilson (106 yds, three TD).
Kreiger was the dean of quarterbacks, tossing for 298 yards and three TD. Martin had 199 yards and three TD while St. Paul's Logan Marchi had 173 yards and two TD and Mercer threw for 161 yards and two TD.
What It Looked Like
Remmy had his camera for the three games he saw this week--Seymour-O'Brien Tech, Ansonia-Torrington, and Derby-St. Paul--and here's a look at what happened in those games.
Seymour-O'Brien Tech
Ansonia-Torrington
Derby-St. Paul
What's Next
There are a couple of huge interdivisional games on Friday night as Ansonia travels to Woodland and Naugatuck hosts Derby. We'll have more on those two games throughout the week.
Municipal Stadium also hosts a pair of other interesting matchups, as Seymour and Sacred Heart meet on Thursday night before Watertown and Holy Cross hook up on Friday.
We'll have our Week 2 picks and videos up starting Monday afternoon.
