Photo: Anthony E. Parelli
Stamford Advocate
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New Canaan cruises past Pascack Valley
With two losses already on its ledger, New Canaan knows that every contest from last week on out is a playoff game. And the Rams are playing like it. After coming out of its bye with a 42-7 win over Trinity Catholic last week, New Canaan traveled to New Jersey and took down Pascack Valley by the identical score Thursday. "There's definitely a sense of urgency," New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli… → Read More
Westhill stays on top
DARIEN - Where many teams tire the longer matches go on, the Westhill volleyball team just keeps getting stronger. The Vikings rebounded from a three-down, set-point deficit in the first to sweep Darien 3-0 on the road Monday, holding on to their share of the top spot in the FCIAC. "Everyone was on today," Westhill senior libero Nina Bakuradze said. "Our mentality was there, our effort was… → Read More
Defensive coordinator Forget molds Darien’s powerful defense
DARIEN - As the Darien High football team continues its traditional romp through the regular season, it's no surprise that the Blue Wave have dominated on both sides of the ball. After all, it takes a complete effort to have lost only two games over the past four-plus years, winning three-straight Class LL titles in the process. But, 2018 has had a bit of a different feel. At times, the offense… → Read More
Westhill delivers blow to Darien’s playoff hopes
DARIEN - There's a lot to be said for offensive efficiency. Facing constant pressure from Darien in the first half, Westhill's Emir Hrustemovic scored on the Vikings first shot on goal in the period. After play leveled a bit in the second, it was again the Vikings making the most of their opportunities, tallying on three of their first four shots to spoil Darien's Senior Day 4-1 on Thursday.… → Read More
Dente, Westhill nip Darien on Senior Night
STAMFORD - Westhill celebrated its seniors prior to its contest with Darien, and the party kept right on going through postgame. The Vikings took a huge step in their quest for a state tournament berth, defeating the Blue Wave 2-1 at home on Tuesday. "It's about making states for us, and hopefully we're pretty close with that win," Westhill coach Dave Flower said. "So, that's why they're so… → Read More
Bognon lifts New Canaan past rival Darien
DARIEN - In a midseason match between archrivals next to each other in the standings, Tuesday's contest between the Darien and New Canaan girls soccer teams came down to one simple difference. The Rams were just better. New Canaan's Olivia Bognon scored early in the second half and that was all the Rams needed, downing the Blue Wave 1-0 on Darien's turf. "I feel like the team that showed up… → Read More
Field Hockey: Darien blanks New Canaan
DARIEN - It doesn't have to be pretty. But, by winning scrums in front of the net and scoring generally ugly goals, Darien was able to get the job done Monday, defeating rival New Canaan 6-0 at home. "(We had) four in the first half," Darien coach Mo Minicus said of the somewhat unconventional scores. "And that's what I told them in one of the timeouts, 'listen, you guys are getting the garbage… → Read More
Football: Darien uses second-half surge to top Staples
DARIEN - Saturday at Darien was the classic unstoppable force, meets immovable object matchup. Staples came in averaging more than 36 points per game offensively, while Darien had allowed just five per contest. Both were undefeated at 4-0. But, Darien is Darien. GametimeCT No. 1 and winners of the last three Class L titles, the Blue Wave defense held Staples without a point, downing the Wreckers… → Read More
Ludlowe beats Trinity Catholic for 4-1 start
FAIRFIELD - Since Mitch Ross took over for Fairfield Ludlowe a season ago, the Falcons have been waiting for the sort of offensive breakout they saw Friday night. Ludlowe scored 34 points in the first quarter, breezing by Trinity Catholic 61-28 at home behind seven touchdown passes from Colin Wilson to bring its record to an eye-opening 4-1. "We had a great week of practice," Ross said. "I mean,… → Read More
Rams finally ready to run
NEW CANAAN - Nobody is going to confuse the New Canaan offense with the triple-option rushing attack of Georgia Tech. No, the Rams are a decidedly pass-first team, led by junior Notre-Dame commit Drew Pyne at quarterback and All-State receiver Quintin O'Connell. However, the running back stable that was a glaring question mark heading into the season is finally starting to take shape. "It's… → Read More
An opportunistic bunch
NEW CANAAN - Stopping the high-flying New Canaan offense is a tall enough task. But when you give the Rams the ball in plus-field position four times in the opening quarter, it's downright impossible. New Canaan turned several Westhill special teams gaffs into four quick scores en route to a 38-14 victory in its homecoming game Saturday afternoon. "To our kids' credit, they took advantage of… → Read More
Football: Undersized Darien offensive line over performing
DARIEN - This isn't your ordinary Darien offensive line. Gone are the days of averaging 300 pounds as a unit. Gone is Andrew Stueber, now a sophomore at Michigan. Gone is Mike Neary, a bull at right tackle that graduated this past spring. No, the 2018 Blue Wave front isn't the typical bunch that the Darien faithful have become accustomed to. Consistent however, are the results. "To put it… → Read More
Field Hockey: Darien faring well despite graduation losses
DARIEN - The season opener for any team is always a tall order. For Darien, it was a bit taller. The Blue Wave started the year hosting Staples, the team that beat them 1-0 for the Class L crown a season ago. The score was predictably close, 2-1 in favor of the Wreckers, but it didn't leave coach Mo Minicus with a sour taste in her mouth. "For me, the takeaway from that game was that it was the… → Read More
Boys soccer: Danbury forges tie with Darien
DARIEN - Monday's early-season matchup between two teams near the top of the FCIAC standings went just about how one would predict. Darien scored early in the first half and Danbury netted the equalizer 1:30 into the second as the teams played to a 1-1 draw at Darien High School. "For us, it's a good result," Darien coach Jon Bradley said. "I think they're a very good team, they're going to be… → Read More
Clash of the champions
TRUMBULL - Believing the cliché you have to beat the best in order to be the best is nothing groundbreaking in sports. It is rare however, to see a matchup where both teams have that same belief about each other. And, in this instance, both have a point. GameTimeCT No. 1 St. Joseph dominated then-No. 1 New Canaan at home in its opener to the tune of 28-0, while No. 3 Darien has won the last… → Read More
Composed and relentless
NEW CANAAN - Each game of Westhill's 3-0 sweep over New Canaan followed a pretty similar blueprint. Early runs by both teams, then tie somewhere near the midpoint before the Vikings ran away down the stretch to claim the point. That composure and relentless effort is why Westhill left the New Canaan gym undefeated on the season at 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the FCIAC. "It's really just the… → Read More
O’Connell, New Canaan, keeping Cooper’s memory alive
NEW CANAAN - Early in the first quarter of the New Canaan football team's opener at St. Joseph, a Ram safety wearing No. 22 intercepted a pass deep in his own territory. Eyes quickly scanned the roster, searching for a name that wasn't there. That's because the young man wearing the jersey was Quintin O'Connell, a senior captain for New Canaan. O'Connell, who normally wears No. 20, donned 22 in… → Read More
New Canaan holds off Greenwich
NEW CANAAN - It's been just two games, but the underclassmen on the New Canaan field hockey team have already given reason to hope for the season ahead. The Rams responded to a 2-0 loss at the hands of Cheshire in their opener last week by shutting out Greenwich 1-0 Tuesday in their home opener. "I think they responded really well," New Canaan coach Kelly Marks said. "With Cheshire being our… → Read More
St. Joseph dominates New Canaan in early showdown
TRUMBULL - The St. Joseph football team is a reoccurring nightmare for New Canaan. Last season the Rams started the year ranked No. 1 in the state and lost by three in a shootout with the Cadets. Saturday, New Canaan once again sat at No. 1 in the GametimeCT poll, this time No. 3 St. Joseph left no doubt, shutting out the Rams 28-0 in front of its home crowd. "They're loaded," St. Joseph coach… → Read More
Darien cruises past Ridgefield
DARIEN - After an offseason-long quarterback battle in Darien, the Cooper Hancock era began with a bang for the Blue Wave Friday night. The senior was solid in his first start, throwing for a pair of scores as the Blue Wave, the No. 4 team in the GametimeCT / New Haven Register poll, knocked off Ridgefield 30-6 in both teams' season opener in Darien. "It was a lot of fun," Hancock laughed after… → Read More