Former Stamford High School linebacker Khairi Fortt joined his Penn State University teammates at a public viewing for former head coach Joe Paterno, who passed away on Sunday.
The sophomore linebacker said the team plans on doing what Paterno would want them — and asked them — to do.
“He said the most important thing for us was to keep the Penn State tradition going,” Fortt told the Associated Press as he left the service.
Stamford’s own Bobby Valentine will make his first local appearance since being named manager of the Boston Red Sox, joining baseball broadcaster Ed Randall on Sunday for a baseball conversation.
The event, which benefits Randall’s Fans for the Cure prostate cancer awareness program, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Rippowam Middle School — the building where Valentine went to high school.
Doors at the school, located at 381 High Ridge Road, Stamford, will open at 4:45 p.m.
Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. They are available at Bobby V’s Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford or on-line at www.fans4thecure.org.
Those in attendance could win Red Sox tickets, autographed items and other memorabilia.
From the CCSU Sports Dept.:
The Connecticut College men’s hockey team put together a second period rally to erase a two-goal deficit but it was not enough as Zachary Lomabardi (Locust Valley, N.Y.) scored with 2:47 remaining in regulation to lift the Trinity College Bantams to a 3-2 victory at Dayton Arena Sunday.
The Bantams even their record at 7-7-1 and are 4-5-1 in conference play. The Camels fall to 4-10-2 with a 2-7-1 mark in the NESCAC.
Will Gray (Wellesley, Mass.) and Michael DiCenso (Greenville, R.I.) contributed first period goals for Trinity College.
Sophomore Benjamin Coulthard (South Windsor, Conn.) made 29 saves in goal for the winning side.
Connecticut College junior Sean Murray (Stamford, Conn.) and sophomore Keith Veronesi (South Glastonbury, Conn.) supplied second period goals for the Camels, who out-shot the visitors 32-to-31 in the game.
Marcus Calvanico (Flower Mound, Tex.) collected 15 of his 29 saves in the opening period of action to complete the weekend with 70 saves in two starts between the pipes.
The Camels cashed in on a 5-on-3 situation to pull even with the visitors at the 9:56 mark in the middle period.
Veronesi netted his seventh goal of the season. Kevin Reich (Montvale, N.J.) assisted on the goal. Sean Curran (Wilmette, Ill.) also assisted with his league leading 16th helper of the season.
The Camels held a 13-to-10 advantage on the shot chart in the third period. But with 2:47 remaining, Lombardi put the Bantams on top with the difference making goal.
Trinity was able to hold on for the 3-2 victory.
Jethro Anilus of Connecticut College, a former Stamford High basketball player, hit another big shot for his team on Monday. (Photo courtesy of Conn College)
The biggest shot of Jethro Anilus’ life came when he hit the game-winner in triple overtime to beat Trinity Catholic for the FCIAC boys basketball championship back in the day.
On Monday night, though, the former Stamford High product showed he’s still a big-moment player, leading Connecticut College to a 52-50 win over Coast Guard.
Here’s the game report, courtesy of Conn College
• • •
NEW LONDON, Conn. –Jethro Anilus (Stamford, Conn.) banked in a runner with 16 seconds left to lift the Connecticut College men’s basketball team to a 52-50 victory against the Coast Guard Academy Monday.
The Camels snap a four game slide, improving their record to 6-10 with the triumph. The Coast Guard slips to 6-8 with its fifth straight setback. Connecticut College holds a 34-to-22 lead in the series against their longtime rivals in the Whaling City.
Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) and Mason Lopez (Hoboken, N.J.) netted 10 points each. Lopez added six rebounds while Vadas finished with five boards.
Rob Harrigan (Milford, Conn.) scored all nine of his points from beyond the arc.
“We were really fortunate to win,” Connecticut College Head Men’s Basketball Tom Satran said. “We shot poorly but defended and rebounded pretty well. Jethro made a great play at the end and we hung in there on their last shot.”
David Anderson (Goose Creek, S.C.) poured in a game-high 12 points to lead the Bears in the setback. Junior Greg Marshall (Gaithersburg, Md.) chipped in with 11 points and three rebounds for the Coast Guard.
Anderson converted a free throw with 5:20 to go that put the Bears on top 45-40. But the Camels responded with a 7-to-0 run. John Bullitt (Brookline, Mass.) buried a three-pointer from the left side to tie the game at 45. On the ensuing Coast Guard possession, Vadas induced a turnover and drove the lane for a thunderous dunk to put the hosts on top 47-45.
Marshall converted a pair of free throws with 1:14 remaining to put the Bears back on top with a 50-49 lead.
But With 57 seconds remaining, Lopez tied the game with a free throw.
The Bears had another chance to take the lead with 33 seconds left but could not convert on the foul line.
In the closing moments, Anilus was able to beat his defender on the left side of the block and bank in a runner that proved to be the difference.
Foul shooting proved to be the difference in this game. The Camels shot 79% at the charity stripe, converting 11-of-14 free throws. The Bears made just 11-of-22 attempts and were 8-for-18 in the second half.
The Bears will visit Babson College Wednesday night for a 7:00 p.m. game in Wellesley, Mass.
Connecticut College will host Bates College Friday night for an 8:00 p.m. game in New London.
Caught up with Westhill High athletic director Mike King on Friday night in Westport and while he was in town to scout the Staples Wreckers he took time-out to talk a little bit of football.
A total of 20-plus candidates applied for the Vikings head football coach, which became vacant when the school didn’t renew the contract of former head coach Dick Cerone.
King spent the better part of last week interviewing candidates and admitted he was down to a “short list.”
The only known candidate to apply is current Darien assistant coach Idris Price, who confirmed in an interview with The Hour that he was seeking the job.
King wasn’t sure if a second round of interviews would be held, or if the new coach would be selected sometime this week.
Stay tuned.
The f0llowing post is from a column written by The Hour newspaper’s associate sports editor George Albano, published the week before Christmas.
• • •
Idris Price has a very short wish list this Christmas. There’s just one thing on it. And he hopes it comes in a yellow and purple box.
Yellow and purple are the colors of Westhill High School, which is looking for a new head football coach this holiday season. Price hopes he is that person, even if he does have to wait a few weeks after Christmas for the only present he wants.
The former Brien McMahon football star and current defensive coordinator at Darien High School says he’s ready to be a head coach, ready to run his own program, even more so than last year when he was a finalist for the Norwalk High job.
That’s why when he heard about the opening at Westhill just a few miles away in Stamford, Price jumped at the opportunity.
“Once it was officially open and posted on line, the first thing I did was get in contact with Mike King, the athletic director at Westhill, and told him I was interested,” the 35-year-old Price said. “Then I had to apply through the Stamford Public School System.
“They said they’re going to start the interview process right after the holidays.”
With an 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, Christmas should be a pretty exciting time at the Price house in East Norwalk.
But after the last present is opened and the last battery installed, it could get even more exciting if their father eventually gets the belated Christmas present he badly wants.
“I’m excited once again,” Price said about being a candidate for another head coaching position. “Eventually I will get an opportunity and Westhill would be a great situation. As a school, they have the same demographics as McMahon and Norwalk High School.”
Price is certainly familiar with both local high schools. In 1994, he was the on-field leader of a 12-0 Brien McMahon football team that won the Class MM state championship, earning All-FCIAC and all-state honors. He ended his brilliant career as the school’s all-time leading rusher and scorer while also shining as a linebacker on a defense that posted nine shutouts.
By JOE RYAN, Times Correspondent
STAMFORD — Before Stamford’s game against Trinity Catholic on Friday, Jan. 6, Black Knights head coach Jim Moriarty told his players that nobody expected them to win, so all they had to do was play hard for 32 minutes and see what can happen.
The Black Knights gave their coach all he wanted and more, nearly pulling off the upset before succumbing to the Crusaders 61-54 in overtime on Walsh Court.
The two teams battled to a deadlock at 44 as the final minutes approached. Stamford’s Shawn Padilla put the Black Knights back on top 46-44 on a tap in with 1:31 left in the game but Trinity’s Aaron Spence pushed the Crusaders back into the lead with a three-point jumper from the right wing.
“Some people don’t think I can shoot but I can,” said Spence. “It’s hard to defend me sometimes.”
The Black Knights turned the ball over on their next two possessions, setting up a lay-up by Trinity’s Jason Boswell with 20 second left which gave the Crusaders a 49-46 advantage and seemed to cap off the Crusaders comeback effort.
Stamford was still not done however and they moved the ball quickly to the front court. The Black Knights got three good looks from behind the arc, but could not get the ball to drop. Finally, after a mad scramble the ball ended up in Kenny Wrights hands. The sophomore forward drained the trey as time ran out to send the contest into overtime.
The potential was there for something great.
Four of the best basketball programs in the Northeast — Trinity Catholic, St. Joseph, Archbishop Molloy of Queens, NY, and New London — getting together for a couple of days of round ball.
The best of the city vs. the best of the Connecticut coastline matching up against two of the best FCIAC basketball programs. On paper, it was classic.
On the court, though, it proved to be a dud.
St. Joe’s went 2-0 in the tournament, New London and Trinity Catholic went 1-1 and Archbishop Molloy was the oh-for team, falling to both the Cadets and the Crusaders.
Right off the bat, there were problems.
Hosted by the Webster Bank Arena, the Classic was billed The Vito and Jack Show for St. Joe’s coach Vito Montelli and Molloy coach Jack Curran. Between them, they two grandfathers of basketball (running joke on press row: They showed Naismith how to play basketball) had more than 1,600 career wins.
Press releases sent out initially never mentioned Mike Walsh, who has six state championships and 500-plus wins. Nor, for that matter, did they mention Kris Dunn, New London’s Division 1-bound standout who might very well be the most exciting player in the state.
Instead, it was all about Vito and Jack.
The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance is pleased to announce that four individuals, whose legendary careers left an indelible mark on the state sports scene, will receive the prestigious Gold Key in 2012.
Kristine Lilly, who began her storied soccer career in Wilton and was a member of the United States women’s national team for 24 years; Dave Shea, who has won over 300 games in three different sports at Bacon Academy in Colchester; John Dunham, who has collected over 400 wins in 37 years as coach of the Trinity College hockey team; and Mike Walsh, winner of more than 500 games and six state championships at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, will be honored at the 71st annual Gold Key Dinner on April 29 at the Aqua Turf Club.
The Gold Key is regarded as one of the highest sports awards in the state, and since 1940 the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance has recognized individuals from the Nutmeg State who have achieved excellence on the youth, high school, college and professional levels. Past recipients of the Gold Key include Connie Mack (1940), Willie Pep (1961), Walt Dropo (1975), George H.W. Bush (1991), Gordie Howe (1992), Geno Auriemma (2001) and Jim Calhoun (2003).
The Class of 2012 recipients will continue that proud and rich tradition.
Walsh has been the architect of one of the most successful high school boys basketball programs in the state at Trinity Catholic. Now in his 33rd season as head coach (and 39th overall) at the small parochial school in Stamford, Walsh entered the 2011-12 season with a career record of 523-242.
The 64-year-old Walsh has led the Crusaders to 11 state finals and won his sixth state championship in March by capturing top honors in Class M. His first state final came in 1995 when, led by Rashamel Jones, Trinity Catholic finished Class M runner-up to New London.
Walsh and the Crusaders returned to the finals the following year and defeated Northwest Catholic for their first state crown. They won their second state championship in 1999, garnering the Class L title, and that began a remarkable run of seven straight trips to state finals, winning four of them.
Walsh has also led Trinity Catholic to 10 FCIAC finals with the Crusaders winning six of those as well. In fact, from 2001-2009, Trinity appeared in eight of the nine FCIAC championship games, won five of them, including a record-tying three straight from 2003-05, and collected nine straight East Division titles.
In addition, Walsh coached Babe Ruth Baseball in both the 13-15 and 16-18 age groups, finally stepping down after his 40th season last summer. During that time, he’s won numerous state titles and has been to 10 World Series as manager of the Stamford all-star team. He also coached in the Springdale Little League for 25 years, winning a state championship in 1990.
It seemed as though everywhere Lilly went, winning followed as Wilton High School won two state championships and the University of North Carolina went 4-for-4 in NCAA Championships while she played for the Tar Heels, who retired her No. 15 jersey.
Lilly was only 16 and still in high school when she made her debut with the women’s national team, the first of more than 300 international games she would play in. She participated in five different World Cups, wearing the Red, White and Blue every four years from 1991 through 2007. She also competed in three Olympics, winning gold medals in 1996 and 2004 along with a silver medal in 2000. She more than likely would have played in the 2008 Games as well, but family came first as Lilly gave birth to the first of her two children.
When the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) was formed in 2001, Lilly was a founding member and team captain of the Boston Breakers. She played every minute of all 21 games that inaugural season, leading the league with 11 assists.
Lilly would return to the national team in 2008, playing for two more years until announcing her retirement in December of 2010 after her 352nd cap (international appearance) for Team USA. She retired as the most capped men’s or women’s soccer player in the history of the sport.
She scored 130 goals for her country and 30 more for the professional teams she had played with both here and overseas.
The 77-year-old Shea has been a fixture at Bacon Academy for over five decades. A 1952 graduate of the school, Shea coached boys basketball for 24 seasons (1961-85), is currently in his 18th season as girls basketball coach, and this spring will enter his 25th season as the Bobcats’ baseball coach.
Shea is the only coach in Connecticut state history to have 300 wins as both a boys and girls basketball coach, compiling a sparkling 638-274 combined record entering this season. He is also one of only two coaches that have won both a boys and girls basketball state championship, guiding the boys to the Class S crown in 1981 and the girls to the Class M title in 2009.
In addition, Bacon Academy has won 12 regular-season conference titles and four tournament titles under Shea’s watch while playing in the Charter Oak and Eastern Connecticut conferences.
Shea joined his third “300 Club” in May when the Bacon Academy baseball team beat Stonington 15-5, and he is now 308-209 overall. He has guided the Bobcats to three divisional titles, four state quarterfinals, one semifinal and the 2006 Class M state final.
Shea, who retired from teaching in December 1999, was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004, and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Dunham built Trinity College into one of the most successful Division III hockey programs in the country. In his 37 years with the school, Dunham’s record of 441-306-34 ranks fifth in Division III history for wins and 20th among coaches in all divisions. At the time of his retirement in 2007, Dunham had more wins at the same school than any other Division III coach.
A former goalie at Brown University, Dunham took over as coach of Trinity’s club hockey team in 1970 and helped the Bantams gain varsity status four years later. He quickly built Trinity into a competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) program with two appearances in the NCAA Division III Championships, including a berth in the 2005 NCAA Final Four.
Overall, Dunham has led Trinity to 21 playoff appearances, four ECAC North/South Championships in 1986, ’87, ’88 and ’91, and a NESCAC title in 2003. Dunham was honored as the NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2001, ’03 and ’05, and was a finalist for the American Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2005.
He also received the Parker-York Award in 2009 from the New England Hockey Writers for his lifelong contribution to New England Hockey, and the 2010 John MacInness Award by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
Ticket to the 2012 Gold Key Dinner, which begins at 4:30 p.m., can be purchased by contacting either CSWA President George Albano of The (Norwalk) Hour at Truckin114@AOL.com, or Vice President and Dinner Chairman Bob Ehalt of The New Haven Register at Ehalt.Bob@sbcglobal.net. Tickets can also be obtained by mailing a check to Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance, P.O. Box 70, Unionville, CT 06085.
For more information on the history of the dinner, visit the Alliance web site at ctsportswriters.org.
NEW HAVEN, CT – Former King Low Heywood Thomas standout Silas Redd, a sophomore running back, from Penn State University, has been named by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as its 2011 “Connecticut Player of the Year.”
Awarded annually to the top college football player who is a resident of the state of Connecticut, the Connecticut Player of the Year is selected by the all-volunteer membership of the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
“We are pleased to announce Norwalk native Silas Redd as our Connecticut Player of the Year,” Foundation president John Marks said. “Silas has been a consistent offensive threat for the Nittany Lions and we are honored to recognize him for his outstanding season.”
A 5-foot, 10-inch, 201-pound tailback, Redd started all 12 games for the 22nd-ranked and Big Ten Leaders Division co-champion Nittany Lions (9-3), who will play Houston in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on January 2. Redd led Penn State in rushing with 1,188 yards and seven touchdowns. His 99.0 yards per game average ranked fourth among all Big 10 running backs. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
In the month of October, Redd posted five consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing and leading all Football Ball Subdivision (FBS) players with 703 yards. Redd also became the first Penn State player since 1997 to record five straight 100-yard rushing games. His best game came in a 34-24 win at Northwestern on October 22 when he rushed for a career-high 164 yards (on just 18 carries).
For his efforts in 2011, Redd was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team squad by both the coaches and media.
A resident of Norwalk, Redd was a standout scholastic player for head coach Dan Gouin at King Low Heywood Thomas in Stamford. As a senior, Redd gained 1,924 yards on 137 carries, averaging an incredible 14.0 yards per attempt. He also scored 25 touchdowns. Rivals.com rated him Connecticut’s top prep player in 2009 and he was selected to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Redd also played basketball and lacrosse.
Redd, members of the 2011 Walter Camp All-America team, and major award winners – Floyd Little (Distinguished American), Harry Carson (Man of the Year) and Chris Spielman (Alumni Award) – will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. The Foundation is offering a “Holiday Ticket Promotion” for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $400 (you save $150) before December 31. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267).
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
