Coaching in southwestern Connecticut for 18 years there wasn’t a ton of opportunity to see other teams or games even in Connecticut. When mapping out this schedule seeing the Hand Shelton game intrigued me, with both teams having a good reputation for success in SCC conference. With only 3 weeks left in Connecticut’s regular season Hand and Shelton had a playoff atmosphere. Playing and coaching football in Connecticut you want to be in position to play meaningful games in November. The days are shorter and colder. Making a run at the playoffs always helps ignite the fire to push through the long regular season.
Hand is 8-0 with a Class L playoff berth and possible home game in the first round on the horizon. The Tigers are led by two Dynamic skill players in Phoenix Billings and Colin McCabe. Billings is a three year starter at quarterback and just signed a letter of intent to play baseball at UConn this week. Billings who has one of the coolest names I have encountered on my travels has only lost 1 game as a starter during his time. In 2017 that loss was to Shelton 21-19 in a hard fought ball game. The other half of this backfield tandem is all-purpose back Colin McCabe who runs with both power and speed and is a touchdown machine with 15 on the year.
Shelton is 5-2 currently fighting for their playoff lives and can’t afford a third loss in the ultra-competitive Class LL playoff standings. Their two losses have come at the hands of Newtown and Cheshire both currently ranked 2 and 3 in class LL respectively. Shelton is led by Dynamic Running back Tyler Pjatak and high motor pass rusher Michael Lockavitch. They play a tough brand of Northeast football. This group of seniors has never lost to Hand (‘16 & ‘18 they didn’t play last year).
Hand may not have had recent success against Shelton but I have started a little run of my own. The last two weeks (3 places) have been 3.5-4 star recruits. They have been good community sports bars with solid food, cool atmospheres, and of course excellent wings. If I can find another serious prospect at Brother Mikes we might be looking at a top 15 recruiting class for the season.
Brother Mikes is a casual sports bar tuck away off I-95 in Madison, Connecticut. I walked in there was country music playing, it was dimly lit. The bar was a cement bar, half rectangle without a seat to be had upon my arrival. So I decided to position myself at a long wooden table in the middle of the sports bar which almost served as a secondary bar area. Behind the secondary bar was booth seating with sports memorabilia on the wall. The memorabilia was very Massachusetts sports centric. There were a lot of Patriots pictures and one signed Boston Bruins Jersey from Stanley cup champion goalie Tuukka Rusk. Brother Mikes is not a huge place but it had a warm, inviting feel. There were 3 TVS behind the bar and 3 to the both left and right of me. It seemed to be a meeting place for parents that were heading to the game. I even saw some Shelton fans walk in as well. The waitress brought me a beer and a menu. The design of the menu was a leather football material on the cover which was a nice touch. The menu offered many seafood items as well as a special football Sunday combo items where you can pay a fixed price for different tailgate platters. As far as wings go they offer 7 different sauces and orders of six. I ordered my wings (6 buffalo, 6 Sweet Chili). The waitress brought me a place mat, a napkin and utensils. The place mat I noticed had a black and white picture of an old plane and two men standing with it. The waitress brought my wings and the bar started to get even more crowded as did seating at what I found out was called the “community table”. The first thing you notice as they arrived was they were a good size wing. The mild buffalo sauce was classic with a good heat to it. They were cooked well with a crispy outside skin and the meat was tender. These were the best mild wings I have had. The sweet chili had a subtle sweet and sour flavor and the meet was very tender almost as if the texture matched up the sauce. These were 5-star recruit wings. Finally, I had a game changer, a playmaker, a future Heisman winner in the wing game. We have a leader in the locker room!
The restaurant began to fill up quickly. A couple moved over who was sitting there waiting for friends. Now anybody who knows me knows meeting new people who aren’t a coach or player is uncomfortable. A lot of this blog is about putting me outside my comfort zone. So I introduced myself and we began to talk. Luckily for me the blog is great conversation piece.
Jim and Maura Cutler are both residents of Madison with Jim being a native. We talked about the community. When I told them that I was from Newtown they said Madison was similar. They’re kids went through the school system and they told me how they enjoyed going to the games on Friday nights. Although Maura informed me they don’t go anymore because there daughter, who is currently a student at Daniel Hand, wouldn’t want them there, Damn kids. Maura gave me some insight into Brother Mikes. First, the bars name was in honor of owners Peter Deane’s Brother Mike who died in combat serving the United States Army in Vietnam. This made me realize why the restaurant seems to pride itself on a real family atmosphere. Secondly, I also learned the factor of what made their wings so good. Peter also owns Shoreline Prime in Branford, Connecticut. Shoreline provides all the highest graded meats for the restaurants. Nice business practice to always ensure quality. The Cutlers friends finally arrived the D’Annolfo’s. They had a different experience with Hand on Friday nights because both of their sons played wide receiver at Daniel Hand. They talked about the great traditions of pasta tailgates with players and parents postgame and how many good memories they had. All my life I have sat in the car on long car trips since I was in high school. Every time we pass an exit I always wondered as what kind of football programs lived in that town. Thanks to the Cutlers and D’Annolfo’s I can start to check exit 61 on I-95 off the list.
In order to get the full experience of a Madison football Friday night I was going to have to get to the surf club. As is starting to become tradition as well I showed up to Daniel Hand High School. Unfortunately they like Springfield Central High School in Massachusetts they don’t play their home games at the high school. Believe me I don’t do these on purpose. Thankfully for google I made my way over to the Madison Surf Club and Strong Field.
I headed down a dark road and noticed a line of cars as I made a right-hand turn. In the distance you could see the lights shining down on the turf. The place was packed 45 minutes before game time. The parking lot was dirt and gravel which gave it an outdoor concert feel. I found a spot and headed toward the entrance. They had beautiful stone pillars at the entrance. The crowd was already buzzing in anticipation for the big game. There is a field house, concessions stand and large bathrooms. The facilities where top notch. On the visitor side there was a turfed softball field and blacktop basketball court where you could see the middle school kids playing and running around. One of the ultimate features was something called,“The Championship Walk” which leads to “The Championship Wall.” This wall listed the years of undefeated teams, captains, players of the year, guys who made the pros and those who achieved championship seasons. The elite of the program go on this stone slab. I am sure there are youth football players that look at that and dream of a chance to get their name etched there forever. There where metal bleachers on the home side and scattered portable bleachers on the other side. Most of the fans were in the home stands or along the fence that surround the field. Both student sections were out in full force. The Hand Student section wore all black for the home team and Shelton’s fans decked out in all white. Hand also has a large band that by the sounds of them was very talented. Something I always love playing in high school is when other teams showed up to scout your games. Fairfield Prep players were out to watch Shelton who they play next week. In high school, Immaculate always played our homes games on Saturday so having all those players show up and scout you always made you pick up your intensity. All of this is needed for that big fight feel.
I took a couple laps around the field to look at the different views I could have during the game. Hands band came onto the field and played the team out on another senior night in Connecticut. Shelton would receive the opening kickoff and set the tempo for this game. Shelton embarked on a 12 play opening drive. The drive was capped by a Georgia Ghazal 1-yard touchdown run on 4th down. 7-0 Shelton and an early statement were made. The scores stayed that way until 1:30 into the second quarter when Colin Telford picked off (his first of two interceptions) an under-thrown pass 64 yards for a touchdown which cued the gold powder to be shot in the air by the rowdy home crowd. A failed two point play held the score at 7-6 at halftime.
This game was a defensive coordinators dream. Coaching defense for the majority of time I always wanted 4 things out of the defensive unit. One, do your assignment. I used to refer to it as being a part of the puzzle. Two, relentlessly pursue the football. If you do your assignment then it’s about getting there quickly. The third was tackling with great technique and force. You’ve done your assignment, ran to the football, since your there you might as well make the tackle. Lastly, was causing turnover. You obviously play with 11 guys who are also busting their ass to the football they might as well try and take the ball away once they get there. All those characteristics make for a great defense. It’s not scheme and not game plan. Those are a blue prints. These core values for defense are a mentality. A mentality both defenses had on this Friday night.
The second half began with some more defensive mentality. On the opening drive, after two big runs by Colin McCabe, Hand fumbled on the third play and Shelton recovered. Late in the third quarter Hands Senior, Connor Quinn picked off a Shelton pass on a 4th &15 from the 20 going in. Finally Billings and McCabe went to work and 5 plays later Billings threw a bubble screen to Isaiah McNeilly who got a great block from sophomore Seth Sweitzer and took it 13 yards for a touchdown. This score gave Hand their first lead of the game 13-7.
Despite the excellent defense the whole night Hands, Colin McCabe (21 touches 210 yards) and Shelton’s, Tyler Pjatak (29 touches for 219 yards) had to work hard for yards to gain those tough yards. As the game went along in the second half they started to break through. On a 4th and 2 from Shelton’s own 48 yard line Pjatak bounced a run to the outside 41 yard run to get to the Hand 11 yard line. Pjatak finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run the five Shelton a 14-13 lead.
This was Hands opportunity. 1:49 to go on senior night a chance to avenge their only loss in almost 3 years. No better guys to lead that drive in Billings and McCabe. The Hand offense was patient and calm and looked as sharp offensively when it matter most. In football sometimes the bounce of the ball is all a part of the game. After a great catch on a slant route by McNeilly he was stripped of the ball. You stomach drops in those situations. It’s a helpless feeling. Fortunately the same guy who sprung him for his touchdown also was Johnny on the spot and Sweitzer pounced on the football to keep the drive alive. McCabe finished off the drive two plays later from 7 yards out for a touchdown. The two point conversion was successful making it 21-14 with only 18 seconds left. Despite a couple of penalties making the last gasp effort for the “never say die” Gaels closer than it should be, an endzone interception by Ethan Haberman sealed the win. Hand won the it to go 9-0 and clinched a playoff berth. The Tigers faithful rush the field to celebrate with their team. The senior football players then joined together to face the band as they played the school alma mater.
It was another great game in the state of Connecticut. This is the reason I wanted to do this. I wanted to see different towns, different programs and what it means to those communities. Hand, Shelton, and Brother Mikes all stepped up their games this week. Meaningful games in November are all you can ask for.
WEEK 11 : MEANINGFUL GAMES IN NOVEMBER
