There are certain matchups you look at on paper that are locks to be a great game. The St. Joseph’s of Trumbull Cadets traveling to the New Canaan Rams In an early season clash of FCIAC powers definitely fit the bill. Reviewing this matchup what stood out to me was the QB clash between New Canaan’s four year veteran starter Drew Pyne and St. Joe’s first year signal caller Jack Wallace. Pyne has been New Canaan’s QB almost since day one his freshman year. Pyne has led New Canaan to 3 state playoff appearances, 2 state finals and as a freshman the state championship. He has thrown for over 7,000 yards and 81 touchdown passes during that time. Winning a championship as a freshman playing QB is an amazing feet. I can remember being a freshman, playing varsity special teams and thinking to myself “there is no way I will ever play this level of football”. At each level the game gets so much faster. Pyne was taking snaps for a team with “state championship or bust” expectations that is something I cannot fathom in the high school football landscape.
Jack Wallace on the other hand had a slightly different road to travel to find he way behind center on Friday nights. In 2018, Wallace was in the secondary for the Cadets intercepting passes in the state championship game. In 2019, Wallace went from picking off passes to throwing them. He has started the season red hot with 12 Touchdown passes in his first 3 career starts. Jack had to replace 2-time All-State Quarterback in David Summers who is now with the Syracuse Orange. Replacing that type of talent has to be difficult but with a veteran group of receivers around him Wallace hasn’t missed a beat. So the stage was set for what I’m hoping to be a classic QB duel, however I have a duel of my own, Traveling coach versus a basket of wings in another classic matchup.
It was 4 o’clock happy hour on a Friday evening. I got into my car and traveled down route seven to do my first local Game & Grub of the year. Parking around this time was scares so I found a small commuter lot by the water and made my way to The Blind Rhino (leader in the club house for name of the year) a sports bar in southern Norwalk nestled in the center of north Main Street right near the maritime aquarium. I am going to make myself sound old but the only thing I knew of southern Norwalk is the Maritime Aquarium. It seems that it has been built up into a trendy area for shopping, restaurants, and bars. As I entered the dimly lit Blind Rhino, it had a more modern feel than last week’s BBQ blast from the past. There were flat screen TV’s wrapped around the entire restaurant. The bar was a half rectangle and looked relatively new. They played contemporary music that I am sure my two kids would have had better chance of telling you who was singing than I would. I took a seat at the bar. There are about a dozen people in the place. I sat down in the corner Norm from Cheers style. The patrons at the bar were talking playoff baseball which was on all of the TV’s with a four game playoff slate scheduled today. I ordered my customary Coors light (clearly watching my calorie intake) from the bartender. I was given menus and saw they have a nice selection of sauces for wings. The wings were at the top of the menu and the menu was small which means the wings are an important part of the food items here and they should be excellent. It’s like on day one of practice when the 6’3” freshman walks in, it will get your attention and you will have immediate expeditions.
When I placed my order I noticed a guy walked and sat right near me, ordered a beer, and immediately took a call on his cell phone. I was already annoyed. I naturally began to eavesdrop on the conversation he was having. He began to talk about football and that he was headed to Norwalk high school to watch the Norwalk high Fairfield-Ludlowe game. My annoyance turned to intrigue and figured I would strike up a conversation with this guy. John Izzo turned out to be a real nice guy and a big high school football fan. He talked to me about FCIAC football and who were this year’s contenders. We talked about Traveling Coach and the games I’ve been to so far. He told me his son, Nolan, was the kicker for Ludlowe and told me how much he loved hall of fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. He told me the day his son was born he purchased that famous picture when Robin Ventura charged the mound and was put in a head lock by Ryan. He hoped his son would love baseball but at six when he ran after a ball in the outfield he through his glove in the air and his athletic career took a different path. He played soccer through his youth and told his dad when he was a sophomore he wanted to play football. I love hearing stories like this. I think it proves if you have a skill and a love for football, any coach worth his salt will find a way for you to contribute the team.
It was nice to have a parent interaction where there was no talk of playing time or play calling. This is an epidemic in youth sports today. I am sure every coach has a story of an overbearing parent. During my time coaching I have had parents come to my house to talk to me about playing time, I have had to get between a parent and an assistant coach who was shoved, and countless comments from the stands. It makes good high school coaches question if it’s worth it. I struggled with this as coach and I also do now as a parent. Every parent wants what’s best for their kid as do I. However I have come to realization that I am not going to be my kid’s teacher, coach, or boss as they get older. Every experience your kids have growing up is not going to be a great one. Let them be coached by other people and teach them how to handle situations. We are at the point where there’s disconnect between coach and parent. Trust needs to be built up on both sides through good communication and letting coaches coach and Parents parent. Its full-time hours for a minimal stipend and the people that coach it do because they love it and they love coaching kids. We need more parents like John who seem to also love the game and enjoy it for what it is……High School Football.
During my conversation with John I received my wing order. I ordered 10 buffalo and on the recommendation of the bartender I ordered the Togarashi brown sugar rub. The order came out and the first thing I noticed was the great visual of perfectly cooked steaming hot wings. The wings were large and looked delicious. I was instantly hit with smell of buffalo sauce and spices from the wings. The Buffalo wings were crispy and had a unique pepper flavor. The heat on the sauce was just enough to give them good flavor and no so spicy as to light a fire in your mouth – making them unenjoyable. The brown sugar dry rub selection, however, were a different story. Ordering the dry rub was already risky. I have a crew of guys every year that I watch the NFL draft with and every year someone makes a draft night wing sauce mistake that will stay with them forever. The brown sugar would have made top five all time mishaps. They were like eating a bag of sand. There was too much brown sugar on them. If I were to make one recommendation it would be to fry the wings, toss them in finer brown sugar and then put them under the broiler to caramelize the sugar into the wing skin. Brown sugar as a dry rub on these wings didn’t work. The wings as a whole had a shot at being a 5-star recruit but because the brown sugar was recommended it will only get a 4-star rating. It’s like the best player on your team that hangs out with the kid who always gets him trouble. They could take their game to the next level if they could just ditch the trouble maker. Well time for me to ditch this bar and head to Dunning Field for Friday night lights.
I showed up to Dunning Field about an hour before game time. I like to get there early to really get a feel of the atmosphere at the campus. I walked up to the stadium there was a ticket booth and the gates hadn’t opened yet. It’s something small but if you have a ticket booth at your stadium it really gives it a next level feel. The gates opened at six and I went to find my seat. I prefer to always try to sit in the upper corner of the stands for the best view. Both teams specialty groups (punters, kickers, long snappers, QB’s and receivers) came out to warm up at the same time. St. Josephs came out in white jersey, yellow pants, and red helmets very USC Trojans like. New Canaan came out in all black uniforms probably their choice for big game and red helmets. Both teams were joined by the rest of their teammates. I have never been a believer that the loudest team in warmups has an advantage but there was definetly a difference in intensity on the St. Joe’s side. They formed a full circle on their side of the fifty yard line covering the entire area. The volume and intensity of the Cadets was eye opening. It wasn’t phony it was focused. Both teams head to the locker room for the last minute instructions and I’m sure a spirited pregame speech. It was a perfect night for football. The temperature was a crisp 53 degrees with no wind. The kind of weather that doesn’t become a factor in the game and the kind of weather as a coach you hope for every Friday. It was game time the teams came running out. New Canaan running through a sign that said ‘Conquer the Cadets” while St. Joe’s jumped up and tapped a sign that read “Win Every day”. A great rendition of the national anthem was sung by New Canaan students and we were ready for kickoff.
St. Joe’s took the opening kickoff to their own 41 yard line. Here we go the QB battle I was hoping for was underway then…boom. First play from scrimmage Jack Wallace launches his first pass down the field to Senior Will Diamantis 59 yards for a touchdown. It was like you pulled a pin out of the blacked out student section of New Canaan. St. Joe’s defense then went to work. They were in a 3-4 and where playing off New Canaan receivers to prevent the big play and keep everything in front of them and they did forcing a punt on the Rams first offensive series. Four plays later it was Wallace to Diamantis 21 yards for another score to make it 14-0 cadets. New Canaan didn’t fare any better going 3 and out on the next drive. St Joe’s then took the football on a 11 play 61 yard drive with Wallace hitting 5 of 7 passes and closing the drive with a toss to Austin Jose for a 14 yard score making it 21-0. Three score leads in any level of football let alone high school football are killers. As a coach that feeling in the pit of your stomach when the avalanche is coming and you can’t get out of the way. It’s a helpless feeling were you imploring the players to keep playing hard and tell them to not pay attention to the scoreboard but they know. They know what’s happening, and they know it’s not their night. On the flip side when you get on that roll and you feel you can’t be stopped on either side of the ball it’s an amazing feeling. You never want the game to end. You want the next team to show up at 9:30 so you can play another game. St. Joe’s was not done yet. Wallace found Diamantis for a 47 yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 28-0. Wallace had 4 touchdown passes in the first quarter!!!! For any player that would be a career game. The game in all intents and purposes was over. St Joe’s would add two more plays in the first half that further deflate their opponent. A blocked punt for a safety and a pick six from senior captain linebacker Alex Pagliarini was icing on the cake. Final score was 58-14.
I must admit I don’t usually leave any sporting event early. In this case with a halftime score of 51-7 and the Yankees playing game 1 against the Twins it was time to hit the road and get home early on a Friday night. I didn’t get the QB duel I wanted. St Joe’s was like a freight train tonight. Come state playoff time I will definitely be seeing this team again. Jack Wallace ran the offense to perfection tonight with his talented array of skill players and excellent protection up front. Their defense was just as outstanding and they made plays on special team. The Cadets and Jack “William” Wallace have planted their flag and made a statement tonight, “you may take the field but you never take our victory.”
Back in New Jersey next Friday for Week 7:
Game: Old Tappen vs. Union City @Roosevelt Stadium 7pm
Grub: Terminal One Sport Bar
Dear Travelling Coach Chris
Good report. I am learning about High School football in the northeast……..and slurp….wings.