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September 2006 -- About two weeks before this year's benefit golf tournament at Simsbury Farms, 131 people have confirmed they will play with openings left for another 13 golfers. A year ago, 93 golfers participated, raising $17,000. ... Eight assistant coaches are assisting head coach Graham Martin.
August 2006 -- Practice begins on Monday, Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. at Bicentennial Field. The club team will play on the junior varsity level in 2006 before going to varsity level in 2007. ... The Friends of Canton Football annual benefit golf tournament is Thursday, Sept. 21. ...
June 2006 – Former Bulkeley coach Graham Martin was hired by Friends of Football to coach the Canton club team this fall. Martin was the head coach at Bulkeley for 23 years from 1981-2003, compiling a record of 69-144-8 and a trip to the Class LL final in 1991. Canton will field a junior varsity team this fall and has 41 students registered to play. Martin met with the players on June 20. … The Canton Board of Education ended a long-running dispute by adopting the dancing Warrior image as the school mascot. The new image will more historically accurate that the cartoon-like Warrior mascot that was unveiled in the mid-1970s. Canton principal Gary Gula, who led a movement to eliminate the Warrior mascot, will lead a committee that monitors use of the image. The BOE appointed a 25-person committee in March to study the issue. …. Karl Grabowski, president of Friends of Canton Football, the parents group behind the drive for football, said a junior varsity team hopes to play five or six games this fall and move up to varsity competition in 2007. Each boy will pay $165 to play. A five-person committee consisting of Friends of Canton Football’s Grabowski, Bill Plourd and A.J. Zukowski, Canton athletic director Nancy Grace and Lou Daniels, chairman of the Board of Education interviewed for the new head coach. … Grabowski said the club has raised $42,000 and expects to spend $30,000 this year to get the program off the ground. … The organization has filed form 501.3 with the Internal Revenue Service to become a tax-exempt organization, which will help some interested donors in getting matching gifts from their employers.
May 2006: Friends of Canton Football plan to field a club football team in the fall. Registration took place in the school from May 9-17. "We are a motivated group," said Bill Plourd, vice president of the club. "We will not quit. You can feel defeated at times, but the group as a whole is single-minded. We will keep moving it forward." The club plans to ply a junior varsity schedule in 2006 and transition to varsity status in 2007. The Board of Education will consider varsity status for the team after the conclusion of the 2006 campaign. In April, Superintendent Anthony Serio and the Board of Education said they wanted to study the issue. They were concerned with field space, costs and issues with Title IX. Friends of Canton Football decided to move ahead with a club team. As of May, Friends of Canton Football has raised over $40,000.
March 2006: Board of Education chairman Lou Daniels is concerned about Title 9 issues. "We already have Title 9 issues now," Daniels said. "We will be adding one girls sport already. The superintendent tells me if football comes, we anticipate having to add two more sports teams (female) on top of the one being added. We will have to spend more money if we add more teams. To their credit, the Friends of Canton Football have offered to raise additional funds. They did very well with two fundraisers, a golf tournament and a raffle that they will run every year. That will be about $20,000 per year." Title IX bans sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds and mandates that schools provide equal opportunities for young women, including in athletics. The school is also concerned about lack of fields in Canton for football. One of the solutions is to consider creating a co-op team with Granby.
February 2006: A vote by the Board of Education to add football was postponed. In a presentation before the Board of Education looking for approval for football this fall, Friends of Football report they have raised $42,000 and secured a line of credit for $50,000.
January 2006: Friends of Football raises $16,500 in a raffle selling over 1,150 raffle tickets.
Warriors finish
with a flourish
SIMSBURY, Oct. 30 – QB Nick Delvecchio was 7-of-8 for a career-high 118 yards and three TD passes as the Canton club football team finished its first season in 42 years with a dominating 28-8 victory over the Prince Tech junior varsity at Weatogue Field. Luke Mentzer caught a career-high five passes for 98 yards and two TDs.
Senior Tyson Reid had two sacks while senior Bobby Delvecchio ran for 22 yards and a two-point conversion. Canton finished at 6-2. “On both sides of the ball, we really picked up our game,” Canton coach Graham Martin said. “I’m real proud of the kids the way they came together.”
Less than five days later, Prince Tech lost its first-ever varsity game against Wright Tech-Stamford by a score of 27-0.
Canton dominates GIlbert again
WINSTED, Oct. 23 – The Warriors (5-2) ensured themselves a winning season with a dominant 38-6 win over the Gilbert junior varsity Monday. Nick Delvecchio (6-47) rushed for three TDs and threw for another as Canton beat Gilbert for the second time this season. “We’re getting better,” Canton coach Graham Martin said. “We’re getting more aggressive. Pride and power is our new theme.”
Canton led 38-0 before Gilbert scored. Delvecchio completed 6-of-8 passes for 75 yards and his fifth TD pass of the year to receiver Luke Mentzer (4-53). “We really turned the corner, not only in wins and losses,” Martin said. “We’re starting to understand about being very competitive and aggressive.”
Canton closes out its first season of club football on Monday, Oct. 30 when they host the Prince Tech-Hartford junior varsity, another first-year club at Weatogue Field in Simsbury.
Canton rolls past Housatonic for fourth victory
FALLS VILLAGE, Oct. 16 – Justin Rice rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns as Canton’s club football team (4-2) dominated against the Housatonic/Wamogo junior varsity team with a 40-6 victory. Chris Rivers returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the third quarter for Canton.
It was the third highest scoring output for a Canton High football team. The Warriors scored 72 points in a 72-6 win over Farmington in 1922 and 46 in a 46-0 shutout over Litchfield Junior Republic in 1935 but those were games against varsity competition. It was Canton's third game in nine days.
Canton coach Graham Martin is pleased with the growth of his team but is looking for more than just victories. “We’re not doing things at a high tempo,” he said. “They think they are at their maximum but they’re not. We have to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball.”
Beavers remain one step ahead
AVON, Oct. 13 – The Warriors (3-2) hung tough but couldn’t catch the Avon Old Farms junior varsity in a 29-20 loss on Friday afternoon. Canton’s club football team had a 6-2 lead after Justin Rice scored the first of his 2 TDs on a 26-yard run but Avon Old Farms scored the next 14 points in a pair of TD runs by James Chamness to take the lead for good.
After the Beavers took a 16-6 lead, Rice scored his second TD on a 4-yard run and Delvecchio ran in for the two-point conversion to cut the lead to two, 16-14 with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
Avon Old Farms (2-3) scored again to extend the lead to nine, 23-14, but Canton rallied again as Delvecchio completed a 57-yard touchdown pass down the near sideline to Jake Burditt with 3:30 left to cut the lead to three, 23-20. But on the very next play, Chamness broke through up the middle for a 95-yard kickoff return to ice the contest.
Delvecchio completed 5-of-11 passes for a career-high 139 yards. Reed and Luke Talbot each recovered fumbles.
Warriors roll past RHAM for 3rd win
HEBRON, Oct. 6 – QB Nick Delvecchio rushed for a season-high 101 yards on 7 carries and for two touchdowns as Canton’s club football team rolled to a dominating 34-16 win over the RHAM/Lyman Memorial junior varsity. The Warriors led 34-0 at one point. Delvecchio scored on runs of 17 and 62 yards, the longest scoring play of the season to date for Canton (3-1).
Bob Delvecchio caught his first TD pass of the season, a 13-yard reception from his brother Nick. Bob also ran for 88 yards on 12 carries. Justin Rice had 89 yards rushing on 11 carries. Rice and Tyson Reed scored a safety for Canton by tackling the RHAM QB in the end zone. Freshman Peter Lewis intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.
"We played very well," Canton coach Graham Martin said. "We're improving every week. More and more kids are stepping up. Now we can get some rotation with kids on both sides of the ball."
Canton played just 13-14 kids in week one but now 19 to 21 are playing for the Warriors. "We're starting to get the hang of the football culture and what it is about in Canton," Martin said.
Second half surge lifts Canton to win
HARTFORD, Sept. 29 -- Behind an offensive line that includes two freshmen and a sophomore, Canton High’s club football team rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit for its first come-from-behind win of the season Friday with a 28-20 win over the junior varsity team from Capital Prep in Hartford.
“In the second half, we came out and played very emotional football,” Canton coach Graham Martin said. “It was a 360 from how we played in the first half. In the second half, we controlled the clock, the game and the tempo on both sides of the ball.”
Canton (2-1) ran the ball down Capital Prep’s throat rushing for 204 of the team’s 276 yards in the second half. Junior Justin Rice, a 6-foot-1, 275-pound back, ran for a game-high 182 yards on 12 carries and scored a fourth quarter TD that gave the Warriors an eight-point lead.
The offensive line consists of junior Matt Zukowski at left tackle, junior Tyson Reid at left guard, sophomore Sean Hutton at center, freshman Sean Mullins at right guard, freshman David Parr at right tackle and junior Mike D’Attice at tight end. “The offensive line came alive in the second half,” Martin said.
Canton faced Capital Prep in a scrimmage in Simsbury four weeks ago and was beaten soundly. The Warriors were missing seven starters due to injury or illness and they trailed at halftime last week, 20-6 before rallying for the win.
Chiefs blank Warriors
WOODBURY, Sept. 22 – A bigger and stronger Nonnewaug junior varsity team won the first game it played at home with a 16-0 win over Canton’s club football team. The Chiefs led 8-0 at halftime and extended their lead in the second half. “We weren’t real consistent,” Canton coach Graham Martin said. “We were right there on numerous occasions but we just didn’t make the tackle.”
Canton wins opener
WINSTED, Sept. 16 – Junior QB Nick Delvecchio threw a pair of TD passes to Jake Burditt as the Canton club football team won its first game with a 34-12 win over the Gilbert junior varsity at Van Why Field. Bob Delvecchio ran for a team-high 108 yards on nine carries while Justin Rice added 86 yards and a touchdown.
Canton also had two sacks (Nick Marchitto, Rice) and forced three fumbles, recovering two. “We’re young obviously,” Canton head coach Graham Martin said. “For having just 19 practices, three scrimmages and for never having played football at this level, I’m very pleased with our effort on both sides of the ball.”
After 42 years, Canton returns to gridiron
COLLINSVILLE, Aug. 21 -- Canton's new club football team hit the field for its first practice Monday at Bicentennial Field next to the sewage treatment plant. It's the first time a Canton football team has hit the gridiron since 1964. The club team will play at the junior varsity level for the next two seasons and plans to play at the varsity level in 2008.
The team's first scrimmage of the year was Friday, Sept. 8 vs. Capital Prep-Hartford at Henry James in Simsbury. They also played Farmington on Sept. 13.
Canton 28, Prince JV 8
At Simsbury
Prince Tech JV 0 0 0 8 -- 8
Canton (6-2) 14 6 8 0 -- 28
First quarter
C: Justin Rice 16 run (Nick Delvecchio run)
C: Mike D’Apice 18 pass from Nick Delvecchio (pass failed)
Second quarter
C: Luke Mentzer 17 pass from Nick Delvecchio (pass failed)
Third quarter
C: Mentzer 39 pass from Nick Delvecchio (Bobby Delvecchio run)
Fourth quarter
PT: 31 run (conversion run good)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Rice 13-87, Aaron Deaver 5-29, Bobby Delvecchio 4-22, Mike Frazier 3-23, Joe Sandemena 4-31, Nick Delvecchio 7-56
PASSING: Nick Delvecchio 7-8-1, 118; Sandemena 0-1
RECEIVING: Mentzer 5-98, D’Apice 1-18, Jake Burditt 1-9
Sacks: D’Apice 1, Reid 2, Cole 0.5; Interception: Kyle Bento; Fumble recovery: Luke Talbot, Greg Cole
Individual leaders
Final 2006
RUSHING Att-Yds TDs
Rice
97-805 12
N. Delvecchio 55-521 6
Deaver 41-252 1
B. Delvecchio 36-227 1
Frazier 36-180 0
Sandemena 9-55 1
Talbot 4-29 0
PASSING C-Att-Int Yds TDs
N. Delvec. 37-68-2 616 8
Sandemena 0-1-0 0
RECEIVING C-Yds TD
Burditt 8-191 3
Mentzer 12-207 3
Garrity 5-58 0
D'Apice 5-79 1
Rice 4-43 0
B. Delvec. 1-13 1
POINTS
TDs PAT 2pt Pts
Rice 12-0 0 3 80*
N. Delvec. 6-0 0 7 50
Burditt 0-3 0 0 18
Mentzer 0-3 0 0 18
B. Delvec. 1-1 0 2 16
Rivers 0-0 0 0 12**
Deaver 1-0 0 3 12
D'Apice 0-1 0 1 10*
Sandem. 1-0 0 0 6
Reed 0-0 0 0 2*
*includes safety
**Defensive TDs
Canton 38, Gilbert JV 6
At Winsted
Canton (5-2) 14 8 8 8 -- 38
Gilbert 0 0 0 6 -- 6
First quarter
C: Nick Delvecchio 8 run (Aaron Deaver pass from N. Delvecchio)
C: Nick Delvecchio 10 run (pass fails)
Second quarter
C: Luke Mentzter 18 pass from Nick Delvecchio (N. Delvecchio run)
Third quarter
C: Nick Delvecchio 7 run (Deaver pass from N. Delvecchio)
Fourth quarter
C: Justin Rice 6 run (Bobby Delvecchio run)
G: touchdown
Canton statistics
RUSHING: Justin Rice 13-83, Nick Delvecchio 6-47, Bobby Delvecchio 8-15, Aaron Deaver 2-6, Mike Frazier 6-46, Joe Sandamena 2-0
PASSING: Nick Delvecchio 6-8-0, 75
RECEIVING: Rice 1-8, Luke Mentzer 4-53, Jake Burditt 1-14
CHS 40, Housatonic JV 6
At Falls Village
Canton (4-2) 16 10 13 0 -- 40
Housy (2-4) 0 0 0 6 – 6
First quarter
C: Justin Rice 14 run (Nick Delvecchio run)
C: Rice 5 run (Mike D’Apice pass from Delvecchio)
Second quarter
C: Rice 12 run (Aaron Deaver pass from Delvecchio)
C: Safety: D’Aprice tackles QB in end zone
Third quarter
C: Chris Rivers 18 interception return (pass fails)
C: Rivers 11 interception return (Delvecchio rush)
Fourth quarter
H: 56 kickoff return
Canton statistics
RUSHING: Rice 11-117, Nick Delvecchio 8-60, Mike Frazier 7-27, Aaron Deaver 8-60
PASSING: Nick Devlecchio 5-9-0, 59
RECEIVING: Mike D’Apice 3-36, Luke Mentzer 2-23
Avon Old Farms JV 29, Canton 20
At Avon
Canton (3-2) 0 6 8 6 -- 20
AOF JV (2-3) 0 9 7 13 – 29
Second quarter
A: Safety, Nicholas Cox tackles Nick Delvecchio in end zone, 11:39
C: Justin Rice 26 run (pass fails), 5:06
A: James Chamness 20 run (Colin Lennon kick), 2:35
Third quarter
A: Chamness 3 run (Lennon kick), 8:07
C: Rice 4 run (N. Delvecchio run), 0:28
Fourth quarter
A: Mark Joyce 10 pass from Lee Moffie (Lennon kick), 10:15
C: Jake Burditt 57 pass from Nick Delvecchio (pass fails), 3:30
A: Chamness 95 kickoff return, 3:11
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Canton – Aaron Deaver 4-24, Joe Sandamena 1-0, Nick Delvecchio 10-71, Justin Rice 15-79, Mike Frazier 11-52; AOF – Cory Cheyne 17-87, Lee Moffie 2-24, Brendan Flanagan 3-38, James Chamness 7-26, Nicholas Cox 1-18
PASSING: Canton – Nick Delvecchio 5-11-0, 139; AOF – Lee Moffie 6-14-0, 101
RECEIVING: Canton – Mike D’Apice 1-25, Justin Rice 2-24, Luke Mentzer 1-33, Jake Burditt 1-57; AOF – Flanagan 2-28, Mark Joyce 2-26, Patrick Miller 2-47
MISSED FIELD GOALS: none; SACKS – Cox (A) 2, FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Tyson Reid (C) 1, Luke Talbott (C) 1, Ross Hofer (A), Cox (A) 1; PUNTS – Burditt 2-49
RETURN YARDAGE – Canton: Deaver 2-7 (kickoffs), 1-2 (punts); Luke Mentzer 2-43 (kickoffs)
Canton 34, RHAM JV 16
At Hebron
Canton (3-1) 8 14 6 6 – 34
RHAM 0 0 0 16 – 16
First quarter
C: Justin Rice 16 run (pass fails)
C: Safety – Tyson Reed and Rice tackle QB in end zone
Second quarter
C: Bob Delvecchio 13 pass from Nick Delvecchio (Rice run)
C: Nick Delvecchio 17 run (pass fails)
Third quarter
C: Nick Delvecchio 62 run (run fails)
Fourth quarter
C: Joe Sandemena 3 run (run fails)
RHAM: scoring unavailable
RHAM: scoring unavailable
Canton statistics
RUSHING: Rice 11-89, Bob Delvecchio 12-88, Aaron Deaver 6-39, Nick Delvecchio 7-101, Mike Frazier 4-18, Sandemena 2-24, Luke Talbot 4-29
PASSING: Nick Delvecchio 4-8-0, 58; Sandemena 1-1, 16
RECEIVING: Rice 1-16, Bob Delvecchio 1-13, Kevin Garrity 1-7
Interception: Peter Lewis; Fumble recovery: Peter Lewis
Canton 28, Capital JV 20
At Hartford
Canton (2-1)0 6 8 13 – 28
Capital Prep JV 6 13 0 0 --20
First quarter
CP: 59 TD pass (run fails)
Second quarter
CP: 38 TD run (pass is good)
Can: Justin Rice 22 run (pass fails)
CP: 4 TD run (run fails)
Third quarter
Can: Nick Delvecchio 32 run (Rice run)
Fourth quarter
Can: Rice 18 run (Nick Delvecchio run)
Can: Rice 17 run (run fails)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Justin Rice 20-182, Nick Delvecchio 8-82, Aaron Deaver 6-32
PASSING: Nick Delvecchio 2-8-0, 14
RECEIVING: Rice 1-4, Jake Burditt 1-10
Interception: Mike D’Apice 1; Fumble recovery: Gregg Cole 1, Justin Rice 1; Sacks: none
Nonnewaug JV 16, CHS 0
At Woodbury
Canton (1-1) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Nonnewaug 0 8 8 0 --16
Scoring unavailable
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Bob Delvecchio 3-minus 6, Justin Rice 7-82, Aaron Deaver 5-20, Nick Delvecchio 6-60
PASSING: Nick Delvecchio 4-9-1, 66
RECEIVING: Kevin Garritty 2-21, Jake Burditt 2-45
Canton 34, Gilbert JV 12
At Winsted
Canton (1-0) 8 12 8 6 – 34
Gilbert 0 6 6 0 -- 12
First quarter
C – Jake Burditt 41 pass from Nick Delvecchio (Nick Delvecchio run)
Second quarter
C – Bob Delvecchio 8 run (pass fails)
C – Burditt 14 pass from Nick Delvecchio (run fails)
G – touchdown
Third quarter
C – Aaron Deavor 14 run (Justin Rice run)
G – touchdown
Fourth quarter
C – Rice 6 run (pass fails)
Individual statistics
RUSHING – Bob Delvecchio 9-108, Justin Rice 7-86, Nick Delvecchio 5-82, Aaron Deaver 5-42, Mike Frazier 5-14
PASSING – Nick Delvecchio 4-7-0, 87 yards, 2 TD
RECEIVING – Burditt 2-56, Kevin Garrity 2-30
Sacks (2) – Nick Marchitto, Rice
Fumbles recovered (2) – Cole Gregg
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