After a busy couple of weeks, I decided to offer up some season stats instead of trying to cram the last couple weeks into one post. Here we go:
Rudolph, Stevenson and Dawson lead high-flying SH/KT offense
To say that Tyler Rudolph has made an impact in his first season with the Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech football team would be a major understatement.
Rudolph was named USA Football/MaxPreps Northeast Region Player of the Week for his efforts in a 57-38 win over Crosby. Rudolph scored five touchdowns, three rushing and two receiving. He tallied 179 yards of total offense.
In eight games played — he was out for the Oxford matchup — Rudolph has tallied 79 — yes 79 — catches for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has run 14 times for 137 yards and six touchdowns. And oh yeah, he has a kickoff return for a score.
Rudolph is part of a prolific SH/KT offense.
Courie Stevenson has 67 receptions for 1,005 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The guy who gets them the ball, Trey Dawson, has thrown for 3,008 yards and 27 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Dawson has completed 221 of 352 pass attempts, or 62.8 percent.
Tiron Ferris (7) and Joel Guzman (4) have combined for 11 rushing touchdowns.
Iorio the latest in stable of solid Wolcott running backs
Wolcott had to fill a void at running back with the graduation of Nate Filippone.
Enter Ray Iorio.
After a 223-yard effort against Torrington, Iorio has 1,376 for the season to go along with 10 touchdowns. Iorio is averaging nearly 153 yards per game.
Quarterback Mike Polzella has added a second threat in the run game. If a defense keys too hard on Iorio, Polzella can keep the ball and run it. He had nearly 500 yards on the season entering the Torrington game.
The efforts of Iorio, Polzella and their Wolcott blockers have the Eagles on the cusp of a Class M state playoff spot.
Ground game helped St. Paul to another winning season
After a high-octane passing game led by Logan Marchi, the Falcons have turned to a ground attack over the past several seasons.
Through eight games, St. Paul was 286.8 rushing yards. The leading rusher is Damien Rabis, who has taken over the major workload since the injury to Pierce Piana five games in. Rabis had 836 yards through eight games. St. Paul ran over Wilby 54-6 on Senior Night to get to 6-3 and clinch another winning season.
The Falcons are likely not making the Class S state playoffs, but they can finish with a 7-3 record if they beat the Oxford Wolverines on Thanksgiving Eve in Oxford.
Kennedy defense took care of business in division games
The Eagles were able to grab a NVL Brass Division title, the first crown for the program since 2008.
A big key was Kennedy’s defense. The most points the Eagles allowed in a division game was 21, and that was in the first contest against Holy Cross. After that, Kennedy allowed 8, 0 and 8 points. The two eight-point totals came against Waterbury Career Academy and Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech, two of the most potent offenses in the NVL.
In total, the Eagles are allowing 9.25 points per game. Kennedy used that defense and a balanced running game to win the Brass. The Eagles still have one division game left at Crosby on Thanksgiving morning.
Another winning season for Bristol Central?
The Rams were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to East Hartford, but they can still secure a winning season.
Bristol Central needs a win over city rival Bristol Eastern at Muzzy Field on Thanksgiving morning to finish 6-4. If the Rams beat the winless Lancers, it would clinch a third straight winning season. Central was 7-3 in both 2014 and 2015.
Ray Iorio’s total rushing yards for Torrington game from Mark Jaffee’s report on The Zone website. Other stats obtained from the MaxPreps sites for each team. Several teams that have MaxPreps sites haven’t updated them. If you have a player from the Sports on CT-69 area that you want to point out to me, email me at sportsonct69@gmail.com or tweet me @SportsonCT69
