H.S. football / 2024 preview capsules

Following are the 2024 high school preview capsules for football:ECCDivision IEast LymeCoach: Thomas Kleine (1st season)Key returnees: Sr. WR/CB Greg Paige; Sr. OT/DL Jonny Harms; Sr. OG/DL Adam Sheriff; Soph. K Finn BrunoTop newcomers: Jr. QB Jacob Garro; Jr. C/DL Matt Romanowicz; Jr. WR/CB Jayden Brown.Outlook: Kleine takes over for Rudy Bagos, who spent 10 seasons as East Lyme's head coach. He inherits an inexperienced roster, including in Kleine's words, "a completely new group." Garro is the new quarterback with "all the physical tools and with a high football IQ to help offset his limited QB experience."FitchCoach: Mike Ellis (10th season)Top returnees: Jr. QB-DB Porter Carter; Sr. OL/DL Brandon Wilson; Sr. OL/DL Griffin Pollard; Jr. TE-LB Gabe Carey; Jr. RB/DB Anthony Spader; Soph. RB/DB Devin Cook; Soph. OL/DL Bishop Gaskins; Jr. RB/DB Mark McBride; Jr. RB/LB Sean Bussey; Jr. OL/DL Gavin Blue.Top newcomers: Sr. RB/DB Zyree Williams-Brown; Jr. WR/LB Tyzae Tyler; Sr. WR/LB Nick Waggoner; Soph. RB/DB Jeslord Abishai; Sr. QB/LB Brayden Rollins; Soph. WR/DB Michael El Khoury; Sr. RB/DB Jermain Manning; Jr. WR/DB Justin Jimenez; Jr. WR/DB Camrin Lee-Frey; Soph. OL/DL Ashton Ngadjui; Sr. OL/LB Connor Ealden; Jr. OL/LB James Rix III; Soph. OL/DL Wayne Cowell; Soph. OL/DL Xavier Bryan; Jr. OL/DL Ethan Essue; Sr. OL/DL Nate Barrett; Sr. OL/DL Adrian Bythewood; Jr. OL/DL Peter Rossi.Outlook: Fitch graduated several seniors from last year's 9-2 team that was a Class MM quarterfinalist. Carter will move to QB and will be protected by seniors Pollard and Wilson. Cook and Bussey return in the backfield, while Gaskins, Blue and Spader return on defense. Carey is back at kicker and will play tight end and linebacker. "There are a lot of newcomers with potential that will need to become varsity-ready quickly in order for Fitch to be successful," Ellis said.New LondonCoach: Bobby Sanchez (2nd season)Key returnees: Sr. QB Jack Philistin Jr. Sr. DE/OL Javon Ford; Sr. WR/DB Tyree Barnes; Sr. WR/DB Antonio Carmona; Sr. RB-DB Demo Fletcher; Sr. RB-DB Chris Jones; Sr. OL/DL Klayphmond Jean; Sr. OL/DL Joovens Belair; Sr. WR/DB Jaidyn Montes.Top newcomers: Sr. HB/LB Deandre Leslie; Soph. WR/DB Cayden Simonds Gaskin; Jr. WR/DB Makiye Howard; Sr. OL/DE Cordell Shannon; Jr. OL/DL Broderick Dockery; Soph. OL/DL Lawrence Dulcice.Outlook: Eight starters return on offense and six on defense for the Whalers, whose skill position players may be the best in the ECC. Barnes could be the league's fastest player and returns for his third varsity season. Philistin has a strong arm. Fletcher is receiving both FBS and FCS looks. If the offensive and defensive lines are solid, the Whalers will challenge for the playoffs. Sanchez listed his team's expectations as winning at least eight games, the division title, a first-round playoff game and eventually the state Class M title.NFACoach: Dylan Schroth (1st season)Key returnees: Sr. WR/DB Joal Barros; Sr. RB/LB Taegan Calouro; Jr. WR/CB Ryan Cleary; Sr. OL/DL Jesse Tingley.Top newcomers: Soph. DL/OL Cameron Bell-Snow; Soph. LB Terance Brown; Jr. DB/WR Jayden Croxton; Soph. DB/RB/WR Jha'Meer Quinn-Haskins; Soph. DB/RB Xavier Sebastian.Outlook: Schroth, a Westerly native, takes over at NFA after leading Ellington to the state playoffs. He said five players are competing at running back, making it a position of strength. Junior Aaron Driscoll and sophomore Dwayne Smith are competing at quarterback. "We are young, but talented," Schroth said. "Most of our starters are juniors and sophomores. Summer was extremely busy, as we installed a new offense and defense."(Killingly also competes in Division I.)Division IILedyardCoach: Mike Serricchio (4th season)Key returnees: Sr. RB AJ Adamick; Sr. Brian Johnson; Sr. Jamel Kearse; Sr. OL/DL Bruce McCullough; Sr. TE/OLB Myles Streckfuss.Top newcomers: Fr. RB/DB Dorian Greene; Fr. LB/RB Titus Streckfuss; Fr. RB/LB Geo Velez; Soph. OL/DL Kadin McCarthy; Sr. RB/DB Joey Morales.Outlook: Few other coaches in Connecticut did a better job at improvisation in 2023 than Serricchio, who abandoned his original offense in midseason and went to the single wing, where Adamick was outstanding — and was recently named among GameTimeCT's Top 50 Players To Watch in the state. On 2024, Serricchio said, "We are young up front but have many dynamic playmakers in the backfield. We will rely on our depth at the skill positions this year while we develop our young linemen. We expect to compete in every game on our schedule."WaterfordCoach: Zeth Nolda (4th season)Top returnees: Sr. QB Jax Higgins; Sr. HB/LB Brady Sutman; Sr. WR/DB Cole Baumgartner; Sr. OL/DL Braedon Sollima; Jr. WR/DB Parker Spencer; Jr. OL/DL Denatto Barnhill; Sr. OL/LB Porter Watson; Jr. OL/LB Gabe VanOverloop.Outlook: There is optimism in Lancer Land. Higgins (1,242 passing yards and 19 TDs; 700 rushing yards and five TDs last season) could be one of the most dynamic players in the conference. Sutman (1,074 all-purpose yards, 9 TDs last year) already has two years' worth of varsity experience. Spencer is a tough, quick, three-sport athlete. The problem: Waterford's defense (five starters return) allowed nearly 34 points per game last year, contributing to the 3-7 record. If the defense is better, the record will be, too.(Windham and Woodstock Academy also compete in Division II.)Division IIIBacon Academy/Lyman MemorialCoach: Bill Chaffin (3rd season)Key returnees: Jr. RB/DE Mason Leak; Jr. QB Riddick Burroughs; Jr. RB/LB Lucian Dean; Jr. OL/DL Julian Dean; Sr. OL/DL AJ O'Neill; Sr. RB/LB Julian Rodegher; Jr. TE/LB Skip Coogan; Sr. WR/DB Daniel Zurita.Top newcomers: Sr. OL/DL Jacob Cerniglia; Fr. RB/DB Jacob Teal; Jr. TE/LB Alex Svedarsky; Fr. RB/DB Adam Bigelow; Soph. OL/DL Simon Parra.Outlook: The Bobcats have improved steadily under Chaffin and figure to have better numbers this season with the additional players from Lyman. Chaffin: "We have a core group of returning players and are looking to build on progress made over the last two years, continuing to trend in a positive direction."Griswold/WheelerCoach: Gregg Wilcox (24th season)Key returnees: Sr. QB Luke Cassidy; Sr. TE/LB Jackson Fleming; Sr. OL/DL Ben Lewis; Sr. TE/DE Brendon Hopkins; Sr. FB/DE Joshua Turner; Sr. DL Noah Seifert; Sr. OL/DL Christian Yates; Soph. OL/DL Kymani Boyce.Top newcomers: Jr. RB/CB Aaden Cutter; Jr. RB/CB Nick Watters; Jr. OL/LB Mike Capalbo; Jr. QB/CB Kolby Mills; Jr. OL/DL Seth Valladares; Soph. RB/CB Cole DuBois; Soph. C/LB Max Gray; Soph. RB/CB Aedin DiGiacomo; Soph. RB/LB Logan Demicco; Soph. RB/LB Jaxson Demicco.Outlook: The Wolverines lost 12 seniors from a 9-2 team, meaning there are several new starters. "The offensive line will be working hard to live up to the bar set by last year's group," Wilcox said. "It will be a difficult task to replace the production of (KinKade) Rubino and (Kiyle) Montigny, but the newcomers will certainly show improvement over the course of the season. There will be several new faces on the defensive side of the ball but they will bring a high level of energy which will compensate for their youth. The success of the season will hinge on how well we transition from junior varsity to a varsity level of play, but it will be an exciting season."MontvilleCoach: Tanner Grove (19th season)Top returnees: Sr. QB Aidan Johnson; Sr. RB/LB Hector Aponte; Sr. WR/DB Arian Castillo; Sr. LB/DB/WR Kymarny Bossa; Sr. OL/DE Travis Ziolko; Sr. WR/DB Dante Crisman; Sr. WR/DB Austin Gingerella; Sr. OL/DL Justin Hall; Jr. WR/DB Izaiah Yard; Jr. OL Tyler Chen; Soph. DL/OL D'Mitri Charles; Soph. WR/DB Elijah Anctil; Soph. DL/OL Tyler McLaughlin; Soph. RB/LB Khaj Roache.Top newcomers: Sr. RB/DB Jaylon Raphael; Jr. TE/LB Chantz Jones; Jr. OL/DL Christian Sawyer; Soph. OL/DL Chase Malbaurn; Soph. RB/LB Leandro Vitorino.Outlook: Grove is looking forward to 2024, if for no other reason than to see whether the previous experiences of young players will pay dividends. "The roster will showcase a group of upperclassmen that have endured great adversity, with a deep class of 10th and 11th graders anchoring the program," he said. "We all look forward to returning Montville football to a place that we can all be proud of." Johnson returns at quarterback.StoningtonCoach: A.J. Massengale (21st season)Key returnees: Sr. QB Jayden Carter; Sr. LB/WR Finn Eck; Jr. OL Ethan Greene; Sr. DB/WR Cooper Light; Sr. LB/RB Maddox Massengale; Sr. OL Aiden McCarthy; Sr. LB/WR Patrick McGugan; Sr. DB/WR Jacob Schrage; Sr. DB/WR Chase Spurley.Top newcomers: Sr. DE Cam Borsher; Soph. WR Austin Center; Jr. DB/RB Logan Christina; Sr. DB Aaron Cooper; Jr. LB Max DeLaRosa; Sr. WR Sean DiCesare; Soph. OL Ryan Dugas; Jr. LB Jack Goddard; Sr. WR Jake Hoagland; Soph. DB/WR Brayden Landgren; Jr. OL Tommy Lyon; Soph. DB/WR Kyle Olsson; Jr. OL Jack Scully; Jr. LB/OL Armando Torruella; Soph. LB/OL Gabe Torruella.Outlook: Carter returns for his second year at quarterback after a prolific junior year. McGugan is perhaps the best two-way player in the league. Some experience was lost on both lines, but the Bears should be more than competitive. "Every week is going to be a test so we will need to get better every day and compete," Massengale said. "We will have some experienced players in spots but we will have many players getting their first crack at varsity football, which is exciting. The quicker we coalesce the better."(Plainfield also competes in Division II.)OthersValley Regional/Old LymeCoach: Hill Gbunblee (4th season)Key returnees: Sr. QB/FS Giovanni Winters; Sr. WR/FS Tommy Troy; Sr. RB/DE Max Novak; Sr. OL/DL Jovani Molina; Sr. OL/DL Rigo Chirinos.Outlook: After making the Class SS state title game in 2022, the Warriors went 1-9 last season. The good news is that they return most of the roster. Winters will be the quarterback, while Novak, who missed last season with an injury, will fill a huge void.Thames RiverCoach: Craig Sylvester (4th season)Top returnees: Sr. RB/LB Anthony Santacroce; Sr. RB/LB Ricky Thompson; Jr. C Luis Fragoza; Soph. QB Brevin Gonzales; Soph. RB/LB Ro'chaun Watkins.Outlook: The Crusaders have been one of the CTC's most successful teams in recent seasons as Sylvester is 24-7 since taking over as head coach. They went 6-4 last year and bring back several starters on each line as well as Gonzales at quarterback. Thames River, a tri-operative among St. Bernard, Grasso Tech and Norwich Tech, will compete in state Class MM — and will get an early test against ECC competition, opening with Ledyard.