This is Wildcat Country
Seymour allowed 20 or more points in a game six times last season. The Wildcats bowed out of the S playoffs in the semifinals, following a 47-21 Bloomfield beatdown. The Warhawks scored on four consecutive drives to run away from Seymour as quarterback Rayshawn Phillips collected 305 yards of total offense.
“I don’t know if there is anything that we totally need to re-work,” challenged Seymour head coach Thomas Lennon. “It is just a matter of making plays. They were an excellent team. They had tons of explosive athletes.”
A serious issue for the Wildcats in 2016 is depth along the defensive line. CJ Falcioni and Ty Sirowich graduated, and while 13 seniors return, many of them lack true varsity experience. Seymour does feature a returning stalwart in the linebacking corps: Charlie Ritchel. The senior picked up 112 total tackles and 4 sacks a year ago.
“I know last year that my coaches were telling me “look, it’s your defense. Take control. Get everyone fired up.”,” recounted Ritchel. “So, I think I just have to keep laying the boom and encourage my teammates to keep making big hits.”
You might as well call the Naugatuck Valley League “shootout central”. Seymour finished 9-1 in the regular season and in seven of those games, the Wildcats were in a game that featured a combined 55 points or more! They put up more than 45 points in half of their 12 games if you include the playoffs (10-2). Quarterback Jaylen Kelley deserves a huge nod for that distinction, as he finished the campaign with 2,081 yards passing and 1,219 yards rushing…46 total touchdowns!!!
“I want to be number one in the state {in 2016} for all stats as a quarterback—running and passing,” boasted Kelley.
Kelley’s stats were solid enough to put him in the Top 5 of all returning CIAC football players in 2016 (h/t GameTimeCT): 4th in rushing and 5th in passing. He can pull the ball down and take off at any moment, but it is the situation through the air that may slow the Wildcats in 2016.
“I just have to get faster,” proclaimed Alex Massie, a senior wideout. “I have got to get quicker. I have to improve my chemistry with Jaylen. I have got to help my other teammates to make sure they are doing what they have to and we’ll be fine.”
The Wildcats lost three wide receivers to graduation, each of whom saw a ton of playing time a year ago. Massie caught 13 passes in 12 games as a junior, gaining 145 yards and a touchdown. His numbers will have to go up in an area besides the defensive line in which the Wildcats need players to step up the most.
Seymour opens up on the road against Torrington on opening night (Sept. 9), a team that finished 9-2 a year ago and accepted their first playoff berth in 32 seasons. The Raiders notched more than 45 points in five games last season so expect another doozy in the NVL!
Feeling “Chip”-er in Southbury
It started 13 years ago when a man named George bought a restaurant from a guy called Chip. George decided that the eatery needed to bare the same name it had since 1966, thus Chip lived on…but with a little more oomph.
“We kept the name and we continued the tradition and we’ve opened four new locations in the past seven years,” said Dina Bajko, George Chatzopoulos’s sister.
Chip’s Family Restaurant really does keep the emphasis on family as evidenced by the fact that Dina and George both made it Southbury Friday for our Training Camp Tour Day V visit. The close knit-clan has stayed true to their Greek roots, providing homemade food in a family owned and operated restaurant despite having expanded to restaurants across the state.
You want proof…check out the spread that Dina ordered up for CPTV Sports, Friday.
I told Dina that I was getting married in three weeks and I needed to lose weight, so this would NOT fly. How can you say no to a sweet Greek woman in her house when she has this chef’d up for you??? A delicious “cloud” of eggs melded with bacon, sausage, ham, and cheese. A Cinnabon with the warmest and most inviting center. Decadent strawberry cheesecake pancakes. Extra-extra-extra rich chocolate chip pancakes. I thought that I had died and gone to Heaven (or that I was going to pass on by way of gluttonous death), but Dina reminded me not to complain since this was truly a treat.
I tried it all! The family boasts light and fluffy omelettes-the eggs never congealed. Dina claims that their Cinnabon is top notch (and I think it his favorite after some prodding)-I could not believe how warm and inviting it was for my tastebuds. The pancakes are supposed to be the lightest anywhere-you could ease your way through the batter-iffic delight with a fork.
Chip’s has captured Connecticut Magazine’s Best Pancakes in Connecticut for eight straight years. I consider myself a chocolate chip pancake expert as I always order one with breakfast if eating out. These Chip’s are the real deal…
-Frankie Graziano, CPTV Sports
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