Canton roundup
Old Saybrook makes young Canton team pay in loss
CANTON, Sept. 19 – The Canton High football team entered the season with visions of a possible CIAC playoff berth. It’s time for some readjustments.
The Warriors have some fine ballplayers on their squad. But they need more and Old Saybrook/Westbrook exposed some of the younger, less experienced players on their team in a 28-12 victory on opening day last week.
Like many young teams, Canton had its stretches of strong play. Nate Scott bulled his way into the end zone twice for touchdowns and on defense made several tackles for a loss. Quarterback Nick Grabowski scrambled his way out of trouble for a team-high 109 yards on 18 carries while Sam Hartzell rambled for 74 yards on 11 carries.
However, their performance was inconsistent. Old Saybrook/Westbrook’s Dane Pallotto rushed for a game-high 138 yards and three TDs on 18 carries. Rams QB John McElhome completed 6-of-11 passes for 96 yards and a TD.
Canton committed six penalties for 45 yards in the first half and were flagged eight times for 55 yards overall. Grabowski was sacked twice for 17 yards and was tackled twice in the backfield for losses.
“We have things we need to fix and they’re small things,” Canton coach Roger Pearl said. “Guys weren’t in the right place. There are a lot of young kids. Some are a little timid. Some aren’t sure of what they are doing right now. But we can fix it.”
Old Saybrook took a 7-0 lead on an 11-play, 89-yard touchdown march that was kept alive on a questionable pass interference call after a third down incompletion. Pallotto scored from the one-yard line with 5:32 left in the first quarter. The Rams made it 15-0 on a 16-yard touchdown pass from John McElhome to Jeff Wheeler with 1:00 left in the first quarter.
Canton cut the lead to eight with its most impressive drive of the first half. The Warriors moved 53 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a one-yard run by Nate Scott with 32 seconds left in the half.
But Old Saybrook seized control of the game on its first drive of the second half, moving 77 yards on nine plays and scoring on Palloto’s five-yard run with 4:21 remaining in the third quarter for a 21-8 lead. Palloto’s 40-yard run with 4:41 left in the game extended the lead to 28-8. Canton marched 80 yards on 10 plays to score on Scott’s 1-yard run with 59
seconds remaining.
“Tough loss,” Pearl said. “That was a very good football team. It’s a long season. Don’t forget we started 0-3 last year.” Canton, which dropped its eighth straight game on opening day, travels to Falls Village for a night game on Friday against Housatonic/Wamogo.
FIELD HOCKEY: The Canton field hockey team got its season off to a good start with a 2-1 win over Somers at home. Kassie Grecula had a goal and an assist while Katherine Eich also scored a goal. Goalie Kayla Fournier earned the win in net.
SOCCER: In girls soccer, Morgan Smith had two goals in Canton’s 2-1 season opening victory over Somers at Bowdoin Field while in boys soccer, Jeff Lochner’s two goals were not enough in a 4-2 loss to Somers on the road.
CROSS COUNTRY: The Canton girls are off to a 3-0 start with 15-50 shutout victories over Somers, Enfield and Stafford. Deanna Nappi (20:21) beat teammate Kenda Asklof by 20 seconds to win the 3.1 mile race at Stafford. On the boys side, defending NCCC champion Canton extended its dual meet win streak to 21 with 15-50 shutout wins over Somers, Enfield and Stafford. Canton had nine of the top 10 runners in the race. Jon Cahill won the race in 17:59 with Nick Chekas (18:03) edging out teammate Ned Furtney (18:05) for second place. Kevin Kurnat and Evan Camporeale rounded out the top five.
Fall preview
What can Canton High runners for an encore?
By GERRY deSIMAS, Jr.
Collinsville Press.com
CANTON, Sept. 5 – A year ago, it was a magical season for the Canton High boys cross country team – the best campaign ever by the Warrior runners.
Canton (24-0, 12-0 NCCC) went undefeated and won its first-ever league championship. For the second straight year, they finished second to Weston in Class SS. The Warriors surged to a surprising fourth place finish at the State Open and ran in the New England championships for the first time.
What can they do for an encore? It’s hard to say. Two tremendous runners graduated. Mike LeDuc won a Class SS championship last fall and earned All-State and All-New England honors. Brian Magna earned All-State honors last year and was an All-New England runner as a junior in 2008.
Coach Tim O’Donnell’s squad has 21 runners and eight are tightly clustered together. “I could make a case that anyone of them could be our No. 1 runner,” O’Donnell said. While the Warriors don’t have a breakout runner like LeDuc or Magna, they still have some of the depth that carried them a year ago.
“If they feed off each other in a positive way, we could have a very good team,” O’Donnell said. “If they can improve, we could have a good season. They have to get better. It’s all about improvement in this sport.”
Senior Kevin Kurnat, junior Jon Cahill and senior Ned Furtney all return. All three earned All-NCCC honors. Kurnat finished last year as the No. 3 runner on the team with Cahill at No. 4 and Furtney in the No. 5 position.
Senior Evan Camporelle, Jon Melite, Nick Chekas and Jon Powell have looked strong in early-season workouts along with junior Peter LeDuc. Melite was fourth for Canton in the New England meet last fall while Chekas was sixth for the Warriors at the State Open and set a league record by winning the NCCC junior varsity title.
Canton will be challenged by Suffield, which still feels they were the better team a year ago, Bolton, Ellington and Avon. Canton will host its only home meet on October 6 when they host Suffield and Avon. The Warriors, who have won 18 straight dual meets, will have its four other league meets on the road.
BOYS SOCCER: The Warriors graduated 14 seniors and seven starters from last year’s team (9-8-1, 8-7-1 NCCC) that was eliminated from the second round of the Class S tournament.
Still, Canton has a talented squad that has the ability to earn a state tournament berth if the Warriors can successfully earn enough points in the tough NCCC. The key is winning games and earning points against the smaller teams in the league. It’s hard to pick up points against Avon (Class L), Enfield, Granby, Suffield and Ellington (Class M).
“We’re going to build our defense and push forward from there,” said Canton coach Bill Phelps, beginning his 23rd season on the bench. “The group we have is working hard and they are busting their chops.”
Senior defenders Nick Turbach, Mike Pepin and Dave Shaverdian return along with striker Kyle Hall. Each started a year ago.
Seniors Forest Haller, Jake Krug and Teddy Skenderidis are expected to contribute along with junior midfielder Tyler Detoire. Mike Grisevich and David Solomon are battling for the starting goalie position.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY: Canton (12-12, 6-6 NCCC) returns its top three runners this year including senior Kendra Asklof, who earned All-NCCC honors last fall. Seniors Deanna Nappi and Jessie Camp also return for coach Linda Cavanaugh, beginning her seventh season. Asklof was 13th in the league a year ago while Nappi and Camp finished in the top 30. The Warriors have 16 girls out for the team. The question is there enough talent and improvement to move up in the league?
FIELD HOCKEY: It wasn’t a typical Canton High field hockey campaign in 2009. The Warriors won just four games and missed the CIAC Class S tournament for the first time in 26 years (1983). Six seniors and five starters graduated including All-NCCC goalie Robin Donaldson and midfielder Kelly McAlindin.
Coach Sara Beaudin is optimistic as she begins her sixth season. “On every line, there is a returning player with some experience,” she said.
Senior co-captains Amanda Valley (midfield) and Kassie Grecula (forward) return along with seniors Katherine Eich (forward/midfield) and Kayla Gillooly (forward). Junior defender Meghan Davis returns as well. In goal will be junior Kayla Fournier with two years of experience on the junior varsity squad.
“I’ve already seen a difference,” Beaudin said. “A difference kind of chemistry and aggressiveness. There is a real hunger to prove they do have what it takes (to succeed).”Canton (4-8-2-2, 4-6-2 NCCC) should have good speed in its lineup this fall. “Passing will be important for us,” Beaudin said. “We’ll have to go around players instead of trying to go through them. And we’ll need to be aggressive in the circle. We couldn’t convert on our chances last year.”
GIRLS SOCCER: Injuries made life difficult for the Warriors, who were 2-14 a year ago, scoring just 20 goals and getting shutout six times. Six seniors graduated and Canton will field a young team this year with six starters returning and just two seniors.
Senior Shiny Douglas (forward) returns along with junior sweeper Stephanie Hurd, midfielder Allie Coutu, midfielder Morgan Smith and forward Jamie Talbot. Sophomore midfielder Jamie Habereran also returns to the starting lineup. Junior transfer Emily Rodewald from California has looked sharp in pre-season workouts.
“We want to get back to the state tournament,” said Canton co-coach Tom Peterson, now entering his fifth season. “We have the people. It’s just a matter of getting the girls into the right positions. The defense will be a big focus.”
In 2007, the Warriors went to the Class S semifinals. In 2008, they advanced to the quarterfinals.Kevin McKenna, who was the head coach for three years from 2003-05 with a 13-30-6 record, returns this year to assist Peterson (31-37-4) with the squad.
Canton BOE to consider track and field proposal
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Collinsville Press.com
CANTON, Nov. 13 – A proposal for a new all-purpose track and field facility at Canton High will be presented to the Canton Board of Education at the board’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Community Center on Dyer Avenue.
The proposal includes a synthetic turf football field inside the six-lane track, a field house with rest rooms, bleachers and lights. Part of the proposal includes funds to build a new practice and softball field near the current field hockey field and reconfigure the driveway into the school.
The track and field facility would be built in the upper parking lot near the current football field and take up part of deSimas Field, currently used as a practice field at the high school.
The proposal came from a nine-person temporary study committee appointed by the Board of Education in June to investigate the idea, according to Lou Daniels, chairman of the study group.
Members included a former member of the Board of Finance, a former member of the Board of Selectman, two citizens at large, a former member of the Board of Education, a member from the Zoning Commission, former Canton High athletic director Nancy Grace, current CHS athletic director John Bement and current Canton High cross country coach Tim O’Donnell, who has also coached indoor and outdoor track for years in the state. Daniels formerly served on the Board of Education and Board of Selectmen.
“It will truly be an asset to the town,” Daniels said. “A community facility.”
With the synthetic turf, the facility could host football, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse games for high school and community organizations. Lights open up opportunities for more use of the facility.
With the growth of youth soccer and lacrosse leagues in town and the addition of lacrosse programs at the high school, demand has been rising for playing fields in Canton. Negotiations between Canton Youth Soccer and the town firemen to use the Memorial Fields complex near the transfer station recently broke down.
It could possibly be available for rental to other teams. In October, Canton’s football team rented Simsbury High’s facility to host a night game against Avon. On Nov. 24, Lewis Mills’ football team is renting the Simsbury facility to play Wolcott Tech.
Synthetic turf feels like natural grass feel because it consists of long blades of plastic grass. The blades are surrounded by a shock-absorbing fill made from graded sand and ground rubber that allows players to dig their cleats into the surface and make cuts as though they are on grass. An oil base in the synthetic fibers coats the turf and prevents turf burn.
A cost for the proposal has not been determined, although Daniels estimated it may be in the $3 million range. How the facility will be paid for hasn’t been determined yet, either.
One of the reasons for forming the committee and developing the proposal is to allow for the solicitation of grants from federal, state and private organizations.
“We want a plan in place so we can be eligible for some federal or local grants,” Daniels said. “We recognize this will take a few years.”
The committee will be asking the Board of Education to accept their proposal and move it onto the Board of Selectmen to continue the development of the proposal.
Daniels said the next step would be environmental testing of the site and reviewing the proposed design.
Daniels said the proposal didn’t cost the town any money. A local architect, Philip Doyle of Landscape Architect Design Associates in Simsbury, helped draw up the proposal.
The recommended reconfiguration of the parking lot would help alleviate traffic jams in and out of the school facility and create an additional 100 parking spaces.
The committee also examined eight other sites in town for the facility but chose the high school, in part, to reduce transportation costs. A facility elsewhere in town would cost the school to transport the students to the facility for practices and games.
Formed in June, the committee met through the summer and solicited feedback and comments from residents who live near the high school. With the presentation, the committee will disband. But Daniels doubted that the committee members will
pull away from the project.
