BOYLE NETS 5 AS HALL LAX LADIES EDGE FARMINGTON

WEST HARTFORD – With the Farmington High girls lacrosse team a recent graduate from the CCC South to the CCC North, Hall coach Steve Boyle witnessed a marked improvement in his next-door neighbor’s program.

Both team came into their clash with identical records, both overall and within the conference’s premier division.

The Indians’ slick scoring combination of sidewinding playmaker Maureen Gallo and aggressive finisher Abby Arena fell a notch behind early. They kept the heat on but never recovered against Hall’s offensive onslaught.

Alannah Boyle scored five first-half goals and the defense never allowed Farmington to slip within three as Hall posted a 14-11 victory Tuesday afternoon at Robert Chalmers Stadium.

“We did some really beautiful things in the first half in transition, which I think showed that we had a lot of different weapons,” Hall coach Steve Boyle said. “That was a lot of fun, but was it a little closer than I would have liked? Yes, but it was a result I pretty much expected.”

Alannah Boyle scored the game’s first goal two minutes into the game and Farmington (10-3, 3-2 CCC North) promptly tied it on a pass from Maureen Gallo (goal, 5 assists) to Lauren Batton. But the Warriors (11-2, 4-1) scored five of the next six goals over a span of 10 minutes to gain firm control of the match. The only Farmington goal during the stretch was a free-position shot by Arena (5 goals).

The key to Hall’s surge was that Megan Tracy dominated the draws and kept the ball out of Farmington’s offensive zone.

“We call Megan ‘Sparky’ because she’s our little sparkplug,” Coach Boyle said. “She likes to do the draw. You don’t normally have one of your shorter players doing the draw, but she’s so feisty and competitive that when she wins it, she’s in transition right away and it takes some of the pressure off the other kids.”

Farmington coach Jeff Manaresi felt his girls had to control the draws in order to be successful.

“We had to have the ball,” he said. “I told them at halftime, good things would happen and if they had the ball, bad things would happen. It was going to be a matter of who had the majority of the possession [time].”

The Indians twice closed the gap to two in the first half, but never truly threatened to take command. They improved their defensive play in the second half, totally neutralizing Boyle, but Hall’s offensive diversity proved too much for the visitors to overcome.

Farmington, playing its first season against the CCC heavyweights and holding its own, trailed 10-5 at the half but quickly sliced the deficit to three as Batton assisted on goals for Arena and Audrey Gallo.

But by the time the midway point of the half rolled around, Hall restored its lead to 12-7. Rachel Aronow curled in on goalie Jadin James from behind the net, then Emily Kenny secured the rebound of a shot by Boyle and scored.

The Indians again closed the margin to three when Maureen Gallo found Megan Brockleman with 4:04 left, but Hall responded emphatically when Hayley Mullins (3 goals, 3 assists) set up Tracy with under three minutes remaining.

The Warriors put the ball on ice for much of the time left, thanks in large part to a steal by defender Mackenzie Molodetz as Arena bore down on goal with a minute to go.

“We did pretty much what we wanted to do on offensively but they’re a tough team and they have some really good offensive players,” Manaresi said. “When they had it, they could beat us.”

Manaresi exuded confidence at halftime despite the five-goal shortfall.

“We’ve played hard all year,” he said. “I know the group I’ve got this year will never quit. We’re always in it. We’ve come back from goals down other games so as long as they keep at it, which I know they’re going to do, we’re in every game.”

Hall’s amplified defensive pressure forced turnovers that contributed to the early lead. The turnovers stopped in the second half and control of the draw evened out. Hall’s All-CCC goalie Maddy Hooper (8 saves) had her usual impact on the outcome.

Farmington previously played in the CCC South with most of the programs newer to lacrosse, but was bumped up this season to make room for the first-year Bristol co-op team.

Glastonbury holds a slight edge over the Warriors for first place as the North’s only unbeaten team. The Tomahawks turned back Hall, 9-7, on April 25 in Glastonbury.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Hall 14, Farmington 11

(May 14, Chalmers Stadium)

Farmington           5   6 – 11

Hall                       10   4 – 14

First Half – 1. Hall, Alannah Boyle (Emily Kenny) 1:02; 2. Farmington, Lauren Batton (Maureen Gallo) 2:21; 3. Hall, Hayley Mullins (Rachel Aronow) 2:41; 4. Hall, Aronow (Mullins) 3:15; 5. Farmington, Abby Arena 5:22; 6. Hall, Boyle 5:45; 7. Hall, Hannah Cho (Shelby Saunders) 6:01; 8. Hall, Lauren Romano (Aronow) 7:25; 9. Farmington, Linna Jalinskas 12:34; 10. Farmington, Arena (M. Gallo) 19:08; 11. Hall, Boyle 19:50; 12. Farmington, Arena (M. Gallo) 20:29; 13. Hall, Mullins 22:01; 14. Hall, Boyle (Mullins) 22:33; 15. Hall, Boyle 23:28.

Second Half – 16. Farmington, Arena (Batton) 26:54; 17. Farmington, Audrey Gallo (Batton) 33:28; 18. Hall, Aronow 36:16; 19. Hall, Kenny 40:15; 20. Farmington, M. Gallo 41:06; 21. Hall, Mullins 44:37; 22. Farmington, Arena (M.Gallo) 45:28; 23. Megan Brockleman (M. Gallo) 45:56; 24. Hall, Megan Tracy (Mullins) 47:03; 25. Farmington, Jalinskas 48:44.

Saves – Farmington, Jadin James 6; Hall, Maddy Hooper 8. Shots – Hall, 24-21.

Records – Farmington 10-3 (3-2 CCC North); Hall 11-2 (4-1).

HALL RETAINS MAYOR'S CUP

By Ken Lipshez

WEST HARTFORD – The warm spring sun kissed the day like a blessing from above.

The grandstands at the University of Hartford’s Fiondella Field filled up quickly with parents, youngsters from the youth leagues and some of West Hartford’s leading citizens, all yearning for a positive experience and a firm commitment that winter is gone and spring is here.

Hall versus Conard has a special place in the hearts of every city sports fan, no matter what the sport. Through the hard work of the West Hartford Amateur Baseball Association – the brainchild of Rick Sanford and Steve Meucci – the schools’ baseball teams lined up on one field and the softball squads clashed adjacently.

Let the record show that the Warriors won the baseball game, 7-4, behind the stellar work of plucky senior pitcher and game Most Valuable Player Jacob Kochen. Softball remains the domain of the Chieftains, who put a 19-2 thumping on the improving Hall team.

But the event superseded winning and losing, as Hall coach Jeff Billing so eloquently stated after the game.

“It’s awesome. Coming over here, literally arriving and walking out on the field you can see a different bounce in their step,” said Billing, now in his third year guiding the Warriors.

“It’s such a great thing that the University of Hartford lets us come here. It’s such an amazing thing that Rick Sanford and Steve Meucci put all the effort in to make this happen. To get all the town baseball teams here out at second base for the National Anthem before the game. The atmosphere here feels like you’re playing professional baseball.”

Billing cited a comment made by his athletic sophomore shortstop Neil Kelley that will warm the hearts of Sanford, Meucci, Mayor R. Scott Slifka, State Senator Beth Bye, Athletic Director Betty Remigino-Knapp and anybody anywhere who values the role of sport in the lives of America’s youth.

“He said, ‘Coach, this is the most fun I’ve ever had on a baseball field.’ Win or lose, it’s an awesome experience. I’m really happy we started this and I hope this never ends. I hope there’s a 50th anniversary of the Mayor’s Cup,” Billing said.

Slifka called it, “a West Hartford holiday.” Remigino-Knapp expressed the win-win nature of the event considering that the price of admission and any subsequent donations would be placed in the coffers of the West Hartford Food Bank and the West Hartford Relay for Life.

But after the trimmings of the event were cherished, the reality was that the afternoon had to be painted either red or blue. Kochen made sure it was blue.

“I had to hit the strike zone but not leave anything over the plate for them to hit,” Kochen said. “Conard’s a really good hitting team. They can put any strike in the zone in fair territory and hit it hard. So, hit your spots, hit the outside, throw some offspeed to the good hitters and not let them get a really good piece of the ball.”

Given the choice of facing South Windsor Wednesday or mounting the steep hill at Fiondella, Kochen opted to wait, and it was there where he crossed paths with destiny.

“This is a memory he’ll now have for the rest of his life,” Billing said. “MVP of the Mayor’s Cup his senior year? He had never played varsity baseball before this year.”

While his performance didn’t match the one-hitter thrown by George Lund in the inaugural Mayor’s Cup in 2012, Kochen sternly threw strikes when he needed them most. He spread out eight hits in a route-going effort, walked four, struck out two and benefitted greatly from Hall’s flawless defensive work.

And the Hall bats were relentless against Conard’s two best pitchers – southpaw starter MaxVogel-Freedman and right-hander Charlie Fisher.

Reid Silverhart lashed Vogel-Freedman’s first pitch of the game into center for a solid single. Kelly drilled the second pitch inside the bag at third to put two in scoring position before the mustard had settled on the hot dogs. The tone of the game was firmly set.

“We won the game after two pitches,” Billing said. “If you can jump on people, especially as the visiting team, you’re going to put a lot of pressure on people.”

Silverhart score on a fielder’s choice grounder by Jon Greenfield. Just as Vogel-Freedman appeared to have put early jitters behind him, a passed ball enabled Kelly to make it 2-0. The mistake was a sign of things to come. 

“Defensively we’re not playing as well as we’re capable or need to,” Conard coach Ty Bongiovanni said. “It’s put a lot of pressure on the pitchers because mentally they’re changing the way they pitch because of it. They feel they need to strike out more guys than they really need to. I think it’s changing the way we approach just about everything. Our bats are totally different when we’re losing than when we’re winning.”

The bottom of the Hall order darkened Conard’s day in the second frame. Ben Horwitz singled and raced to third on a hit by Lucas Huber. Horwitz scored on a throwing error and Kelly laced an RBI single plating Huber.

Hall made it 5-0 in the third and ended Vogel-Freedman’s stint. Singles by Will Cook and Dan Nunes set the table. Horwitz walked and Huber earned a painful RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases full.

Conard battled back with single tallies in the third and fourth innings.

John Dinucci singled, stole second and scored on a double by Brendon Rossmeisl. After Alex Goroshko reached on an infield hit, Caleb LaRosa hit a laser to left, but Huber snared it and doubled off Rossmeisl at second.

The Chieftains climbed within three in the fourth when Fisher was hit by a pitch and scored on a single by Mike Eddy, but Hall began executing a successful end-game in the fifth. Nunes doubled to left and scored on a single by Zach Dobbins.

A little extra insurance at the University of Hartford seemed only suitable. Silverhart, who Billing dubbed the offensive MVP, started the sixth with a single, stole second and scored on an error – one of two dropped infield pops by Conard on the day.

When the final out was made, the Hall defense remained on the field and Bongiovanni ambled to the mound.

A special young man – Conard’s senior manager Phil Prieto – came to the plate for an honorary at-bat.

Prieto, a mentally challenged youngster who cannot play competitively due to safety issues, crushed a pitch into the right-field gap, circled the sacks and slid head-first into the home-plate dust.

It was a feel-good finish for a memorable afternoon.

              2013 Mayor’s Cup Baseball Classic

                              Hall 7, Conard 4

    (May 3, At Fiondella Field, University of Hartford)

Hall                                                Conard

                              ab  r  h  bi                                      ab  r  h  bi

Silverhart dh       4  2  2  0           Litke 2b                4  1  1  0

Kochen p             0  0  0  0           Dinucci rf            3  2  2  0

Kelley ss              4  1  2  1           Rossmeisl c        3  0  1  1

Greenfield 1b       4  0  0  1           Gorashko ss        4  0  2  1

Cook 2b               2  1  1  0           LaRosa 1b            3  0  0  1

DHorwitz pr        0  0  0  0           Fisher dh-p          3  1  1  0

Monos rf             4  0  0  0           Vgl-Frdmn p        0  0  0  0

Nunes cf              4  1  2  0           Muchin 3b          2  0  0  0

Dobbins 3b         4  0  1  1           Fracasso ph        1  0  0  0

BHorwitz c          2  1  1  0           Venora lf              1  0  0  0

Huber lf               2  1  1  1           Balesano ph        0  0  0  0

                                                        Eddy cf               3  0  1  1

                                                                                               

Totals                 30  7  10  4        Totals                 27  4  8  4

Hall                                    221  011  0 – 7   10  0

Conard                              001  100  2 – 4     8  4

E – Rossmeisl, Fisher, Muchin 2. LOB – Hall 7, Conard 9.

DP – Hall 1, Conard 1.  2B – Kelley, Nunes, Rossmeisl.

SB – Huber, Nunes, D. Horwitz, Silverhart, Dinucci.

SF – LaRosa.

Hall

                            ip    h   r  er  bb  so

Kochen  W        7     8   4   4   4   2

Conard

Vgl-Frdmn L     2.2   7  5   4   2   6

Fisher                 4.1   3  2   1   1   2

PB – Rossmeisl. HBP – by Kochen (Fisher, Balesano);

by Vogel-Freedman (Huber; by Fisher (Cook).

A – 300. T – 2:11.  

Records – Hall 7-5 (3-4 CCC West); Conard 7-4 (4-2).

CIAC ADVOCATES BALANCING THE FIELD

I have heard and generally agreed with the undercurrent of protests asserted by public high school coaches and fans about what they perceive as the unfair advantages that “schools without borders” possess, primarily in basketball.

For the purpose of simplifying that statement without accusing anyone of unethical practices, we’re talking about the decades-old concept of parochial schools, and more recently magnet schools, luring students based on athletic merit.

It’s like the old ethnic jokes once deemed funny but now relegated to back alleys. The words are uttered in bar rooms, at water coolers, at dinner tables and in the grandstands at scholastic games, but rarely in a public forum. Many are tired of Xavier-Middletown dominating football, Fairfield Prep controlling Division I hockey and a significant number of these schools tilting the basketball floor, so they vent … off the record.

The CIAC reacted from in 2006-07 when the CIAC Boys Basketball Committee and tournament director Bob Cecchini developed an enrollment-based format accented by a “plus factor” to add some balance.

To implement a point system that would determine in which class (S through LL) a tournament-bound team would compete, institutions deemed “schools of choice” by the state (with the exception of schools commonly defined as tech schools) automatically had their “enrollment” number doubled.

All member schools would then be assessed additional numbers based on their tournament success over the previous four seasons. “Bonus” points would be added on the following basis: 10 for each semifinal appearance, 25 each time a team reached the final, 50 for winning championships.

Using the 2012-13 boys basketball tournament as an example, schools with less than 372 male students (using criteria from the previous school year) were slotted in Class S. Those between 372-505 were grouped in Class M. Class L contained schools with male populations between 506 and 711, while Class LL was reserved for those above 711.

St. Joseph-Trumbull, despite having 438 male students, was shifted from Class M to LL. First, the 438 was doubled to 876, then 180 bonus points were tacked on because the Cadets in the previous four years had made it to the semifinals three times (30 points), finals twice (50) and won two titles (100). Thus, the recruiting penalty (if I’m permitted to use that term) gave St. Joseph a sum of 1,056, placing it in the same stratosphere with much larger cross-town rival Trumbull (enrollment of 1,062).

The CIAC said some schools feel the procedure falls short of achieving its goal.

Now, a change to the system is on the horizon that would presumably help further balance CIAC postseason tournament fields, and since there are rumblings coming from committee members in other sports (read girls soccer), the proposed formula would be feasible across the spectrum of team sports.

The CIAC Board of Control on Thursday approved a proposal from a Board sub-committee for the utilization of a simpler formula.

Any team from a “school without borders” that has advanced to the quarterfinals or beyond in each of the previous three seasons would be bumped up two divisions. Those that have advanced the quarterfinals or beyond in two of the past three seasons would be bumped up one division. Those that have advanced to the quarters or beyond just once over the last three years would not be subject to change.

The proposal will be debated at the committee level before it becomes official practice. The new system could be implemented as soon as 2013-14.

“We’re taking it to both basketball committees,” Cecchini said. “If they go with it, we’ll go with it.”

The following is an example of how last March’s tournament structure could have been configured differently had the new system been in place:

The Capital Prep boys basketball team made it to the quarterfinals or beyond in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. Under the proposed system, the Trailblazers would have had to compete in Class L this past year. Under the current system, even the factor of doubling the school’s male population (71) and adding the points for tournament success kept Capital Prep well within Class S.

Hartford-based Classical Magnet (160 boys) advanced to the quarters or beyond in 2010-11 and 2011-12, but did not in 2009-10. Thus, the Gladiators would have been forced up to ‘M’ in the most recent tournament instead of competing in Class S.

Initially, no school would move up three divisions, but the possibility exists that a Class S school could eventually be forced into ‘LL’ if it keeps winning. If/when the three-year evaluation indicates the team is no longer winning at the same rate, it would be dropped back down.

The level of dissatisfaction almost surely boiled over because of winter doings at Capital Prep.

I am not privy to what goes on there, but to field championship-caliber basketball teams when your boys number 71 and your girls enrollment sits at 121 is not apt to happen by chance. To make matters worse, the coaching staff of the girls team evidently took particular delight in burying its foes.

If you think what controversial football coach Jack Cochran did in terms of score management was something less than ethical, consider the numbers for which Trailblazer coach Tammy Millsaps was responsible.

In going 18-0 against state competition, the Capital Preparatory Magnet School won its games by an average of 46.1 points per game. No typo there, that’s forty-six point one.

They humiliated their overmatched foes in the Constitution State Conference (largely tech schools) by 44 points per game, and then really turned it up in the Class S tournament. If you’re not sitting, please do so in case you get light-headed as your mind processes these scores:

CP “edged” Old Saybrook in the first round, 79-21. They must have really had it in for Valley Regional (100-27) in the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Morgan was a 94-36 victim in the semifinals and No. 3 Thomaston lost 84-55 in the final.

The problems there are multifold. My first reaction is that the word “integrity” must be considered profane at CP. My second is, I’m relatively certain the people behind that embarrassing display were operating within the framework of regulations.

Next, the CSC admitting a shark like Capital Prep to traverse the same waters as innocuous minnows like Parish Hill (serving Chaplin, CT), Putnam and the state’s vo-tech schools is either a humongous oversight or downright cruelty. Losing by 45 points can’t be doing the young female athletes at those girls much good.

If the girls hoop committee enacts the new system, Capital Prep will play in Class L next year. That “punishment” doesn’t come close to fitting the crime, but it will have to do for starters.

When the plans for magnet schools were taking root during the legislation of the Sheff v. O’Neill education lawsuit, I knew their presence in Hartford would undermine proud, longstanding sports traditions at Weaver, Hartford Public and Bulkeley. What I did not consider is that it could someday undermine the entire state.

Let’s hope both boys and girls committee members will accept the new system for the good of Connecticut scholastic basketball. Let’s also hope that the CIAC can continue to develop measures to further effect balance, but I’m not sure a separate tournament for schools without borders is feasible at any time in the near future.

NEW BRITAIN FALLS TO RIDGEFIELD IN OT

NEW BRITAIN – Disappointment was the foremost emotion that gripped New Britain High boys basketball coach Todd Stigliano as he emerged from the season’s final postgame discussion.

But other thoughts pervaded his mind. He talked about deep respect for Ridgefield, which had just ousted the Hurricanes from the Class LL tournament with a 63-57 overtime victory, and the Tigers’ Division I-bound star Kurt Steidl.

He also spoke of the offseason commitment that he and as many as nine returning juniors would have to make in order for New Britain to make a deeper tournament run.

The respect for Steidl, the 6’6 guard who heads to the University of Vermont next fall, echoed through the atmosphere at Chick Shea Gym. His tangible contributions were 31 points and 20 rebounds, but his greatest asset cannot be defined by numbers.

 “[Monday] night in the fourth quarter, he had 13 or 14 against Greenwich and they quoted him in the paper as saying, ‘I knew it was my senior year and I had to take over the game.’ Tonight, he just willed it,” Stigliano said. “He did whatever had to be done for his team to come out with a win. As sad as it is for me, you have to give him credit.”

The eight-seeded Hurricanes (18-6) were in prime position to advance to the quarterfinals.

A three-pointer by Michael Robinson – New Britain’s only one of the game – and a free-throw by Craven Johnson gave the ’Canes a 51-44 lead with 5:21 left in regulation. But the next four possessions brought three turnovers and Daequone Clark missing the front end of a one-and-one.

They still held a three-point lead as the time remaining slipped under a minute. When Steidl handled near the top of the key, he was double-teamed, but the Tigers deftly beat the overload. Two passes around the perimeter gave Jeff Racy an open look from beyond the arc in the left corner and the game was tied with 31 seconds left.

Stigliano called timeout with 20.2 seconds remaining. Annuel Saint Juste dribbled about 15 seconds away and unleashed a 25-foot jumper that caromed off the rim. It wasn’t what Stigliano dialed up.

“He’s obviously a good shooter and he’s hit a lot of buzzer-beaters,” Stigliano said. “He waits, waits and hopes the [defender] backs up a step and he can hit at NBA range. But no, that’s not what we discussed. I wanted him to get the ball but I wanted him to get it going to the rim.

“You want to be aggressive, try to get something underneath, you can get a rebound or try to get somebody to commit a foul. … It’s not his fault. He’s trying to help his team. It just didn’t work out that way.”

Overtime featured a Ridgefield parade to the foul line. Steidl went 7-for-9 from the stripe and the ’Canes offense went stagnant. They turned the ball over twice and misfired on all five of their field-goal tries. Ridgefield’s trapping 1-3-1 zone – a defense New Britain rarely encountered – effectively collapsed on Johnson and Hyman in the paint and walled off Saint Juste from impacting the outcome from long distance.

“I feel inadequate dealing with that 1-3-1,” Stigliano said. “I feel like I didn’t get them to understand what I wanted to have happen and we got stagnant. We couldn’t figure it out. We couldn’t get the ball where we wanted to get it. We didn’t do a good job moving the basketball.”

But Steidl was the story. He committed his fourth foul with 4:36 left in the third quarter and Ridgefield ahead 32-31. The Tigers initially expanded their lead to six in their star’s absence but the ’Canes ignited their transition game and ended the quarter with an 11-0 run.

Steidl’s fifth foul never came. He scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the fourth quarter and dominated the extra period.

“I just wanted to win this game so bad, I had to be smarter on defense and smarter on offense by not going into charges,” Steidl said. “I was just being a smarter player so I could be out on the court with my teammates and we could get the win.”

Johnson (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Curtis Hyman were powerful forces inside, but New Britain missed 10 of 11 from three-point range.

“They’re really athletic at every position,” Ridgefield coach Carl Charles said. “We knew they had a strong inside game. You could see evidence of that the way they attacked the basket. I thought they’d have better perimeter shooting.”

Robinson had six assists but was unable to get the open looks he had Monday against Staples. Clark had 10 points in his final game. Kevin Tirado, the only other senior, had two points and played aggressive defense in reserve.

Class LL Boys Basketball

Ridgefield 63, New Britain 57 (OT)

(2nd Round, at Chick Shea Gymnasium)

RIDGEFIELD (18-5): Charles Irwin 0 0-0 0, Jeff Racy 2 2-2 7, Matt Brennan 2 3-3 9, Pat Racy 7 0-1 14, Kurt Steidl 9 12-14 31, Jonathan Hicks 1 0-0 2, Andrew Barton 0 0-0 0, Chip McClelland 0 0-2 0, Dan Greenberg 0 0-0 0, Zach Ward 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 17-22 63.

NEW BRITAIN (18-6): Daequone Clark 4 2-3 10, Curtis Hyman 5 0-2 10, Michael Robinson 1 0-0 3, Annuel Saint Juste 3 4-5 10, Craven Johnson 6 10-14 22, Isaiah Vasquez 0 0-0 0, Kevin Tirado 1 0-0 2, Ronday McCray 0 0-0 0, Curtrell Hyman 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 16-24 57.

Ridgefield         16  14  10  17  6 – 63

New Britain      11  16  18  12  0 – 57

Three-point goals: R – J. Racy, Brennan 2, Steidl; NB – Robinson.

HILLHOUSE LOSS SERVES PURPOSE FOR NB

(As published on the New Britain City Journal website)

Todd Stigliano emerged from his postgame meeting after meeting Hillhouse on December 19 sensing his New Britain High boys basketball team learned valuable lessons.

Stigliano is as competitive as coaches come. Obviously members of his fraternity detest losing, but Stigliano came away from the 61-55 setback against Connecticut’s most storied scholastic program with the kind of facial expressions generally reserved for victory.

“They aren’t the best team in the State of Connecticut by accident,” Stigliano said. “We didn’t just go out and play a nobody. We played by far the toughest team in the State of Connecticut – physically tough, mentally tough. Nobody quit, and that’s what matters for us.”

New Britain has the depth and talent to go deep into the Class LL tournament this season. The Hurricanes have size and strength in frontline starters Craven Johnson and Curtis Hyman. Curtrelle Hyman is a capable reserve. They possess crowd-pleasing athleticism in multitalented swingman Daequone Clark. They have backcourt symmetry and a wealth of riches in Aramis Hernandez, Sheveran Williams-Hardy, Michael Robinson and Annuel Saint Juste.

The ’Canes will have to go through the likes of Hillhouse at some point if they are to fulfill their goal of winning a state title.

“I wanted to see what we were made of early in the season,” he said. “They don’t hand out state championships in game three.

“We’ll get another chance at it. The question is will we be ready. From what I saw, we’ll be ready.”

Hillhouse is a formidable outfit. Andre Anderson, a prolific running back for the Academics’ Class M champion football team, has an explosive first step and shoulders that only preparation for football can chisel. He has that gift great point guards have to find a way to the glass.

His running mates are rangy sniper Bobby Bynum and Shane Christie. The three guards combined for 73 percent of Hillhouse’s points. When their arching three-point shots caromed off the rim, they kept shooting.

The Acs led by just five points early in the third quarter when Bynum (game-high 22 points) flipped in four treys within 2½ minutes. The lead suddenly soared to 39-28. The Hurricanes trailed by 10 heading into the final four minutes but their confidence had grown. They realized that like them, the Acs laced up their Nikes one eyelet at a time.

“I thought our big guys boxed out better than they had but I told the guards they had to help,” Stigliano said. “There were a lot of long rebounds, and even though we did a decent job of boxing out, it wasn’t enough.

“With a team like that, it’s a toughness thing. That’s why they rebound so well. … They killed us on the glass and that’s the difference in the game.”

Statistics bore him out. New Britain shot 33 percent from the field (18-for-54) and Hillhouse shot 32 percent (21-for-66). Both shot a disconcerting 54 percent from the foul line. Although Johnson grabbed 17 rebounds and Curtis Hyman had eight, the Acs had five guys pounding the offensive boards.

“[Craven and Curtis] went hard all night,” Stigliano said. “They had to be physical. They had to outjump people who were bigger. I’m proud of them.”

Based on his team’s approach, Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton isn’t likely to write a profound treatise on strategy.

His immensely gifted stars go into a weave when they get the ball in their attack zone. When Bynum and Christie get looks from beyond the arc, it’s bombs away. The other option is Anderson using that first step to penetrate the lane for a layup or an assist. They go about their business confident that they own the glass.

Their defense is coast-to-coast pressure, with sticky halfcourt traps often leading to breakaway hoops and thundering dunks. Turnovers (26) were devastating, and that’s where Stigliano knows the ’Canes can improve.

“I said if we could keep the turnovers under 20, we’d have a chance to win the game. We need to be tougher and smarter with the ball,” he said.

Foul shooting, he said, will also have to get better. The combination of missed free throws, giveaways and losing the battle of the boards combined to shatter any dreams of upset.

Yet as the Acs made their way back to New Haven, Stigliano was smiling. New Britain’s growth over four challenging quarters served as superb preparation for the league schedule that lies ahead.

“If you get into a position come tournament time where you haven’t felt the tournament atmosphere, then you don’t know how your kids are going to react,” he said. “At least now, our kids are used to what happens when the other team makes a big play and the crowd erupts.”

The ’Canes encountered such surroundings when they fell in the Class LL quarterfinals last March at Fairfield Prep.

“You need to be ready for that and this game helps you prepare,” he said. “What do you do, down 10, everything going wrong and the crowd is against you? Do you have what it takes inside to step up? And we responded.”

Are lessons learned from game three that result in a defeat be absorbed well enough for New Britain to make a deep tournament run? If the fabled March winds prove to be of Hurricane proportion, Stigliano and his boys will remember the night of December 19.

PLAINVILLE'S PASSION FOR THE PAST

The down-to-earth nature of Plainville’s sports heritage is shaped to some extent by the town’s geographical distinction – a village bookended by much larger municipalities.

When Byron J. Treado III and his group of selected sportsmen crafted a means of preserving the legacy through the Plainville Sports Hall of Fame, he touched a chord that for 14 years has emotionally moved men and women whose colorful athletic exploits once buzzed through the community.

The 13^th induction dinner held Saturday night that filled Nuchie’s Restaurant in Forestville served as stirring testament to how Plainville’s sports heroes scattered across the nation can revel in reuniting in celebration of bygone triumphs.

Perhaps the greatest of those triumphs came on November 27, 1971, when a Plainville High football team that hadn’t beaten Southington in 23 years broke through with a giant-killing moment, an 18-14 victory in the Blue Knights’ lair.

The conquering hero was quarterback Jeff Palmer, son of the late, long-time Plainville coach/educator/administrator Charlie Palmer and a member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2006. Emotions overtook Jeff as he revisited the camaraderie of a great moment frozen in time with former teammates and townsfolk who reveled in his accomplishment.

Joining Palmer in this year’s class were former major league baseball player Earl Snyder, his PHS teammate Brian Biskupiak, two-sport star Jeff Sengle, swimming and track star Mary Boiczyk Westkott and lifetime athletic contributor Rich Buchanan. The state championship baseball squads of 1983 and 1984 piloted by 2003 Hall-of-Famer Ron Jones were inducted as teams.

Palmer and Snyder tugged on the crowd’s heart strings when their speeches came to a stop in mid-sentence because they were overcome by sentiment. Biskupiak entertained with the kind of deadpan humor that would have made George Burns snicker.

Buchanan shared a poignant personal moment from nine years ago when he strived to prepare himself mentally for undergoing colon cancer surgery, dipping into the lessons he absorbed from Charlie Palmer and legendary basketball coach Pat Riera. Their lessons, Buchanan noted, were reinforced by the famous speech by Jim Valvano, stricken with terminal cancer yet pleading, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Boiczyk Westkott took a similar approach, extolling the virtues of her late swim coach George Choiniere and the role he played in shaping her life.

“He was not a technician of the sport. He was not a conditioner of athletes. He made us want to be fast, he made us want to be successful, he made us want to be a team.”

Sengle, who went on to a career with the United States Secret Service that included protecting former President Bill Clinton, mixed a little humor with his memories when he said, “I can promise you that my speech will have nothing to do with the economy.”

Jones, as spokesman for his two teams, dwelled on the “us against the world” mentality that served as the centerpiece of his dynamic motivational skills.

Treado, who stepped down as chairman of the dinner two years ago in favor of Keith J. D’Amato, stitched it all together as toastmaster, keeping the honorees and dinner guests alike on the edge of their seats with colorful perspective and scintillating surprises.

For those who missed it, or wish to revisit a memorable evening, Nutmeg TV (Comcast channel 95, AT&T channel 99) filmed the proceedings for 7 p.m. airings on October 17, 21 and 27.

PHS athletic director John Zadnik kicked off the evening with the presentation of the Byron Treado Founders Award to recent graduates Tom Dinda and Chris Kuzia, both of whom were unable to attend because they were away at school.

Zadnik capably cut through the din of a crowd still settling in when he said, “I’d like to ask you for a moment of silence, please … for the Boston Red Sox.” The Yankee fans chuckled and the Sox fans hissed, but there was no doubt that Zadnik got their attention.

Jones, a lightning rod for criticism during his coaching tenure due to his fiery nature, explained how his antics were all part of the plan as he led up to the induction of the 1984 team. The season came to a head with the Devils playing Berlin for the championship before a huge crowd at Beehive Field.

“[The Berlin people] were all over me from the first pitch and I was loving it,” said Jones, his blistering rhetoric still very much a part of him nearly 30 years later.

“I wasn’t playing. That crowd could yell anything they wanted at me. They weren’t going to rattle me and my players that night would be able to do what they did best – above the pressure of any crowd and that was to play the Plainville way – hard, clean and aggressive, blue collar. …

“What a night! I won an Oscar and our program had secured back-to-back championships.”

Snyder played briefly for the Cleveland Indians and Red Sox after a brilliant career at the University of Hartford and an excellent minor league stint in the Mets system. But it was his time winning championships at PHS, with close friends and fellow Hall of Famers Biskupiak and Brian Edge by his side, that he said he cherishes the most.

Treado built up toward Sengle’s induction with a personal letter of congratulations that he secretly procured from Clinton himself.

Biskupiak kept the gathering in stitches with his Letterman-like list of secrets of success. His third rule to live by was, “Don’t wait until your junior year in high school to get braces. ... Do yourself a favor. You don’t want a metal-filled prom picture to surface on Facebook.”

PRAYING FOR PAT

Life's peaks and gulleys were never so vivid to me than over the last 48 hours.

Pat Neshek is a sidearming right-handed relief pitcher for the Oakland A’s who spent parts of three seasons with the New Britain Rock Cats.  He ranks among the most genuine people I’ve ever encountered in the 30 years I was around professional baseball.

Neshek was riding the crest of elation. 

After five big league seasons with the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres, he overcame the trauma of Tommy John (ligament replacement) surgery on his pitching arm and the ensuing rehabilitation.  He retraced his minor league steps and played an active role in his team’s improbable surge to the American League West title as an exceptional right-handed specialist, as his 1.37 ERA over a 24-game period would heartily attest.

On the personal side, he and his wife Stephanee were about to experience the birth of their first child.  Neshek’s love of baseball, not only as a player but as a fan, surfaced brightly in his naming the baby boy Gehrig.  Gehrig John Neshek was born Tuesday, the same day the A’s were beating the Texas Rangers to set up Wednesday’s one-game battle for the division championship.

“Thinking of the long nights in AAA, my TJ surgery & the days when I thought it was over makes this the sweetest playoff ‘birth’ of my career!” he tweeted.

Neshek, who was writing blogs and using computers to spread baseball’s gospel before it was fashionable, posted a photo of him holding Gehrig for his many Facebook friends to see.  I could feel the warmth pulsing throughout my torso, feeling the joie de vivre that radiated from his smile.

Before Pat and Steph could enjoy their view from the top of the world, the unthinkable happened.  Gehrig died on Wednesday without having experienced life for a full day.

I woke up Thursday morning to the following Facebook entry: “Please pray for my family. Tonight my wife & I lost our first & only son 23 hours after he was born with no explanation.”

Life is a perplexing phenomenon.  Everybody experiences problems, and when those problems are worked out, we’re worrying about new ones.

I thought about some of the ones I encountered in recent years, one is of a personal nature that only my family and dearest friends are aware.  In addition, there have been substantial professional setbacks that have tested my mettle and my faith.

I bitch about the economy and the corrupt and/or inept politicians who can’t turn it around.  My voice reaches a higher crescendo when I talk about the eroding effects of greed on the human race, and on my industry in particular.  I scream in the solitude of my Avalanche when some brain-dead idiot passes me on the right at 90 miles per hour.

Such petty injustices invade our minds on a daily basis.  Often we are stunned by a death in the family or stung by a severe injury to a loved one, but please take a moment to contemplate the torturous slide from the height of pure human joy to the depths of utter despair that Pat and his family have had to endure.

Am I a spiritual enough man that I can ask you all to pray for the Nesheks?  I hope so.  Prayer never hurts.

But as I do from time to time when tragedy intercedes, I feel so helpless to reach out and provide something to help them feel better in the hour that’s hurled them beyond their greatest nightmare.

I cried for joy when the Oakland A’s, a team I’ve rooted for since its days in Kansas City.  This morning, I cried out of desolation for a friend who touched my life with his kindness.  I wish there was something more I could do.