TOUGH END TO GREAT H.S. SEASON

Instant heartbreak for the boys soccer team from Wethersfield and the Farmington girls.

I hope a stellar group of Eagles can overcome the last-second defeat at the hands of Joel Barlow Friday. Wethersfield coach Rob Jachym is the consummate gentleman in the way he handled the sudden reversal of fate that saw the team lose a 1-0 lead in the final two seconds, then lose the match in OT.

The Farmington girls had their bid for a state championship and an undefeated season go by the boards Saturday afternoon at the beautiful new field at the Municipal Stadium complex on Waterbury's west side.

Anybody know why the games weren't at Willow Brook this year? I hope to find out and write about it. It revolves around money, of course, and at the heart of the matter is the New Britain parks and Recreation Department. I will try to learn the position of that department and report it to you.

I'm also wondering why New Britain never gets the state baseball championships with two excellent fields and plenty of parking at Willow Brook. We keep getting the track and field championships, but never football on the well-manicured Veterans Stadium sod.

Good luck to the New Britain PAL Raiders' A team in its pursuit of a youth football crown. Perhaps the talent on that team will help usher in a new championship era in NBHS football.

Watching the Hurricanes fall to Weaver, 35-0, on Friday night was a stunner. Some of that was due to academic problems that beset Morrell's Marauders. I know Morrell and his staff did everything they could to keep the kids academically solvent but no matter what a coach does, the kids have to accept some personal responsibility in this matter. You would hope that parents and/or guardians would keep a close eye on classroom responsibilities as well.

New Britain was missing its leading receiver and a big lineman, both of whom play both ways. The special teams were also ripped apart. But let's not take anything away from Weaver. Weaver coach Rob Fleeting is outstanding and had his team fired up for the 'Canes. He couldn't have had any more than 30 kids in uniform, and New Britain with its academic casualties still numbered in the neighborhood of 60.

It's almost time to turn our attention to winter sports. Hoop enthusiasts can mozy over to Chick Shea Gym Tuesday and catch many of the state's top scholastic players in action, courtesy of NB coach Stan Glowiak's promotional efforts. There are numerous Division I players-to-be in the field.

Locally, Glowiak's son Steven (Berlin soph) and his best player Darius Watson (6'5 soph) will be players to watch. Farmington junior Spencer Noon and sophomore Tebucky Jones Jr. should help absorb the loss of Tim Abromaitis (Notre Dame).

Wrestling should also be fun this winter. I understand the state's perennial kingpin -- Danbury -- will be making a rare visit to Southington for a dual meet. The Knights have been making the trip to Danbury the last few years, wrestling before a packed house at the Hatters' gym. Southington has some good ones in Dave Badgley, Trevor and Dilon Ritchie. Farmington coach Eric Misko continues his unbelievable work in placing wrestling high on the ladder there.

With UConn tickets expensive and good seats hard to obtain, sports-minded folks should turn some attention to CCSU and the local high schools. Most of the time, you'll leave feeling like you were in on quite a bargain.