2015 New Canaan Rams Boys Lacrosse Preview

It’s been a long, cold lonely winter—now it’s finally time for the kids to go back outside and play. The 2015 Spring Sports season finally upon us, and one team that can’t wait to hit the field is the New Canaan High School boys lacrosse squad. Last year’s successful campaign included several dominant performances against teams from all over the Tri-State to the tune of a 17-5 overall record, culminating with a berth in the CIAC Championship. The 2015 Rams are looking to build off of that, and get over the hump otherwise known as the Darien Blue Wave. New Canaan was on the wrong side of three heartbreaking losses to its FCIAC rival, including a 12-11 loss in the conference semifinals and a 10-8 defeat in the Class M title game.

‘There’s No Better Ending’: New Canaan Football Overcomes Darien to Win Class L-Large State Title

 

On Thanksgiving Day, the Darien Blue Wave stunned the New Canaan Rams, turning a two-score halftime deficit into a 28-21 win to steal the FCIAC Championship. Two and a half weeks later it was the Rams who turned the tables on Darien. Trailing Darien 20-7 at halftime on Saturday morning, New Canaan scored 14 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 21-20 win to capture the Class L-Large state championship at West Haven High School’s Ken Strong Stadium. The win marked the second consecutive state title for the Rams, and the 10th for head coach Lou Marinelli, who handed the previously unbeaten Blue Wave (12-1) their first loss of the season. “It doesn’t get any better than this,” Marinelli told NewCanaanite.com on a windswept field packed with jubilant New Canaanites, moments after the big win.

Turkey Bowl Essentials: A Breakdown of the New Canaan-Darien FCIAC Championship

 

If Thursday’s FCIAC Championship between New Canaan and Darien is indeed the final conference title game, you couldn’t dream up a more fitting coda to what was once the centerpiece of the Connecticut football world. From the inaugural game in 1966, to the classic New Canaan-Stamford games of the late ’60s-mid ‘70s, right on up through the dominance of Greenwich in the ’80s there was no bigger game in the state—save Harvard-Yale—than the FCIAC Championship when it was played on Thanksgiving at Boyle Stadium. The game would lose some of its luster when the league decreed Thanksgiving to be a day of “rivalry” games in 1994. But for most of us who grew up in the area, the real Turkey Bowl was the FCIAC Championship of old. Now a scheduling mandate from the CIAC might do away with the contest altogether.

NewCanaanite.com Athletes of the Week: Isabel Taben and Frank Cognetta

The NewCanaanite.com Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. Congratulations to Frank Cognetta and Isabel Taben, the NewCanaanite.com Athletes of the Week. At the start of the season, Frank Cognetta didn’t know exactly when he’d be back on the football field, as a broken foot was expected to have the senior co-captain sidelined until at least mid-October. The healing process went better than expected and Cognetta made his much-anticipated debut Homecoming weekend in limited action against Greenwich. One week later Cognetta scored three touchdowns in a 35-14 win at Warde, and this past week he capped off his comeback with a 30 carry, 200-yard performance against St.

New Canaan Football Makes Statement With Big Win Over St. Joe’s

All season long, the New Canaan Rams have been fighting for respect. After an opening day win over Hand, naysayers said the Tigers were down. After a homecoming win over Greenwich, detractors said the Cardinals were banged up. After last week’s demolition of Staples, we heard how the Wreckers were overrated. After the way they played on Saturday against St.