New Canaan Football Places Eight Players, One Coach on All-FCIAC First Team

As the FCIAC regular season came to a close last weekend, the New Canaan Rams stood atop the league with a perfect 9-0 record heading into Thursday’s conference championship against Darien. So it comes as no surprise that the Rams lead all schools by having eight players named to the 2014 All-FCIAC first team.

QB Michael Collins, WR Alex LaPolice and offensive linemen Jim Keneally and Lucas Niang were named to the first team on offense. The defensive first team honorees were linebacker Zach Allen, defensive backs Michael Kraus and Sterling O’Hara and lineman Malaki Holan.

Also receiving a postseason honor was defensive coordinator Chris Silvestri who was named FCIAC Assistant Coach of the Year.

Collins has been terrific under center for New Canaan in his first season as the starting QB. The junior signal caller has completed 102 of 185 passes for 1948 yards and 23 touchdowns while only throwing 4 interceptions.

LaPolice has been the target of many of those passes, as the senior co-captain has been the Rams’ most electrifying playmaker on the field for the second consecutive year. The Harvard-bound LaPolice has reeled in a team-high 26 receptions for 489 yards and 7 TD’s, while also rushing for 231 yards on 28 carries, good for 8.3 yards per carry with 7 TD’s. He has also passed for a touchdown and scored once on a kickoff return.

Of course Collins’ and LaPolice’s success would be non-existant without adequate protection, and the offensive line has done an excellent job of doing just that all season. The Rams have averaged more than 387 yards per game in 2014 thanks to the efforts of senior co-captain Keneally and the 6’6” 295-lb. Niang, a junior.

Zach Allen is perhaps the most-feared defensive player in the FCIAC, if not the state. Game-in, game-out, there has been no single defensive player who has made more of an impact on what, where, when and how opposing offenses operate than the Northwestern-bound Allen.

Despite drawing double-teams and attempts at keeping the ball away from whatever side he’s lining up on, Allen has racked up a team-leading 8.5 sacks on the season and is third on the team in tackles with 72. His 28 career sacks are a school record. He has returned 2 interceptions for 101 yards and TD, and he’s even managed to catch 6 passes for 70 yards and 3 TD’s while lining up as a tight end.

Meanwhile, Kraus and O’Hara have been major forces themselves in the New Canaan secondary. The senior tandem has combined for 8 of the team’s 15 interceptions and 87 tackles on the season.

The defensive line has been anchored all season by Holan, who has 35 tackles on the season– including several on key short-yardage situations. The senior also scored a safety in last weekend’s regular season finale against Trinity, a 47-16 win for the Rams.

Silvestri earns his honor in his first season as New Canaan’s defensive coordinator, overseeing a unit that has given up only 107 points all season–an average of less than 12 points per game. The Rams defense has also forced 26 turnovers this season while racking up 25 sacks and 86 tackles for a loss. A longtime assistant to head coach Lou Marinelli, Silvestri is also a 1994 NCHS graduate and is the Rams all-time career rushing leader.

New Canaan also placed seven players on the All-FCIAC East team. Senior co-captain Frank Cognetta came back strong from a foot injury and now leads the team in rushing with 549 yards and 8 TD’s. Junior RB Matt Cognetta, junior WR Kyle Smith and junior OL Gardner Read also earned postseason offensive honors.

On defense, senior LB Teddy Dumbauld, junior LB’s Cass Knox and David Strupp took home All-FCIAC East awards for New Canaan.

Senior DL Chris Keefe and classmate Peter Benko, a linebacker, earned All-FCAIC honorable mentions along with junior defensive back Mike Cognetta and junior kicker Peter Swindell.