In recent months, we here at The Day took our swing at retrospectives, seeking input from various sources to select all-decade high school teams in boys' and girls' basketball, baseball and softball. Next in the conga line: football.
Tanner Grove, the football coach at Montville and a member of the selection process, summarized the undertaking thusly:
"I have worked in the all-state meetings, and all-star selection teams," Grove said, "and THIS was not easy!"
It was not — but testimony to the talent running through this corner of the world from 2010-19.
The all-decade team features a Player of the Decade, Coach of the Decade, Program of the Decade, Individual Team of the Decade, Game of the Decade and 22 players, adhering to a traditional 11 on 11 format. Players from the entire Eastern Connecticut Conference and two cooperative programs — Valley Regional/Old Lyme and Thames River — were eligible.
The panel consisted of Grove, former Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore, Fitch coach Mike Ellis, Stonington coach A.J. Massengale, Killingly coach Chad Neal, The Day's Ned Griffen and yours truly.
Coach of the Decade: Tim King, Valley/Old Lyme. The Warriors made the playoffs six times in the decade, highlighted by a 2014 state championship victory against mighty Ansonia that featured a monumental rally in the fourth quarter. King's teams either won or challenged for the Pequot Title in nine of the 10 years. Chad Neal at Killingly (five playoff berths and the 2017 title) and Buonocore (56-14 with multiple playoff trips from 2010-15) also were nominated.
Player of the Decade: Spencer Lockwood, Killingly: The 2017 Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year led the program to the state title that year and gave a new meaning to "RPO" (traditionally "run-pass option.") In Killingly, it was "run people over."
Lockwood became the sixth player in state history to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a season, finishing with 7,316 total in his career, fourth in state history.
Program of the Decade: Killingly. Five straight playoff appearances from 2015-19 and the 2017 state title. Killingly competed against and defeated schools with higher enrollments in the second half of the decade, hearkening the program's previous success in the 1990s under Gene Blain.
Individual Team of the Decade: Killingly, 2017. The ECC had gone nearly a decade since it produced a state champion (New London, 2008). Killingly throttled Berlin (49-7 in the semifinals) and Joel Barlow (41-14 in the finals) to finish as the state's only unbeaten team.
Game of the Decade, Nov. 8, 2019: Norwich Free Academy 27, Killingly 21. The Wildcats trailed by eight with 2:48 remaining. They tied the game on Jayden Desilus' 38-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Cote — and a two-point conversion pass to Cote. But NFA won the game with what's become perhaps the single biggest play in program history.
Max Pierre-Louis and Andrew Cote executed a textbook hook-and-ladder on the game's final play. Cote caught a flip from Pierre-Louis and scored a touchdown as time expired, touching off a celebration that will be unforgotten at NFA.
The 22-member team:
Lockwood, Killingly: for all the aforementioned accomplishments.
Marcus Outlow, NFA: A three-time All-Area team member and 2012 Day Player of the Year. Outlow led NFA to a state title game and began his college career at Boston College before transferring to Coastal Carolina.
Tuzar Skipper, NFA: A two-time All-Area member. Skipper played in college at Toledo and has played for the Giants, Steelers and currently the Tennessee Titans. Griffen said of him: "Arguably the region's most physically dominant player of the decade."
Khaleed Exum-Strong, NFA: All-state player who excelled on offense and defense. Exum-Strong, who combined with teammate Juwaun Johnson for more than 600 rushing yards on Thanksgiving 2016, played at Div. II Assumption. He ran for more than 2,000 yards his senior year.
Jawaun Johnson, NFA: As Staples coach Marce Petroccio said after the Wildcats beat his team in 2016: "He is just ridiculous." Johnson, the 2016 Day Player of the Year, ran some (835 yards), caught some (805 yards) and finished with 13 overall touchdowns. Johnson was also an explosive linebacker, finishing with 75 tackles, 15 for a loss, and 5.5 sacks. He plays at Div. I Louisiana Tech.
Noah Brown, NFA: Brown belongs on a very short list of lineman to be named to The Day's All-Area team in three of his four years.
J'Von Brown, NFA: Brown, 6-foot-3, 330 pounds, was a four-year starter on both sides of the ball, helping the program to the 2013 Class LL final as well as the 2015 Class LL-Large title game. He was a Connecticut High School Coaches' Association Class LL All-State pick as a senior, has enjoyed a solid career at Central Connecticut, and has garnered interest from NFL scouts.
Austin Caffrey, Killingly: Caffrey, an all-state selection, was the centerpiece of Neal's first playoff team in 2015 as a running back. He ran for 1,926 yards his senior season and 23 touchdowns.
Jacob Galarza, Killingly: Galarza, a lineman, was recognized as an all-ECC, Class M all-state and a member of the Walter Camp first team. In his junior year, he led Killingly with 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
JoJo Shumaker, Ledyard: The Day's 2014 Player of the Year, accomplished the following: He established the program's career scoring record — in one season — with 274 points, amassing 410 points in his career. He scored 62 rushing touchdowns in his career, 40 in his senior season and finished with 4,409 career rushing yards.
Alex Manwaring, Ledyard: "Manny" as they called him, almost singlehandedly led the Colonels to the 2011 title game. In that year, he ran the ball 389 times for 2,551 yards with 24 overall touchdowns. His 2,551 rushing yards that year is 13th all-time in state history.
Jordan Kowalski, Ledyard: Kowalski was named The Day's 2013 Player of the Year, after finishing with 37 catches for 727 yards, 21 touchdowns, led the team with 126 tackles and played on special teams for the Colonels, who finished 9-3.
Luke Saccone, Ledyard: Saccone, The Day's 2015 Player of the Year, did a little bit of everything. Example: Thanksgiving, 2015 versus Fitch, he ran 10 times for 170 yards and a touchdown, caught a 27-yard touchdown pass, kicked seven extra points, had three interceptions and set up the Colonels' final touchdown with a 73-yard run to the Fitch 1-yard line. Saccone was a running back, receiver, corner, kicker and punter. He finished with 500 rushing yards and five touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, 44 extra points, seven interceptions and a 35.6 yard punting average.
Tyler Girard-Floyd, Montville: Girard-Floyd only played one year in the decade, but made it count as The Day's 2010 Player of the Year. One of the best players in program history. In his senior year, he 176 carries for 1,895 yards (a 10.8 average) with 26 touchdowns. He also started on defense.
J. Hunter Roman, New London: A two-time all-state pick, Roman became the first (but not last) sibling to play at Yale. Roman was a dominant defensive end who led the Whalers to the playoffs as a senior. An opposing coach said of him once: "the kind of player you have to game plan for."
D. Major Roman, New London: Another standout defensive end, Roman followed his brother to Yale. Roman also started on offense as a tight end and played offensively at Yale. He made the all-area and all-state teams as a senior.
Stephan Dance, New London: Dance also played only one year in the decade (2010) but helped the Whalers to the state championship game. Dance was named all-state at linebacker and led the Whalers in tackles that season.
Kyle McKinnon, New London: A two-time All-Area running back, McKinnon was named The Day's 2011 Player of the Year. He earned a scholarship offer from Akron at the time and became the first running back in program history with at least 1,000 yards for three straight seasons. He set the program record with 63 career touchdowns and ran for 1,809 yards as a senior.
Chris Jean-Pierre, Valley/Old Lyme: Among the best two-way players in the state in his career. Jean-Pierre led the Warriors to a 13-0 record as a senior and to a state title. He threw for 1,203 yards and 20 touchdowns with two interceptions as a quarterback and also ran for 1,256 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had 89 tackles at safety and averaged 36.7 yards a punt. Jean-Pierre also returned punts and made 5 of 6 extra points in a game while filling in for Valley's injured kicker.
Tyler Cheverier, Valley/Old Lyme: He appeared on all but one ballot. He was named to the All-Area team three times and became the state's career leader in tackles (673) as a senior. He was a running back and a linebacker. Tim King, his coach, once called him a "tackle hog."
Nate Barbosa Torres, Windham: Barbosa was named all-state three times in his career, becoming Windham's career rushing leader with more than 4,000 yards. He was also a defensive lineman and linebacker for the Whippets and earned a scholarship to Div. II Southern Connecticut.
Luke Letellier, Fitch: Letellier was the centerpiece of a historic team at Fitch: The one that snapped a 14-game losing streak in 2014. Letellier, a receiver, was named to the 2015 all-state team, helping the Falcons to a 5-5 season.
Other players who received votes: Jevon Elmore, New London; Voghens Larrieux, New London; Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, Valley/Old Lyme; Alex Fontaine, Killingly; Jake Basilica, Montville; Isaiah Holloway, Montville; Nick Helbig, Fitch; Hollis Scott, Fitch; Eric McGlone, East Lyme; Leo Clinton, Ledyard; Kyle Wilson, Ledyard; Zach Poirier, Stonington; Ryan Bakken, Waterford; Ivar Wirta, Waterford; David Willox, Waterford; Andrew Cote, NFA.
m.dimauro@theday.com
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