AthleticsXAVIER "FALCONS" FOOTBALL 2005
The Joseph W. Kelly Award for the #1 Team in Connecticut
2005 Season
12 Wins 0 Losses
The 2005 Falcons picked up where last years team left off. The Falcons powered their way through the potent S.C.C. and won their division for the second consecutive year, won the Middletown City Championship for the sixth consecutive year, took care of the F.C.I.A.C. and C.C.C. Champions Trumbull and Southington on route to a perfect season and first State Championship since 1974.
Captains Justin Bazzano and Coree Moses along with fellow seniors Shea Dwyer, Rob Young, Amari Spievey, Mike Campbell, Chevar Rankins, Mike Gettings, Steve Ludwikow, Alex Perry, Jeremy Mill, Pete Tarrant, Will Heiney, Dave Meehl, Brian Meskill, and Stephen Faulkner had been undefeated as freshmen. They set out in 2005 to finish what they had started four years earlier.
Things did not go as smoothly for the Falcons as it seemed to those outside the team. All-State and Iowa bound running back Amari Spievey suffered a concussion in the last scrimmage of the pre-season and could not play in the first game. The Falcons were determined to prove that they were more than just a one man team. They traveled to the surf club in Madison and did just that, defeating #3 ranked Hand High School 27 to 20. Amari only played sparingly against Hamden the following week, so Coree Mosses took. The Senior quarterback scrambled for several big gains, returned a punt 80 yards and intercepted two passes, as the Falcons notched a 34 to 14 victory. It was a costly victory however as Co-Captain, quarterback Coree Moses suffered a broken rib and Co-Captain, linebacker Justin Bazzano broke his foot.
The Xavier offense in action against Fairfield Prep
Once again the falcons had to face adversity and play on the road against a tough Amity team. Junior Nate Labieniec and the rest of the team were up to the challenge, winning 26 to 0. The Falcons had to play week four against an undefeated Guilford team without Coree Moses or Justin Bazzano. Sophomore Ryan Katon got the nod at QB, and led the Falcons to a 41 to 7 victory. The Falcons prepared to face undefeated and sixth ranked West Haven but the showdown had to wait as the game was postponed due to heavy rains and flooding.
The swarming, hard-hitting Xavier defense was just hitting its stride the following week. Coree Moses returned to the line-up and the defense pitched a shutout as Fairfield Prep fell to the falcons 41 to 0. The following week the defense again refused to allow their opponent to score. The Falcons cruised to a 47 to 0 victory over Jonathan Law of Milford. Unfortunately adversity popped up again. Middle linebacker Tom Kisner and Strong Safety Matt Glynn each suffered a concussion. The next week Xavier traveled to Notre Dame of West Haven. The defensive line of Rodney Myers, Lewis Bower and Josh Lesse and the offensive line of Pete Tarrant, Steve Ludwikow, Chez Pace, Jeremy Mill and Will Heiney had their work cut out for them against ND's massive offensive and defensive lines. Linebackers Pat Redding, Mike Campbell, Chevar Rankins, Chez Pace and Shea Dwyer led the defensive in holding ND to 7 points, which they scored halfway through the 4th quarter. The offensive line did a good job on the ND defense. Quarterback Coree Moses hooked up with Alondre Rush for two TDs, while Amari scored two on offense and one on defense as the Falcons rolled up 41 points to improve their record to 7 and 0. The following week the Falcons went to Shelton to play a very tough Shelton team. Xavier struggled early before cruising to a 32 to 13 victory.
The Xavier Defense swarmed to the football like this all year. The next week the Falcons returned to Palmer field and the long awaited game with undefeated and 4th ranked West Haven. As a crowd of 4,000 looked on, Stephen Faulkner sent the opening kickoff to the goal-line and the Falcon kickoff team smothered the West Haven return man at the 7 yard line. The Xavier defense took it from there. Led by free safety Alondre Rush and cornerback Courtney Simmons, they never gave the West Haven offense a chance and notched their 4th shut out of the season. Chevar Rankins filling in for an injured Josh Lesse at tight end and fullback Mike Campbell helped the offensive line push the West Haven defense around, so that Amari Spievey could run for 172 yards and 1 TD. Once again Coree Moses threw two TD passes to Alondre Rush. Xavier finally beat West Haven for the first time in 18 years. The victory gave Xavier the #1 ranking in the state going into Thanksgiving and the playoffs.
Four inches of snow and Middletown High playing its' best game of the year gave the Falcon faithful a scare in the first half on Thanksgiving Day. As the snow melted Shea Dwyer, (106 yard, 3 TD performance in the second half) filling in for an injured Amari Spievey, led the Falcons to a 44 to 19 victory, their 6th consecutive City of Middletown Championship and an undefeated regular season. The following Tuesday Xavier faced F.C.I.A.C. Champion Trumbull at Palmer field. After a mental lapse that allowed Trumbull to score on its' opening drive, the Xavier defense smothered the vaunted Trumbull offense. Again the Xavier kicking game and coverage teams came up big, keeping Trumbull pinned deep in their own territory. In fact Trumbull only crossed midfield once in the second half, late in the fourth quarter. The Trumbull defense had a large size advantage over the Xavier offense but the Falcons wore them down. Big Plays from quarterback Coree Moses, Tailback Shea Dwyer, fullback Mike Campbell and tailback Amari Spievey led to three Xavier TDs and a 20 to 7 victory as the Falcons advanced to the Class LL state finals.
That Saturday Xavier faced Southington High School and their vaunted passing attack. The Falcons bludgeoned the Blue Knights for 3 TDs in the first five minutes of the game. Playing their normal physical brand of football Xavier had a 39 to 14 half time lead. The Xavier defense held Southington's offense to 2 TDs in the second half, and Shea Dwyer took over for Amari Spievey again as the Falcons completed a perfect season with a 45 to 30 victory. In addition to the LL State Championship the Falcons cemented their hold on the #1 ranking in Connecticut and the Joseph W. Kelly Award.
In all, ten different players scored touchdowns over the course of the season. The offense averaged 347 yards and 5 touchdowns per game, finishing the year with 2,996 yards rushing with 46 rushing touchdowns, 1,172 yards passing with 12 receiving touchdowns and one punt return for a touchdown. The hard hitting, swarming defense, led by seniors Mike Campbell, Shea Dwyer, Chevar Rankins, Coree Moses, and Amari Spievey played traditional Xavier football all season. They forced 14 fumbles recovering 12, and 19 interceptions while holding opponents to an average of 8 points per game. The 2005 Falcons finished #1 in the New Haven Register, The New London Day and The Hartford Courant Top Ten Polls. The Falcons also finished the 2005 season nationally ranked in at least two polls. One had them 71st nationally and 15th in the Northeast. Another had Xavier ranked 76th nationally.
Coaches; Raj Jaswal, Don Crescimanno, Kyle St. George, Paul Bischoff, Dick Nobile, and Sean Marinan are already at work, preparing for next season. AWARDS
The Xavier High School Freshmen football team enjoyed a competitive season for the 2005 campaign. A large number of freshmen players took advantage of the summer lifting and conditioning sessions. Head coach Dave Sterling felt the team had a lot of dedication and determination and looked to be a contending team. An opening game victory over historically strong Hand gave the Falcons a sense of identity. The confidence gained from the Hand game carried over into a win the next week versus Hamden. After a tough defeat to Amity in week three, the team showed their character and rolled off four consecutive victories against Guilford, West Haven, Fairfield Prep, and Jonathan Law. Week eight brought Notre Dame to Xavier for a big game that has traditionally been very competitive. The Falcons fought hard but came up short suffering their second loss of the year. The next week the Falcons bounced back with a win over Shelton and prepared themselves for their in-town rival, Middletown. Though down early in the first half, the team rallied and made comeback but ran out of time on a possible game winning drive. On offense, the freshmen had a balanced attack led by William Biestek at quarterback. Our ground game rushed for over a thousand yards with Lonzell Barnes carrying the load. Through the air, the passing attack accounted for over 500 yards with DeAndre Lawrence hauling down a number of big catches. The freshmen defense was just as stingy as the State Champion varsity defense, allowing one touchdown per game. The defense played traditional Xavier football. It was a total team effort with no egos involved. The players trusted each other to perform their individual responsibilities and swarmed to the ball. The freshmen look to work hard in the off season and contribute as much as possible to the varsity program next fall. Stated Coach Sterling, "I'm real proud of these boys. They came to Xavier not really knowing anyone and gelled into a real good football team."
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