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| Wolcott quarterback Mike Polzella has been a steady leader for the offense. |
How do you spend a sunny late November afternoon at football practice?
Why, by handling wet footballs without gloves, of course.
Wolcott could very well face wet conditions when it hosts St. Joseph of Trumbull on Tuesday night in a Class M quarterfinal game on the turf of Joe Monroe Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., and it could end up being wet. Wolcott is the No. 4 seed while St. Joseph comes in at No. 5.
The forecast out of the National Weather Service says 80 percent chance of rain, a possible thunderstorm, and oh yeah, some fog. It will be cold, and it will likely be wet.
Wolcott made sure to dunk footballs in a bucket. The players handled them in all different situations, from offense to kickoffs to onside drills.
“You never know,” Wolcott head coach Jason Pace said about possible conditions. “It’s nice that we’re on turf.”
St. Joseph loves to throw the football, and the Wolcott defense saw many different looks from the scout team. Of course, it’ll be different when Cory Babineau is under center for the Cadets. Babineau threw for 27 touchdowns during the regular season. His weapon of choice is junior Jared Mallozzi. Mallozzi had 80 catches and 1,100 yards through nine games (stats from the Trumbull game haven’t been added to the St. Joseph MaxPreps website). The leading rusher through nine games was freshman Jaden Shirden, though Babineau may also tuck and run.
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| A team effort is what Wolcott needs on Tuesday night. |
Wolcott needs a team effort to win Tuesday night.
“We’ve had some players that have made some individual plays for us, but when we’re at our best, it’s a team effort,” Pace said.
Pace talks about everyone doing their 1/11 of the job. There are, after all, 11 players on the field, whether it’s on offense, defense or special teams.
Pace expects a challenge from St. Joseph (8-2), a team that was tested by the rigors of a Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference schedule. The only Cadet losses were to top-ranked Darien, which is undefeated, and Trumbull. Darien is the defending Class LL state champion, and Trumbull just missed the ‘LL’ playoffs with a 7-3 record.
“We know we need to play mistake-free football,” Pace said.
While St. Joseph prefers to throw, Wolcott can throw and run, which could help its chances in poor weather conditions. Junior quarterback Mike Polzella has been terrific making reads this season on passes and runs, and senior Ray Iorio is as tough a runner as you’ll find. Steve Urbanski is dangerous in open space, and he can beat defenders on deep passes.
Pace was amazed at how quickly his young team grew up following the humbling 62-21 loss to Ansonia at home in the season opener.
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| Wolcott will attempt to keep points off the visitor side (St. Joseph) of the Monroe Field scoreboard as much as possible on Tuesday. |
“They just rose up,” Pace said. “They raised the level of our play and really stepped up.”
Wolcott is led by senior core players like Steve Urbanski, Ray Iorio, Dylan Prescott and Bobby Stoeckert, but there are others who have stepped up. Juniors like Polzella and Mike Ciarlo have made an impact, as has sophomore Anthony Ligi. That’s just to name a few.
Wolcott graduated over 20 seniors from last year’s team. Many of those 20-plus seniors were three-year starters. The offensive line was a big question mark, and four of the five up front now are underclassmen. That hasn’t stopped Wolcott from putting together another solid offense.
On defense, the Eagles will all need to do their job and maintain discipline against the spread offense of the Cadets. Getting out of position against St. Joseph could result in big chunks of yards and points on the Monroe Field scoreboard, and that’s something Wolcott wants to avoid.
If the Eagles can maintain possession of the ball and chew up yards, it would be a huge help. Of course, the approach of both teams could end up dictated by the weather.
“We’re going to make sure we’re prepared,” Pace said.
