Ansonia doesn't allow any Falcon comebacks
ANSONIA, Nov. 6 – In their first season in the NVL, the Falcons have erased deficits in victories over Derby, Watertown, Naugatuck and Woodland. Erasing a 31-point deficit on the road against Ansonia was too much to ask. St. Paul cut the lead to nine but Ansonia’s hustling Travis Dobbs knocked the ball out of a Falcon receiver Travis Thomas just before he crossed into the end zone in the fourth quarter as the Chargers hung on for a 45-29 victory.
“We got better tonight. We really did,” St. Paul coach Jude Kelly told the Bristol Press. “We’ll be a better team because of what happened in this game tonight. You can only get better by playing better people. Ansonia is a good, good football team.”
Ansonia led 38-7 before the Falcons scored 22 unanswered points, capped off by Thomas’ 88-yard TD strike from Tanner Bachand (9-17-1, 244 yards, 2 TDs) to cut the lead to 39-29. Ansonia’s Montrel Dobbs gave the Chargers some breathing room with a 90-yard kickoff return but the Falcons nearly scored again before Dobbs knocked the ball out of Thomas’ hands before he crossed the goal line. Thomas caught 4 passes for 180 yards and TD while Chris Bachand rushed for 100 yards and a TD on 15 carries.
St. Paul’s first visit to historic Jarvis Field was an inhospitable visit. The Falcons ran just six plays in the first quarter, gained 20 yards and coughed up the ball twice. Ansonia ran 17 plays for 121 yards and led 21-0 three minutes into the second quarter.
Falcons rally to beat Woodland
BRISTOL, Oct. 31 – The Bachand brothers helped the Falcons win their fifth straight game with a thrilling, come-from-behind win over Woodland Saturday afternoon, 28-27. QB Tanner Bachand completed the comeback with a 1-yard TD run with 3:11 left to put the Falcons (6-1) in front to stay. Woodland (4-3) drove the St. Paul 31 with three seconds left but Ryan Peloquin got a big third down sack. Woodland mistakenly spiked the ball to end the game.
RB Chris Bachand scored 2 TDs and rushed for a game-high 206 yards, including 17 carries for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half. Tanner Bachand completed 7-of-15 passes for 56 yards and a TD. Woodland’s Jack Debaise ran for 134 yards and 2 TDs.
Woodland led 20-8 at halftime but the Falcons weren’t ready to fall. "At halftime, there was energy in the locker room. There was a bunch of players that were not sitting around waiting to lose. It was a group that wanted to find a way to win," St. Paul coach Jude Kelly told the Bristol Press. "I couldn’t be more happy and more proud of this group of kids."
Falcons top Kennedy for
4th straight win
WATERBURY – The Falcons improved to 5-1 on the year as Chris Bachand rushed for 133 yards on 22 carries and returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown in St. Pauk’s 26-8 victory over winless Kennedy High. St. Paul’s Byron Jones (5-149) caught a pair of TD passes from QB Tanner Bachand, who completed 11 of 21 passes for 166 yards and 3 TDs.
Chris Bachand runs wild in rout over Hearts, 60-29
WATERBURY, Oct. 15 – Playing amid the snow flurries at Municipal Stadium, the Falcons rolled in a shootout victory over Sacred Heart, improving to 4-1 with a 60-29 victory. The two teams combined for 979 yards of offense, including a school record 629 yards of offense from St. Paul.
Tailback Chris Bachand set a single game school records with 393 yards rushing, 7 touchdowns and 42 points scored. “The holes were there, the offensive line did a great job blocking and the receivers blocked for me downfield,” he told the Bristol Press. St. Paul coach Jude Kelly told the Press, “Chris was outstanding. His feet never stopped moving. That’s the way he runs. He’s not that big, but pound-for-pound he’s a tough kid.”
Chris’ brother Tanner completed 7-of-16 passes for 98 yards and 2 TDs. Receiver Byron Jones caught 5 passes for 71 yards and a TD on the first play from scrimmage. Chris Bachand also had an 80-yard TD run in the third quarter snapping the old co-op record for longest TD run, retiring the old record of 78 set by Luis Rodriguez against St. Bernard in 2003.
NOTE: The Republican American said that Chris Bachand rushed for 404 yards while a summary in the Hartford Courant said he ran for 382 yards on 20 carries.
Defense sparks Falcons to win over Naugatuck
BRISTOL, Oct. 9 – The Falcons intercepted three passes in the second half and sacked Naugatuck QB Erich Broaderick twice to spark St. Paul to a 28-18 victory in the second-ever night game played at the school Friday night.
St. Paul moves to 3-1 in the NVL and 1-1 in the Copper Division while the Greyhounds slip to 2-2 and 1-1 in the Copper Division. “The defense gave up some big plays but we didn’t panic,” St. Paul head coach Jude Kelly said. “We stayed with our game plan and the kids believed in it.”
DeVanti Gardner, Chris Bachand and Bryon Jones each intercepted passes in the second half. Mike Virtrano had two sacks while teammates Ian Bradley and Ryan Peloquin each had a single sack.
"Coming into a new league, we knew we had to be more physical,” Kelly said. “We’ve been showing it defensively. Now, we’re beginning to show it offensively.”
The Falcons took a 8-0 lead on a 32-yard run from Chris Bachand (12-88). The Greyhounds rallied with a pair of touchdowns but couldn’t convert on three attempts at a two-point conversion. Early in the second half, the Hounds took a 12-8 lead with its second TD but Bobby Romano made a great tackle at the 1-yard line to stop the two-point conversion.
The Falcons added two TDs in the third quarter with a 21-yard pass from Tanner Bachand to Bryon Jones (5-83) and a nine-yard run from Chris Bachand. The Greyhounds pulled within four in a broken play but the Falcons iced the game with a late interception and touchdown run.
Kelly won his 200th game in a career that began in 1978 at East Catholic. He coached at Southington High for several years before coming to St. Paul in 2005. “It’s a great tribute to all the players and coaches who played for me during those years,” he said. “They all contributed to this.” Kelly's career record is 200-119-4.
Bachand, Falcons rally to beat Watertown
BRISTOL, Oct. 2 – QB Tanner Bachand threw two of his four TD passes in the span of 57 seconds in the fourth quarter to lift the Falcons to a 32-29 come-from-behind win over Watertown at the high school Friday afternoon. Bachand completed a 7 pass TD pass to Justin Gonzalez with 4:11 remaining in the game to cut the Indian lead to two, 29-27. The Falcons scored another TD less than a minute later on a 55-yard TD pass from Bachand to Byron Jones for the game-winning score with 3:14 remaining. Travis Thomas (5-96) caught a pair of TD passes for the Falcons (2-1, 2-1 NVL).
Bachand completed 28-of-44 passes for 429 yards. "We just took it play-by-play,” Bachand told The Bristol Press. “We knew that it was going to be difficult, but we thought that if we could keep our composure we would be OK. We knew that we could win this game.”
Bachand set a pair of co-op records in the victory. His 28 completions broke the single game record of 19 set a year ago by Brian Kaczynski against Berlin and his 429 yards of passing snapped the record of 389 set a year ago by Kaczynski against Rocky Hill. Jones also set a new co-op record with 13 receptions in a game, breaking the old mark set a year ago by Ryan Moore. The school record is 18 set by Bob Simeone in 1980 against Xavier.
Crusaders blank Falcons, 20-0
BRISTOL, Sept. 26 – Holy Cross dominated the Falcons for a 20-0 victory in the first-ever NVL game on campus. The Crusaders gained 365 yards and held the ball for 35:29. St. Paul had just 121 yards of offense in 12:41.
"I was pleased with the play of the defense," St. Paul coach Jude Kelly told the Bristol Press. "We were just a bit stagnant on offense." Falcon QB Chris Bachand rushed 13 times for 71 yards and completed 4-of-17 passes for 72 yards and one interception. Travis Thomas caught two passes for 29 yards. For Cross, Pat Cronin (15-105) scored a pair of TDs, including an 83-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
"This is the same offensive system that we’ve had success with in the past. We’ve got a lot of new kids still trying to learn that system right now," Kelly told the Press. "We’ll get better. We’re not going to hit the panic button."
Falcons rally for win in NVL debut
DERBY, Sept. 18 – St. Paul rallied from a 13-point deficit with a pair of second half touchdowns to captures its first-ever Naugatuck Valley League contest with a 14-13 win over Derby/O’Brien Tech on Friday night. The Falcons won the game on a one-yard run from QB Tanner Bachard and two-point conversion run from his brother Chris Bachard with 3:30 left in the game. Tanner Bachard also threw a 35-yard TD pass to Justin Gonzalez with six seconds left in the third period.
Falcons face Derby in NVL debut on Friday night
BRISTOL, Sept. 14 – St. Paul makes its debut in the NVL on Friday night when they travel to Derby to take on the Derby/O’Brien Tech co-op. The Falcons, in the final year of the co-op with Lewis Mills, lost All-State received Ryan Moore and All-Nutmeg QB Brian Kaczynski and RB Marcus Aiken.
Now in his fifth season, coach Jude Kelly is confident his team can continue to grow as they move from the defunct Nutmeg Conference to the NVL. Harwinton RB Bobby Romano returns for the Falcons along with junior WR Travis Thomas and senior WR Bryon Jones. Linemen Ryan Peloquin, Mike Vitrano (Burlington) and Ian Bradley (Burlington) return and should play on both sides of the ball.
Jones, an All-Nutmeg selection at WR a year ago, has already committed to play at UConn next fall. He caught 23 passes for 425 yards and 8 TDs a year ago.
Senior QB Tanner Bachard and RB Chris Bachard join the team after their family moved into the area. The boys played for Lee High School in western Massachusetts a year ago.
NOTES: Jason Chasse and Colin Day are the two remaining players from Lewis Mills on the squad. Next year, Mills will field its own varsity team.
Opening day milestones
Record: 17-23
Biggest win: 1976, St. Paul 44, Bulkeley 6
Last win: 2008, St. Paul 40, Oxford 12
Biggest loss: 1994, Foran 50, St. Paul 0
New Canaan is No. 1 in CWSA preseason poll
NEW BRITAIN, Sept. 14 – Defending Class MM champion New Canaan (13-0), who have won three straight state championship games, is the No. 1 ranked team in the first state football poll from the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance. Hamden is ranked No. 2 with Masuk coming in at No. 3. Thirty-six voters from around the state voted in the poll, which becomes the third football poll in the state. The New Haven Register has been conducting a sportswriters poll since 1961 and the New London Day has been conducting the state coaches poll since 2003.
'09 state record book released
AVON, Sept. 14 – The 2009 edition of the Connecticut High School Football Record Book has been released. Click on the following link to see the latest copy of the record book.
NVL challenges begin immediately
BRISTOL, Aug. 25 – St. Paul is preparing for the 2009 and the Falcons know that their initial season in the NVL will be a challenge. “We know we have to prove ourselves right from the start,” Burlington’s Mike Vitrano, a two-way starting tackle, told the Waterbury Republican American. “We know we have to step up our game.” St. Paul makes its NVL debut on Sept. 18 when they visit Derby.
All-State receiver Moore named player of the year
BRISTOL, July 14 -- All-State receiver Ryan Moore was named the Bristol Press' male athlete of the year. Not only did he earn All-State honors in football but he also was All-State in baseball and All-NWC in basketball.
2009 Naugatuck Valley League standings, scores
Ansonia 45, St. Paul 29
At Ansonia
SP/GT/LM (6-2) 0 7 8 14 – 29
Ansonia (6-2) 14 10 14 7 – 45
First quarter
A: Nick O'Conner 12 run (Michael Palmquist kick), 4:51
A: Tim Troy 17 pass from O'Conner (Palmquist kick), 2:25
Second quarter
A: Robert Kinndrew 12 run (Palmquist kick), 9:03
SP: Byron Jones 25 pass from Tanner Bachand (Glen kick), 2:23
A: Palmquist 29 FG, 0:00
Third quarter
A: Kinndrew 25 run (Palmquist kick), 11:33
A: Christian Sobin 85 run (Palmquist kick), 8:11
SP: Bachand 10 run (Bobby Romano run), 3:41
Fourth quarter
SP: Chris Bachand 3 run (run failed), 10:31
SP: Travis Thomas 88 pass from Tanner Bachand (C. Bachand to Byron Jones), 6:15
A: Montrel Dobbs 84 kick return (Palmquist kick), 5:55
St. Paul 28, Woodland 27
At Bristol
Woodland (4-3) 7 13 0 7 – 27
St. Paul (6-1)
8 0 14 6 – 28
First quarter
W: Jack Debiase 45 run (Brandon Fowler kick)
SP: Byron Jones 11 pass from Tanner Bachand (Chris Bachand run)
Second quarter
W: Fowler 50 from Steve Petracca (pass failed)
W: Debiase 6 run (Fowler kick)
Third quarter
SP: Chris Bachand 25 run (Chris Bachand run)
SP: Chris Bachand 38 run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
W: Fowler 51 pass from Petracca (Fowler kick)
SP: Tanner Bachand 1 run (run failed), 3:11
St. Paul 26, Kennedy 8
At Waterbury
SP/GT/LM (5-1) 12 0 14 0 –26
Kennedy (0-6) 0 8 0 0 – 8
First quarter
SP: Byron Jones 79 pass from Tanner Bachand (run failed)
SP: Jones 53 pass from Bachand (run failed)
Second quarter
K: Devon Petty 11 run (Brian Overton run)
Third quarter
SP: Justin Gonzalez 5 pass from Bachand (Travis Thomas run)
SP: Chris Bachand 33 interception return (run failed)
St. Paul 60, Sacred Hrt 29
At Waterbury
St. Paul (4-1) 20 20 14 6 -- 60
Sacred Hrt (2-3) 7 14 8 0 -- 29
First Quarter
SP: Byron Jones 28 pass from Tanner Bachand, (run failed), 10:50
SP: Chris Bachand 29 run (run failed), 8:38
SP: Tanner Bachand 30 run (Travis Thomas run), 4:58
SH: Rohan Ifill 1 run (Ruben Berger kick). 0:44
Second Quarter
SP-Chris Bachand 44 run (Bryon Jones pass from T. Bachand), 11:41
SH-David Coggins 37 from Rohan Ifill, (Kick failed), 9:13
SP-Chris Bachand 77 run (pass failed),6:34
SH-Ruben Berger 85 pass from Rohan Ifill (Berger pass from Hill), 1:50
SP-Chris Bachand 17-yard run (run failed), 0:05
Third Quarter
SP-Chris Bachand 19 pass from Tanner Bachand (pass failed), 11:17
SH-David Coggins 64 pass from Rohan Ifill (Berger pass from Hill), 5:04
SP-Chris Bachand 80 run (Tanner Bachand run), 0:46
Fourth Quarter
SP-Chris Bachand 19 run (Kick failed), 10:32
St. Paul 28, Naugatuck 18
At Bristol
Naugatuck (2-2) 6 6 0 6 -- 18
SP/GT/LM (3-1) 8 0 14 6 -- 28
First quarter
SP: Chris Bachand 32 run (Travis Thomas run), 7:52
N: Jake Yourison 4 run (run fails), 0:32
Second quarter
N: Andrew Cirino 19 run (run fails), 7:02
Third quarter
SP: DeVanti Gardner 21 pass from Tanner Bachand (run fails), 7:24
SP: Chris Bachand 9 run (Justin Gonzalez pass from Thomas), 1:07
Fourth quarter
N: Erich Broadrick19 run (pass fails), 9:00
SP: Tanner Bachand 3 run (run fails), 1:58
Individual statistics
RUSHING: St. Paul – Tanner Bachand 6-19, Bobby Romano 7-28, Chris Bachand 12-88, DeVanti Gardner 3-10; Naugatuck – Jake Vourison 4-6, Maquan Williams 1-1, Andrew Circcui 11-76, Dashawn Wingate 10-85
PASSING: St. Paul – Tanner Bachand 9-18-0, 111; Naugatuck – Erich Broadrick 8-19-3, 195
RECEIVING: St. Paul – Byron Jones 5-83, Travis Thomas 1-16, Chris Bachand 2-4, Justin Gonazlez 1-8
SP 32, Watertown 29
At Bristol
St. Paul (2-1) 6 8 6 12 – 32
Watertown (2-1) 7 14 0 8 – 29
First Quarter
W-Tony Simpson 19 pass from Matt Quatrano, 7:40. (Anton Galganov kick)
SP-Travis Thomas 49 pass from Tanner Bachand, 6:49. (run failed)
Second Quarter
SP-Tanner Bachand 1 run, 8:42. (Travis Thomas pass from Bachard)
W-Dan Koeber 45 pass from Matt Quatrano, 8:17. (Galaganov kick)
W-C.J. Bendler 22 pass from Matt Quatrano, 1:36. (Galaganov kick)
Third Quarter
SP-Travis Thomas 11 pass from Tanner Bachand, 2:12. (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
W-Joe Cianciolo fumble recovery, 10:39. (Bendler pass from Quatrano).
SP-Justin Gonzalez 7 pass from Tanner Bachand, 4:11. (pass failed)
SP-Byron Jones 55 pass from Tanner Bachand, 3:14. (pass failed)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: SP -- Bachand 9-19, Chris Bachand 13-66; W -- Quatrano 6-11, Anton Galagnov 15-91
PASSING: SP -- Bachand 28-44, 429; Wa— Quatrano 6-13, 151
RECEIVING: SP -- Bryon Jones 13-156, Thomas 4-88; C. Bachand 3-35
Holy Cross 20, St. Paul 0
At Bristol
Holy Cross (2-0) 7 7 6 0 -- 20
St. Paul (1-1) 0 0 0 0 -- 0
First quarter
HC: Brandon DiClementi 3 run (Greg Warner kick)
Second quarter
HC: Pat Cronin 83 run (Warner kick)
Third quarter
HC: Cronin 3 run (kick failed)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Holy Cross — Pat Cronin, 9-107, Ryan Plourde, 9-69; Brandon DiClementi, 14-46; Dave DiGorgi, 5-16; St. Paul — Chris Bachand, 13-71, Tanner Bachand 5-minus 12, Bobby Romano 1-0, Devin Zeller 1-minus 10
PASSING: Holy Cross — Ryan Plourde, 4-9-0, 120 yards; SP — Tanner Bachand, 4-17-1, 72
RECEIVING: Holy Cross — Chris D’Esposito, 2 -50; Jacob Szyndlar, 1-39; Alex Nak ano, 131. SP — Travis Thomas, 2-29; Byron Jones, 1-36; Devin Zeller 1-17
St. Paul 14, Derby 13
At Derby
St. Paul (1-0)0 0 6 8 – 14
Derby (0-1) 0 7 6 0 – 13
Second quarter
D: Ron Conyers 6 run (Luis Casco kick)
Third quarter
D: Conyers 2 run (kick fails)
SP: Justin Gonzalez 35 pass from Tanner Bachand (run fails)
Fourth quarter
SP: Bachand 2 run (Chris Bachand run), 3:30
Individual statistics
RUSHING: SP -- Bob Romano 6-38, Chris Bachand 14-64
PASSING: SP -- Tanner Bachand 10-32-0, 180
RECEIVING: SP -- Travis Thomas 5-73, Bryon Jones 4-52
Individual leaders
Final 2008 statistics
RUSHING Att-Yds TDs
Aiken 129-1000 15
Romano 48-304 4
Thomas 16-85 1
Kaczynski 40-75 2
Shaw 4-16 0
Smith 1-1 0
Jones 2-1 0
Gonzales 2(-7) 0
PASSING C-Att-Int Yds TDs
Kaczynski 124-205-6 2709 36
Gonzales 1-4-1 8 0
Aiken 1-1-0 38 0
RECEIVING C-Yds TD
Moore 49-1366 20
Jones 23-425 8
Thomas 19-384 3
Aiken 19-253 3
Cannata 12-295 2
McGuire 1-12 0
Romano 1-9 0
Santana 1-8 0
Ryker 1-4 0
Thomas 1 (-3) 0
POINTS
TDs PAT 2pt Pts
Moore* 0-20 33 1 161
Aiken** 15-3 0 1 128
Jones 0-8 0 3 54
Thomas 1-3 0 1 26
Romano 4-0 0 2 28
Kaczynski 2-0 0 0 12
Cannata 0-2 0 0 12
McGuire 0-0 1 0 1
*1 Defensive TD
**3 defensive TDs
PUNTING: Moore 13-517 (39.77 avg.)
PAT: Moore 33-43, McGuire 1-2
RETURNS
Punting: Ryan Moore 8-161, Byron Jones 4-36, Marcus Aiken 1-2, Pat McGuire 1-7
Kickoffs: Rob Cannata 7-17, Ryan Moore 5-76, Byron Jones 3-45, David Shaw 3-58, Marcus Aiken 1-14, Kyle Supinski 1-0, Kaczynski 1-0
Defensive statistics
SACKS (9): Kyle Supinski 3.5-10, Michael Vitrano 3-10, Nick Daesener 1-7, Ryan Peloquin 1-2, Anthony Cerreta 0.5-11
INTERCEPTIONS (13) : Marcus Aiken 6-162, Ryan Moore 2-35, Travis Thomas 1-1, Rob Cannata 2-0, Byron Jones 1-0, David White 1-5
FUMBLE REC (5): Nick Daesener 1, Moore 1-59, Romano 1, Kyle Supinski 1, Peloquin 1
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