Football Preview: Rams ready to rumble in Wilton

Written by Dave Stewart
Thursday, 29 October 2009 23:43

The New Canaan Rams football team is coming off its biggest victory of the season thus far, having beaten the previously undefeated St. Joseph Cadets, 35-25, last Saturday before a packed house during Homecoming at Dunning Field.

This Friday night’s contest against Wilton doesn’t have quite the same electricity, but make no mistake about it, the Rams aren’t about to take the Warriors lightly.

“If our kids sit back and say Wilton’s only won two games and we’re just going to go in there and win without being ready, then it’s a trap game for us,” Head Coach Lou Marinelli said. “I’m sure that’s what happened with Trumbull (in a loss to Stamford) last week. You can’t look past anybody in the league.”

With that in mind, the Rams will have their full attention on the Warriors when kickoff time comes around at Tom Fujitani Field in Wilton tonight at 7 o’clock.

New Canaan (6-0) will be looking to keep its undefeated record and extend its winning streak to 23 games over the past three seasons.

Wilton (2-4) has a mini-winning streak of its own, having won its last two games after opening 0-4. The Warriors defeated Fairfield-Warde 21-13 two weeks ago, and shut out Bassick 21-0 last week.

Wilton has faced one of the tougher schedules in the league thus far, as their first six opponents have a combined record of 22-14. Take out Bassick’s 1-5 mark and that’s 21-9 with the 6-0 Rams on deck.

Wilton is led by its first-year head coach Bruce Cunningham, the former coach at Fairfield High School. Marinelli said Cunningham has changed some things on both sides of the ball, making Wilton a bit of a wild card for New Canaan.

“He’s changed everything around offensively and defensively,” Marinelli said. “They run the ‘I’ now and they throw the ball a lot more than they ever did. Defensively, they’re still pretty much staying with the 3-4, and they’re getting better. They started slow, but they’ve won a couple and you can’t take them lightly.”

Senior running back Ryan Leddy (5-11, 185 pounds) ran amok last week against Bassick, as he carried the ball 34 times for 204 yards and a TD.

Quarterback Jackson Wilbur, a 6-5, 190-pound senior, also had a strong game with 110 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Wilbur’s top target is junior Matt Reyes-Guerra-Dunne (6-3, 215). The speedy wideout has five TDs in the last two games.

Senior receiver Jeff Liebowitz (5-8, 150) is also a solid offensive weapon, and stars on defense as well. He picked off two passes in Wilton’s victory last week.

Center Devyn Jefferies, a 5-11, 240-pound senior, anchors the offensive line.

On defense, Wilton features junior Ryan Phillips (6-0, 200) and sophomore Connor Devane (5-9, 175) at linebacker, and seniors Alex Sabato (5-9, 200) and Terrance Reedy (6-0, 200) on the line.

Tonight’s game begins a three-week road swing for the Rams, who will face Greenwich (5-1) in week 8, and Bridgeport Central (5-1) at Kennedy Stadium in week 9.