Greatest HS players in Connecticut state history | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Greatest HS players in Connecticut state history

CAHUSKY said:
While Tony Ortiz was clearly tremendously fast he wasn’t in the same stratosphere of a national record in any of the three events listed. He was much closer to my 300IH time (39.92 in 1985) than the national record that same year by George Porter (35.32). He wouldn’t have even made the state finals in California in the 300IM or 100M. That said, the 13.8 in the 110H was blazing fast. Did he end up running track or playing football somewhere after high school? I’ve never heard of him. (I grew up in California and was only in CT for 2.5 years).
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He went on to be an outstanding LB at Nebraska.
 
Another one that no one mentioned is Kory Sheets. He was unstoppable his senior year.
 
kris1 said:
Dude, do your homework!!! Alex Thomas and Arkeel Newsome both made 1st team All-State three seasons. Bobby V isn’t the only one to do it.

And....if you’re talking about dominating the CT high school scene the list start with Arkeel Newsome, PERIOD. His state records will be very, very, very difficult to beat.

Sandy O was great. But he’s not even the best QB to play at Ansonia, James Lane. In fact, Sandy wouldn’t even be in the Top 5 of Ansonia greats.

Kenny Tinney (in my opinion) is the best player I’ve ever seen at Ansonia (if not the state). He was dominant in all three phases of the game, unlike any other player in state history. He was a nightmare for defenses as a dual-threat QB running the triple-option. He was a lockdown all-state CB with 4.3 speed. On special teams, opponents chose to punt the ball out-of-bounds halfway through his senior season because he returned 7 for TDs. He still holds the state record for punt returns for TDs in a season and was one shy of the national record of eight (8) in a season. If it was possible, he would have been all state at all three positions.
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Problem is they don’t play anyone. I think you have to take Spievey over him who went on to make all big ten at Iowa and play for the Detroit lions.
 
Although he didn't play for Ansonia, Nick Pietrosante was one of the best to come out of Ansonia and the state. He was a two-time all pro running back for the Detroit Lions.
Do any of you remember Pietrosante's grocery store in Ansonia?
 
superjohn said:
Tony Ortiz was a ridiculous athlete at Crosby, I remember thinking if he trained in the decathlon he had a chance of beating Dan and Dave, he had better times than them in the 100 and 110 hurdles and he was obviously incredibly strong. I used to run track back then and was amazed by him. Had to look up his times, absolutely insane. He didn't even have proper training and he wasn't far off of national records...
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I remember Tony and Tom Ciccio getting off the bus before a football game my freshman year in HS. They looked like grown men.
 
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AAC Guru said:
Problem is they don’t play anyone. I think you have to take Spievey over him who went on to make all big ten at Iowa and play for the Detroit lions.
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The NVL is really bad now but it wasn't always that way. Newsome didn't play great competition but Alex Thomas played in a competitive NVL from what I remember
 
superjohn said:
Kenny Tinney and Jermelle Lewis were awesome but neither panned out for different reasons.
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Kenny was very immature and made poor decisions along the way for sure. School wasn’t a priority and so football took a back seat. He had many opportunities and had he been able to focus on the things he needed to he certainly had NFL potential. He had gifts you just can’t teach. He seems to have grown up and is currently on the coaching staff at Milford Academy.
 
AAC Guru said:
Problem is they don’t play anyone. I think you have to take Spievey over him who went on to make all big ten at Iowa and play for the Detroit lions.
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The OP was looking for dominant CT HS players, there were none more dominant then Newsome. The NVL is terrible now, I can’t argue that. However, they were 43-0 with Newsome at RB. That’s not easy to do against any competition. It’s pretty easy for high school kids to lose focus. He could only play against who was on the schedule (that wasn’t something he could control) and he dominated every one of those 43 games, when every opponents knew he was getting the ball. Statistically speaking, he had the greatest HS career of anyone player ever in the state of CT.

FWIW, I would still put Kenny Tinney ahead of Arkeel as the greatest Ansonia player of all time. Even the old-timers in town would agree. As far as pure athletic ability, KT was off the charts. Steve Coughlin would probably be second.
 
kris1 said:
The OP was looking for dominant CT HS players, there were none more dominant then Newsome. The NVL is terrible now, I can’t argue that. However, they were 43-0 with Newsome at RB. That’s not easy to do against any competition. It’s pretty easy for high school kids to lose focus. He could only play against who was on the schedule (that wasn’t something he could control) and he dominated every one of those 43 games, when every opponents knew he was getting the ball. Statistically speaking, he had the greatest HS career of anyone player ever in the state of CT.

FWIW, I would still put Kenny Tinney ahead of Arkeel as the greatest Ansonia player of all time. Even the old-timers in town would agree. As far as pure athletic ability, KT was off the charts. Steve Coughlin would probably be second.
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It's unfortunate for newsome that he just happened to be playing in one of the NVLs darkest periods. He would have been dominant in any league. Maybe he wouldn't quite have all the records that he does, but he also would have played more snaps. How many games was he in during the 4th quarter?
 
JMick said:
The NVL is really bad now but it wasn't always that way. Newsome didn't play great competition but Alex Thomas played in a competitive NVL from what I remember
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Holy Cross had their greatest team ever during that time. Woodland, Seymour and Naugatuck were all very good. Ansonia and HC finished #2 and #3 in the final poll. Ansonia beat Bloomfield, led by Marcus Cooper WR/DB (Rutgers/KC Chiefs), 34-17. Holy Cross shutout a great Stratford team, 40-0, that featured two of the best RBs in the state, Torrey Mack and Octavious McKoy.

Ansonia beat Holy Cross on a neutral field, 27-13, for the NVL Championship.
 
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kris1 said:
Holy Cross had their greatest team ever during that time. Woodland, Seymour and Naugatuck were all very good. Ansonia and HC finished #2 and #3 in the final poll. Ansonia beat Bloomfield, led by Marcus Cooper WR/DB (Rutgers/KC Chiefs), 34-17. Holy Cross shutout a great Stratford team, 40-0, that featured two of the best RBs in the state, Torrey Mack and Octavious McKoy.

Ansonia beat Holy Cross on a neutral field, 27-13, for the NVL Championship.
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Torrey Mack and Octavius McKoy were unbelievable. They carried Stratford on their backs. Stratford hasn't been good since. The prep schools and private schools have decimated both high schools in Stratford.
 
Jordan Reed and AJ Dillon. how has nobody mentioned them yet? lol
 
Northbound said:
He also had Kenny Bell on a couple of his teams at GHS. Those were very very good teams
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Wrong Young. Bell played with brother Mike. BTW, Steve averaged less than 4-passes a game for his HS career.

Also Greenwich's Sullivan, I believe, made all-state all three yrs. Greenwich's Jon Myers was a two-yr all-stater
4-star with 52 media-verified BCS (at the time) offers. Chose Princeton.
 
JMick said:
Didn't AJ Dillon play in mass?
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He's a New London kid but did his last few years of high school at prep in Ma. His teammate at BC who is also from CT. Zach Allen led the nation in tackles last year and is beasting again this year. The idea that talent isn't coming out of CT. is just off, obviously not like bigger states that are hotbeds for football but there is certainly talent in the state, they just don't come here.
 
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superjohn said:
He's a New London kid but did his last few years of high school at prep in Ma. His teammate at BC who is also from CT. Zach Allen led the nation in tackles last year and is beasting again this year. The idea that talent isn't coming out of CT. is just off, obviously not like bigger states that are hotbeds for football but there is certainly talent in the state, they just don't come here.
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You don't have to tell me. I thought the thread was about HS careers though
 
FAIRTIDES said:
Wrong Young. Bell played with brother Mike. BTW, Steve averaged less than 4-passes a game for his HS career.
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And one of them was picked off by my buddy. Highlight of his sporting life. The way he tells it, he was 3rd string and Greenwich was running up the score. They put him in at free safety (he never played it before) and just stood in the middle of the field. Steve overthrew and hit him right between the numbers.
 
FAIRTIDES said:
Wrong Young. Bell played with brother Mike. BTW, Steve averaged less than 4-passes a game for his HS career.

Also Greenwich's Sullivan, I believe, made all-state all three yrs. Greenwich's Jon Myers was a two-yr all-stater
4-star with 52 media-verified BCS (at the time) offers. Chose Princeton.
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I believe that both played with Ken Bell I think Steve graduated in 1980 Bell and mike in 82
 
JMick said:
It's unfortunate for newsome that he just happened to be playing in one of the NVLs darkest periods. He would have been dominant in any league. Maybe he wouldn't quite have all the records that he does, but he also would have played more snaps. How many games was he in during the 4th quarter?
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Two games that I can remember, 2012 State Final against North Branford @ The Rent and 2013 vs Seymour @ Seymour (Week 9). Seymour controlled the clock and held Newsome to 110 yds on 25 carries, 3 TDs. :rolleyes: Seymour lead 14-13 midway through the 4Q. Newsome ripped off a 19-yd TD run with 6:39 remaining. Ansonia completed a pass for the 2-pt conversation. Ansonia led 21-14. Seymour drove right down the field and scored with 4:30 left in the game to make it 21-20 Ansonia. Seymour went for the win, but 2-pt conversation failed. Ansonia recovered the onside kick, kept the ball on the ground and was able to grind out the final 4:30. Ansonia held on 21-20.
 
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To me, Connecticut high school is underrated. Florida's public schools (which academically sucks) plays Texas and other states... Connecticut (except one time Greenwich played Naples) doesn't play out of state (except Enfield and Fermi played Longmeadow and Stonington plays Westerly). Florida's high schools are on TV..I don't see East Hartford Manchester on ESPN...
 
HuskyDogArt said:
To me, Connecticut high school is underrated. Florida's public schools (which academically sucks) plays Texas and other states... Connecticut (except one time Greenwich played Naples) doesn't play out of state (except Enfield and Fermi played Longmeadow and Stonington plays Westerly). Florida's high schools are on TV..I don't see East Hartford Manchester on ESPN...
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New Canaan played a team from Jersey the last couple years. There are good teams in CT and good coaches in CT. We don't have the same number of athletes but our top kids can play in any state
 
Lesser known speedsters, one of whom played for UCONN in the 1990s: Dave Allen and Scott Scherban.
 
Bobby Valentine got offered over 200 college scholarships to play football, including one from USC, whose coach John McKay, was seeking to replace O. J. Simpson. Said McKay, per an article in Sports Illustrated, "If anyone has a chance to be the next O.J. Simpson, it's Valentine."

No other CT high school player is even a close second.
 
Nick Vitale on the roster taking fair catches for Wacky Bob....Good kid.
Could use a few on the roster right now like his father Rich. Held the state record in tackles for a couple of decades....Maloney of Meriden.

-Rich Vitale:A 1983 grad, Vitale was one of the premier football players and wrestlers in school history, competing in both for four years.

In football, Vitale was All-Colonial Conference for three consecutive years.He holds individual records for 185 assisted tackles and 89 solo tackles. His state record of 515 career tackles was broken in 2002, but he remains second in that category.

Vitale was Stoddard Bowl Defensive MVP in his junior year and also the recipient of the Fred Biestek Award as the most outstanding football player. As a senior, he was an All-State linebacker, the New Haven Register’s Player of the Year, and named in Who’s Who in American High School Football.

Vitale’s wrestling accomplishments were equally noteworthy. He was on coach Ray Mainville’s 1980 state championship team and completed his four-year career with a record of 105-3-2. He was All-Conference and a Class M champion for three consecutive years and won State Open titles in 1982 and 1983. He also holds New England and National titles in folk and freestyle wrestling.
 
FlakeyFoont said:
Bobby Valentine got offered over 200 college scholarships to play football, including one from USC, whose coach John McKay, was seeking to replace O. J. Simpson. Said McKay, per an article in Sports Illustrated, "If anyone has a chance to be the next O.J. Simpson, it's Valentine."

No other CT high school player is even a close second.
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Well.....Bobby Valentine did decide to go to USC, but shortly thereafter the Dodgers selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 1968 draft. ----Their $70,000 bonus was enough to lure him to baseball and many years later Aaron Hernandez became the next OJ Simpson.
 
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