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Foundation Hosts High School Breakfast of Champions Event
Special thanks to http://www.SportingNewsCT.com for the live webcast of the event and to master of ceremonies George “The Coach” DeMaio of WELI 960 AM.
New Haven, Conn. – As part of its 45th annual Weekend festivities, the Walter Camp Football Foundation hosted a High School “Breakfast of Champions” this morning at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven.
Special thanks to http://www.SportingNewsCT.com for the live webcast of the event and to master of ceremonies George “The Coach” DeMaio of WELI 960 AM.
Xavier High School of Middletown, the Class LL champion and state’s top-ranked team, was honored along with the three other state champions – Daniel Hand of Madison (Class L), Ansonia (Class M) and Holy Cross of Waterbury (Class S).
The state’s Coach of the Year award, presented by Stadium System, was given to Steve Filippone (Daniel Hand). Filippone led the 13-0 Tigers to the Southern Connecticut Conference Division I East and Class L state titles. Other finalists included: Tom Brockett (Ansonia) and Sean Marinan (Xavier).
The state Player of the Year, presented by Town Fair Tire, was awarded to Ansonia sophomore running back Arkeel Newsome. Newsome rushed for 3,763 yards and 58 touchdowns for the Class M state champion Chargers. Other finalists included: Masuk senior quarterback Casey Cochran and Daniel Hand senior wide receiver Nick Vitale.
The Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented by NFP Sports, was presented to Larry McHugh, former head coach at Xavier High School who won nearly 80 percent of his games during his 21 seasons (152-36-6 record).
In addition, the announcement of the Walter Camp All-Connecticut Team was made:
2011 WALTER CAMP ALL-CONNECTICUT TEAM
OFFENSE QB: Casey Cochran (Masuk)*
RB: Arkeel Newsome (Ansonia), Alex Manwaring (Ledyard)
WR: Aaron Berardino (Windsor), Nick Vitale (Daniel Hand)
TE: Ryan Murphy (Xavier)
OL: Rennick Bryan (Hillhouse) Hakeem Martin (Ansonia), Michael Money (Fairfield Warde), Dylan Vano (Ansonia). Austin Wezenski (Xavier)
DEFENSE
DL: Joe Demichele (Daniel Hand), Sean Marinan (Xavier), Cole Ormsby (Windsor), Ludovic Richardson (Notre Dame)
LB: Shane Nastahowski (Greenwich), Matt Walsh (Daniel Hand), Tyler Wood (Ansonia), Mark Zurlis (North Haven)
DB: Jawad Chisholm (Bunnell), Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn (Valley Regional), Brenden Lytton (Torrington). Ryan Jacobucci (Xavier)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker: Matt Paola (Pomperaug)
Punter: Jon Heil (Staples)
Returner: Kyle McKinnon (New London), Thomas Milone (Masuk)
* 2010 Walter Camp All-Connecticut team member
This evening, the Foundation will host its national awards banquet at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. The 2011 Walter Camp All-America Team, Player of the Year Andrew Luck (Stanford), Coach of the Year Les Miles (LSU), and Connecticut Player of the Year Silas Redd (Penn State/King Low Heywood) will be recognized. In addition, three individuals – NFL Hall-of-Famers Floyd Little (Syracuse) and Harry Carson (South Carolina State) and former NFL All-Pro Chris Spielman (Ohio State) – will be presented with major awards. ESPN3 will carry live the National Awards Dinner starting at 6:45 p.m. The dinner can be viewed at http://espn.go.com/espn3/index?id=386751.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.
About the Foundation
"Walter Camp was one of the giants of football in the United States. He stands with Stagg, Rockne, Thorpe, Warner, Heffelfinger in the imprint they made upon the game. He stands first among them, for it was he who sired the game as it is played in the United States, the game that evolved from the rugby football of England. He played in the first Yale-Harvard game of rugby in 1876. From then on, his was the fertile, inventive mind and guiding leadership that brought about the evolution of the American style of football."
More about Walter Camp