1/3/05

The Southern Connecticut Conference was well-represented on the New Haven Register 2005 All-State Football Teams, as selected by the paper’s high school sports staff.

Xavier senior running back Amari Spievey was named as the Player of the Year, while his head coach, Sean Marinan, was honored as the Coach of the Year.  Seven student-athletes earned first team All-State status, while additional nine student-athletes were named to the Second or Third Team.  31 more players received honorable mention status.

2005 represented a banner year for the sport of football.  A league-record three SCC schools won state championships – Xavier (Class LL), Branford (Class MM) and Hand (Class M) – while two other schools – West Haven (Class LL) and Hillhouse (Class M) – reached the playoffs.  The five SCC playoff teams were the most of any conference in the state of Connecticut.  

New Haven Register 2005 Football All-State Teams

Player of the Year:  Amari Spievey, Sr., RB, Xavier

Spievey ran for 1,642 yards for Class LL state champion and No. 1 team in Register Top 10 poll.  He rushed for 289 yards against Guilford and 256 versus Shelton... He had eight 100-yard games, including a 174-yard effort against West Haven as the Falcons defeated the Blue Devils for the first time since 1989... Spievey had 165 yards and scored two first-quarter touchdowns in the Class LL final win over Southington... He also had seven interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns... For the season, he totaled 31 touchdowns... Appears to be headed to the Big Ten as Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State top his list of colleges.

Click here to read New Haven Register article on Spievey

Coach of the Year: Sean Marinan, Xavier

Marinan quietly has returned the once-mighty Falcons to prominence... After spending nine years as an assistant, he took over the program in 2002... After going 7-14-1 in his first two seasons, he led Xavier to a 7-3 record in 2004 before guiding the squad to a perfect 12-0 mark, the Class LL title and the No. 1 ranking in the Register Top 10 poll in 2005.

1st Team Offense (4)

Amari Spievey, Sr., RB, Xavier; Mike Concannon, Sr., WR, Hand; Alex Folson, Sr., OL, Hillhouse; John Moffitt, Sr., OL, Notre Dame

1st Team Defense (3)

Garrett Brown, Sr., DL, Fairfield Prep; Jim Fitzpatrick, Sr., LB, West Haven; Chevar Rankins, Sr., LB, Xavier

2nd Team Offense – none

2nd Team Defense (3)

Mike Campbell, Sr., LB, Xavier; Ryan Niziolek, Sr., DB, Hand; Jim Balzano, Sr., P, Branford

3rd Team Offense (3)

Travis Crowther, Sr., WR, Shelton; Jeff Agnew, Sr., OL, Hillhouse; Marcus Bland, Sr., OL, West Haven

3rd Team Defense (3)

Curtis Smith, Sr., DL, Wilbur Cross; Dan Grzywacz, Sr., LB, Amity; James Alford, Jr., DB, West Haven

Honorable Mention (31)

Ryan Shaw, QB, Hand; Tom Lee, RB, Hand; Kevin Filippone, WR, Hand; George Chin, TE, Hillhouse; Bill Baccash, OL, Law; Dan Braccio, OL, Amity; Jason Devonchuk, OL, Derby; Mike Olejarczyk, OL, Branford; Peter Pietrini, OL, Law; David Pyne, OL, Sheehan; Rick Bailey, UTY, Derby; Brandon Basso, UTY, Amity; Keerome Lawrence, UTY, Hillhouse; Coree Moses, UTY, Xavier; Andrew Davis, K, Hand; Dan Arisco, DL, Cheshire; Lewis Bower, DL, Xavier; Anthony Bozzutto, DL, North Haven; Daniel Brown, DL, Wilbur Cross; Keith Sayball, DL, Foran; Ron Lucido, DL, Shelton; Nick Child, LB, East Haven; Clarence Dukes, LB, West Haven; Wes Gonzalez, LB, Lyman Hall; Mike Mortali, LB, Branford; Wendell Williamson, LB, Wilbur Cross; Dominic Cusano, DB, Sheehan; Chris Ferguson, DB, Hamden; Bryce Brown, ST, Guilford; Tyrell Duncan, SPT, Hillhouse; Tom Passmore, P, Lyman Hall 

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