By Mark Jaffee
Seymour coach Tom Lennon and his counterpart at Rocky Hill, Mark Fritz, had an inkling that the two would meet up in the postseason this year.
The Wildcats and Terriers have scrimmaged each other the past two preseasons, playing to a 21-21 tie in ’16 and 14-14 tie in ’15, so they’re very familiar with each other’s personnel.
The two coaches will meet on opposite sidelines tonight for real as the eighth-seeded Wildcats (9-2) visit fourth-seeded Rocky Hill (10-1) in the Class S semifinals.
Former Crosby player and ex-Pomperaug, Southington and Naugatuck defensive coordinator John Pereira is the Terriers’ defensive coordinator.
“I thought Rocky Hill should have been a playoff team last year, too,” said Lennon of the Terriers’ 8-2 season, just being nudged out of a playoff spot. “They have a lot of very talented football players. They’re a senior-laden team.”
Rocky Hill has won eight in a row, including a 28-14 decision over Berlin, the week before the Terriers also beat another Class S semifinalist, Cromwell-Portland, 28-6, on Thanksgiving. Rocky Hill led 7-6 and scored three unanswered touchdowns.
The Terriers manhandled Bullard Havens, 56-8, in last Tuesday’s quarterfinals, only the second playoff win in the program’s history. Fritz was an assistant on ex-head coach Dave Coyne’s staff in a 2013 quarterfinal victory over Prince Tech of Hartford.
The only blemish on Rocky Hill’s slate this year was a 50-42 overtime loss to Class S quarterfinalist Bloomfield in Week 3.
Which players are Lennon’s biggest conerns?
“Grant Nieves is their primary playmaker,” said Lennon. “He’s a great athlete who when he bounced to the outside, he’s tough to stop. But he’s not alone. Ricky Montalvo and Joseph Catania are also excellent runners and physically strong,” added Lennon. “Daniel Cavallaro, their quarterback, throws an excellent ball down field and is accurate. They’re kind of scary up front. They’re very big and physical (led by 6-foot-2, 224 pound Lukasz Zduniak and 6-foot-1, 270-pounder Gregory Fernstrom).”
Defensively, the Terriers are led by Patrick Sullivan and Montalvo.