Mackenzie Lewis
Sports Editor
@mlewiscourant
Winning a football game can mean just as much to the coach, the alumni, and the New Canaan Football reputation as it does to the team. Last Saturday, the team was thrilled by head football coach Lou Marinelli’s 300th win at the Homecoming Game vs. Greenwich. “I was very excited,” senior captain Alex LaPolice said. “I was more excited for Coach Marinelli than anyone else because it was obviously his moment and something that very few people have done.”
Defensive coordinator of the team, Chris Silvestri, was equally as excited about the win. “First of all it was a really big game against Greenwich,” Mr. Silvestri said. “Second, to have his 300th victory come against a team like Greenwich, at home, at Homecoming, where a lot of his past players came back was a lot of fun. The 300th win was the icing on the cake.”
Mr. Silvestri was a member of the New Canaan Football Team in 1993 when his class won Marinelli’s first state and FCIAC championships. “I was thrilled to see him win,” Mr. Silvestri said. “I remember when he won his 100th victory, when I was in school. “Being a part of all the wins, it goes by in a heart beat. He’s been coaching for so long. These wins couldn’t happen to a more charismatic guy.”
In the same way that Mr. Silvestri remembers his wins with Coach Marinelli, many members of this year’s football team will too. “The moment we won is one that I will never forget,” Alex said. “30 years down the road I will be able to say I was a part of Coach Marinelli’s 300th win.”
The multiple wins throughout the past years would not have come if it weren’t for the dedication that Marinelli brings into developing the program. “What Marinelli brings to the kids that play for him is the sense of family, accomplishment, hard work, and how to be successful in life,” Mr. Silvestri said. “You’re not always going to win when you put in that work, but you’re always going to be happy where you are, even if you come up short. He creates men.”
Since the win, the team has gone right back to work. They have continued their winning streak of 4-0. “Right now, at this point in the season, we are just continuing to keep working hard, keep improving, and developing as a team,” Alex said.
“It’s right back to work. Trying to get back to practice to prepare for every single game,” Mr. Silvestri said. “The team really has to work hard. They have to create a good work ethic in the off-season. Just to prepare themselves like that it makes them successful and you can see the results on the field.”
The team’s next game is Friday October 10th at 7:00 p.m. at Danbury High School.
