Doug Reilly
Sports Editor
Today marks the end of Spirit Week and the end of a week of outrageous outfits, great laughs, and good memories. With this afternoon’s pep rally and tonight’s bonfire, we are preparing ourselves for the culmination of the entire concept of Homecoming, the homecoming football game, also known as, the biggest game of the year.
Tomorrow, Saturday October 30th, the Rams will host FCIAC rival Wilton in front of a presumably packed house at Dunning Stadium at 1:30pm. Not only does this game have the usual homecoming implications, but with last week’s heartbreaking loss 28-27 at St. Joseph’s the Rams are looking to bounce back and keep pace with first place FCIAC archrival, undefeated Darien.
The Wilton Warriors have had tough luck in the early goings this season, with a record of 3-3 . Their record doesn’t tell the whole story however, as they have played well but have come out on the wrong side of close games three different times already this season. They do have one signature victory, a 27-14 victory on the road against St. Joe’s thanks to their triple option offense.
“The triple option is a tough offense to defend, no getting around it,” junior quarterback Matt Milano said, recognizing Wilton’s offensive capability. “We’ll need a great effort by the defense to hold them to minimal scores and allow the offense to do our job. But, I have no doubts they’re up to the challenge and will do a great job.”
Despite a productive offense and an above average defensive front seven, the pass defense is not Wilton’s strong point. “I think we need to win the battle up front first,” senior tri-captain Conor Hanratty said. “They have solid offensive and defensive lines, so if we manage to beat them up front, Milano will have no trouble picking them apart.”
It is clear the Rams are feeling confident going into the big game, but a lot of questions remain left to be answered. Although so far the Rams have racked up five victories, before last week’s loss to St. Joseph’s, the wins were against teams with losing records. “It’s such a big game because the first five games were sort of like a preseason for us, and aside from St. Joe’s, Wilton is going to be the best competition we have faced. By winning that game it shows we’re for real,” Conor said.
The other big question is if the Rams can overcome all the distractions from the Homecoming week . Matt admits it hasn’t been easy to prepare for the game with all the other distractions. “It’s a little tough to stay focused with all the spirit days going on,” he said. “But when it comes down to it, the whole week is built around the game, so I’m sure we’ll be all business at the end of the day and will be prepared to win.”
Kevin Macari, a senior tri-captain wide receiver and defensive back, couldn’t help but recognize the chip on the opposing team’s shoulder when they play at someone else’s homecoming. “I think for another team coming into a packed stadium, especially on homecoming, is a little intimidating,” he said. “But in football opposing teams love to ruin the other team’s homecoming because you know they will remember it.”
While the speculations and questions may loom large for the Rams, it all comes down to execution. The keys for a Ram victory in this one include stopping the run and exploiting Wilton’s shaky secondary with big plays. “We have to be able to stop the run, their offense really relies on the run to open up the pass,” Kevin said. “We’ve faced the run all year and have been able to stop it so as long as we do what we have been doing we will be fine.”
“Every year, coach [Lou] Marinelli says to us, ‘Our job is to win the game.’ If we can’t do that the whole thing is ruined,” Matt added. “But Wilton is an FCIAC rival, and as Darien is undefeated, we can’t afford to lose.” All the pieces are in place and the stage is set for another memorable homecoming game at Dunning Stadium tomorrow, at 1:30pm.
