Turkey and tournament collide

When 10 a.m. rolls around Thursday morning and the ball is kicked off for another edition of the Cheshire-Southington Thanksgiving rivalry game, there will be a lot more on the line than pride. At the end, one team will be giving thanks while another curses the spirit of Thanksgiving.



It's always fun on Thanksgiving between Cheshire and Southington...this is

from 2007. (photo courtesy of record-journal.com)



As usual, there is no love lost between the bordering towns. Each will enter the Thanksgiving Day game treating it like the final battle of a border war; every year it's treated like the final battle. This will be no different.

Here's what is different: Cheshire (4-5), the defending Class LL champs, has been eliminated from playoff contention and has nothing to lose. That is in much part thanks to an absolute brutal schedule as the team's losses came against, undefeated, LL No. 1, Xavier, 8-win, L No. 3 Hand, 7-win, LL No. 10 West Haven, 6-win Notre Dame-West Haven and 4-win Wilbur Cross. Those are some just tough, tough match-ups in the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC).

On the flip side, Southington (8-1) has everything to gain and everything to lose. Currently sitting pretty at No. 5 in the Class LL rankings, a loss would possibly drop them out of the tournament, a win means they hang at No. 5 and possibly sneak up to a No. 4 seed and a possible home game. Unlike Cheshire, though, the Blue Knights' schedule has been forgiving as only three of the team's wins have come against opponents at .500 or better. The other five victories were against squads with two wins or less.

In the grand scheme, both teams are more evenly matched than the records would suggest. And as is the case with every rivalry game, everything gets thrown out the window for this one and all that matters is the 48 minutes of football between 10 a.m. and about 1 p.m.

So what to expect...

Lady Knights VBall honored; Mariah Berry commits



Elsie Bernaiche (Photo by Matt Leidemer)

The Southington High School girls volleyball team has been recognized as the 2010 Connecticut Board of Volleyball Officials Sportsmanship Award. This award recognizes a team for its sportsmanship. This is the 4th time in the past 10 years that they have received this honor.



There were also individual honors awarded to Elsie Bernaiche. She was awarded the Most Valuable Player at the recent Senior All-Star game at Plainville High School. This is the first time a Southington athlete has received this recognition.

Mariah Berry (File photo)

On an unrelated note, the Southington High School Athletic Department announced that Mariah Berry made a verbal commitment to attend Concordia College to play basketball. She is planning on signing a national letter of intent in April 2011.

Southington Gridiron Club backs Hernandez

The Southington Girdiron Club, which is the booster behind the Southington Blue Knights' football program, released a statement last Friday to be published in this week's edition of The Citizen as a letter to the editor. Here's a snippet from that statement from Gridiron Club President Bill Pesce on behalf of the Girdiron Club:

"The Southington High School Blue Knights Gridiron Club, which is made up of primarily parents of football players, would like to to publicly express our support for Coach D.J. Hernandez, who has apologized for the armband incident and who, in our opinion, has done an outstanding job in his first year as head coach."

The statement finishes...

"Coach Hernandez also spoke to us at the meeting and emotionally admitted he made an error in judgment. His heartfelt concern for his players was evident. Coach Hernandez has our complete confidence and support."

So for those wondering how the the parents of the athletes would respond to the incident, they appear to be backing not the coach's actions, but more so his future at Southington High School. That's a big group of people in D.J.'s corner.

Closing the book on Wristband Gate

Alrighty, so now we can officially close the book on what was the chaos of "Wristband Gate." For those of you not in the loop, Southington head football coach D.J. Hernandez used an armband from a Manchester player on Oct. 22 to gain a competitive advantage, or, in layman's terms, cheat.

First Southington ruled, suspending Hernandez one game, a punishment many thought was not severe enough. It was also against East Hartford; Southington won 52-13. Other than that, Southington administration stood behind its 24-year-old coach, saying it was a regrettable error, etc., blah, blah. You know the drill.

Then the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference's (CIAC) Board of Control came out today (Nov. 18) and enforced its ruling. Probation through the end of next season, a $1,000 fine and a Sportsmanship/Ethics class for Hernandez at the beginning of next season. Can you feel that punishment?

It's like slapping a grizzly bear with a ruler; it's like those little flies horses just flick away with their tails - kind of annoying, but beyond being a nuisance, it really doesn't have a big impact on anything.

The question now that most onlookers are probably asking themselves is, Who's punishment was harsher - the CIAC or Southington schools?

CIAC rules on Hernandez, NO forfeit, just fine and probation

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) met Thursday (Nov. 18) and discussed what actions to take in regards to the admission to cheating during a game against Manchester on Oct. 22 by Southington head football coach D.J Hernandez. No forfeit is forthcoming, the Blue Knights remain 8-1 and in control of their own destiny. A win against Cheshire on Thanksgiving Day and the Knights are into the Class LL playoffs. The CIAC Board of Control addressed information from both Manchester High and Southington High regarding ethics and sportsmanship concerns. The penalty from the Board is as follows:

1. Southington High School will be fined $1,000 for violation of the CIAC policies on ethics and sportsmanship;
2. Coach Hernandez will be required to take the Sportsmanship/Ethics Coaching Education Class prior to the beginning of the 2011 football season;
3. The Southington High School football program will be put on probation through the end of the 2011 football season.

Cyr to be Bobcat

Brittney Cyr said it’s a dream come true. The senior outfielder for the Southington High softball team made it official Wednesday afternoon as she signed her National Letter of Intent to go play Division I softball for Quinnipiac University next fall.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I’ve been working very hard since I was five and then finally to have it all done, it feels good to know where I’m going.”


Citizen photo by Michael Guerrera

Brittney Cyr signs her Letter of Intent.

Coming into high school, this was a goal Cyr knew she wanted to accomplish and started the college process earlier than expected.
“Fourteen, freshman year, (I was) emailing colleges,” Cyr explained.
“I’ve been doing this for so many years and now it’s finally done.”
The options were narrowed down to Fordham University in New York City, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and Quinnipiac in Hamden.
“Quinnipiac was definitely closest to home out of the other two schools I was looking at,” said Cyr of her decision. “The educational program there has everything I want to do and I’ll be playing for a great coach. She was actually a professional softball player herself.”
As for the school part of the student-athlete, Cyr says she plans on majoring in public relations or pre-law.
Germaine Fairchild is the aforementioned coach. Fairchild will be entering her 10th season at the helm of the program, which she has led to success in the Northeast Conference (NEC).

Powder Puff, Thanksgiving Day tickets

Photo by Matt Leidemer

The Powder Puff football game between New Britain High School and Southington High School will be played on Monday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. at Southington High School. Tickets for the game will be on sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 18, Nov. 19 and Nov. 22 in the Athletic Director’s office at Southington High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presale tickets are $5. All tickets at the gate will be $7. No passes will be accepted for this game.

VIDEO: Wholley heading to Maryland; Davenport to Pioneers

Southington High boys lacrosse midfielder Zach Wholley signed his National Letter of Intent Monday (Nov. 15) afternoon at Southington High School as he will attend the University of Maryland to play lacrosse. Below is video of him discussing his future at Maryland with Record-Journal Assistant Sports Editor John Pettit.

Also of note on Monday, softball pitcher Jessica Davenport (below) signed to go play at Sacred Heart University in Milford.

Mirando dives into 8th place at LL's

Junior Lady Knight diver Amanda Mirando competed in the Class LL Diving Championships Friday (Nov. 12) night and came out with a score of 283.45, good for 8th place overall. For Mirando, it was her best score yet at the state level, besting last year's mark of 276.50. As a freshman, she scored 252.55. For Mirando, she just missed the cut to make the State Open Meet, as the final qualifying score was 289.30. There were four other divers with better scores across the state, but Mirando was the fifth-one out. The way qualifying works is the top 24 scores go to the state open and if a diver finished in the top four of their division, but wasn't in the top 24 overall, they must go as well. Only one diver was not in the top 24 overall and went to Opens because of her divisional finish. Still, the dive earned a solid amount of points for the Southington girls swimming and diving team and for Mirando, it's a good finish, considering of the seven girls in front of her, four of them were from Greenwich, the typical power of the pool in Connecticut.

Hernandez-less Knights shouldn't miss a beat against Hornets

Less has been said the past week about actual football being played in Southington (7-1, 6-1) after the scandal that's somewhat humorously being labeled "Armband Gate." However, we're not here to discuss that, let's talk football.

Southington head coach D.J. Hernandez will serve a school-imposed one-game suspension tonight as the Blue Knights play host to visiting East Hartford. Expect the game to lack any of the excitement that's been the Southington football tabloids the past week because East Hartford, by all intents and purposes, is not good.

The Hornets come into the game with a sterling 2-6 record. One of the wins is against one-win Bristol Central (someone used to play there when they were good? Who was it? Oh, that's right, the aforementioned Hernandez), the other win was shockingly against four-win RHAM. With that all on the table, this is a heavy miss-match so coaching change or not, the effects should be minimal.

Excluding the Hornets' two wins, in its six losses, they registered point totals of 20, 0, 14, 15, 7 and 0. Not the most potent offense, although they can score a little bit. Meanwhile, Southington is having no problem scoring, even with a plethora of injuries. They're averaging almost 31 points per game and the defense, while struggling the last two weeks, has still been pretty stout.

VIDEO: Romano signs Letter of Intent

Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 9). Southington right-handed pitcher Sal Romano signed his National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Tennessee. Along with him were his parents, baseball coach Steve Matyczyk (who speaks at the beginning of the video), basketball coach Bob Lasbury, athletic director Eric Swallow and other family members. The video below is him signing his letter.

Hernandez responds to cheating

D.J. Hernandez released the following response Wednesday morning in connection to his admission he used an opponent's armband to gain a competitive advantage against Manchester on Oct. 22.

I have had the opportunity to reflect on this entire situation, and I understand by using the card I did not set a good example for the young men I coach.  I promise I have learned and will continue to learn from this situation and become a better person and coach.  I hold myself accountable for my actions and I accept this consequence.  As I move forward, my main concern is to provide student-athletes with the leadership necessary for their continued development.  I have appointed Mike Drury as the interim head coach for this week’s game against East Hartford.

Drury is a good choice for interim coach. He's the current defensive coordinator and in his first year, he has done a great job with the defense, as it's Southington's strong suit, even with numerous injuries. This was the logical pick before the announcement and under Drury, the Knights shouldn't miss a beat against East Hartford Friday.

Hernandez situation NOT worth national attention

So I'm perusing the Internet and click on ESPN.com and what do I see - on their top 10 headlines, No. 9 of 10 reads as such, "HS coach suspended for using lost play list." Here's a picture (click picture to enlarge):

Immediately I click on it, knowing full well what it is likely talking about, but wanting to confirm just in case I'm wrong.

What do you know, the headline reads "Southington coach suspended 1 game." Obviously this refers to allegations, which were confirmed, that Blue Knight head football coach D.J. Hernandez cheated during the game against Manchester on Oct. 22. (Note: The ESPN article was posted as of 6:08 p.m., Knight Time reported it at 4:47 p.m.) Included with the article was an Outside the Lines piece with Hartford Courant columnist Jeff Jacobs and there was a whole lot of hoopla about the story.

So I thought to myself, hmm? Now by no means do I condone cheating or support Hernandez's actions, but what I am curious about is the real relevance to this story getting NATIONAL attention. You're telling me this story was the No. 9 most important story in the sporting arena across the COUNTRY?

Then I got to thinking a little more and here is what I came up with.

Hernandez suspended for East Hartford game, admits to cheating

Southington High School principal Dr. Martin Semmel released the following statement around 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon in regards to allegations that Blue Knights football coach D.J. Hernandez cheated during the Oct. 22 game agianst Manchester. The statement reads as follows:

Southington High School has conducted an extensive investigation to determine the actions of Coach D.J. Hernandez during the Southington versus Manchester football game on October 22, 2010.
Our investigation included players and coaches associated with the Southington High School football program in respect to the Manchester game.
During our investigation, Coach Hernandez did admit to having possession of a card containing coded Manchester plays and attempting to use the card during Manchester’s first offensive drive of the third quarter. The card was used during four plays of said possession which ultimately lead to a Manchester touchdown.
The card was not used at any further point in the game.
Administration’s investigation determined that Coach Hernandez’s actions did not adhere to the district’s high expectations for all Southington Public School coaches.
As a result of Coach Hernandez’s actions, he will be suspended for one game (East Hartford). Southington High School will also adhere to any actions taken by the Connecticut Association of Schools (C.I.A.C) if they see fit.
Coach Hernandez holds himself accountable for his actions and accepts his consequence.
The Administration has complete confidence in Coach Hernandez and his ability to lead our football program now and in the future.

More insight to Hernandez allegations

There is much recent hub-bub about the Southington football program and some of the team's actions in the Manchester game, which Southington (6-1) won 28-14.

The Hartford Courant's Tom Yantz (who was at the Manchester game) had a front page story in today's paper (Nov. 5) that stated that the Manchester head football coach, Marco Pizzoferrato, accused D.J. Hernandez of obtaining the Indians' offensive plays during the game on Oct. 22 and using them to his advantage. The full story is here.

In the story, Pizzoferrato blatantly accused Hernandez of cheating. Jeff Jacobs followed up Yantz's story on the same day, writing a column stating that if the accusations were true, Hernandez was wrong. Here's the story.

I was at the Manchester-Southington football reporting for The Southington Citizen and here's the take from the sidelines, where I was the entire game.

Girls vball onto CCC Semis after 'frustrating' 3-0 win

The Southington High girls volleyball team got another 3-0 win Thursday night, this time in the CCC Quarterfinals, beating Bristol Central 25-21, 25-19, 25-14, but according to the New Britain Herald article, coach Rich Heitz called the win "frustrating," saying his "defense was very, very sloppy."

Be that as it may, the girls will advance to play on Friday evening against not Farmington, but Bristol Eastern, as the Lancers upset the Indians 3-2 Thursday night. Eastern was the No. 4 seed, Farmington the No. 5, but Farmington is ranked higher in the state and perceived to be the better team. That was not the truth on this night.

For the Blue Knights, this may be a blessing in disguise because if they had to play Farmington, it would have been the third time this season and even Heitz talked about the difficulty of beating a tough team three times in a year. That doesn't mean Eastern will be easy, there will just be more left to the unknown for both teams, which usually suits the better team, which, by ranking standards, would be Southington.

While anything can happen Friday night at Plainville High, look for the girls to advance to Saturday's final.