Just over the horizon, from town to town. Student athletes are gathering for the annual rite of passage. From Ansonia to Enfield and all points between, football players are beginning to prepare for a season that is only a month away. This is true in Ellington as well. The Knights, coming off a second consecutive season in which they qualified for the state football playoffs, offer a bit of the old and a touch of the new. Gone are the long passes to Brendan Coverdill and Austin Tautkus, the highlight film runs of Neal Janiga and the thundering hits of all state linebacker Sean Tynan. A team that has lost this much talent would usually be expected to have to take a year or two to rebuild. Not Ellington, the knights have simply reloaded and are prepared to take on the most difficult schedule in team history.
Legendary Coach Keith Tautkus has retired and he has been replaced by former offensive coordinator Sean Byrne. Coach Byrne welcomes back a team with vast potential but one that faces stiff challenges in the weeks to follow. The Knights welcome back Senior quarterback Joe Leslie to anchor a backfield featuring Chris Schneider and Mike Casciano. This back field offers the Knights an experienced and speedy duo of runners, who will look to follow fellow seniors BenBahler, Trevor Printy, and Sean Mckillop through enemy territory. The Knights once again will be difficult to cover when they take to the air as Andrew Pearce will continue the Ellington tradition of tall speedy receivers when he is not chasing down opposing quarterbacks.
The Ellington defense will be linebacker dominated once again. Rising sophomore Justin Ames looks to move to the middle and follow consecutive all state seasons by Ken Vollaro and Sean Tynan. Ben Kloter, Trevor Printy and Kyle Ross will also be on hand to help Ames. The Knights defensive backfield is patrolled by athletic, experienced players featuring Mike Casciano, Mark Hickman, Shane McGowan, and Paul Gresh. The defensive line will see multiple veteran players chipping in. The bothers Gilson (Patrick and Kevin) will set up aside big Ben Bahler among others as they set their sights on a school record third straight state tournament appearance. As the team prepares to welcome more than 60 players to tryouts, the team booster club prepares for special events at each home game.
Soon the knights will be sounding the touchdown cannon on Saturday afternoons. Each home game offers students and families a great opportunity to see high quality football while surrounded by the colorful hills of Ellington, parachuters gliding down nearby, the always present Ellington Volunteer Fire Department , costumed characters, and a host of other weekly events designed to add to the overall football experience. Watch Patch for announcements of coming events, game times and game summaries. The Knights are gathering and preparing to continue their winning ways.
2013 Varsity Schedule
Knights Football Web Site
