SHS Football Wrap Up

After a disappointing 2006 football season, the Black Knights had a lot to prove. "I'm very optimistic about the season," said starting quarterback T.J. Mills, "I expect more wins than last season, and at least a .500 record."

But the optimism was short lived, as Stamford High was facing one of the more daunting schedules in the FCIAC. Their opponents combined to finish 57-33 last year, and some of those same teams had even improved coming into the '07 season. An improvement on last year's 2-8 record, much less a .500 record, would prove no easy task.

After a 0-3 start, losing to non conference opponent Norwich Free Academy and FCIAC opponents Trumbull and Danbury, Stamford had a lot of work to do. But, it wasn’t going to get any easier for the Knights, as the toughest part of their schedule still remained.

In week four, against Wilton, Stamford's defense was run over. Literally. Wilton's offense piled 290 total yards, and none of them were through the air. Even with the steamrolling of Stamford's front lines on defense, Wilton could not put Stamford away. After scoring early in the game, they struggled to put up any more points. They were deadlocked at 7-7 at the half, and Wilton did not score again until there were 42 seconds left in the game. That proved to be all they needed. Using their ball control offense, they only allowed Stamford to run 16 plays in the second half, and then just burned the game clock until their score at the very end, sending the Knights to 0-4 with a 14-7 win.

In week 5, against Bridgeport Central, Stamford played arguably their best game of the season, to that point, and almost beat a viable state championship contender. Early in the fourth quarter, the Black Knights had pulled within two points of Central, only down 27-25. Led by senior QB and captain T.J. Mills, who completed 10 of 18 passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns, Stamford almost pulled off what would be the upset of the season. After getting within two, Central drove down the field and scored quickly, and minutes later, scored a touchdown set up by a botched punt snap. Again, Stamford got close, but not quite close enough.

After starting 0-5 against some of the league's toughest opponents, it was still getting tougher. In week six, Stamford was matched up against perennial championship contender Staples. After coming relatively close to beating powerful opponents in the previous few games, the Knights could not keep the trend going, losing 35-6 to Staples. After a stellar performance in Bridgeport, Mills completed just 8 of 26 passes with four interceptions and only one touchdown. Stamford struck first on a 15 yard Mills pass, but it was all Wilton from there on out, with them scoring 35 unanswered points for the win.

In week seven, against Ludlowe, the King-Kong sized monkey that had been perched on the back of the entire Black Knights football team was finally thrown off. After struggling for most of the game, mainly because of his two first half interceptions, Mills bounced back mightily, leading to Stamford's first win of their 2007 campaign. Trailing 16-14 with the clock reading 1:39, Mills brought his offense out the Stamford 27 yard line and began to work. He led the Knights on a 10 play, 73 yard drive, capped off by a four yard touchdown pass from Mills to Maignan with 15 seconds to play, giving Stamford a 22-16 victory.

Though Stamford High got their first win of the season, they were going to have a very tough time getting their second straight. Next on the schedule was Greenwich High, the perennial powerhouse of the FCIAC. Even more daunting, the Cardinals had won five out of their seven games of the season by 30+ points. When Stamford finally put up their first points of the nights, they only cut the lead to 21. They played tough against the number two team in the state, but tough was not nearly good enough to beat a team like Greenwich High.

Coming into the first of their two city championship match ups, the Black Knights were looking for anything they could do for a win. Against Trinity Catholic, Stamford shied away from their normal strategy of airing it out and decided to try and beat the Crusaders at their own game; pounding the ball until they crossed the goal line. It didn’t prove to be the right strategy for the Knights though, because they moved the ball well on the ground, but could not cap off their long drives with scores. Meanwhile, Trinity kept pounding the ball as well; only they came out with points at the end of it. In the end, Stamford just couldn’t do enough to stop Trinity’s ball control offense, losing 20-8 to fall to 1-8.

On Thanksgiving morning, the last game of the season, Stamford was not playing for any sort of playoff implications, but they were playing for pride and bragging rights. Their opponent was city-rival Westhill High School, who came into the game at 4-5, looking to go .500 for the second year in a row. Stamford picked the right time to play their best game of the season, and they almost pulled it out in the end. Led by a Mills performance of 10-22 passing with five total touchdowns, Stamford held the lead 30-18 with 6:58 left on the scoreboard. But, on the ensuing play, Westhill’s Danny Berisha took the kickoff and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Knights lead to two. Stamford almost put the game away with a long drive to the Viking’s 24 yard line, but Mills threw an interception that was returned to the Knight’s 40 yard line. Three plays later, Westhill was in the end zone, taking a 34-30 lead. On Stamford’s last drive of the season, they had a chance to win the game, but another Mills pick sealed the win for the Vikings.

And so ends another tough season for the Stamford High Black Knights football team. They played one of the hardest schedules the FCIAC had ever seen, with all 9 of their losses coming against teams who finished .500 or better. Now the Knights have to regroup in the off-season and hope for better days next season.

Copyright 2006 The Stamford Round Table. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.