Stratford Star

Grizzlies a win-win (football)

Written by John Kovach
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:34

Two years ago, the Southwest Connecticut Grizzlies were formed to give student-athletes a second chance.

Based in Bridgeport, the Grizzlies capped the season with a 6-2 victory over the University of Vermont Catamounts in the Yankee Bowl, the Yankee Collegiate Football Conference Championship, on Nov. 19, finishing the year 7-1.

Members include E.J. Yearwood, an all-Yankee Conference selection, and Andrew Conroy, both of Bunnell, and Stratford High School graduates Nick Riely, Jason Vasquez, Jeff Miller and Aaron Ball.

Once the season was done on the field, the Grizzlies, ranked fourth in the nation before the Yankee Bowl, had to wait for the final Intercollegiate Club Football Federation poll.

With clubs at colleges across the country playing in various leagues, voters take into account performances by offenses and defenses, as well as strength of schedule. Although the Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina both finished undefeated, voters recognized the strength of the Yankee Conference, in which both the Grizzlies and Catamounts play, by ranking them first and second.

“It was a long debate and I knew the top three teams were all very close,” founder and head coach Bernie Armstrong said. “I am just happy that all of our hard work paid off and we’re on top when it counts most.”

The Grizzlies had previously held the top spot in the rankings for seven days, then suffered their only defeat of the season, 21-14 to the University of Vermont in game five on Oct. 15.

That was the first loss in the history of the Grizzlies. Although they did not win the national title, they finished the 2010 campaign 8-0.

“I felt like we lost twice that night,” Armstrong said of the defeat.

The Catamounts then held the top ranking until their loss to the Grizzlies in the Yankee Bowl.

With the Grizzlies down 2-0 after a second-quarter safety, quarterback David James of Stamford, who played at Abbott Tech in Danbury, hit Naugatuck High School alum Tyler Conklin on a 47-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half.

That was the end of the scoring, as the Grizzlies held Vermont’s offense to 55 total yards in the second half, making two stops when the Catamounts tried to convert fourth down and inches.

It was the first home loss in two seasons for Vermont, which entered the Yankee Bowl scoring an average of 32 points per game.

Second down

The Southwestern Connecticut Grizzlies were established in 2010 by Armstrong to give high school players who might want to pursue college football a second chance.

Armstrong is involved with several semi-pro teams. Each summer he would be approached by recent high school graduates looking to try out spots on the team to get film to send to college coaches.

Some of them had issues with grades. Some were still trying to decide what route to take. Some were struggling with maturity.

Whatever the reason they had not gone straight to a four-year school, Armstrong knew the semi-pro route was not right for them. Colleges, he said, did not want to see how 18-, 19- or 20-year-olds performed against middle-aged players. Coaches wanted to see how they would do against players their age.

Armstrong approached the state with the idea of forming a club team that drew players from Connecticut’s community colleges. Those in Hartford who oversee the system liked the idea, but told him to take it to the local schools.

“They were totally reluctant to do it,” he said.

Armstrong said he has been told while schools appreciate the efforts and the extra students, they remain detached because of the expenses and liabilities associated with football, but left they him free to pursue it.

He started the Southwestern Connecticut Grizzlies as a privately held limited liability corporation. He’s working to transform it into a nonprofit. An advisory board is being formed and additional sources of funding are being sought.

Students, then athletes

To play for the Southwest Connecticut Grizzlies, students must take nine credits per semester and maintain a grade point average of 2.5 for the second semester. That prevents players from slacking during spring, when football is not in season.

“I want to make sure my kids are in the program for the right reason,” Armstrong said. “Anybody can take two classes. We take three, three or four days a week.”

Grades are stressed.

“The football really takes care of itself,” he said. “The football is really the carrot; there’s a bigger picture.”

The Grizzlies compete against teams made up of similar players, although they are the only community college team.

“club division college football is an opportunity for students, student-athletes and their fans to once again participate in inter-scholastic athletics in its purest and most traditional form,” according to the yankee collegiate football conference website (yankeecollegiatefootballconference.webs.com). “these teams and players hearken back to the days when college football first took the nation by storm, with teams assembled from the best ballplayers you could muster from your campus, and the stands filled with their classmates brandishing pennants and megaphones. these non-scholarship players are truly representative of the ‘student body.’”

The conference also includes Eastern Connecticut State University, the State University of New York at Onondaga, Clarkson University, Boston University, Northeastern University, and the University of Maine.

In some cases, club teams have replaced NCAA programs dropped because of budget restraints. Others are made up of students who played in high school, or who quit or were cut by the varsity. In other cases, the club team is the only football in town.

When the club team is the big game of the weekend, the Grizzlies can find themselves playing in front of thousands of fans.

Some Grizzlies then experience that on a weekly basis.

The team’s website, swcgrizz.com, includes stories about players from the 2010 inaugural team moving on to the University of Rhode Island, Central Connecticut State University and Western Connecticut State University.

When the goal of sending a player on to a four-year school is achieved, it impacts performance on the field. Most of the teams in the Yankee Conference are four-year schools, meaning those players are in place to learn the system and develop. The Grizzlies have players for at most two years before they move on.

The rings that go with the national title might just draw more players looking to keep their football careers alive.

“This just validates what we’re preaching to our kids,” Armstrong said. “If you set goals, work your butt off, and put yourself in positive situations, you can be a success in any walk of life, we truly believe that.”

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