Six glorious years of youth football came to an end for an incredible group of young men on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 15 at Darien High School when, despite a valiant effort to the end, the eighth grade Wilton Blue Warriors fell to undefeated Darien White 21-7 in the semifinals of the Fairfield County Football League playoffs.
Over the six year span that is nearly half of their young lives, Wilton Blue won two FCFL championships, finished second in the league twice and never fell before the semifinal round, while compiling a spectacular 47-10-1 record, including a magic 10-0 season in 2011.
Wilton Blue was led by a core group of players, Austin Andersen, Dominick Caratazzolo, Dean Griffin, Kyle Hyzy, Dominick Polito, and Jack Savarese, who have played tackle football since third grade, and Tate Falta, Ryan Healey, Jack Lenz, Noah Levi, Cole Stephenson, Reilly Sullivan and Steven Tuin, who have played for five years, and were joined by newer comers Matthew Antonios, Jake Fernandes, Maden Herve, Daniel Incao, Jimmy O’Brien, Spencer Reyes and Andrew Smith.
Long after the Darien players had gone home, the Wilton Blue parents, coaches James Andersen, Mimmo Caratazzolo, Gregg Healey, Chris Hyzy, Carl Lenz, Joe Polito, Joe Savarese, Mark Smith, Craig Stephenson and Steve Tuin, and the players remained on the turf, embracing each other and savoring the last moments of a great chapter in their lives.
Since that first contest on a hot September day in 2010, when these young Warriors first went to battle together, they have grown through the game of football into outstanding young men, learned to be comrades-in-arms always there for each other, and become known throughout the league for being magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. Wilton football fans are rightly proud to call them their own.