The high school football season begins tonight for the Fairfield Warde Mustangs. The squad travels to Wilton to battle the perennial powerhouse Warriors at Fujitani Field beginning at 7 o'clock. Warde head coach Tony Catapano is hoping his charges get off to a good start this year.However, that wasn't the case 36 years ago during our freshman year. The Andrew Warde High School Crimson Eagles started the 1972 season with just one win in their first four contests after dropping a hard-fought game against Darien. The Eagles had a fairly strong ground game, though, as illustrated by running back Tom Davis leaping for extra yardage in the photo below.
"The 1972 team had a bunch of great guys playing," Davis told me via email today. "A few injuries hurt us as quarterback Glen Hlavaty had a shoulder injury, so it changed our game as he was a great throwing threat."
In their 1972 opener against Trumbull, the Eagles took a 7-0 lead early in the game on a touchdown by Hlavaty. In fact, they dominated play for the first quarter. However, the Golden Eagles came alive and coasted to an easy 34-7 victory.
The Eagles defeated Norwalk in their second game of the season, 27-0, as Bob Maffei ran for a pair of touchdowns, Hlavaty ran for one score, and Neal Karker caught a touchdown pass. Warde's running attack, led by Maffei and Ken Aiello, ran the Bears off the field.
"The running game was a strong point of our game," pointed out Davis. He said Maffei, Aiello, Jim Delvecchio, George Lemon, and he all contributed to the attack. "It wasn't just one guy doing all the labor."
Norwalk also had its problems trying to move the ball as the Eagles intercepted five passes and recovered two fumbles. The photo below shows Chris Ford running for a gain during the 1972 win over Norwalk.
The Eagles lost their home opener to arch-rival Roger Ludlowe, 20-0, as the Tigers stopped the hosts every time they had the football. The Eagles constantly gave Ludlowe the ball in good field position due to costly mistakes. Warde's defense again played well, but it was on the field over 75% of the time. "Ludlowe was a much stronger team than Norwalk," admitted Davis.
Darien edged Warde, 16-13, in the fourth game of the season. The winning margin was provided by a 25-yard field goal by the Blue Wave quarterback. Both Warde touchdowns were scored by Maffei. Harry Caston kicked one extra point. Warde was 1-3 to open the campaign.
Fast-forward 36 years. This year's Mustangs are coming off of a season in which they were 4-6. Warde should have a terrific number of weapons to complement Coach Catapano's double wing offense. Junior Eric Burns will be the quarterback for the Mustangs since the team is without starter Ralph Fidaleo.
"I follow Warde's football team as much as I can," said Davis, who is looking forward to the season opener. Last year, Wilton was 7-3 and roughed up Warde, 34-0, in Fairfield. "I have become very close to Head Coach Tony Catapano and try to help the team with whatever I can do. I think the team will have a good season as the boys have worked hard during the off season."
Davis said he has been invited to the team's annual banquet two years in a row to present the "Bill Davis Award" to an outstanding football player as selected by the coaching staff. The Davis family also awards a graduating senior football player a $1,000 scholarship in memory of the late Bill Davis, Tom's brother and Warde's former football coach, at the Senior Awards Night.
Here's hoping the 2008 edition of the Warde football team gets off to a better start than its ancestors of 36 years ago. Any chance Coach Catapano would use Bob Maffei and Ken Aiello, circa 1972, in the backfield to generate more offense? I didn't think so.
Paul
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