This is the third installment of my special series recalling Andrew Warde High School's football rivalries. If you have any photos, film, or programs, please contact me at pppiorek@news12.com. Thank you. Thirty-six years have passed since he played his last football game at Andrew Warde High School, but Harry Caston still cherishes his memories of the Thanksgiving Day rivalry with Kolbe, the athletes with whom he played, and the coach who never gave up on him.
The man affectionately known as "The Toe" was the Crimson Eagles' placekicker during his junior and senior years. "I probably gave myself the nickname, having tired of being called 'Hey, you,'" joked Caston, who waxed nostalgic with Thanksgiving just one week away.
"For me, it was wonderful playing on Thanksgiving day," wrote Caston, now a lawyer living in Salt Lake City. "We had great weather in both my junior and senior years. I can only speak about the games that were played in 1971, my junior year, and 1972, my senior year. Both of those teams had extremely talented athletes, and we were coached by an enthusiastic and dedicated coach (Bill Davis)."
It was Davis who inspired and encouraged Caston and taught him about teamwork and commitment. Caston shared his story about his desire to be a placekicker for the Eagles. "When I announced my intention to Coach Davis that I was going to become the team's placekicker, he could have and maybe should have reminded me of the important role and service that the members of the audio visual club provide to the school, and perhaps that organization might be more suitable to me," wrote Caston.
"He didn't say that. Instead he encouraged me, and gave me the five footballs that I asked for to practice with during the summer. Four months after that conversation I found myself lining up on an extremely muggy Saturday morning to kick an extra point in the first game of my junior year. It's my recollection that with my teamates and schoolmates looking on, my foot failed to make contact with the football. My second attempt didn't garner more success than the first.
"While none too pleased with my performance, Coach Davis didn't give up on me. In fact, he took me aside, told me that he wanted me to kick in the junior varsity games, and that he would put me back in the varsity games when I was ready. I did get back into the varsity games by the end of the year."
Caston was impressed with the Eagles gridders of that era. "We did not have a record that was indicative of the talent and the coaching that we had. It's my recollection that we were not blown out or embarrassed in any of the games that we did not win in my junior and senior years, and with a little luck, a few breaks, or whatever, we would have and should have had a better record," admitted the proud father of two competitive skiers.
Warde easily won the Thanksgiving Day contests with Kolbe in 1971 and 1972, extending its perfect mark to 5-0 against the Friars in a series which first began in 1968. Warde would eventually sweep all seven games in the short-lived Thanksgiving "tradition" which ended in 1974. In fact, the Eagles outscored Kolbe, 214-44, overall.
"My hypothesis is that the reason why the team dominated Kolbe in my junior and senior years was due in part to the frustrations that we had that were taken out on them, and the team was able to play up to its potential," theorized Caston, who returned to Fairfield for Warde's field dedication ceremony, 50th anniversary celebration, and Thanksgiving Day victory over Ludlowe in 2006.
The Eagles posted their first of back-to-back Thanksgiving Day shutouts against the Friars in 1971 with a 34-0 win at Hedges Stadium in Bridgeport. Quarterback Glen Hlavaty, who tossed four touchdowns in the game, connected with wide receiver John Curry 13 times for 200 yards and a pair of scores.
Warde, which controlled the ball 75% of the time in the first half, finally got on the board with 1:04 left when Hlavaty fired a 22-yard touchdown pass to Curry. Caston, however, missed the extra point. The Eagles added to their lead early in the third quarter when Hlavaty hit flanker back Rick Seres in the corner of the end zone for a 12-0 lead. The Eagles faked the point-after conversion and Hlavaty, the holder, rolled right and passed to Curry for two points and a 14-0 cushion.Hlavaty found Curry for a 37-yard third quarter scoring strike on a deep slant across the middle, and Jim DelVecchio, pictured below in a 1972 game against Wilton, picked off an errant Kolbe aerial and raced 35 yards, shedding a couple of would-be tacklers on the way to the end zone. A few minutes later, he took a flip from Hlavaty for a four-yard scamper to paydirt. The last touchdown followed the second interception of the quarter by Mark Magyar, a reserve defensive back.
What does Caston most remember about that game? "Following a kickoff I was trying to sneak off the field so as not to get injured, and I inadvertently tackled the guy who was returning my kickoff and thereby prevented a touchdown," Caston admitted. "One of the students who was not on the football team came running down the stands and congratulated me for my tackle.
"I felt pretty good about that," he continued. "I later learned that the source of this guy's joy was that he had a large amount of money on the game, and if the other team had scored he would have lost his wager."
The following year, 1972, the Crimson Eagles blanked Kolbe, 40-0, for their fifth straight series triumph. Caston will never forget the ending of that game. He wrote, "In the final moments of the last game in my senior year played on Thanksgiving Day with our defense on the field and the lead firmly in hand, the Coach called over to me and told me to go in the game as a defensive player as he was putting all of the seniors in.
"I figured that if I stalled long enough I wouldn't have to venture into a situation that could have potentially been dangerous, especially considering that I didn't have a clue about what to do or where to go," he continued. "He would have none of it. He directed me to stand behind my friend, Mark, who was playing defensive tackle, and to try my best to not get hurt."
His high school career ended with three memorable plays. Caston admitted that on the first play, he ran back-and-forth, unsure as to what to do. The next play, though, he was involved in a tackle. Finally, during his last-ever play, he recovered a fumble. "The Toe" was asked after the game why he didn't run after recovering the pigskin.
"I had the knowledge that in high school football, at least at that time, you couldn't advance a fumble. The real reason, of course was that if I picked up the ball, and started running, it was extremely likely that I would have gotten tackled from behind, and subjected myself to even greater embarrassment. In the locker room after the game, Coach commented that I started the game out as a kicker, but went out as a football player."
With Thanksgiving just a week away, Caston can't help but reminisce about what once was. "For me personally, the Thanksgiving Day game was part of a wonderful weekend," Caston admitted. "First the game, then dinner at a family friend's house, and the next day was the start of the ski season, and the first trip of the year to Vermont. Thanksgiving remains my favorite holiday.
"Even 36 years after the crowd dispersed on Thanksgiving Day in my senior year, and as we teammates --- teammates who had literally lived together in the weight room during summer practice --- went our separate ways, the joy that we felt as a team that day comes to me like an arrow, straight and true, shooting through the years. (Coach) Bill's recent tragic passing makes those memories all the more sweeter, meaningful, and poignant."
Paul
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