Warde Wins Thanksgiving Day Battle Against Ludlowe, 27-12, to Take Commanding Lead in Series

The following article was written by Chris Elsberry and appeared in The Connecticut Post and The Citizen.

Ryan Brown and Brandon Bisack wanted to go out with a bang.

The two Warde seniors have had a special connection as receiver and quarterback respectively in their Mustangs careers, and with the first winning season since Warde and Ludlowe split back in 2004 riding on the outcome of Thanksgiving morning's matchup against the town-rival Falcons, they went out and did just that.

Brown, pictured below, caught three touchdown passes to earn Warde's Most Valuable Player trophy from the Fairfield Lions Club and Bisack completed 23 of 33 passes for 197 yards as the Mustangs retained possession of the Gallagher-Baynas Memorial Trophy with a 27-12 win over Ludlowe before an estimated crowd of 1,800 at Tetreau-Davis field.

Falcons tailback Chris Howell received the Ludlowe MVP trophy from the Fairfield Lions Club. "Brandon and I have been working hard all season and we wanted to end it strong," said Brown, who caught six passes for 90 yards. "We've had that connection, so we made it happen three times. I'm just happy about the win, I'm not focusing on me, I'm focusing on the bang our team made."

Trailing 12-0 just six minutes into the game, Warde rebounded, thanks to its defense, which allowed two huge plays in Ludlowe's opening two possessions -- an 80-yard touchdown run by Daleek Chambers and a 67-yard pass reception to Mitch Wyckoff, that turned into Chris Howell's five-yard TD run. After that, however, the Mustangs stopped the Falcons cold.

"I'm glad how we responded," said Warde coach Duncan DellaVolpe, whose team finishes at 6-5. "They (the defense) had no choice because if they didn't, they weren't going back out there. They settled in. Our two linebackers (Wade) Petro and (Max) Snapper played great. Everyone up front played better."

Ludlowe, meanwhile, lost a golden opportunity to take command early after those two quick touchdowns. A bad snap play on its next possession not only lost 25 yards from midfield, but that Petro recovered. Four plays later, Bisack, pictured below, found Brown (pictured below) to make it 12-7 as Chris Jones tacked on the first of three extra points.

"We just handed them that first touchdown after we lost the ball," Ludlowe coach Vin Camera said.

"We were up 12-0, with the ball, coming off a big play and we snap the ball over the quarterback's head and we never regained the momentum. We had a chance to make it a three-score game."

Instead, the Falcons never got back in synch. Bryan Azarian scored from eight yards out with 8:48 left in the half to give Warde a 14-12 lead, and then with 18 second left before halftime, Bisack and Brown connected again for a 28-yard touchdown pass that made it 21-12.

"We wanted to go out with a bang," Bisack said. "We know each other so well. We've been throwing to each other for so long we wanted to end this day on a special note."

Bisack and Brown finished the day with an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Warde celebrated its winning record by giving DellaVolpe the ice bucket treatment on the sidelines as the final horn sounded.

"It means a lot to the seniors, we put in so much work over these last four years," Bisack said. "As a senior, you always want to win your last game."

Thanksgiving Day History Between Warde Crimson Eagles/Mustangs & Ludlowe Flying Tigers/Falcons

Fairfield Warde will host Fairfield Ludlowe in the 10th renewal of the modern-day Thanksgiving Day football rivalry between Fairfield's two public high schools tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. The Mustangs are hoping to win their sixth game in the series and post their fourth win in the last five meetings with Ludlowe.

Similarly, their predecessors of a generation ago at Andrew Warde High School won seven of the 10 Thanksgiving Day gridiron games against their arch-rivals from Roger Ludlowe, including the last five games of the series.

I had the pleasure of being the public address announcer of last year's Thanksgiving Day game at Ludlowe (pictured below), which Warde won, 44-21. I was the master of ceremonies during the Warde field dedication ceremony at halftime of the 2006 Thanksgiving Day game. Warde posted a 21-12 victory that year.

Here is a look at the history of Thanksgiving Day football between Warde and Ludlowe, including the 10 games of the original Thanksgiving Day series and the nine games of the current series.

Andrew Warde Crimson Eagles vs. Roger Ludlowe Flying Tigers

1975 to 1984

(Series: Warde 7 Wins, Ludlowe 3 Wins)

1975: Warde Eagles 28, Ludlowe Tigers 6

1976: Warde Eagles 20, Ludlowe Tigers 13

1977: Ludlowe Tigers 20, Warde Eagles 13

1978: Ludlowe Tigers 35, Warde Eagles 6

1979: Ludlowe Tigers 41, Warde Eagles 25

1980: Warde Eagles 17, Ludlowe Tigers 14

1981: Warde Eagles 14, Ludlowe Tigers 8

1982: Warde Eagles 23, Ludlowe Tigers 0

1983: Warde Eagles 26, Ludlowe Tigers 6

1984: Warde Eagles 16, Ludlowe Tigers 13

Fairfield Warde Mustangs vs. Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons

2005 to 2013

(Series: Warde 5 Wins, Ludlowe 4 Wins)

2005: Ludlowe Falcons 20, Warde Mustangs 14

2006: Warde Mustangs 21, Ludlowe Falcons 12

2007: Warde Mustangs 28, Ludlowe Falcons 0

2008: Ludlowe Falcons 10, Warde Mustangs 8

2009: Ludlowe Falcons 24, Warde Mustangs 14

2010: Warde Mustangs 21, Ludlowe Falcons 16

2011: Warde Mustangs 52, Ludlowe Falcons 13

2012: Ludlowe Falcons 31, Warde Mustangs 13
2013: Warde Mustangs 44, Ludlowe Falcons 21

Cumulative Record: Warde 12 Wins, Ludlowe 7 Wins

Paul

'The Coach' Recalls First-Ever Gridiron Battle Between Andrew Warde and Roger Ludlowe

The following story was written and originally appeared on this Web site in November of 2012.

Although the first Thanksgiving Day game between Warde and Ludlowe didn't take place until 1975, the two teams clashed for the very first time just two-and-a-half months after Andrew Warde High School opened in September of 1956.

Head coach Fern Tetreau and his Crimson Eagles' squad completed their inaugural season against the established Roger Ludlowe Flying Tigers by dropping a 27-6 decision. However, it was apparent even then that Coach Tetreau, the former Ludlowe skipper, was building a solid program which would ultimately win a state championship just three years later.

While at Ludlowe, Tetreau's 1954 team was ranked number three in the state. Tetreau always preferred the unexpected on the football field. He liked to run the Statue of Liberty play, where the quarterback fades back to pass and the running back grabs the ball. He ran draw plays and screen passes. And, he taught his players to think on the field.

"When I elected to go to Warde after three years at Ludlowe, I was asked about Emil Taft," recalled Tetreau via email about his successor at Ludlowe. "I recommended him very highly to Dr. Walter Hellman, who was assistant superintendent at that time. I was very pleased when they selected him to replace me at Ludlowe," he admitted. "My three sons (Mike, Bill, and Jack) played for Emil (at Ludlowe) and did very well."

While at Ludlowe, Bob Seirup was Tetreau's assistant coach in football, while Tetreau was an assistant to Seirup in basketball. "We won the New England basketball championship, and six of the first starters were football players," Tetreau remembered. "Bob Gillette, a former teacher at Warde, was a starter (at Ludlowe) in both football and basketball."

Tetreau helped open the new high school and began a new football program with just a few of his players from Ludlowe. "Only two players with a lot of playing time followed me to Warde," added Tetreau. "(They were) Dick Dakai and Bob Kasvinski. Ben Slesinki was the starting quarterback and Al Greco also played that position. Joe Renaud also played in that game. Most of the team was made up of new faces who eventually went through an undefeated season (a few years later)."

Coach Taft's Flying Tigers used a potent running attack to erase an early 6-0 deficit and cruise to victory over their new cross-town rivals in the 1956 series lidlifter. Ludlowe improved to 4-2-1 on the campaign prior to closing out the season with its traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Bassick of Bridgeport. The Eagles closed their inaugural campaign winless in eight games.

Ludlowe co-captain Pat Thomas scored three of his team's four touchdowns on breakaway runs measuring 69, 35, and 15 yards in addition to helping to set up the first score with a nifty 32-yard scamper. The stellar fullback carried the ball 12 times for 288 yards for a 19-yard average per carry. The winners gained 355 total yards on the ground.

Warde actually scored the game's first touchdown on its second play from scrimmage to give the visitors the early advantage. "The big play against Ludlowe called for Dakai, who was a lineman with a strong arm, to turn around and get the ball from the quarterback and throw a long pass to Rick Solari for about 50 yards," explained Tetreau. Solari caught the long aerial and scampered the remaining 10 yards to paydirt for a touchdown.

"That's as much as I remember. I did spread Rick Solari wide to have a one-on-one situation." It was the first time that the six-foot-three Dakai, Warde's punter, threw a forward pass during the regular season.

The Tigers, however, responded with a 70-yard drive of their own, climaxed by co-captain George Toth's one yard end run into the end zone. The methodical march downfield included one pass from quarterback Dick Bonney to end Bob Power, good for 10 yards, a 32-yard jaunt by Thomas, and an 11-yard carry by Bonney. Thomas also swept around end to convert the extra point and give Ludlowe a 7-6 lead.

The hosts took control of the game at that point, although Warde, using a newly-adopted spread offense for Dakai's passing, completed five-of-15 aerial attempts for 96 yards. Ben Slesensky and Al Greco also did some pitching for the Eagles.

Thomas made his first two touchdown runs in the second period as Ludlowe boosted its lead to 21-6 just before halftime. Norman Stickney's interception of a pass thrown by Dakai preceded the 69-yard scoring romp by Thomas to expand the Tigers' cushion. The winners used their bruising ground game to gain good yardage, eat up the valuable time off the clock, and take command of the contest.

"Ludlowe (players) had friends at Warde and Warde (players) had friends at Ludlowe," emphasized Tetreau about that initial meeting on the gridiron. The players on both teams attended the same school the year before, so they knew each other very well. "Ludlowe was favored, and they won."

Tetreau, after whom the Warde football field was named and dedicated eight years ago, was inducted into the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his excellence in coaching and the leadership he provided in organizing the FCIAC. The annual awards program took place at Testo's Banquet Hall in Bridgeport.

Just three years after that first winless season, Tetreau's Crimson Eagles posted an undefeated 9-0 record and captured a state championship. Fifteen players went on to play college football from his 1959 championship squad. The following year, in 1960, his charges went 8-1 for a two-year cumulative record of 17-1.

Paul Piorek

Remembering Warde's Original Thanksgiving Day Rivalry

Fairfield Warde High School will host the annual "Battle of Fairfield" this Thanksgiving morning when the Mustangs take on the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons at 10 o'clock. This will be the tenth Turkey Day tussle between the two schools since the rivalry was resurrected in 2005.

However, 46 years ago this month, Warde began a short-lived and all-but-forgotten Thanksgiving Day rivalry against a small private school in Bridgeport. Prior to the opening of Andrew Warde High School in 1956, cross-town rival Roger Ludlowe High School had an established Turkey Day football game against Bassick in Bridgeport.

That left the Crimson Eagles searching for a Thanksgiving Day opponent. So, how and why did the series with Kolbe eventually start? "We both needed a Turkey Day game, so a friendly, competitive situation developed," explained former Warde coaching legend Fern Tetreau. "Both teams played hard."

The Kolbe Friars, who didn't even have a field of their own, were Warde's opponents on Thanksgiving Day from 1968 through 1974. The only question prior to each of Warde's first five games with Kolbe wasn't who would win but, rather, by how much.

Warde dominated the series from 1968 through 1972, winning two of the five games in shutout fashion and never allowing more than eight points in any game. Overall, Warde won all seven games in the series and outscored Kolbe, 214-44.

"The best part about our clash with Kolbe was that we never had a terrible turkey dinner," Tom Davis, a member of the Eagles' squads from 1970 through 1972, told me via email. "It was always enjoyable. We went into the game knowing that we were going to win. They may have thought that they were a better team but we knew that we would win."

The Crimson Eagles won the first meeting between the schools, 32-8, in 1968. One year later, Warde blasted Kolbe, 40-6. Quarterback Chico Rodriguez threw five touchdown passes to lead the Eagles. Steve DuBoys caught scoring strikes of 70, eight, and 87 yards to help Warde to a 20-0 lead after one quarter.

Rodriguez led the winners on a 76-yard drive to open the second quarter, culminating with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Al Cassidy. Mike Skalski caught an 87-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and the Eagles closed the scoring in the fourth quarter when Jack Rozgonyi scampered five yards to paydirt.

The Eagles made it three in a row in 1970 when they posted a 20-6 victory in Fairfield. Warde traveled to Hedges Stadium in Bridgeport and earned its first of two straight shutout victories in 1971 (34-0). Quarterback Glen Hlavaty riddled the Friar secondary by passing for four touchdowns, leaving many wondering whether the Friars would ever win a game in the series, much less be competitive. However, even a new Kolbe coach couldn't change the Thanksgiving Day outcome in 1972.


According to the November 19, 1972 issue of the Bridgeport Sunday Post, "Kolbe High School football coach Paul Janosko is faced with a difficult assignment. In his first year as the Friars' mentor, he will try to lead his charges to their initial Thanksgiving Day triumph. With two fine performances in recent weeks, including a 40-18 triumph over Bullard Havens for their only victory, the Friars figure to give Warde a run for its money."

However, that was not to be as the Crimson Eagles buried Kolbe, 40-0. Warde finished the season at 3-6-1. Dividing the quarterback chores were Hlavaty and Davis. Running back Jim DelVecchio and placekicker Harry Caston were the scoring threats for Warde. Neil Karker and Frank Markoya were the sure-handed receivers for the Eagles.

"The '72 game was a really good game for us as we pounded them pretty good, and we all played a pretty good game," wrote Tom Davis, the younger brother of head coach Bill Davis. He noted that the games against Kolbe carried added significance for him and his brother.

"The Thanksgiving Day games were the only games my Dad saw me play as he owned his own business and worked on Saturdays, so those days were special for me." Overall, Warde outscored Kolbe, 166-20, after the first five games.

One year later, in 1973, the Kolbe gridders were a confident group heading into the Thanksgiving Day showdown with their Fairfield neighbors. According to the Bridgeport Sunday Post of November 18, 1973, "In five previous attempts, the Kolbe High School football team has failed in its quest to defeat Warde on Thanksgiving Day. That could all change as the Friars venture to the Crimson Eagles' gridiron in Fairfield for their sixth annual confrontation.

"Coach Paul Janosko's Friar combine has enjoyed a very successful season, posting a 4-5 MBIAC record. In two of the setbacks, the Friars led Harding, 14-0, at intermission before bowing, and lost in the final minute to St. Joseph, 14-12. Having already won more games than any other Kolbe eleven, Janosko has his troops primed for their first .500 season."

Once again, though, Warde prevailed. Senior halfback Ken Aiello exploded for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead the Eagles to a 28-18 come-from-behind victory over the Friars in the 1973 Thanksgiving Day tussle. Aiello's fourth-quarter scoring runs of 11 and 54 yards erased an 18-14 Friar lead as the losers frittered away an opportunity to notch their first win in this Turkey Day series.

Aiello, who finished with 155 yards on the ground, was awarded the Most Valuable Player for Warde, while Kolbe halfback Ken Iassogna, who churned up 120 yards in 18 carries and scored a touchdown, was the Frairs' recipient.

"The Kolbe effort should rank as one of its strongest in this series as the Friars were in full command until the Crimson Eagles mounted a ferocious running attack in the second half to overpower the opposition," the newspaper article stated. Jim DelVecchio ran for a 74-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the victorious Eagles.

The final Thanksgiving Day matchup between the two rivals happened in 1974. The Eagles finished the seven-game sweep of Kolbe by posting a 20-6 victory in front of an estimated 4,000 fans in Fairfield. Warde linebacker Phil Cerrone came up with the big play as he killed a Kolbe scoring bid with a pass interception and an 82-yard return to set up an important insurance touchdown for Warde.

Cerrone, who gained the Most Valuable Player award for his crucial theft, intercepted Jamsey Codrington's pass in the right flat as Kolbe was driving toward the Warde goal line. Cerrone stepped in front of intended receiver Ira Thomas at the 10, picked off the pass, and rambled 82 yards to the Friars' eight. Two plays later, Harold Savage scored a touchdown from nine yards out, staking the Crimson Eagles to a 12-0 lead with 3:30 left in the game.


Warde put the finishing touches on its second victory of the season and final Thanksgiving Day win against Kolbe on its next series as an unsuccessful Kolbe onside kick gave the Eagles the ball at midfield, setting up Greg Aiello's 37-yard scoring gallop with 1:03 showing.

The following year, Andrew Warde High School's Crimson Eagles began a Thanksgiving Day football tradition against Roger Ludlowe High School. In fact, Warde defeated Ludlowe twice during the 1975 campaign, marking the only time in the long and storied history of the Fairfield football rivalry that one school swept two games in the same year against the other. As for Kolbe, it no longer fields a high school football team.

Paul

Saint Emery Day 2014 a Huge Success

Saint Emery Parish in Fairfield celebrated the Feast of Saint Emery (Nov. 5) on Sunday, Nov. 9, with a special music program at the 11:00 a.m. Hungarian Mass, according to AWHS 1976 classmate Tony Procaccini.

A vocal trio consisting of soprano Rose Kovach, baritone Frank Zilinyi, Sr., and tenor (and parish Music Director) Procaccini (pictured left-to-right below) performed works by Franz Liszt, Zoltan Kodaly and Lajos Bardos.

Soprano Rose Kovach is currently the soloist for the Hungarian Mass at Saint Emery's. She holds a BM in voice performance and sacred music from Seton Hill University and has sung in many choirs in the USA and Hungary. Rose lived in Budapest for two years with her family while her father taught at Pazmany Peter Catholic University.

After graduating university, Kovach returned to Hungary and spent two years teaching English at the elementary level. Rose will soon complete her elementary teaching certification at the University of Bridgeport.

Lyric baritone and Fairfield native Frank Zilinyi, Sr. graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 1985 with a Bachelor of Music degree. He is a proud first-generation American son of Ferenc Zilinyi, who came to America shortly after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Frank was baptized and married in Saint Emery's Church, and has sung with the parish's Saint Emery Festival Choir.

Procaccini, a self-proclaimed Hungarophile, graduated with highest honors from Bridgeport University with a BS degree in Music Education. He has served as organist and/or music director at Saint Ladislaus Hungarian Church, Norwalk, Saint Stephen of Hungary Parish, New York City, Saint Patrick Church, Bridgeport, and, since late 2012, at Saint Emery's. He has traveled to Hungary four times and has sung with the Matyas Templom Choir. 

Attendance at this Mass was high, and the trio received a number of compliments. Procaccini hopes to continue planning Hungarian vocal and choral music for future Hungarian masses.

Fairfield Board of Education Approved Name for New Andrew Warde High School 60 Years Ago Today

The following story is reprinted from the November 5, 1954 edition of the Bridgeport Sunday Post. The article appeared on the front page. Please see the newspaper scans below.

Fairfield's new secondary school, to be constructed on the eastern side of town, has been named Andrew Warde High School in honor of one of the first commissioners appointed to govern the people of Connecticut.

The Board of Education approved the name for the new school following a recommendation made by Mrs. Herbert A. George, secretary of the board, who headed a committee studying various names for the new structure.


A contemporary of Roger Ludlowe, after whom the town's original public high school was named, Mr. Warde played an important role in the early history of Connecticut. Mrs. George said information gathered disclosed that he came to America in Winthrop's fleet and for a short time resided in Watertown.

He was appointed by the General Court of the Bay Colony as one of the commissioners to govern the people of Connecticut and was one of the five persons who held the first court in the colony. Mr. Warde, records indicate, was one of the six magistrates who with committees of the lower house first asserted the sovereignty of the colony by the formal declaration of the war against the Pequots in 1637. "The names of the six commissioners should live forever," reported Mrs. George.


Among his other descendants were Miss Annie Burr Jennings, Oliver Gould Jennings, Henry Ward Beecker, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Rear Admiral Andrew Hull Foot, General William Hull, Commodore Isaac Hull, General Joseph Wheeler, Stephen Burroughs, inventor of the decimal system of currency, John Burroughs, emminent naturalist and author, and Mary E. Wooley, president of Mount Holyoke College.

Mr. Warde was the father of nine children. His daughter, Mary, married John Burr II of Fairfield, father of Aaron Burr, who was the third vice president of the United States, and ancestors of the Rev. Aaron Burr, president of Princeton College.

The Board of Education also approved a list of seven names from which Mrs. George was authorized to select four for the naming of the four houses in the new high school plan. The names approved were John Winthrop, founder of New London; John Mason, founder of Windsor and author of A Brief History of the Pequot War: 1736; Joel Barlow, author of A Vision of Columbus, and editor of a weekly newspaper in Hartford.

Also, Oliver Wolcott, one of the signers of The Declaration of Independence who served as governor of the state in 1796; and Thomas Morehouse, Thomas Newton, and Edmund Strickland were among the first early settlers of the town.

The name Aaron Burr, president of Princeton, was dropped when it was pointed out that the name might be confused with that of the Revolutionary War traitor.

Members of the committee working with Mrs. George on the names were Dr. Carlyle G. Hoyt, superintendent of schools Bernard Marlin, Alanson C. Harper, Kenneth Peterson, and Philip Pitruzzelio of the school teaching staff.

Paul

Warde Students Narrowly Voted for Kennedy Over Nixon in 1960 Presidential Election

Election Day is tomorrow. Fifty-four years ago, the students at Andrew Warde High School narrowly voted for John F. Kennedy over Richard M. Nixon in October of 1960, just weeks before the election.

The vote was 668 (48 percent) for Kennedy to 638 (45 percent) for Nixon with 102 students (seven percent) undecided. It was the first of two presidential straw ballots conducted at the high school.

The faculty, however, favored Nixon with 33 teachers (45 percent) voting for him compared to 25 teachers (34 percent) favoring Kennedy. Sixteen teachers (21 percent) were undecided.

The voting by paper ballot was conducted by about 175 students, members of seven Problems of Democracy classes in the school. The balloting was conducted in homerooms so that all the students could participate.

Students representatives conducting the voting included Charlene Mitchell, Cahrlotte Cerutti, Lynn Carter, Rita Schweitz, Pat Musone, Paul Hiller, Carole Glantz, Larry Gill, Barbara Bachrach, Ann Dickey, and Rosemary Vasas. Faculty advisers were Edward Bateson, Gordon Ingerson, Fred Klee, and Virginia Mussler.

The voting in each of the four houses in the high school was as follows:

• Barlow House: Kennedy (175), Nixon (153), Undecided (23);
• Mason House: Kennedy (167), Nixon (166), Undecided (24);
• Wolcott House: Kennedy (164), Nixon (155), Undecided (36);
• Smedley House: Kennedy (162), Nixon (164), Undecided (13)

Paul