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By Ron P. Coderre
This week’s RPC sporty hello goes to my good friend from Turkey and Putnam Science Academy, Omer Seven. Although not a standout athlete, he is a standout in the classroom and with his involvement with the school’s “Robo Mustangs” robotic team. In his spare time he helps coach the PSA Thirds soccer team and plays on the baseball team.
There’s a young man from Philadelphia who’s making a name for himself on the gridiron at Hyde-Woodstock. Jay Watkins is one of the primary reasons the Hyde Wolfpack has gotten off to a 3-0 start following its most recent win, and impressive 27-14 victory over Portsmouth Abbey on the road in Rhode Island.
The rugged Watkins tallied three touchdowns for coach Sean Saucier’s 11 in the win. He scored on runs of 35, 41 and six yards, while racking up an impressive 171 yards on 22 carries from scrimmage.
Watkins is Eastern Connecticut’s leading scorer with 60 points, coming on 10 touchdowns. Last week Hyde-Woodstock came away with a big 39-8 victory over Vermont Academy thanks in part to Watkins’ heroics.
According to coach Saucier, Watkins is attracting attention from a number of NCAA Division I colleges, who are very interested in his running talents. Keep an eye on Hyde and Watkins in the weeks ahead.
Quinnatisset Comes Together for Matt Smith…
Despite the heavy rains that fell on northeastern Connecticut Sept. 28 every tee at Quinnatisset Country Club was filled with golfers, as many as two foursomes deep. The occasion was a fundraising event for one of its members, Matt Smith.
As reported exclusively in the Putnam Town Crier Sports in its Sept. 12 edition, Smith is preparing to move south to Florida for the winter in an effort to refine his game, as he aspires to move on to the next level of golf. The University of Hartford 2012 graduate and Connecticut Amateur Champion plans on spending November through April in the Sunshine State, where he will play golf and work to support himself.
In an effort to send him off with a good head start on his way up the golf ladder, Quinny members and friends of Smith and his family held the golf event, complete with raffles and other opportunities to raise funds on his behalf. According to sources close to the day, approximately $20,000 was turned over to the aspiring professional.
Smith realizes there’s plenty of hard work ahead. In addition to working, he’ll spend uncounted hours working on his game and playing in local tournaments. His goal is to get to Q School with the hope of qualifying for the Web.com Tour, formerly the Nationwide Tour. Thanks to his legion of friends and support from his home course he’s been provided with a tremendous sendoff.
TMHS Hall of Fame Inductees…
The Tourtellotte Memorial High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2011 included a familiar family name among its inductees. The Fatsi boys, Thomas “Tom” and Theodore “Ted” Fatsi left a family athletic legacy that dates back to the early to mid-1940s. The brothers, like so many other North Grosvenordale athletes of the time, honed their basketball skills on hoops attached to sheds, as they were called in those days, in the area of town affectionately known as ‘Greek Village.’
Tom Fatsi’s years on the Tourtellotte campus spanned the years up to 1943. His younger brother Ted’s years went through 1945. The brothers enjoyed 1943 on teams together, in one of the greatest sports years in Tiger history. In 1943 the Tigers basketball team posted an undefeated 20-0 season. They went all the way to the CIAC State championship game and claimed the Quinebaug Valley Conference title.
Tom Fatsi captained the 1942 and 1943 basketball teams and the 1943 baseball team. He has the honor of being coach Jim Canty’s first team captain. Following high school, he went into the U.S. Army. He later came back and went to Nichols College, where he played baseball and basketball in 1948 and 1949,
The late Ted Fatsi is most remembered as the long time Tourtellotte Memorial High School principal, serving in that capacity from 1965 through 1989. However he had a distinguished athletic career as a student-athlete. He was the captain of the 1945 baseball and basketball teams. In 1944 he was member of the team , which won the CIAC State Championship and the QVC title. It was Ted’s two foul shots with no time left on the clock that gave the Tigers a one point State title.
Ted Fatsi played baseball in the Army in 1946 and 1947 before returning to the area and attending Nichols College, where he played basketball and baseball with his brother Tom in 1947 and 1948. He was an outstanding baseball player who was offered a contract by the Detroit Tigers upon his discharge from the Army.
Although there was two years difference in age between the Fatsi brothers, they enjoyed many great moments on the same teams together in high school and in college.
RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: “Don’t retreat. Regroup” Coach Jim Greenhalgh