It may not have determined the outcome of the high school football game, but it certainly changed its trajectory.
Early in the second half with the score tied, Woodstock Academy quarterback Derek Thompson looked like he had completed a pass to Caleb Feen just inside Capital Prep/Achievement territory.
As Feen was being tackled, the ball popped out. Trailblazer defensive back Kadeem McKnight picked up the loose ball and returned it down the sidelines for a 56-yard touchdown.
The early score led to 16 unanswered points for Capital Prep/Achievement Academy which held off the Centaurs, 29-15, at the Bentley Athletic Complex Sept. 22.
After the game, no one truly knew whether it was a fumble recovery, if the ball had touched the ground, or an interception if it had not and whether or not it was a turnover at all.
“I wish I knew what it was. Regardless, it was what was called and it definitely was not easy to overcome. A momentum swing is an understatement,” said Woodstock Academy coach Sean Saucier.
Back on their heels, the Centaurs surrendered two more points when punter Damian Bonneau-Nichols was forced to punt from the end zone. The kick was blocked and the ball fallen upon by senior linebacker Roy Clemons for the safety.
The Centaurs (1-2) did make a defensive stand after punting the ball back to the Trailblazers following the safety and forced them to punt.
Unfortunately, Woodstock Academy failed to move the ball either and kicked it back to Capital Prep who took over on their own 49-yard line.
Jeremiah Taylor (17 carries, 119 yards), on the first play from scrimmage, broke the line of scrimmage and outraced Woodstock Academy defenders to the end zone for the 51-yard score and a 23-7 Capital Prep lead.
It would have been easy for the Centaurs to pack it in.
They didn’t.
The defense stepped up on the next two Capital Prep possessions.
Nick Bedard intercepted a pass on one and the defense forced a punt on the other.
“The defense played really well and that’s a tribute to Joe Humphrey, our defensive coordinator, he worked really hard this week to put in things to combat their offense,” Saucier said.
Midway through the final quarter, the offense delivered.
Derek Thompson (18-for-26 passing, 163 yards) completed a 10-yard pass to Feen (5 catches, 48 yards) following the Capital Prep punt. A personal foul moved it close to the 50 and Thompson found Bedard (2 catches, 53 yards) to take them halfway to the end zone.
The rest came on the next play when Thompson lofted a pass over a Capital Prep for a 25-yard strike to Luis Miranda (6 catches, 48 yards) that made it a one-possession game again, 23-15.
“That was one of the nicest throws and catches that I’ve seen our guys do. That was a halftime adjustment. We tried to figure out ways to beat the man coverage and we did a little switching among the receivers and their routes and we were able to free up Luis,” Saucier said.
The Trailblazers (1-2) responded on their next series.
They put one of their longest series of the day, a nine-play drive that chewed up over three minutes on the clock and ended with Taylor scoring on a 21-yard run with 1:08 to play.
“I think we wanted to do more than just compete (Saturday). I think we had a good chance to win and a couple of unfortunate mistakes kind of did us in. We will come back stronger,” Thompson said.
The Centaurs scored the first touchdown of the game on their first series.
Feen intercepted a Solomon Barlow (6-for-15 passing, 34 yards) pass and returned it to the Trailblazer 24.
Five running plays later, Jaden Dennett (11 carries, 40 yards) took it in from the 1-yard line for the quick 7-0 lead.
Capital Prep responded with a nine-play drive, capped by Barlow’s 13-yard touchdown keeper.
It was all the scoring the first half would see.
“I was thrilled,” Saucier said of the 7-7 halftime score. “I told them that we were in a battle and it was awesome. It was a great game to coach, a great game to be a part of and our kids showed me something this week.”
Saucier, prior to the game, called the matchup a litmus test for the Centaurs.
“We definitely passed it,” Saucier said. “The bar will be raised now in practice. The mental toughness meter is being pushed up, not out of punishment, but out of reaching their potential. I think they showed it (Saturday) and now we have to go after it.”
One thing the Centaurs will have to get better on is turnovers.
Three Woodstock Academy passes were intercepted and it also turned the ball over on two fumbles, one at the Capital Prep 10 and the other resulting in the Capital Prep touchdown.
“The turnovers came at tough times, right when we needed momentum, and we just lost it. I think we have to give it up for our defense, they did an unbelievable job all day,” Thompson said.
The Centaurs go on the road on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. game at Ludlow, Mass.
“It’s a Friday night. I’m sure it will be a great, small town atmosphere similar to Greenfield, Mass. If we can bottle what we did (Saturday) and bring it on the road, I like our chances,” Saucier said.
The Centaurs downed Ludlow, 54-28, last season in Woodstock.
Ludlow is 2-1 on the year and is coming off a 25-16 win over Amherst, Mass., which the Centaurs will host on Oct. 5.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

..

Only three players remember what the inaugural campaign for the Woodstock Academy boys’ prep basketball team was like.
Tre Mitchell, Danny Dade and Skylar Kooyenga are the lone holdovers from the Gold and Blue squads last year.
They will be among the 31 who will be introduced at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at The Woodstock Academy’s second annual Moonlight Madness at the Alumni Fieldhouse on the school’s North Campus.
The public is invited and there is no charge for admission.
In addition to introductions, there will also be a dunking exhibition and an intrasquad game.
The Gold finished ranked third in the nation last year after falling in the National Prep Semifinals to end with a 35-5 record.
The Gold squad, sight unseen, will begin with the same lofty ranking this season.
The Blue team finished with a 22-11and won the Power 5 Conference championship.
“You have to establish a culture with the new kids every year, but the more holdovers you have, certainly helps. We have only three this year so it’s difficult for them to influence the entire pack but we have a great coaching staff, everybody here gets the culture, so it’s more the coaches who inject it and the returning players echo it,” said Woodstock Academy prep coach Tony Bergeron.
That coaching staff remains largely intact with one addition.
Former UConn player, Jonathan Mandeldove, joins the Centaurs staff.
Mandeldove went to Hargrave Military Academy prior to his three years of playing for the Huskies so he understands the prep circuit. He also coached at Cheshire Academy last year and he just happens to stand 7-foot-1.
“He’s tremendous with the big guys,” Bergeron said. “He still looks down at all our 6-9’s and 6-10’s. He brings such energy and an unbelievable wealth of knowledge.”
Bergeron likes a couple aspects of his new roster.
The depth, which helped the Centaurs often last year, returns.
Bergeron thinks his team is three deep at every position.
It means there is plenty of competition from the interior even before the Centaurs begin playing actual opponents which will not take place until Nov. 3.
The roster will, once again, have to be split into two squads.
“It’s a war every day in practice and you are talking about, by the assessment of the college coaches, 20-plus scholarship level players in the gym,” Bergeron said.
Those college coaches have been descending upon Woodstock Academy in big numbers. On the first night of practice, 41 came, 40 of those were from Division I schools. That number has since risen to over 160 college coach visits.
Bergeron also likes his size.
“We’re much bigger, more lengthy and much more athletic,” he said.
Mitchell returns after being a candidate for the Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut last year.
Mitchell came in at 260 pounds last year, he’s down to 235 this season. His body fat is down from 33 percent to 16 and his vertical leap is up to 34 inches.
“He’s unbelievably improved and he’s learning how to lead. His voice is starting to come out,” Bergeron said.
Currently, Mitchell is being looked at by about eight Atlantic Coast Conference schools as well as UConn.
Tre Anderson, a 6-foot-7 wing, is being looked at  by Big East, American Conference and ACC schools as a shooting guard with length.
Six-foot point guard Noah Fernandes verbally committed last week to Wichita State.
“He’s special, a terrific guard,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron said the stock of 6-foot-9 Ody Oguama continues to rise. He came to Woodstock as a relative unknown, but has showed well in practice and already has a handful of Atlantic-10 offers.
Mikal Gjerde, a 6-foot-6 player from Norway, plays an American-style game and already has six Division I offers.
Bergeron added it’s hard to say whether or not this team can be better than last year since its only September and things like chemistry have yet to be found.
But building chemistry is something Bergeron considers himself pretty good at since he has learned from the best through the various camps and functions that he has attended and the friendships that he covets.
“The thing I’m best at is plagiarism. I’ve been able to steal from the greats and kind of make things my own. You learn. This is year 19 for me and if you’re not getting a little better at things, you might want to take up golf,” Bergeron said with a laugh.
It’s going to be difficult to parcel out who will play for which team.
It’s why Bergeron is trying to mirror the schedules of the two teams. The two teams will play in the same events and have almost an equal amount of games. He feels he has, at least, 22 players who could make the Gold squad, meaning the Blue team will also be very competitive.
“We probably have more talent and a larger cast of characters than we did last September. But with that being said, it’s hard to measure the toughness and grit of last year’s team and last year’s team just loved each other. You couldn’t divide them for anything. That bar is set very high for this year’s team,” he said.
2018-19 Woodstock Academy Prep Basketball Roster
Trey Anderson                    6-7                       San Diego, CA.
Peter Bergeron                    5-6                              Woodstock
Siddiq Canty                       6-1                            Tampa, Fla.
Matt Cross                          6-7                            Beverly, Mass.
Danny Dade                        5-10                    Springfield, Mass.
Ronnie DeGray                   6-6                            Parker, CO.
Jahden Erold                       6-2                       Dorchester, Mass.         
Noah Fernandes                  6-0                      Rochester, Mass.
Dyson Frank                       6-7                              Sandy, Utah
Mikal Gjerde                      6-6                      Haugesund, Norway
Guillem Gonzalez              6-3                          Alicante, Spain
Darweshi Hunter                6-4                       Springdale, OH.
Ahmad Jeffries                   6-2                        Burlington, N.C.
Isaiah Jones                        6-3                         El Dorado, CA.
Darion Jordan-Thomas       6-7                        Brockton, Mass.
Skylar Kooyenga                6-10                           Gurnee, Ill.
John Korte                          6-5                     Watertown, Mass.
Kruno Macner                    6-3                            Zagreb, Croatia
Carson Meier                     6-4                          Shawnee, OK.
Tre Mitchell                       6-9                              Woodstock
Ty Mosley                          6-5                           Chicago, Ill.
Ody Oguama                      6-9                       Knightdale, N.C.
Jeff Planutis                       6-5                          Hazleton, Pa.
Stefanos Psarras                 6-3                            Athens, Greece
Romar Reid                        6-1                       Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
Jeremy Robinson                6-4                             Garner, N.C.
Preston Santos                    6-5                              Providence
Kaleb Thornton                  6-0                     Bolingbrook, Ill.
Jacob Toppin                      6-6                    Ossining, N.Y.
T.J. Weeks                          6-3                          Warwick, R.I.
Tre Williams                       6-7                   Reynoldsburg, OH
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

..
 

caption:

Mixing
Troop 21 Patrol Leader Brendin Adams mixed pancake batter for the other Scouts’ breakfast, when the troop camped out on the grounds during the Circle of Fun at St. Mary Church of the Visitation. Photo: John D. Ryan


PUTNAM — Sleep in a tent for a couple of nights, dump out a few trash barrels, cook breakfast, do some calisthenics, collect some merit badges and ride a few carnival rides – that sums up Troop 21’s weekend at St. Mary’s annual “Circle of Fun.”
Boy Scout Troop 21 has been chartered to, and meeting at, St. Mary Church of the Visitation on Providence Street since its founding in 1995. So every September, the Scouts contribute to the parish’s annual “Circle of Fun” fund-raising carnival by picking up the trash.
“We want to give back to the people that sponsor us,” said Scoutmaster Peter Lombardo. “The church supports us and gives us a place to meet and keep our stuff all year, so we want our Scouts to help the church when they can. Besides, we like camping out here, right in the neighborhood. The kids have a good time.”
Although Troop 21 is chartered by St. Mary’s, Scouts do not have to be Catholic or be members of the church.
“We’re open to any boy 11 to 17,” Lombardo said. “Also, boys with special needs are welcome and Troop 21 does not turn away any boy for financial reasons. “
The weekend wasn’t all trash barrels and carnival rides, however. The troop also took part in the Tenderfoot Fitness Program, which includes sit-ups, push-ups, the sit-reach for flexibility and a mile run. The Scouts started working on the program in May.
“I wanted the guys to see that they could do this,” said Assistant Scoutmaster Casey Dundon, who ran the mile with the Scouts. “We’re trying to teach them to get into shape now, so they can stay that way for life.”
Because “a Scout is Reverent,” the weekend also included attendance at Mass, in uniform. This was done with the parent’s permission. “We respect every parent’s right to guide their son’s religious education as they see fit. Most of our boys aren’t Catholic,” Lombardo said.
The “Circle of Fun” was also a chance for Troop 21 families to get together and publicly recognize their Scouts for their merit badges, awards and other accomplishments, so Saturday evening was set aside for the presentation ceremonies.
“The guys did great,” Lombardo said. “Every Troop 21 Scout earned at least one merit badge at July’s week of summer camp.”
After attending Camp Mattatuck in Plymouth in July, Troop 21 hiked the Air Line Trail in August, visiting the marker where Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island come together. Now that the “Circle of Fun” is over, the Scouts are preparing for a Scout camporee next month at J. N. Webster Scout Reservation in Ashford. This will be followed by a wilderness camping trip, another hike, a Providence Bruins game, a winter camping trip, a food drive for local needy people, a weekend at an archery range, and finishing the troop’s annual program next June with its annual fishing trip.
 Troop 21’s Scoutmaster noted that a Boy Scout troop’s operations are run by the boys, with the adults guiding and teaching them as needed, overseeing transportation and making sure everyone is healthy and safe.
For information about joining Troop 21, call Scoutmaster Lombardo at (860) 963-0171 and leave a message or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


..