The Oxford High School football team is not talking much about the rough-and-tumble experience that was the 2008 season.
Head Coach Joe Stochmal said his players might not chat about the 0 – 11 varsity campaign, which concluded last Thanksgiving Day with a 41 – 13 loss to neighboring Pomperaug.
But the Wolverines remember how it felt.
“I don’t hear them talking about last season and what that was all about. But I will guarantee you this — they remember last season and they remember how difficult a season it was,” Stochmal said.
So it’s not a surprise to see the players displaying plenty of hunger while preparing for the new season, which starts on Sept. 17 against Notre Dame-Fairfield at Sacred Heart University.
At a Friday afternoon practice held mostly indoors due to rain and player illnesses, defensive players were focused on getting to the ball carrier quickly, while the offensive line worked hard to maintain blocks so running backs can hit open holes and get big yardage.
Since classes began in the final week of August, the team has come in with confidence and is prepared to write a different story for 2009.
A story with a few numbers in the win column for the new team, playing its third season since town fathers constructed a high school.
Stochmal and his coaching staff have a simple two-word theme for the season: “Our Turn.”
As in it is the Wolverines’ turn to experience the thrill of victory for the first time in team history. And more times after that.
“These kids are hungry to show everyone…that [last year] was last year, this year is a new season,” Stochmal said. “Last year, everyone had their turn against us. This year, it’s our turn.”
Last year’s team knew what to do and where to be on the field, Stochmal said, but the players were not big enough to handle the size of their opponents in the Southwest Conference.
This year’s 40-person roster is experienced and bigger due to natural growth and a diligent weight-lifting regimen.
“We fly around. These kids know where they’re going and they’re getting there faster,” he said. “That’s because they do know where they’re going but it’s also because they’ve gotten stronger and faster in the off season. The kids were chomping at the bit at our first practice to get going.”
The 2009 Wolverines have two elements missing from last year’s team. One is senior leadership. Seventeen players will be part of the first senior class of Wolverines football as the high school is in its third season of operation.
The other important aspect of this year’s squad, the coach said, is depth.
Even with injuries to three starters in the preseason, Stochmal said depth at positions has made it easier for the team to prepare and will make it easier to contend.
“When you lose somebody and are able to still compete, you know you have some depth and in high school football, that’s a priority,” he said.
Among the important players for this year’s team will be senior quarterback Mike Giordano and the offensive line.
“It’s the key on how well [the offense] will perform this year,” Stochmal said.
Stochmal will lean heavily on senior linebackers Frank Teixeira and Tyler Langston, a team captain, to hold down the defense.
“When Frank and Tyler are on their game, I think defensively, we’re going to be very aggressive and very difficult to score on,” he said.
Teixeira will also figure in the offense as the team’s fourth running back.
While the ND-Fairfield game is the focus, Stochmal and the staff know the biggest game on the calendar will likely be the Oct. 3 contest against Stratford, significant because it will be the first Oxford High home game to be played in the town on a new multi-purpose athletic field west of high school off Quaker Farms Road.
Last year’s team played its home games at Edward Arum Field on the Pomperaug High campus in Southbury.
Stochmal smiles at the thought of finally being able to play a season without having to board a bus for every game.
“We’re very, very excited to play in our town,” he said. “It was a great gesture by Pomperaug last year to allow us to play over there, but it wasn’t ours. It was somebody else’s. We now have a field we can use.”
