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Xavier High School of Middletown To Receive Walter Camp’s 2011 “Joseph W. Kelly” Award
The Joseph W. Kelly Award is awarded annually to Connecticut’s top high school football team.
NEW HAVEN, CT – Xavier High School of Middletown, the consensus No. 1 team in every state high school football season-ending poll, is the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s choice to receive the Joseph W. Kelly Award, which is awarded annually to Connecticut’s top high school football team.
It is the second straight year and third time overall that Xavier has earned the Kelly Award. It is also the third consecutive year a team from the Southern Connecticut Conference has won the honor (Notre Dame of West Haven, 2009). The Falcons are also the fourth team to repeat as Kelly Award recipients, joining Ansonia (2006-07), Bloomfield (1998-99) and four-time winner Cheshire (2002-05).
“From the first game of the season to its last, Xavier distinguished itself as the top team in the state of Connecticut,” said Walter Camp Football Foundation President John Marks. “We salute Coach Sean Marinan, his staff and players on another tremendous season.”
Xavier (13-0) captured the SCC Division I West title on its way to a perfect 10-0 regular-season record. In the state playoffs, Xavier combined a potent offense and stellar defense to capture its second straight Class LL title. The Falcons outscored its three playoff opponents 131-27.
In the quarterfinals, Xavier defeated Glastonbury, 34-6, and then defeated Norwalk, 55-14, in the semifinals. On Saturday, December 10, the Falcons’ defense held FCIAC-champion and previously undefeated Staples to just 175 total yards and offensively rushed for 423 in a 42-7 victory in the Class LL championship game at Rentschler Field.
Xavier was the first SCC team to score 500 points in a season, averaging 42.6 points game. The Falcons’ defense allowed just 103 points in 13 games (7.9 points a game). Xavier currently holds a 26-game winning streak.
It is the ninth time since the SCC was founded in 1994 that one of its league teams has captured the Kelly Award (Xavier 2005, 2010 and 2011; Cheshire 1994 and 1995; Hand 1997 and 2004; West Haven 2002; and Notre Dame 2009).
Coach Marinan and the Xavier team, along with members of the 2011 Walter Camp All-America team, will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will recognize three individuals – NFL Hall-of-Famers Harry Carson and Floyd Little along with NFL All-Pro Chris Spielman – with major awards. The Foundation is offering a "Holiday Ticket Promotion" for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $400 (you save $150) before December 31. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267).
Also on January 14, Xavier along with the three other state football champions – Hand (Class L), Ansonia (Class M) and Holy Cross (Class S) – at the Walter Camp Breakfast of Champions, which will be held at Anthony’s Ocean View. That morning, the Walter Camp All-Connecticut Team, High School Player and Coach of the Year will also be announced.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.
About the Foundation
"Walter Camp was one of the giants of football in the United States. He stands with Stagg, Rockne, Thorpe, Warner, Heffelfinger in the imprint they made upon the game. He stands first among them, for it was he who sired the game as it is played in the United States, the game that evolved from the rugby football of England. He played in the first Yale-Harvard game of rugby in 1876. From then on, his was the fertile, inventive mind and guiding leadership that brought about the evolution of the American style of football."
More about Walter Camp