New alignment set for Pequot in 2013; eight teams interested in SCC

It’s been a busy offseason of chatter in the Pequot Football Conference. The league finally agreed to restructure as some coaches had been advocating for the last several years.

The 21-team league, which has been split into two divisions (Uncas and Sassacus) since 1993, will have three divisions (North, South, West) beginning next fall.

East Hampton/Vinal Tech is leaving to move to the Constitution State Conference in hopes of being more competitive. The Bellhawks won just four of 20 games in the past two seasons. Vinal Tech will also become the host school for the co-op program instead of East Hampton.

And eight schools from the Shoreline Conference are exploring joining the Southern Connecticut Conference as football-only members. Jimmy Zanor of the Shoreline Times first broke the story and Ned Griffin of the New London Day dug up additional information.

The Shoreline 8, as Griffen named them, include Coginchaug, Cromwell, Hyde, Haddam-Killingworth, Morgan, North Branford and the co-op teams from Old Saybrook/Westbrook and Valley Regional/Old Lyme.

SCC officials told the New Haven Register they will draw up a proposal for the Shoreline 8 schools to consider. But nothing is expected to be in place until at least 2015. The SCC’s football schedules for 2013 and 2014 are complete.

For Avon, the new alignment places the Falcons in the West Division with Gilbert/Northwestern (7-3), Canton (7-3), Granby (4-6), Housatonic/Wamogo (0-10), Nonnewaug (2-8) and Lewis Mills (0-10).

However, the new Pequot schedule also provides Avon (10-1, 10-0) with challenging games with North Branford (12-1, 10-0 Pequot),Valley Regional/Old Lyme (7-3), Cromwell (8-2), Haddam-Killingworth (5-5) and Ellington/Somers (9-2, 9-1).

Canton’s schedule outside the division includes Hyde (10-2, 9-1), Coventry (7-3), Haddam-Killingworth, Ellington and Enfield (5-5). Canton’s divisional opponents will be Avon, Gilbert/NWR, Granby, Housatonic/Wamogo, Lewis Mills and Nonnewaug.

The new Pequot Conference divisions for 2013 will be:

North Division: Ellington, Cromwell, Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton, Enfield, Stafford/East Windsor, SMSA/University, Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby.

West Division: Avon, Gilbert/Northwestern, Canton, Housatonic/Wamogo, Nonnewaug, Lewis Mills, Granby

South Division: North Branford, Valley Regional/Old Lyme, Hyde, Haddam-Killingworth, Old Saybrook/Westbrook, Coginchaug, Morgan.

Using last fall’s results, league coaches placed the teams in the new divisional format. Avon would have finished first in the West. So for their non-divisional games, the Falcons got games with the other two division winners (Ellington, North Branford) and the two second-place teams from the North (Cromwell) and South (Valley Regional/OL).

Canton would have finished third in the West so they got games with two third place teams (Hyde and Coventry) and two fourth place teams (Enfield, H-K).

The Pequot Conference began as a five team league in 1980 with Putnam, Griswold, Somers, Windham Tech and Stafford.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: There are three new coaches in the league. Jim Caouette is taking over in Avon while long-time assistant coach Sean Bryne replaces Keith Tautkus at Ellington/Somers. Bryne spent seven years working with Tautkus. … At Lewis Mills, Jose Santana moves up from assistant coach to head coach after the departure of Greg Todd after two seasons (2-18). Santana was an assistant for one year at Canton under Roger Pearl…. There is still an coaching opening at Old Saybrook/Westbrook. … All four Berkshire League teams (Gilbert, Lewis Mills, Nonnewaug, Housatonic) are in one division and will have the opportunity to all play each other for the first time in the same season. In the past two years, Mills and Nonnewaug have been in the Sassacus Division and Gilbert and Housatonic were in the Uncas Division with no crossover games. … The West Division has a slight resemblance to the now defunct Northwest Conference, which used to include Avon, Canton, Gilbert, Housatonic and Lewis Mills in the 1960s and 1970s. Canton and Mills didn’t have football teams in those days.

2013 Pequot Conference schedule