The cover of the 2025 Connecticut High School Football Record Book, which has been released. This year’s cover shot is of Greenwich’s Jack Kelly taking the handoff from QB Michael D’Angelo during the 2024 Class LL championship game in New Britain.
The 26th edition of the Connecticut High School Football Record Book has been released.
It is a compilation of records and historical information from newspapers, websites, team statisticians, coaching records and individual research.
The record book celebrates the performances and achievements of athletes and coaches across the state in football and provides perspective regarding single game, single season and career achievements.
This record book began more than two decades ago in 1997 as a labor of love by the late Bohdan “Bo” Kolinsky of the Hartford Courant and Tim Sullivan, who was the offensive coordinator for the Weaver High in Hartford.
After Bo’s untimely death in 2003, the responsibility of compiling and updating the record book was taken over by the late Bob Barton, the long-time writer and editor with the New Haven Register sports department and myself – Gerry deSimas, Jr.
It’s getting harder and harder to find a new piece of information to add after a quarter century of work but we have two new records in this edition thanks to two friends:
- Most state titles by an individual coach
- Most career wins in Connecticut by an individual coach.
New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli holds both records. He has won a record 15 CIAC state championships with the Rams and has won 386 games in Connecticut. Marinelli, who has 405 career victories, coached for three seasons in New York State before coming to New Canaan in 1981.
Long-time sportswriter Ned Griffen provided the information for individual coaches winning state titles while Conard football historian Eddie Litos provided information about out-of-state games coached by state coaches, such as Marinelli.
The oldest individual record belongs to Stamford’s Earl Gillespie and Stamford’s Gaynor Brennan who each kicked 12 extra points in a single game. Gillespie did it in 1913 against Paterson, N.J., while Brennan did it against St. Francis Prep from Brooklyn in 1920. As recently as 2003, New Britain’s Chris Roberts was 11-of-13 on PATs in a win over Maloney.
It’s been more than 100 years since Torrington’s Raymond “Ducky” Pond set a new state record that still stands with two kickoff returns for a touchdown in a win over Simsbury on Nov. 16, 1917. Last season, three players had two kickoffs returned for touchdowns in the same game – New Britain’s Corey Bates, Naugatuck’s Jaiden Roach and Brien McMahon’s Jermel Brynum.
If you have some additional information for the record book, please email editor Gerry deSimas, Jr., at [email protected]. The PDF of the record book is updated once a year and is released each September.
If you see something that should be included, send it along today. We make real-time edits in the record book to get it ready for the yearly update during the summer.
2025 Connecticut High School Football Record Book
Other interesting numbers and information regarding the record book:
3: Three of the last five Gatorade state players of the year have come from Massachusetts and played at prep schools in the state. Fall River’s Wilfredo Aybar was a defensive end at Cheshire Academy in 2020, Paxton’s Ryan Puglisi was a QB at Avon Old Farms in 2023 and Boxford’s Blake Hebert was a QB at Brunswick in 2024. The last Connecticut player named player of the year was Law QB John Neider in 2022.
4: In 2014, Granby’s Connor Field rushed for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games.
5: The number of state championship games that have required overtime. Three Class LL title games went to OT along with one Class MM game and a Class SS contest. The first OT game came in 1985 when Trumbull beating Glastonbury in the Class LL final, 27-21. The most recent OT winner came in 2014 with Xavier outlasting Shelton, 28-27 in the Class LL Small championship.
5: Simsbury’s Phil Pope shares the state record with Bobby Valentine of Rippowam-Stamford and Newtown’s Ben Mason for most interception returns for a touchdown in a career. All three players have returned five interceptions for TDs.
8: In 1944, Hillhouse’s Sam Nakaso intercepted four passes each in consecutive games against New Britain and West Haven.
17: Northwest Catholic’s Chuck Mears ran for 200 or more yards in 17 straight games from 1993 through 1994.
25: Bristol Central’s Tim Washington ran for more than 100 yards in 25 consecutive games from 1999 through 2001.
32: The oldest continuous football co-op began 32 years ago in 1992 when Suffield joined Windsor Locks in a co-op program.
41: Simsbury’s Williard Eddy scored 41 points (six touchdowns and five one-point conversions) in a win over Lyman Hall, according to a report in the Hartford Courant in 1922. Eddy was one of four boys in his family that all played football at Simsbury High and went onto play football at UConn or the Connecticut Agricultural College as it was known at that time.
Founded in 1881, UConn was originally known as the Storrs Agricultural School. In 1883, the school changed their name to Storrs Agricultural School, which became the Connecticut Agricultural College (CAC) in 1899 and Connecticut State College (CSC) in 1933. In 1939, the school became the University of Connecticut.
50: Fifty years ago was the final season of high school football action without any CIAC playoffs. In 1975, Hall High in West Hartford went 10-0 and won their 18th consecutive game and their third straight Central Connecticut Interscholastic League (CCIL) championship. But the Warriors finished second in the New Haven Register’s top 10 football poll behind Staples-Westport, which went 11-0 – the first undefeated team in program history.
Hall set a school record with 454 points and forced 51 turnovers (23 interceptions, 26 fumble recoveries, two blocked punts), according to the Hartford Courant. Hall could have played Staples in a Class LL tournament game. Fairfield Prep (9-0-1) and Derby (9-0-2) also finished undefeated in 1975.
69: Killingly tied a state record in 2024 by scoring 69 points in the first half of their 75-14 win over Ellington in the Class SS quarterfinals in 2024. Killingly joins three other teams with 69 points at the break.
93: For now, Hartford Public and Weaver’s Thanksgiving morning rivalry is history after 93 meetings. Hartford Public joined Weaver’s co-op football program this fall along with Hartford’s Classical Magnet. The most recent game between the two ancient rivals was a 6-0 win by Weaver in 2023. Hartford Public leads the series, 50-39-4.
75: The first year of sportswriters poll to determine a state championship team came 75 years ago in 1950 when the Associated Press hosted a poll. Stamford (9-1) was voted No. 1 by the writers with Bulkeley in Hartford (8-0) coming in at No. 2 and Danbury (7-0-2) coming in at No. 3. Undefeated Shelton was fifth at 9-0.
The S. Polk Waskowitz Trophy, previously determined by a committee of state sportswriters, was also awarded to Stamford, whose only loss came to White Plains, N.Y., 32-26. Victories over Collegiate Prep of New Haven, 69-0, New Britain, 26-6, Hillhouse, 33-18, Ansonia, 35-0, Bridgeport Central, 19-7 and Torrington, 56-0, boosted the Black Knights.
100: A century ago in 1925, some of the top teams in Connecticut included Hartford Public (6-0-1), Torrington (6-0-3) and New Britain (5-2). Hartford Public — known as Hartford High at that time — had a 26-0 win over New Britain in 1925, the second-largest win to date for the Blue and Gold (as reported in the Hartford Courant) since the series began in 1891.
The only blemish on Hartford High’s slate was a 0-0 tie with Windham, which went 4-0-4 and staked a claim for the state title. The Whippets, who had three scoreless ties with Stonington, New London’s Chapman Tech and Westerly R.I., had gone 16-0-1 in their previous two seasons (1923, 1924).
Still, Hartford’s record was impressive with victories over Bulkeley of New London, 19-0, Crosby, 21-6, Weaver, 12-0, Hillhouse, 14-0 and Meriden, 19-0. Hartford gave up just six points the entire season and had shutouts in their final five games.
The only mention in the Hartford Courant about a state title for Hartford came in an article on Nov. 21, 1925 reporting on a victory dance in the Hopkins Street gymnasium with hundreds of students in attendance. In 1925, there were just two public high schools in Hartford – Hartford High and Weaver. Bulkeley was opened in 1926.
Torrington, who finished undefeated for the second straight season, beat the Trinity College freshmen, 7-3 and Commercial in New Haven, 7-0. The Raiders also overwhelmed South Hadley, Mass., 64-0. But THS battled to scoreless ties with Ansonia, Bristol and Naugatuck.
