History of Knights Football

The History Of

2000-2013

Book was created and written by:

Erick Knickerbocker

This book is dedicated to members of the Knights

Football Family who have been associated with the

Knights program since day 1.

Keith Tautkus

Deb Pease

Rich Gelsomino

Last Update: January 2014

14 Seasons of Knights Football

Table of Contents I. Season By Season Recaps

I. 2000 Season: A Great Start

II. 2001 Season: Division Champs

III. 2002 Season: Almost Perfect

IV. 2003 Season: Another Great Season

V. 2004 Season: So Close, Yet So Far Away

VI. 2005 Season: Anselmo Carries Knights

VII. 2006 Season: Heartbreak Central

VIII. 2007 Season: The Return of the Knights

IX. 2008 Season: Another Solid Season

X. 2009 Season: Tembi, Chouinard Lead Knights

XI. 2010 Season: After Slow Start, Knights End Season on a Roll

XII. 2011 Season: Simply Perfect

XIII. 2012 Season: Teamwork Wins

XIV. 2013 Season: Roller Coaster Season Ends With Division Title

II. All- Time Team 1. Picking of Team/Amending/ Team Roster

2. Roster

3. Second Team

4. Best of the Best

5. Top 10 Games

III. Knights History 1. League Titles

2. All-Conference Players

3. All –State Players

4. All-Time Depth Charts

5. Coaching History

IV. School Records 1. Team Records

2. Offensive Records

3. Defensive Records

The History of Knights Football

2000-2013

SEASON BY SEASON RECAP PAGE 2

amount

2000 Season—After years of fundraising and

board of education meetings, The Ellington High

School finally had its High School Team. In its inau-

gural season Ellington played mostly a JV schedule,

mixing in a few varsity games as well. During that

stretch the Knights went 7-1 in eight games including

picking up the programs first varsity win when the

Knights defeated the Tourtellotte Tigers. The Knights

also were able to experience their first thanksgiving

day game as they entertained Coventry

Boosters Get Approved

After almost three seasons of fundraising and board of

education meetings, the Knights football team was fi-

nally approved by the board of education. As we all

know the board of education approved the sport but

gave it no funding what so ever. So the Ellington Foot-

ball Boosters would have to come up with the entire

The 2000 Season: A Great Start


Amount of money need to

play the season. Going into

the first season the Booster

club had about 51,000 in their

account. This would help

them get threw at least two

seasons. As Booster president

Rich Gelsomino stated, “it’s

been a long process and was

difficult at times, but the bot-

tom line is kids will be able to

play football at the high

school level”. Because of the

hard work put in by Rich and

the entire booster club the

Knights would have a football

team in 2000.

Finding a Coach

The next step was finding a

head coach and coaching staff

for the Knights in 2000. After

interviews, Ellington went

with Ellington native Keith

Tautkus as the head football

coach. Surrounded by Keith

was Mike Apocello, Andy

Morgan and Mark Wase-

lewski. Also coaching was

Rich Gelsomino. The team

had money and coaches and

were ready to kick off their

brand new sport.

First Varsity Win.

Ellington traveled to Tourtel-

lotte to take on the Tigers for

the first ever varsity game.

Ellington rolled to a 22-0 vic-

tory and won their first var-

sity game in style. The first

points came when senior

Chris Deptula sacked Tourtel-

lotte quarterback in the end

zone for a safety. The first

touchdown came from Joe

Tarpinian as he scored from 3

yards out. The first passing

touchdown also came from

Tarpinian who on a trick play

passed to senior

Christian Senger,

who had a big

game, for the score.

Final Thoughts

A great start for the

program prompted a

full varsity schedule

for 2001. Joe Tar-

pinian was named

the teams MVP.


After a successful JV cam-

paign in 2000 Ellington made

the jump to a full varsity

schedule in 2001. They also

joined the Pequot Conference

and were placed in the Uncas

division. The Knights were to

start their first full season

against raining state cham-

pion Hyde to begin the sea-

son. In what will go down as

Ellington’s biggest upset vic-

tory, the Knights defeated the

howling wolves 13-12. After

leading 13-6, Hyde picked up a

fumble and took it to the house.

Hyde went for two and the lead

but it was stopped. The Knights

held Hyde to four first downs in

the win. Te winning touchdown

pass was a broken play, when

Josh Rhodes scrambled across

the field and found Brian Gelso-

mino who bailed out the

Knights as he took the catch

45 yards for the score.

Tolland Rivalry

Ellington’s second game

would be the first ever meet-

ing between Tolland and El-

lington on the football field.

As good as the Knights

played in their opening vic-

tory against Hyde; they

played equally as bad in a

blowout defeat to Tolland.

Ellington had six turnovers

and gave up 495 rushing

yards to Tolland in a 54-26

loss.

Rebound

Ellington would rebound the

following two weeks against

Valley (win 41-7) and Staf-

ford (win 41-13). Greg

Wright rushed for over 300

yards and four scores during

The 2001 Season: Division Champs

2001 Season

7-4

Uncas Champs


To win but their lack of execu-

tion in the red zone led to a 14-

8 loss. The Knights then trav-

eled to North Branford to face

the unbeaten Thunderbirds. El-

lington played well and with

six minutes to go in the game

they led 17-14. North Branford

would rally however and win

the game 31-17. It still showed

that although the Knights were

young, they had plenty of talent

and heart on their team. The

worst loss of the streak was a

28-13 loss to Old Saybrook at

home. The Knights trailed 22-0

at halftime and their second

half comeback was not enough

as the Knights fell to 3-4 on the

season.

Final Stretch

The seniors stepped it up in a

big way during the final four

games for Ellington. Ellington

played its best football in these

games and showed to every-

body how much they had pro-

gressed throughout the season.

The Knights traveled to Housa-

tonic and blew away the moun-

taineers to move to 4-4. Elling-

ton then entertained the Gilbert

Yellow Jackets in a pivotal Un-

cas division game. Gilbert was

3-0 in the division and Ellington

2-1. Gilbert had beaten Tolland

meaning an Ellington win would

tie the Knights for first in the

division. In another instant clas-

sic the Knights battled back

from a fourth quarter deficit

and won in overtime 40-34.

Ellington followed up the

game with a blowout victory

over Windsor Locks to

move to 6-4 on the season

heading into their final game

against Coventry.

Thanksgiving

Coventry came to Ellington in

a similar situation as the Knights

were in during the 2000 season.

Coventry played a mixed schedule of varsity and junior varsity oppo-

nents as they prepared to join the

Uncas division in 2002. The Knights showed their experience as

they raced out to a 19-0 lead be-

hind scores from Greg Wright and

Joe Tarpinian. The Knights would win the game 34-6 and move to 7-4

on their first full varsity season.

Uncas Champs

The victory over Gilbert played a

big role in the standings in the Un-

cas Division. At the end of the sea-son Ellington, Tolland and Gilbert

all were tied at the top. Each was

awarded a split of the leagues championship. I don’t know who

would have said in the beginning

of the season that Ellington would

be champs at the end of the season,

but it showed the growth, heart and

determination from this team.

Final Thoughts

The 2001 team was a very tal-

ented, yet inexperienced team.

The Knights had their ups and

downs, but really put things to-

gether down the stretch at they

won their final four games. El-

lington’s victories over Hyde

and Gilbert will be remembered

for a long time and their never

die attitude will also not be for-

gotten. The Knights named Joe

Tarpinian as their teams MVP,

and the Knights were awarded

four all conference players;

Greg Wright, Matt Dunphy, Joe

Tarpinian, and Brian Gelso-

mino.


The 2002 Season: Almost Perfect

In Ellington’s second full sea-

son of varsity football much

was anticipated from a tal-

ented group returning from

the 2001 season. The Knights

returned six offensive starters

and five defensive starters.

These starters included the

entire backfield with the ex-

ception of Joe Tarpinian. Fill-

ing in for Tarpinian was sen-

ior Andrew Roland. There

was plenty of hype for the

2002 team and Ellington

would be tested right off the

bat. Ellington first game pit-

ted them against Pequot pow-

erhouse North Branford. El-

lington was not ready to play.

They trailed 28-7 late in the

fourth quarter. Ellington ral-

lied back and won 29-28

(game is fully explained in

greatest game section) and

moved to 1-0 on the season.

Ellington then blew away

their next two opponents (Old

Saybrook and Valley) but lost

two way starter Brian Gelso-

mino to a collar bone injury.

Showdown at Hyde

This set up a 3-0 match up

against 3-0 Hyde. After upset-

ting Hyde in 2001 Hyde had

been looking forward to the

rematch. For 44 of the 48

minutes the game

was just as good

as it was in 2001.

Ellington and

Hyde were tied 6-

6 at halftime. El-

lington trailed 19-

13 with four minutes to go and

faced a big fourth down. Their

drive had stalled inside Hyde’s

thirty and the game came down to

one play. Josh Rhodes scrambled

got the first down and ran all the

way down to the 10. But when

Josh was hit he fumbled the ball

and Hyde recovered. Hyde scored

on the next two plays from scrim-

mage (long pass and a pick six) to

secure the victory.

Knights on a Roll

Ellington would use the loss as

motivation as they would blow

away their next seven opponents

with a combine score of 306-98.

During this stretch Ellington only

trailed once. Jason Gelsomino

paced the Knights during this

stretch and was named the Journal

Inquirers athlete of the week.

Wake Up Call at W. Locks

The only game that Ellington

trailed during this stretch was

their tenth game vs. Windsor

Locks. By the middle of the sec-

ond quarter the scoreboard read

20-0 Windsor Locks. Ellington

woke up before halftime and

scored the next 46 points and won

the game 46-20. Ellington had

two victories in the season in

2002 Season

10-1

Uncas Champs

Ellington had two victories in

the season in games that they

trailed by 20 or more points,

showing you how dangerous

their offense was.

Dig a Little Deeper After beating Windsor Locks

the table was set for a Thanks-

giving showdown with archrival

Tolland. However Mother Na-

ture got in the way. The Tues-

day before Thanksgiving a good

size

snow

storm

moved

threw

Elling-

ton and

left

close to

eight

inches

of snow

on the football field. The entire

Knights team went down ot the

high school and helped clean off

the field. It took most of the day

and without the help of many

parents’ trucks and quads the

field would not have been play-

able. By sunset on Wednesday

night the field was ready

Film Session

On Thursday morning Coach

Tautkus had a special film

session for the entire team.

The players gathered in the

auditorium not sure

what Coach had

planned and as soon as

the screen went on the

players did not say a

word. Coach Tautkus

played the 2001 game

vs Tolland in which

Tolland completely em-

barrassed the Knights.

Not that players needed

it but they were even

more motivated for

their meeting with the

Eagles.

Thanksgiving Day Classic

Ellington sat at 9-1 going into

the game, Tolland 6-4 but

both teams were undefeated

in the Uncas division. This

meant that this game was a

winner take all for the Uncas

crown.

Tolland ran back the opening

kickoff but after that it was all

Ellington. The Knights were

led by the rushing effort of

Greg Wright and the passing

arm of Josh Rhodes who had

great games in the final

games. The Knights rolled to a 30-12

win. After the game the players found

out that they had missed the playoffs,

yet the team was very content with

what they had accomplished.

Final Thoughts The Knights 10-1 record would have

been good enough to qualify for the

playoffs in any other the other classes.

It actually would have been first place

in Class L, and Second in Class MM.

Because of their success the Knights

had 7 all-conference players. They

were Bryan Parks, Greg Wright, Josh

Rhodes, Jason Gelsomino, Justin Rus-

sell, Brian Gelsomino, and Patrick Har-

rington. The MVP was awarded to Gel-

somino who set a school record with 20

touchdowns in a single season. The

team was also honored by the town be-

cause of their success. It was a team

that truly had the talent to win a state

championship and although they were

not able to compete for one, this team

will always be considered champions.


though the offense seemed a bit

lost the defense looked domi-

nant. Justin Russell and Erick Knickerbocker had 32 tackles

between the two of them. Val-

ley never got the ball past El-

lington’s 50.

The young Knights would have their moment when they came

together as a team in week 2.

Hyde came to town. It was the first time had been back to El-

lington since Ellington’s upset

victory back in 2001. Hyde was

the only team to beat Ellington in 2002 and there was plenty of

bad blood left from that game.

Although the game was highly hyped it was not much of game

entering the fourth quarter as Hyde lead 22-6. Elling-

ton looked simply out-

matched by Hyde. But again it was the defense

that rose to occasion.

Pinned inside the five after

a tremendous punt by Eric Reichle, Justin Russell

tackled Willie Harriot in

the end zone. Harriot fum-bled the ball and it was

eventually recovered Hyde

resulting in two points for Ellington. Chad Anselmo

returned the kickoff all the

way to the 20 but the

Knights were unable to score. The defense again came

up with a big play, this time it

was fellow linebacker Erick Knickerbocker who stripped the

ball from the quarterback and recovered it inside the 20 yard

line. John Swayner found Jeff

Morgan in the end zone to make the score 22-16. The Knights

would have one final chance but

Hyde would intercept the final

pass to Bryce Metzger in the end zone. It was a loss, but it proved

to Ellington that they had a very

good team.

After a 10-1 campaign in 2002

many thought 2003 would be a rebuilding year for the Knights

football team. The Knights lost

14 seniors including 8 starters on offense, and 8 starters on de-

fense. The talk around town was

if the Knights were able to win 5

or 6 games that it would be a successful season. Ellington’s

first game of the season gave

little confidence that the Knights would have a successful year.

Ellington won their opener 6-0

and struggled to move the ball

against a weak Valley team. Al-

2003: Another Great Season

2003 Season

9-2

6th Class LL


stalled the drive and the Raiders came to life. WL scored the next 40 points and

embarrassed El-lington 40-12 on senior day. The win took away a chance at the playoffs and the

Uncas crown.

How Do You Want To Be Remembered?

During the upcoming week Coach Tautkus asked how the Knights wanted to be remembered. In the final game of the year Tolland jumped out to a 7-0. After that Ellington played one of the most dominating games in school history blowing away Tolland 55-7. It was a coming out pary for Bryce Metzger who scored 5 touch-

downs, receiving 4 of them, and passing one of them. John Swayner had the best game of his career as he passed for 262

yards in his final game.

Final Thought

This group will be remembered as a group that came together and

had a spectacular season. Ellington was awarded four all confer-

ence players; Justin Russell, Ryan Wolverton, Jeff Morgan and

Erick Knickerbocker. The Knights named Justin Russell as the

team’s MVP.

Knights on a Roll

After another exciting game at H-K in week, Ellington went on a roll. They won seven straight games; most of these games were decided by more than twenty points. The running game was

paced by Jake Ziter, Anthony Allegra and Chad Anselmo. Bryce Metzger be-came a passing threat as Swayner continued to develop throughout the season. The defense was downright

stingy and they were led

by All-conference line-backer Justin Russell. To this day, the 2003 defense gave up the least amount

of points in school history.

Windsor Locks

Ellington went into the final two games knowing if they could beat Windsor Locks and Tolland they would win the Uncas Crown and also punch a

ticket to the Class LL State Playoffs. The Ellington- Windsor Locks showdown pitted 8-1 Ellington vs. 7-2 Windsor Locks. Both teams

were competing for the same thing. It was Ellington who came out firing. The Knights led 12-0 and it appeared 18-0 after Eric Senger caught a screen and ran it into the end zone. But a phantom call


By: Erick Knickerbocker

The 2004 season was a season

of high expectation for the

Kngihts. Ellington returned its

entire offensive/defensive back-field including all conference

picks Ryan Wolverton, Bryce

Metzger and Jeff Morgan. The backfield was deep with Metzger

joined by seniors Jake Ziter, An-

thony Allegra, and Junior Chad

Anselmo. The season however turned into a roller coaster ride

that ended at an extreme high.

The season started off with an impressive victory over Old Say-

brook but its next three games

would be three of the hardest losses that the program has had

in its existence. Week 2 featured

state tital contender Cromwell.

Ellington and Cromwell went back and forth the entire way

and with 2 minutes left in the

game the Knights and Cromwell were tied. Ellington had the ball

and a chance to win the game if

they could march it into the end-

zone. Instead of playing for overtime Ellington went for the

win. After the Knights moved

the ball to about the 40 yard on a nice screen play to Chad

Anselmo, El-

lington had 9 seconds left in

what looked to

be the final

play of the game upcom-

ing. The

Knights called for their magical hook and ladder play that had

helped them beat North Bran-ford in 2002. Palla threw the

ball to Jeff Mor-

gan who caught it and tossed to fu-

ture all-state run-

ning back Chad

Anselmo. Anselmo rushed

down the sideline

and hit the pylan. The initial call by the referee and by an-

nouncer Sean

Harrington

was touch-down! The

knights had

won on the final play! But

after the reff’s

conferred Anselmo was

marked out

inside the one

yardline and the reff’s said

that was the

end of regula-

2004: So Close, Yet So Far Away

2004 Season

6-4


The reffs got that call right, but the time keeper ran the final 3

seconds that Ellington should

have had. Instead of having a one play inside the 1, Ellington

and Cromwell went to OT.

Cromwell would win the game

in OT scoring on a 4th and goal from the 20 to beat the Knights.

The following week was Elling-

ton lead Hyde the entire game and forced two late turnovers

which seemed to seal the deal

for Ellington. But the Knights were unable to get a first down

and Hyde got the ball one final

time. With 15 seconds left Hyde

scored and defeated the hard luck Knights. By week three the

confidence of Ellington was

shaken they came out asleep in Windsor Locks against another

tough opponent. They trailed by 20 at halftime

and there comeback

was not enough as they fell to 1-3. Ellington

then began to win

games and won four of

their next five, the one loss an inexcusable loss

to an average Coventry

team at home.

Season Finale

The seasons final game

would prove to be one of the best games in Ellington History.

Trailing Tolland by 14 points at

halftime the Knights rallied back

and the game went into over-time. In overtime it was An-

thony Allegra who stepped up

with a touchdown run and a the final tackle to secure the win for

the Knights.

Snow Game

Ellington’s 9th game was a Fri-

day night showdown at Stafford

High School. As Ellington pre-

pared for their game, the first snow of the season came and

left with it 6 inches of snow. As

Ellington and Stafford decided to play the game, the Knights

enjoyed a winter wonderland

playing with at least 3 inches of

snow on the field. The snow did not slow

down El-

lington as the

Knights

scored 60 points in

their big-

gest blow

out of all time win-

ning 60-0.

As shown in the pic-

ture El-

lington

was featured as the game of the week, mostly because most other

games scheduled for Friday

night were cancelled.

Final Thoughts

It was a season where Ellington

could of easily been 9-1, 8-2, or

even 10-0 but the Knights fin-ished 6-4 with a lot of what ifs.

The games against Hyde, and

Cromwell will go down as two of the greatest games ever

played even though the Knights

came out on the losing end. Bryce Metzger was named the

teams MVP, while the Knights

had 4 all conference players.

They were Sean Palla, Bryce Metzger, Anthony Allegra, Ryan

Wolverton.


the Knights wasted no time in

scoring as Anselmo returned

the opening kickoff of the

season 80 yards for a touch-

down. The Knights won their

By Alex Voukounas

2005 Recap

After a 6-4 campaign in 2004

highlighted by the overtime

Thanksgiving Day thriller in

which the Knights defeated

rival Tolland in overtime, the

Knights entered 2005 return-

ing only 3 starters, Chad

Anselmo, Alex Voukounas,

and Cliff Demarest. The

Knights knew this would be a

rebuilding year in which

many players would have to

step up to make the season a

successful one. After an in-

jury to the throwing hand of

quarterback Reid Martin in

preseason, the Knights turned

to sophomore Adam Hurwitz

to lead the team. The Knights

traveled to Old Saybrook in

extreme heat to open their

season. Chad Anselmo and

opener against Old Say-

brook by a score of 31-14.

Record Breaking Day

for Anselmo

After opening the season

with a win against Old

Saybrook the Knights

would go on to lose their

next 3 games, 1 of which

came at the hands of Hyde

who ended up winning the

state championship. The

Knights would face Gil-

bert for their 2005 Home-

coming game and Chad

Anselmo made it one that

nobody would forget.

Anselmo rushed for a single

game school record with 275

yards on the ground.

Anselmo refused to go down

anytime his

number

was called,

breaking

Gilbert

tacklers left

and right

and fin-

ished the

game with

3 touch-

downs and

a school

record in

rushing

yards for a single game. The

Homecoming game ended

with the Knights winning by

a score of 27-12.

2005: Anselmo Carries Knights

2005 Season

4-6


No New Field, but Knights Win

Last Game Ever on Old Field

After the Knights were told they

would play their final home game and

senior day game on the new Knights

football field, the Knights were let

down being told that the field was not

in playable condition. The Knights

took out their frustrations against

Stafford winning 46-0. Knight’s sen-

iors Chad Anselmo, Reid Martin, and

Paul Millette all scored in the win.

Reid Martin had a career day rushing

and Paul Millette scored his first var-

sity touchdown in the win. The

Knights played their last

game on the old field and

came away victorious in

doing so.

Knights attempt to

avenge Tolland’s class-

less act, but come up

short

Prior to the Knights

Thanksgiving Eve game

with rival Tolland, a mes-

sage was left on the

Knights field in the form

of a T being dug out on

the 50 yard line. As if this

2005 Knights team had

not gone through enough,

they were once again re-

minded of the importance

of this rivalry game with

Tolland. It was a

bitter cold night

and the Knights

traveled to Old

Tolland High

School to finish

their season. The

Knights played a

hard fought game

filled with emo-

tions that they

could not control.

Penalties hurt the

Knights chances of

winning and the

Knights lost 20-6.

The Knights lone

score came on a 25 counter

trap where Alex Voukounas

would clear the way for Chad

Anselmo to score. This

would be the final time Chad

Anselmo scored in a Knights

uniform and the end to an

outstanding career. Anselmo

finished the game with 196

yards rushing and 1 touch-

down.

Final Thought

Chad Anselmo became the

first Knights player to make

the All State team. Anselmo

finished his career with 2168

rushing yards, 32 total touch

downs, 202 career points,

and 9 career 100 yard rush-


2006 Recap

After the Knights suffered

their first losing season of 4-6

the year before, the 2006

Knights looked to change it

around. The offseason fol-

lowing the 2005 team was

spent in the weight room and

on the field trying to get bet-

ter. The 2006 team was one

of the strongest and biggest

Knights team in recent years.

The Knights opened up the

year with a 28-22 victory over

Old Saybrook. Knight’s new-

comer Mike Reimer had 2

receiving touchdowns in the

victory. In the Knight’s home

and new field opener, they

would take down Morgan by

a score of 38-21. Mike

Reimer christened the new

field by taking the opening

kickoff 80 yards for a touch-

down.

Heartbreak in the Valley

After starting the year 2-0 the

Knights would travel to Deep

River to take on Valley Re-

gional. Both teams were

evenly matched coming into

the game. Valley had a big

bruising running back that

scored early to make the

game 7-0. Neither team

scored for the rest of the

half. At halftime Coach

Tautkus emphasized that

big players needed to step

in big games to make big

plays, and the call would

be answered. On

Valleys opening

drive, Alex

Voukounas

tipped a pass up

in the air falling

into the hands of

another Knights

player for an in-

terception. The

Knights could not

capitalize on the

turnover. Mid-

way through the

4th quarter the

Knights knew

they had to come up with a

score and quarterback Derek

Lussier hit Mike Reimer for a

long pass that was capped off by

a Sam Schneider run for the

Touchdown. Now all the

Knights had to do was kick in

the extra point, which was hit

off a Valley player’s helmet and

missed. The Knights tried to get

the ball back by stripping Val-

ley’s massive running back.

Alex Voukounas had what ap-

peared to be a forced fumble but

the refs saw it differently and

the Knights suffered their first

loss of the year 7-6.

2006: Heartbreak Central

2006 Season

3-7 Record


The 2006 Knights heartbreak

continued as they lost a close

game to Coventry 26-20. The

Knights were an onside kick

away from having a chance to

tie it and win it, but once again

the Knights fell short. Mike

Reimer had 3 touchdowns and

Peter Vamvilis threw his first

career touchdown pass in the

game. The Knights went on to

beat Gilbert behind strong of-

fensive line play. It also

marked the last time the

Knights would win in 2006.

The Knights went on to lose 4

games in a row in which they

were in until the final minutes

of the game.

The Showdown with Tolland

Tolland came into the Thanks-

giving day game in Ellington

needed a win to clinch a play-

off spot while the Knights were

playing for pride and a chance

to keep rival Tolland out of the

playoffs. The Knights had the

task of stopping the high pow-

ered boring 1970’s offense of

Tolland and their all state run-

ning back. The Knights were

up for the task having studied nu-

merous films and a special de-

fense that would hopefully slow

down Tolland’s offense. The

game took place on a cold and

rainy Thanksgiving morning. It

did not take long for Tolland to

score as they got up early on the

Knights 8-0. The Knights de-

fense stiffened and kept Tolland

scoreless in the 2nd but could also

not score themselves bringing the

halftime score to 8-0. The Eagles

would get the ball to start the sec-

ond half, and a missed assign-

ment led to another Tolland

touchdown with the score 14-0.

The start of the 4th quarter began

and the Knights knew they

needed to score. Sophomore

quarterback Peter Vamvilis led a

drive down the field that resulted

in an 8 yard touchdown pass to

Mike Reimer plus the 2 point

conversion making the score 14-

8. The Knights

defense stuffed

Tolland on con-

secutive drives

and got the ball

back with less

than 3 minutes to

go in the game.

The Knights

moved the ball

before a fumbled snap recovered

by Tolland ending the Knights

hopes of winning. The final

would be 14-8 and another

crushing loss for the Knights.

Final Thought

What may have been one of the

Knights most talented teams,

ended up having the worst re-

cord in Knights history at 3-7.

In 6 of those 7 losses the

Knights lost games by 1, 6, 6, 4,

5, and 6. The Knights did give

up the 2nd fewest points by any

Knights defense, but that did not

matter as the Knights could not

put the ball in the endzone. All

conference players included

Mike Reimer and Cliff Dema-

rest. All division players in-

cluded Alex Voukounas and

Sam Ziter.


After a 3-7 campaign in

2006, Ellington wanted to

show that their losing ways

were over. The Knights en-

tered the 2007 season on a 5

game losing streak, the long-

est in their successful pro-

grams history. Although the

Knights lost a good number

of seniors, they also gained a

ton of talent as the 2006 A-

Team players joined the

Knights. The A-Team won

the championship in 2006 and

sent 10 players to the Knights.

Ellington also returned their

Quarterback Peter Vamvilis,

along with

all-

conference

linebacker

Sam Ziter.

Rebuilding

Year

Although

many around

the team

thought that

the Knights

had plenty of

talent to con-

tent in 2007,

the Hartford

Courant took

exception cit-

ing that 2007

would be a

rebuilding season for Elling

ton.

Great Start

The Knights got off to a great

start winning their first four

games in all lopsided victo-

ries. It was evident that El-

lington would have a strong

season after these games. El-

lington was paced by a

ground game made up by

Derek Lussier and Sam Ziter,

while Peter Vamvilis had de-

veloped into a very solid

quarterback. His major target

was Mel Thorne who caught

6 touchdown passes in the

first 4 games. The defense

was also playing great foot-

ball and they were led by line-

backers Sam Ziter and Nick

Kellner.

2007: The Return Of the Knights

2007 Season

7-3

Uncas 3rd Place

MM 5th Place


Fourth Quarter in Coven-

try

The Knights dropped their

first game of the season in

Coventry. A game that went

back in forth, with Ellington

eventually cutting the Coven-

try lead to 21-14 heading into

the fourth quarter. But the

Knights could not stop the

Patriots and lost for the first

time in 2007. Coventry ex-

ploited the Knights at the line

of scrimmage with their dou-

ble tight double wing offense.

The Knights would see later

in the season that they were

not the team that could match

up with teams like that

Windsor Locks

For four years in a row El-

lington had lost to Windsor

Locks. This included in

2003, where the loss

knocked Ellington out of

the playoffs. Ellington had

never beaten Windsor

Locks at home, and they

came into the game very

motivated to change history.

Ellington dominated the Raid-

ers 34-14 and for the first

time in 4 years Ellington beat

Windsor Locks

Rolling With Vam-

vilis’s Arm

The Knights won the

next two games against

Housatonic and Canton

behind the arm of Peter

Vamvilis who broke a

single game record

against Canton with 5

touchdown passes.

The Final Stretch

Ellington would end the sea-

son with a chance to win the

division, and reach the state

playoffs for the first time all

time as they entered the

Avon game 7-1. Avon

had earlier in the season

beaten Tolland, meaning a

win by Ellington could put

them in a three way tie in the

uncas. More importantly a

win over Avon and the

Knights would probably se-

cure a spot in the playoffs.

Ellington outplayed Avon in

the game but two costly fum-

bles on punt returns late in the

fourth quarter led to an Avon

victory.

Win and Your

In

Even with the

disappointing 13

-6 loss to Avon

the Knights still

had a chance to

make the play-

offs with a win

over Tolland in

the Thanksgiving Classic.

Tolland was in the same

situation so the Ellington-

Tolland showdown was basi-

cally a playoff in its own

right. The Knights however

forgot to show up for the

game and were blown away

by the Eagles.

Final Thoughts

Although the final two

games were very painful

for the Knights, Ellington

was able to right the ship

and get back to its winning

ways in 2007. The team

MVP was Sam Ziter, who

also was named All-State.


After such a successful sea-

son in 2007, Ellington was

hoping for more of the same

in 2008. The Knights lost a

few key starters including

Derek Lussier, Mel Thorne,

and Mike Rafinello but the

nucleus of the team returned

including Peter Vamvilis and All-State linebacker Sam Ziter.

Knights Get Off to Great

Start

Just like in 2007

Ellington got off

and rolling to a

very good start.

The Knights

rolled threw their

first four games

blowing away

their opponents.

The first real test

would be week 5

game against

North Branford.

Ellington did not

show up in this one, as

North Branford pounded

Ellington 42-0. Ellington

got a win against Coven-

try 28-13, the next week.

It was the first time El-

lington had beaten Cov-

entry since the teams had

played in 2003.

Avon Game

Just like the Ellington-

Avon game was huge in

2007, it was equally im-

portant in 2008. The

Knights traveled up to

Avon for a Sunday night

game and Ellington

knew they would need to get

a win to have a shot at the di-

vision and states. Similar to

the Tolland game of 2007,

Ellington failed to step up

when the lights shined the

brightest as Avon beat up El-

lington 48-20. Ellington was

unable to stop the running

game of Avon, and the

Knights had their own trou-

2008: Another Solid Season

2008 Season

7-4

Uncas 3rd Place


Scoring in side the twenty. El-

lington now sat at 5-2 with 4

games remaining in the season.

H-K Thriller

It seems like at least once a

year the Knights play in an in-

stant classic. This one was at

home against a good H-K team.

The Knights had been looking

for a signature win over the

past few seasons to justify their

strong records and show that

they can compete and beat the

good teams. Ellington and H-K

went back and

forth and regu-

lation was not

enough as the

game went

into overtime.

In overtime

the Knights

were able to

secure the vic-

tory and move

to 6-2 on the

sea-

son. A blowout

win against Staf-

ford moved the

Knights to 7-2

heading into their

final two games.

The Final Stretch

Much like last year

the season would

come down to the

final two games,

and just like last year the final

two games would be against

the best teams in the

Pequot league. Week

10 Ellington was pit-

ted against Hyde

Leadership who was

undefeated. Ellington

played its best defen-

sive game in years and

limited Hyde to only

13 points. It was 6-0

late in the fourth quar-

ter and Ellington had a

fourth and goal at the

Hyde 2. Ellington

failed to score and

Hyde took the next

play 97 yards to put

the game away. Elling-

ton played their hearts

out and outplayed the howling

wolves but their inability to put the

ball in the end zone was the differ-

ence.

Thanksgiving Day Massacre

Part II

In what

would be

the final

game

against

Tolland,

the

Knights

could not

compete

with the

Eagles

and fell

36-7. Ellington was completely

dominated on the line of scrim-

mage and was never able to get

much going offensively.

Final Thoughts

Indeed another solid season for the

Knights, but Ellington is still look-

ing to get over the hump and take

down a good team and earn a spot

into the playoffs.


In 2007 and 2008 the

Knights had a combine 14-7

record and Ellington to take

their success into 2009. El-

lington lost key starters such

as Peter Vamvillis, Sam Ziter,

Kellner, and Mike Demarest.

The Knights would however

return a talented sophomore

class that was big in numbers

and size. The offensive line

was as big as it has ever been

and was anchored by three

year starter Tanner Tate. The

backfield was made up of All

conference players Nate Tembi

and Cody Anselmo. There was still

a Vamvilis at quarterback but it

was Peter’s brother Justin who was

the JV quarterback last season. El-

lington had a fairly tough sched-

ule, especially at the end of the

season with Avon, Cromwell, and

Coventry. The Knights played six

opponents with 6 or more wins, the

most ever.

Off To A Good

Start

The Knights got

off to a good start

as they won their

first games of the

season. In that

streak Ellington

blew away Win-

dsor Locks and

Stafford, and won

Canton Debacle

The bye week did not do

wonders for the Knights

who dropped their next

game against Canton. Trial-

ing late in the fourth quarter

by 5 points the Knights

were unable to convert a

fourth down conversion

inside of the Canton 20

yard line.

Second Half in Housy

After the tough loss to Can-

ton, Ellington traveled to

Housatonic in a must win

game to keep their chances at

the Uncas Division crown and

a birth to the playoffs alive.

Ellington did not come out

with a sense of urgency and

only led 7-0 going into the

break. Ellington played the

first half with little emotion

and their offense failed to

score twice while inside the

red zone. The second half the

Knights woke up and scored

20 points on route to a 28-6

victory over Housatonic. The

win moved the Knights to 5-2

on the season heading into a

big time show-down with

Avon.

Avon Showdown

Ellington played their hearts

out In a 21-0 loss at home to

Avon. Ellington trailed 7-0

with 20 seconds to go in the

first half and had a third and

goal at the five yard line Two

2009: Tembi, Chouinard Lead Knights to 6-4 Mark

2009 Season

6-4


consecutive incomplete passes left the Knights

scoreless going into the break. A late third quarter

touchdown made it 13-0 and Ellington’s offense

couldn't get anything going. The defense played

brilliantly holding Avon under thirty points for the

first, and only time all season. Ellington bowed to

future 10-0 Avon but gave them one of their

toughest games of the season.

Cromwell

After the letdown of the loss to Avon Ellington

had to ravel to Cromwell to take on one of the

most talented teams in the state. Nate Tembi re-

turned the opening kickoff 85 yard to give Elling-

ton an early lead,, but it was all Cromwell after

that as they easily defeated the overmatched

Knights 44-14

We Can Finally Enjoy Thanksgiving Again!

The Knights seniors went out with a bang as El-

lington won for the first time on Thanksgiving in

five years. After four straight Thanksgiving

losses to Tolland, the Knights enjoyed the

change of venue and shut out a very good Cov-

entry team 7-0. The Knights posted their first

shut out of the season, and needed it to secure

the win. Captain Ray Chouinard led the defense

with 13 tackles in his final game. Chouinard

ended the season with 111 tackles. Ellington

scored on the final play of the half as Junior

quarterback Justin Vamvilis found a wide open

Bryan Rider in the end zone for the score. The

second half was scoreless and the Knights kept

Coventry in their own territory for most of the

third and fourth quarter. Coventry’s final drive

was stopped when Scott Hague made his second

and final interception of the game to secure the

victory.

Final Thoughts

Another solid season for Ellington. The loss vs.

Canton is the one that all Knights players and

fans want back as that was one that the Knights

should have won. Ellington’s battle against Avon

showed that the Knights are not very far away

from the Elite teams in the league. The Knights

named Nate Tembi as the teams MVP. Al con-

ference players were Tembi, Chouinard,

Anselmo, Tate, and Bryant Grey.


Coming off a strong performance at

Thanksgiving Ellington was expecting a

big season. The entered the season with

only 4 seniors on their roster but over 20

juniors. The offensive and defensive line

were set to be the strength of the team that

many figured would content for a Uncas

Division Title. Ellington was faced with a

tough start to the season as they would

have to travel to Avon to open up the 2010

campaign.

Off To A Slow Start

Even in tough years for the Knights Foot-

ball Program the Knights have always got-

ten out of the gates quick. Coach Tautkus

was a perfect 10-0 on opening day games

in his career as Knights Head Coach. In

2010 the Knights did not rush out to a

quick start. Their first game was against

Uncas defending Champion Avon. Elling-

ton played very tough throughout the

game but fumbled the ball away three

times and fell to Avon 42-13. Ellington

knew they played Avon much closer then

the socre but they failed to make adjustments

over the week and were beaten in Gilbert 33-18

in one of the programs worst losses of all time.

Gilbert led 33-0

in the third

quarter before

taking out many

starters. The

Knights were

now 0-2 for the

first time ever

and still had

many questions regarding the defense and of-

fense. The Knights traveled to Housatonic and

go their first victory as Matt Janiga helped pace

the Knights running game and they won 41-15.

Cromwell

Ellington had another tough opponent on its schedule

as Cromwell came to town in week 4. However

Cromwell was sitting at 1-2, the same as the Knights,

so the game figured to pit two struggling teams. The

problem was the Knights forgot to show up for the

game and were embarrassed 35-0 at home. If Knights

players and coaches thought the Gilbert loss was bad

this one was worse. Now the Knights at 1-3 and a los-

ing season was staring them right in the face

Enfield

Enfield came into Ellington on a much different path

then the Knights.

Ellington was

reeling after los-

ing 3 of their first

four games of the

season. Enfield

jumped out to an

early lead but it

was the Knights

who did not give

up and made a big

time comeback.

2010: After Slow Start, Knights End Season on a Roll

2010 Season

6-4

Uncas 2nd Place


Trailing 27-13 Jason Moustafa

started the comeback with a

touchdown run making it 27-0.

Enfield drove the ball deep

inside the Knights territory but

Brennan Wesley made his sec-

ond interception of the day and

the Knights had life. Justin

Vamvilis made two tremendous

plays with his legs and his arm

to get the Knights inside of the

30 yard line. It was then Vam-

vilis who connected with Bran-

don Coverdill in the corner of

the end zone to make the score

27-26 Enfield. Ellington

thought about going for two but

then decided on going for the

tie. Vamvilis’ extra point just

missed and the Knights lost an

absolute heartbreaker to En-

field.

The Turn Around

Although it was a gut wrench-

ing loss to the Raiders the En-

field game might have saved

the Knights season. For the

first time Ellington had

gained some confidence as

they battled with Enfield and

felt like they should have won

the game. The coaches also

made some changes after the

game. They decided to make

as many players as they could

go only play on one side of

the ball. They also changed

up their defensive scheme by

putting Jake Schneider and

Luke Levassuer right up on

the line of scrimmage.

The Knight Are Back

With the changes, some con-

fidence and a much easier

schedule the Knights cruised

to four straight victories.

Leading the way for

the Knights was

senior running back

and linebacker Matt

Janiga who tough

running style was

beginning to really

blossom late in the

season. After three

blow out victories in

a row Ellington sat

at 5-4 and had a

similar Thanksgiv-

ing Day game vs. Coventry. Cov-

entry needed a win to get into the

playoffs.

Thanksgiving

Again it was Coventry who

needed a win to get in, and the

Knights playing to keep them out.

The Knights had won four in a

row and the defense over the time

span had not allowed more than

one score in any game. Ellington

on the board first with a score by

Vamvilis. Then it was the Kngihts

defense led by Matt Janiga and

Zack Paquette who shut down the

Coventry attack. Ellington won 7-

0 and had won its second Thanks-

giving Day game with the exact

same score.

Final Thoughts

At the mid way point the season

looked like a lost season and one

that many Knights players would

want to forget. After the Enfield

game the Knights showed the true

team they were and turned into a

strong team. Knowing that there

was only 4 seniors on the team

the confidence built at the end of

the season should roll into next

year. A season that could have

been 4-6 still feels like to many

should have been 7-3.


High Expectations

After rolling off five straight

victories to end the 2010 sea-

son the Knights returned all

but four players for the 2011

season and they entered the

season with expectations of a

big season. At the opening

meeting Coach Tautkus did

not shy away from the expec-

tations when he said that the

with the talent on this team

that winning the division and

making the playoffs was the

expectation of the season.

Many players’ goals were a

10-0 season and the Knights

first trip to the Class M State

Playoffs. Most importantly

Coach Tautkus stated that tal-

ent would win them exactly 0

games and hard work and

teamwork would determine if

the Knights of 2011 could

meet these lofty expectations.

Off to a Booming Start

After a month of

hard work getting

ready for the sea-

sons the Knights

exploded onto

the scene with a

53-16 victory

over Canton.

Coach Mazonne

read before the

game an excerpt

from Avon’s website stating

that Gilbert, Housatonic, and

Coventry were all teams that

Avon needed to look out in

the division. It stated the

Knights were a well coached

team that wouldn’t be push

over. The Knights rallied

around this all year and espe-

cially on week 1. The Knights

followed up week 1 with an-

other lopsided victory over

Sports Sciences in a 51-12

rout. This set up a huge week

3 game against Gilbert.

Revenge Against Gilbert

In 2010 the Yellow jackets

from Gilbert gave the Knights

one of their worst losses in

the programs existence when

they destroyed Ellington 33-

18. The game was not as

close as the score indicated.

Ellington knew the show-

down versus Gilbert would be

a pivotal game in the Uncas

Division and they played one

of their best games in a 35-0

victory. Mitch Diresta rushed

for over 200 yards and the

Knights defense was out-

2011 Season

10-0

Pequot Champs

Uncas Champs

2nd Seed Class M

2011: Simply Perfect


standing led by Jake Schnei-

der (12 tackles) and Ken Vol-

laro (10 tackles). Ellington

dominated the game from the

get go and after such a slow

start in 2010, the Knights

were off to a 3-0 start in 2011

Cobb Miracle Saves

Knights Season in Stafford

After another blow victory

against Granby the Knights

now sported a 4-0 record

heading in the Stafford game.

The Knights coaches and

players talked all week that

Stafford was a much better

team than their 0-4 record.

Stafford had lost close games

to Avon and Coventry and

was a senior led team. Elling-

ton went into Stafford saying

all the right things but they

forgot to bring their game

with them. After scoring the

first points of the game Staf-

ford completely shut down

Ellington’s offense. The

Knights trailed 8-7 late in the

fourth quarter when one of

the most improbable drives

made many understand how

special the 2011 season was.

After an incomplete pass and

a sack Ellington was down to

their last down. It was 4th and

25 and with less than two

minutes to go the game was

on the line. Bryan Rider

dropped back, scrambled and

somehow found Austin Taut-

kus who made a great thirty

yard catch to give Ellington a

first down. The Knights got

the ball down inside the five,

but a penalty stalled the drive

and on fourth down the

Knights called on senior

Mitch Cobb to try to win it.

Cobb had not ever attempted

a field goal in any game but

had been practicing hard all

year and was improving each

day in his kicking game. The

kick was lined up to be a

thirty yard kick, not even

close to being a chip shot.

Neal Janiga took the snap

placed it and Cobb’s kick

sailed high and JUST inside

the upright to give the

Knights their most improb-

able win in a long time and

sent Stafford to another heart-

breaking defeat. Ellington

celebrated the win but knew

they would need to work

harder and be more prepared

because Ellington faced many

more challenges in their


schedule.

Showdown vs.

Enfield

After the scare in

Stafford, Ellington

defeated Windsor

Locks 34-6 to set

up a huge Uncas

League Game

against Enfield.

Ellington was to

travel to Enfield in

a huge showdown

of two strong

teams vying for the

Uncas Division

Championship. En-

field was sporting

a 5-1 record and

the game was named Con-

necticut’s Game of the Week

by NBC. The Knights shined

under the lights at Enfield and

dominated the Raiders 28-7 to

move to 7-0 on the season.

Ellington used a strong run-

ning game behind Mitch Dir-

esta’s 120 yards and Bryan

Riders 87 yards. Rider had a

few huge runs late in third

quarter to help seal the deal

for the Knights. The defense

again played extremely well

and was led by Diresta, Le-

vassuer and Jake Schneider.

Ellington now had three

games in the way of their per-

fect season. None bigger than

their next game again arch

rival Avon.

Avon

Ever since joining the Pequot

League in 2006 Avon has

won every game against the

Knights. In 2007 the victory

over the Knights knocked El-

lington out of the playoffs,

and in 2008 and 2009 Avon

destroyed Ellington by more

than twenty points in each

contest. The Knights knew

that the Uncas Division went

through Avon. To complicate

the game more, during Elling-

ton’s bye week the October

Snow Storm halted High

School Football all over the

State. The Knights game

(which was supposed to be

senior day) had to be moved

to a venue that had lights.

Players were not happy with

change of venue but Coach

Tautkus promised them if

they took care of business

they would get another game

at the high school (State Play-

offs). Avon also had one of

the top runners in the state on

their team. Colin Moore aver-

age over 200 yards and three

scores a game. The Knights

knew if they were to win this

game they must slow down

Moore. In an exciting game

the Knights defense showed

why they were one of the best

defenses in the state as they

slowed down the Avon run-

ning attack. Avon scored first

with a 30 yard field goal and


led 3-0 for most of the first

quarter. Jason Moustafa

scored from 2 yards out to

give Ellington a 7-3 lead go-

ing into the break. The third

quarter went back and forth as

both defensives made stop

after stop. After a goal line

stop by the Knights defense

Avon stuffed Mitch Diresta in

the end zone for a safety mak-

ing the score 7-5. Ellington

finally got their offense mov-

ing in the fourth quarter and

with 5:30 left Bryan Rider hit

pay dirt and Cobb’s extra

point gave Ellington a 9 point

lead. Mike Casiano’s inter-

ception sealed the deal for the

Knights. Ellington was the

only team in 2011 to keep

Moore out of the end zone

which says a lot about the

strength of the Knights de-

fense. Now the Knights

headed to Housatonic with a 8

-0 record. After the win El-

lington found out it had met

one of its goals as the Knights

had finally qualified for the

State Playoffs!

Housy

Ellington escaped Housatonic

with a win. Some would say

the Knights were focused on

Coventry. Ellington raced out

to a 21-6 lead in the first

quarter and played a sloppy

second half but held on for a

28-6 victory. Although the

performance by the team was

not the finest, Sean Tynan

saved his best game for this

one. Sean recorded a Knights

team record 26 tackles, many

of them in the second half.

Thanksgiving

The win set up a

winner take all

Uncas Division

Championship

game at Coventry

on Thanksgiving.

Ellington woke up

to more good

news. Valley Re-

gional had been

upset on Wednes-

day night meaning a Knights

win would not only mean a

Division Championship, but a

Pequot Conference Champi-

onship. Ellington had won the

last two Thanksgiving games

against Coventry 7-0 both

times but the Knights knew

this years Coventy’s team was

much better than the past.

Coventry came into the game

9-0 record with all of the

same things on the line as the

Knights had. The hype and

excitement for the game was

strong and Knights players

knew they would need to stay

focused and play their game

to earn themselves a perfect

season. The game led up to

the hype as it was Coventry

who got out to a quick 7-0

lead after a miscommunica-

tion on defense by the

Knights. Ellington came back

and scored and the teams

went back and forth in the

first half and it was Coventry

who led 14-13 at halftime.

The Coventry lead could have

been biggest but Rider con-

nected with Brandon Cover-

dill for 34 yards to get the

Knights back on the board.

After a stop late in the quarter


Ellington moved the ball all

the way down to Coventry’s

five yard line but could not

score and went into half trail-

ing 14-13. Ellington had been

a better second half team all

year and the same was true on

Thanksgiving. Bryan Rider

became a one man wrecking

machine and saved his best

performance of the year for

the biggest game. Rider

scored from 5 yards out to

give Ellington a 19-14 lead.

This is where the score stayed

most of the fourth quarter and

the Patriots got the ball back

with one more chance to win

it. On the first play Sean Ty-

nan picked off the pass to

pretty much seal the deal for

the Knights. Rider scored

again and moved the lead to

27-14 Knights. Rider finished

the game

with 186

yards rush-

ing and 100

yards pass-

ing in one

of the

greatest

perform-

ances by

any Knight

Player of

all time.

Ellington

had

achieved

perfection

for the first time ever.

Class M Playoffs

(From Reminder Website)

After an undefeated regular

season, expectations were

high for the Ellington/Somers

football team, but a plucky

opponent and a downpour late

in their first-round tourna-

ment game dealt the Knights

a fatal blow. “This is a 'yank

your heart right out of your

body' [feeling],” said coach

Keith Tautkus, after

his team saw a two-

touchdown lead

evaporate in the

fourth quarter on the

way to the overtime

loss.

The Knights got on

the board first, with

Jason Moustafa run-

ning in from the 4-

yard line with just

under two minutes

left in the first quar-

ter. A long run by

Jake Schneider set

up that goal-line

plunge.

Wolcott struck back

early in the second,

with a nice 30-yard



catch by versatile running

back Devante Bonvillian to

make it 7-6 Ellington. Elling-

ton survived an early gaff,

when a fumble on the next

drive resulted in nothing but a

missed field goal try by Wol-

cott.

The Knights got a big run by

Moustafa, which, after a face-

mask foul on Wolcott, set

them up on the 6-yard line,

where quarterback Bryan

Rider was able to punch it in

himself. But, just before the

half, Wolcott quarterback Mi-

chael Nicol engineered a

drive that ended with his own

2-yard touchdown run and

kept the Eagles close, 13-12.

Ellington seemed to come out

of the locker room with mo-

mentum on their side, tacking

on two unanswered touch-

downs in the third quarter, to

go up 26-12.

With 8:42

left in the

game,

Nicol

dove into

the end

zone

again.

“With a

quarter to

play, I

thought

we were

in good

shape,” Tautkus said, “even

with that touchdown.”

Knights miscues on their

drives kept them from scor-

ing, which led to a late Wol-

cott drive that was capped

with a touchdown pass from

Nicol to receiver Chad

Acevedo and a 2-point con-

version run by Bonvillian,

tying the game at 26.

In overtime (each team gets 4

downs from the 10-yard line),

Wolcott scored on another

Nicol-Acevedo pass in the

second play.

Ellington tried three runs –

which got them closer – and

then a pass play that was bat-

ted down by Wolcott defend-

ers, handing the Knights' their

only loss of their 2011 cam-

paign.

Tautkus said penalties and

several missed opportunities

could be blamed for the loss.

“We had a lot of plays to fin-

ish it off, and we just didn't

get it done. You could point

to many plays,” Tautkus said,

adding that his players can

still hang their hats on a tre-

mendous season of accom-

plishment.

“We had a great season,” he

said. “We were 10-0, and


we've been playing playoff

games since the Enfield

game [on Oct. 28], and this

was our fourth game in

two weeks. That takes a

toll on a team, so I thought

we played very hard.

There were just a few

plays that we didn't get,

and that made the differ-

ence in the game.”

Tautkus said the program

will lose 18 players to

graduation, but that means

there will be plenty of

room for younger players

to step up.

“We're losing a lot of our

size,” he said, “but we

have a lot of skill guys that

we're happy about. We'll

rebuild a little bit, make

some corrections, and I think

we'll do all right.”

Final Thoughts

In what will go down as one

of the greatest teams of all

time the final thought with

this group at this time may

always be connected to the

playoff game. In a season

where everything seemed to

go the Knights way when it

mattered the most the Knights

did not get the rolls or the

plays that helped them to a 10

-0 season. But Ellington ac-

complished goals that NO

other Knights team can say

they have done including two

huge ones; Winning the

CONFERENCE, and making

the state playoffs. Although

the sting from the playoff

may hurt when people look

back to the 2011 Knights they

will say one thing; Perfection.

Watching from the sideline I

can say this was one of the

closest teams that got every-

thing out of their abilities.

They played as a team, prac-

ticed hard and improved

throughout the

season. Nobody

cared who

scored touch-

downs or who

made the tackle

it was about the

team and win-

ning. This was a

special year with

a special group

of young men

who will carry

this season with

them forever

knowing they

achieved perfection in a sport

that it is nearly impossible to

do so in. A season for the

ages!

2012: Repeat Excellence; Teamwork Wins

After the dust settled from the heart-

breaking loss in the 2011 season that

ended the greatest season in school history

the Knights

were left to start

over. Graduat-

ing almost the

entire offense

and defense

from the 11

team meant a

“rebuilding

year” to many

around the pro-

gram. There

were questions

everywhere and

most importantly questions about who

would play quarterback. Most coaches

agreed that if the Knights could somehow

win six or seven games it would be a phe-

nomenal year.

As the season got closer to begin the deci-

sion on quarterback had still not been

made. As the season was about to begin

the Knights finally named their quarter-

back, junior former running back Joe Les-

lie. Leslie had never played the position,

and had played sparingly his sophomore

year for the Knights. He now would be in the most

important position, with a brand new offense around

him. The Knights returned four starters from the

2011 team. They were lineman Nick Salvador, Sean

Tynan and Wide Receivers Aus-

tin Tautkus, and Brendan Cover-

dill. The offense was going to

based around Neal Janiga, who

was returning for his third sea-

son.

North Branford Scrimmage

The Knights began camp and all

seemed good until the first

scrimmage against North Bran-

ford. Nobody knew the Thun-

derbirds would be competing for

a state title a few months later,

but on this day it looked like the Knights would not

be competing for much of anything. North Branford

scored on almost every possession of the scrimmage

and if they kept score it would have been something

like 55-12.

The defining point for the season may have come

after that scrimmage. As team captains Coverdill,

Janiga, and Tautkus kept the Knights focused and

reassured them that they were not going to have re-

sults like they did against North Branford if they

kept working hard and came together. They saw pro-

gress in their next scrimmage at Hall, and them em-

2012 Season

9-1

Thanksgiving Day Champs

3rd Seed Class M


barrassed Rockville 49-6 (in one half) and seemed

poised for the regular season.

Classic in Gilbert

Ellington/Somers jumped out to a 2-0 record with vic-

tories over Canton and Sports and Medical Sciences.

Ellington seemed to struggle a bit in Canton, not

knowing at the time that Canton would be a 7-3 team

on the rise in the Pequot. The Knights dismantled

SMSA 47-7

week two and

knew that a

week three

showdown in

Gilbert

loomed.

The Knights

had pinned

Gilbert as one

of their major

four games of

the season.

The Yellow

Jackets had

been a strong

team the past few seasons and Ellington

knew this would be a test. Ellington

looked overwhelmed to start the game

with Gilbert’s pressure defense and

trailed 17-7 entering the fourth quarter.

Christian Schneider returned a kick 90

yards to Ellington rolling, and a trick

play had Neal Janiga passing the ball to

Brendan Coverdill gave Ellington a 20-

17 lead. Gilbert drove the ball down the

field on the final possession and got in

field goal range. However on the field

goal attempt the snap was low and

picked up by the holder. Ellington pur-

sued the ball carrier and tackled him 2

yards before he gained a first down.

The Knights escaped with the victory in

one of the best games of the season and

now sat at 3-0.

From 3-0 to 6-0

Ellington faced three overmatched op-

ponents the next three weeks demolish-

ing Granby, Windsor Locks and Staf-

ford. The game against Stafford is one

that the Knights took very seriously as


Ellington had nar-

rowly beaten Stafford

(7-6 in 2010, and 10-9

in 2011) the previous

seasons. Ellington led

49-6 entering the

fourth quarter in one

of its most impressive

games of the year.

During the first 6

games the word that

best described the

Knights was consis-

tency. Neal Janiga was

running wild; Joe Leslie was using both his

legs, and arm to create a very dangerous and

balanced offense. The line was solid in both

the run and pass game, and the receivers

made big plays when called on. The same

could be said with the defense. Sean Tynan

and Christian Schneider anchored a very

talented group that consistently took the

other teams offense out of rhythm.

Enfield

As always Enfield is a mid-

season challenge, and ri-

valry game. Enfield came

into the game 4-2 and was

looking to ruin the Knights

perfect season. The Raiders

came to play as the defense

slowed down the vaunted

Knights offense for most of

the game. Ellington led

quickly 7-0, but that is how

the score stood for most of

the game. The Knights de-

fense played quite possibly

its best game of the season

completely shutting down the Raider offense. A

late interception returned for a touchdown by

Brendan Coverdill sealed the win and gave El-

lington a 7-0 record.

Avon

The game that was circled from day one was fi-

nally upon the Knights. Both teams entered the

game undefeated and this game would certainly

decide who would win the division. The game

was covered by CPTV and was the Connecticut

Game of the Week! This was a true test for the

Knights to measure how good they really were.

The Knights offense moved the ball with ease in

the first half, as Neal Janiga was running hard and

hard to stop. Ellington took the lead in the second

quarter with a Joe Leslie run. Avon rallied back

with a deep pass (something they were not known

for) to tie it at 7. Ellington forced a huge turnover

at the end of the half at Avon’s fifteen yard line

but was unable to score. The Knights even tried a

fake field goal, which Neal Janiga just missed hit-

ting Austin Tautkus in the end zone for a touch-

down. Ellington came out in the second half and

again drove the ball down the field but was un-


able to turn it into points (missed

field goal) Avon again hit a deep

pass (very controversial if it was

caught or not) to keep a drive

alive, that would eventually lead

to an Avon touchdown. Ellington

was unable to get the ball back in

the end zone and could not get a

late stop to get the ball back. The

game was over. The undefeated

season was over, and the 22

game winning streak was over.

Housy and Coventry

The loss at Avon stung, espe-

cially since the Knights felt they

out played Avon. But they re-

grouped and were determined to

make it to the state playoffs.

They knew they would probably

need to win their last two games

to make it this year. They

quickly took care of Housatonic

46-0 setting up another big

Thanksgiving Day match up.

Coventry came in at 7-2, while

Ellington was 8-1. Both teams

could get into the playoffs with a

win, so yet again the season

came down to Thanksgiving.

Coventry came out ready to play,

and matched the Knights inten-

sity early on. Ellington led 13-6

at halftime, and 20-6 after three

quarters. The difference was

turnovers, Coventry turned the

ball over 7 times, and the

Knights began to capitalize in

the second half. Neal Janiga

saved one of his best games for

his last home game as he rushed

for 198 yards and caught 2

passes for 50 more. In the fourth

quarter Christian Schneider scored two touchdowns, and Ryan Connor picked up a fumble and

scored to give the Knights an easy 38-14 Thanksgiving Day victory!


States Part II

Ellington once again qualified for states, and were to

face Weston. Because of new CIAC rules Ellington

was prohibited from hosting the game at Ellington

(Awesome Rule) so they traveled to Enfield to play.

Because of a minor snow storm on Tuesday (in

which Weston was sent home early) the game was

moved to Wednesday. Once the game finally started

it was obvious that the Knights were in for a battle.

Ellington’s defense was a true bend but not break

defense in the first half as they stopped Weston three

times in the red zone. The offense could not get

much going but hit a few big plays, and led Weston 8-7 at the break.

The second half was nothing

but a shoot out. Weston

scored first to take a 14-8

lead, but Ellington scored

right away on a long run by

Janiga to re-take the lead.

Weston again scored on the

next possession on a long

drive, yet again the Knights

answered. This time it was

Leslie hitting Austin Taut-

kus for a 50 yard touchdown

to give the Knights a 22-21 lead with nine minutes left. The Knights chose to go for an onside kick,

which set up perfectly but just did not bounce the way they hoped for and Weston recovered. Wes-

ton drove the ball down the field and scored to give them a 29-22 lead. Ellington drove the ball

again but was unable to score. Another heartbreaking loss for the Knights who again played well,

just not well enough to secure their first state tournament win.

Final Thoughts

This might have been the most overachiev-

ing team in Knights history. A team that

was predicted to win 6 or 7 games won 9

and almost secured the first state tournament

win in the programs history. This group also

put together the longest win streak in school

history, and sent a clear message that team-

work is always worth more than talent. This

group will surely be remembered for their

teamwork, and for their desire to match

what the 2011 team did.



New Schedule

The 2013 Knights knew

they would be returning a

strong core group from the

previous 9-1 team and were

very optimistic at making a

third appearance in the state

tournament. However in the

winter of 2013 the Pequot

Conference broke into three

divisions and because of the

Knights success over the

past two seasons (19-1) they

would be pitted against the

best in the Pequot confer-

ence. Ellington would have

games against state powers North Branford, Valley added to

their already competitive schedule that featured Avon, Gil-

bert, and Coventry.

Fast Start in Stafford

After a slow first quarter the Knights offense exploded for 20

quick points at the end of the second quarter and beginning of

the third quarter to give them a commanding lead. Ellington

never looked back and won 40-12 on opening night.

Couldn’t Finish Job Against North Branford or Cromwell

Many said weeks two and three would define the

season for Ellington. If the Knights wanted to

make the playoffs they would need to win one of

them, and if they wanted to win their division they

would surely need to beat Cromwell (who had just

been moved into their division) Against North

Branford two early turnovers inside the red zone

led to a quick 14-0 lead for the Thunderbirds. The

Knights defense pitched a shutout the remainder of

the game, while the offense punched in a score

making it 14-6. Jake Hinkel caused and recovered

a fumble inside the 5 yard line of the Thunderbirds

with 5 minutes remaining but the Knights could

not score and will always wonder what could have

been. Against Cromwell Ellington’s offense strug-


2013: Roller Coaster Season Ends With Division

2013 Season

6-5 Record

5-1 Division Record

Division Champs

T-Day Champs

gled all day long to move the

ball. Finally in the second quar-

ter they had a long sustained

drive to the 1 yard line but could

not push the ball in. The defense

allowed a quarterback scramble

for a 40 yard touchdown late in

the third quarter to make it 20-0

Cromwell. Ellington’s offense

came life late in the fourth quar-

ter with a score and almost an-

other score but it was too little

too late.

Meltdown Against Gilbert

Ellington rallied in week 4 to

defeat Enfield 48-21 in a game in which Joe Leslie

scored 5 touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 receiving and 1

passing) This set up a pivotal week four matchup

against Pequot rivals Gilbert. A win against Gilbert

would give the Knights new life for the post season.

The Knights offense and defense came out firing on

all cylinders and led 14-0 at halftime. Ellington

scored on its first two possessions and the defense

shut down the high flying offense of Tony Ortiz and


Gilbert. The third quarter was a defensive

struggle as Ellington continued to apply

pressure on Gilbert’s offense. Gilbert’s de-

fense was equally as dominant and the game

appeared like it would end 14-0 in Elling-

ton’s favor. With seven minutes to go and

the Knights leading 14-0 Gilbert faced a

third and long at mid field. This is when the

game changed, as a double pass trick play

turned into a touchdown and suddenly it

was 14-7. The Knights offense went 3 and

out and Gilbert got the ball back with a

chance to tie the game. Ellington’s defense

again held to a third and long when a broken

coverage allowed a simple double move to

result in a 50 yard touchdown. Game tied 14

-14. The game went to overtime and once

Ellington was stuffed, Gilbert scored on the

first play in arguably the worst regular sea-

son loss in Knights history.

Recovery

After the Gilbert game the Knights could of

went either direction. They faced a much

improved Sports Science team in week 5

and then one of the hottest teams in the Pe-

quot the Windsor Locks Raiders in week 6.

Ellington put together two strong perform-

ances, especially on the offensive side of the

ball in a 28-6 win against SMSA, and a 41-


26 win against Windsor Locks. The

game against Windsor Locks was as

back in forth as any EHS game in recent

memory with both offenses dominating

the game. The game also featured

maybe the greatest play in Knights his-

tory. With time running out in the first

half Joe Leslie threw a hail marry which

was tipped by Ben Kloter into the hands

of Mark Hickman, who ran it into the

end zone for a score as time was expir-

ing. The tide of this game however was

turned when Jake Hinkel picked up a

fumble and returned it for a touchdown

which gave Ellington some breathing room.

Valley

Ellington entered Valley as a huge underdog to

the undefeated warriors. The Knights trailed 35-

7 which many would have expected. What they

didn’t expect was the second half effort the

Knights put together. After doing little to noth-

ing the first half Ellington’s offense and defense

came out on fire in the third quarter and out-

scored Valley 14-0. Heading into the fourth it

was 35-21 with momentum on Ellington’s side.

After another stop by the Knights defense Joe

Leslie took a deep shot to Mike Casciano that

was just out of Casciano’s reach. My gut feeling

there is that connection happened

something crazy might of went

down in the Valley. Regardless of

this outcome Ellington learned

that when they played together,

and played their game they were

as good as anyone in the confer-

ence.

Canton

Canton came into town needed a

win to help secure the programs

first trip to the post season. Al-

ready with wins against Avon and

Hyde Canton was not afraid of

the Knights. Ellington knew com-

ing into this year that Canton would be one of the

teams to beat. The Knights trailed 14-12 at the

break but completely dominated the second half,

especially defensively including three huge forth

down stops to help the Knights to victory, 26-14.

Coventry

In a bizarre twist of events the Knights went into

the Coventry game (after a blowout loss to Avon)

controlling their own destiny to win the division.

Cromwell had lost 4 in a row and the Knights 4-1

record was the best in the division with one game

to go. The Knights would be champs with a win,

but with a loss would end up in a 4 way tie for

first place. The Knights also

faced the challenge of playing

in a cold fierce rain storm that

made the playing conditions

possibly worse than any other

Knights game of all time. El-

lington responded to the

weather, and their champion’s

heart came out in a dominating

40-12 victory over their rivals.

Christian Schneider was a one

man wrecking crew on offense


rushing for close to 200 yards. The offensive and

defensive lines were dominant and Ellington

won their seventh Thanksgiving Classic against

archrival Coventry.

Final Thoughts

The final record of 6-5 was very disappointing to

many who believed that the Knights could have

easily won 8 or 9 of their games. However the

Knights won the right 6 games and with that won

the programs fourth division title. Ellington was

extremely competitive with their new schedule

and hopefully knows understands what it will

take to get back to the top of the mountain.


2000-2013

Picking the Team:

The first All-Time Team was picked by previous players, and coaches

based on a voting system after the 2005 season. After every season the Coaches discuss any new potential players to be nominated for the team.

Once players are nominated they must be voted in by at least 3 coaches.

Where Can Players Be Nominated:

Players are only eligible to be voted in on one side of the ball.

Best of the Best:

This section highlights the Knights best players, teams, and games of all

time

Second Team: Players that have just missed being named to the All-Time Team have a spot on the Knights Second Team All-Time which is listed at the end of

this section.

All-Time Team Offense

Quarterback

Peter Vamvilis 2006-2008

# 14

Peter Vamvilis joined the Ellington Football program as a

wide receiver in 2005. After seeing his arm strength the

coaches moved him into the JV quarterback position. Peter

picked up the position quickly and had his JV team 6-0.

With the varsity struggling Peter got called up to finish the

2006 season. In 2007 he helped change the culture of the

Knights and led Ellington from 3-7 in 2006 to 7-3 in

2007. He also led the Knights to 7-4 his senior year.

Vamvilis was named to the All-Conference team in 2008,

only the second Quarterback in Knights history to

achieve that honor. Vamvilis holds almost every passing

record for the Knights including; single game passing

yards, single season passing yards, career passing

yards, and career touchdown passes. Vamvilis passed

for 3079 yards with 39 touchdowns during his time

with the Knights. Not bad for a kid who never played

football until 2006.

Second Team: Josh Rhodes (2000-2002)

Running backs

Greg Wright

2001-2002

# 25

Wright left Ellington as the most dominant running back

the Knights have ever seen. He was a member of the 2001

and 2002 varsity squads and led the Knights to an

impressive 17-5 record during his tenure with the team.

Career He rushed for over 1,000 yards in both of his

seasons for a grand total of 2,096 career rushing yards. He

rushed for 1,068 yards his senior year and lead the Knights

to a 10-1 Uncas Division Championship. Defensively Greg

played a great safety with his speed and strength. Greg was

the type of running back that could burn you with his

quickness but also was not an easy running back to bring

down after contact. Greg’s biggest play was when he returned

a 3rd

down punt late in the fourth quarter of the 29-28 victory

over North Branford in 2002. Greg will always be remembered as one of the best players ever to put on the purple and white.

Running backs

Chad Anselmo 2003-2005

# 28

Chad Anselmo joined the Knights in 2003 and most of the

coaches thought he would be a pretty good special teams guy

and do some good things in J.V. Nobody thought he would start

both ways the entire second half of the year and actually lead

the Knights in rushing in one game (155 yards vs. Stafford).

Even in Chad’s junior year he was in the shadow of running

backs Jake Ziter, Anthony Allegra, and Bryce Metzger. But in

2004 whenever the Knights needed a big play it was # 28

they looked for. In 2005 Chad Anselmo showed the entire

Pequot Conference what he was about. He rushed for 1,535

yards and scored 18 touchdowns for the Knights. Chad

scored in every game the Knights played and carried the

load offensively. Chad holds most rushing school records

including single game rushing when he rushed for 275

yards against Gilbert. The thing that made most fans and

coaches even more impressed is Chad had a nagging hip

injury for the second half of the year and although he lost

his speed burst he still ran for over 600 yards in the last 5 games. Anselmo

was named to the All Conference team in 2005. Chad was also named All-State in 2005, the first Knight ever to receive that honor.

Joe Tarpinian 2000-2001

# 22

Joe Tarpinian is the oldest member voted into the All-

Decade Team. He graduated in 2001 after Ellington’s first varsity season. Joe was known for being that tough

runner that just wanted the ball. He rushed for 978 yards

in 2001 which ranks 4th all time for a single season. Joe scored 11 touchdowns for the Knights. Joe seemed to

have his biggest games against the best competition. In

Ellington’s first game against Hyde, Joe Tarpinian carried

the ball 31 times for 76 hard yards. His best performance statistics wise came against Gilbert where he rushed for

124 yards and his third quarter touchdown started a

dramatic come from behind 40-34 overtime victory for the Knights. Joe was named the team’s M.V.P his junior and

his Senior year for Ellington. Joe was also the first Knight

to score a touchdown when the Knights played their first JV game in 2000. Joe was named All-Conference in 2001. Currently Joe has returned to the Knights and coaches the defensive and

offensive backs.

Second Team Running Backs: Mitch Diresta (2011), Neal Janiga (2012), Anthony Allegra (2004)

Wide receivers

Jason Gelsomino 2000-2002

# 24

Jason Gelsomino received the most votes for the WR/RB

position during the initial voting for All-time team. This is

no surprise as many would argue Jason may have been the

best player ever to put on the purple uniform. With Joe

Tarpinian and Greg Wright doing most of the running

Jason’s junior year he was used more as a receiver and was

known more for his defense where has part of the All-

Division team as a cornerback. Jason’s senior year Jason

did everything for a team that had been stockpiled with

talent. Jason had 632 yards receiving, rushed for 576 and

scored 20 touchdowns. His 20 touchdowns in a single

season is a school record. Jason’s biggest games came

against the leagues best. Jason caught the pitch from his

brother Brian on the hook and ladder play with time

running out against North Branford. Jason caught for a

school record 206 yards against Hyde, scoring twice and one of his pass plays was another

school record. It was the longest run/rec from the line of scrimmage as he took the pass for 84

yards. Jason was named the teams M.V.P, All-Conference Wide-Receiver and rumor was he was

very close to receiving All-State. Jason was the JI’s athlete of the week during week 3, the only

Knights player ever to have that honor until 2007.

Bryce Metzger 2002-2004

# 22

Bryce Metzger had a great career for the Knights.

Everybody knew when he arrived to the high school

scene he would be a star, the question was when. After a

solid sophomore season at cornerback, Metzger was going threw his junior year pretty quietly. That was until the

Tolland game. Metzger scored 4 touchdowns in the second

quarter and eventually would throw a touchdown for a total of 5 touchdowns in the 55-7 win. Metzger would use this

performance to spark one of the greatest single seasons of all

time. Metzger caught 8 touchdowns and had 686 yards receiving his senior year. He ended his career with school

records in Career receiving yards with 1206, Receiving

Touchdowns Career 17, and single season receiving yards

with 686. Metzger was named to the All-Uncas Division Team his junior year and was named All-Pequot Conference

Team his senior year. Metzger’s game against Tolland will be

one that no Knights fan ever forgets

Brendan Coverdill 2009-2012

# 12 Brendan started his football career his freshman year of high

school. By his second year he was getting some time in varsity

games, and even caught a few passes. His junior year he

started at wide receiver and had almost 500 yards receiving

with 4 touchdowns. During the off-season the plan was to

convert Brendan to the QB. After a few starts during the

summer, Brendan moved back to receiver and had one of the

best seasons any Knight ever has at the position. His

receptions and yards came in about the same as his junior

year but it was the touchdowns that skyrocketed. He

caught 7 touchdowns, and many of them were in key spot.

His touchdown catch in Gilbert gave the Knights an

unbelievable comeback victory, and his touchdown against

Enfield (defensive) sealed the deal. More importantly then his numbers was his leadership.

Brendan helped lead the Knights to a stellar 9-1 season with his dedication to commitment to the

program. He will go down as one of the all time greats at receiver but at the all-conference

meeting some coaches were saying he was the also the best defensive lineman in the league. Not

too bad for a guy who started football his freshman year.

Second Team: Mike Reimer (2006), Mel Thorne (2007), Shane Hatheway (2008)

Center

Mike Rafinello

2005– 2007

# 59

“Big Mike” joined the Knights in 2005 and moved

into the starting center spot for the 2005 and 2006

season. He was moved to tackle to 2007 to further

utilize his skills. Over the three years in Ellington Mike

left his mark as one of the best lineman that Ellington

has ever seen. He was big, strong, and quick off the ball.

Mike was always a hard working and never made

excuses. Rafinello also developed into a solid defensive

tackle in 2007 and started both ways for the Knights.

Mike was around for the low point in Knights history in

2006 when Ellington went 3-7 but is a big reason for the

turnaround in the program in 2007 when Ellington moved

back to 7-3. A captain, leader and great player Mike

Rafinello lived up to all the hype he had when he first

moved into Ellington before his first season in 2005.

Second Team: Nick Salvador (2012)

Guards

Alex Voukounas 2004– 2006

# 53 One of the Knights top linemen of all time was

Guard Alex Voukounas. Voukounas was a three

year starter, captain, and All Uncas Selection.

Alex started at center during his sophomore year

helping lead the Knights to a 6-4 record. In 2005

Alex moved to guard, and with his pure strength

and speed he excelled. Alex was used as the

primary pulling guard for running back Chad

Anselmo. The Voukounas-Anselmo duo

proved deadly throughout the season. During

his senior year Alex played both MLB and

Defensive tackle. He was the defensive

captain, calling all of the plays. Alex is still

to date the only junior ever selected as a

captain. Also, Alex still holds many of the

school records in the weight room. Currently

Alex is an assistant coach at the high school where he coaches

the JV Team, linebackers, and running backs.

Ken Vollaro 2008-2011

# 65 Ken joined the Knights as a freshman in

2008 with little idea about the game of

football. A strong wrestler Vollaro had

been too big to play youth and was excited

to try out football his freshman year. After

a strong first year at the JV level, Vollaro

quickly was inserted into the lineup on the

offensive line. Ken was moved around a bit

his first two seasons but settled into guard

and excelled. Ken had many crushing hits on

traps and always seemed to make that big

block to spring Mitch Diresta for big runs.

Vollaro was also a huge force on defense as

he recorded 195 career tackles at linebacker.

Vollaro was a three year starter, named twice

to the all conference team, and was named All-

State as guard in 2011. Vollaro is the only offensive lineman to ever be named All-State. To go

along with his strong football career Vollaro was an All-State Wrestler for Somers High.

Second Team: Mike Demarest (2008) Chris Wells (2002)

Tackles

Cody Giroux 2002-2003

# 75

Cody was a soccer player his entire life until his junior

year of high school when he made an agreement with

then freshman Chad Anselmo. He said he would try out

football if Chad did. The deal paid off for both players as they will both go down as two of the better players

the program has ever seen. Cody’s size and strength

helped him become a very solid offensive tackle. It took Cody little time to pick up on technique and the basics of

playing the line. By the third game Cody was starting at

Tackle and never came out. Cody’s senior year he played

both ways, playing defensive tackle on the Knights Team Defense that still to the day was statistically the best

defense the Knights have ever had. Cody won the Coaches

award his senior year. Cody is one of the few players on this team who had no football experience coming into high

school, which shows you how quickly he picked up on the

game of football.

Neal Schindler 2000-2003

# 77

Neal was Giroux’s bookend for the final two years of

his career. But Schindler was around for all 4 of his

high school years. Neal is one of the only four players

to have started for four straight years. In 2003 Justin

Russell and Neal were awarded (Neal Schindler and

Justin Russell Award) which is presented now to

players who start at least one game all four years of

high school . Neal Was another offensive weapon to

this already deadly line that opened up huge holes

for a very talented backfield. In Neal’s career he

blocked for the likes of Joe Tarpinian all the way

up through the beginning of Chad Anselmo’s

career. Neal was a captain his senior year and

was a great leader. He led his Knights to a 9-2

season his senior year. Neal also won a coaches

award his senior year. Other then Football Neal played on Ellington’s first Lacrosse team.

Second Team: Jason Hoffman (2011) Matt Swayner (2004)

All-Time Team Defense

Nose Tackle

Zach Paquette 2008-2011

# 75

Zach had to wait many years to finally be able to put on

shoulder pads and a helmet as he was too big to play for the

youth program growing up. Zach quickly made up for lost time

and mid way through his freshman Zach was starting at

defensive tackle for the varsity team. Paquette easily one of

the biggest players ever to put on the uniform was dominant

from the get go. His size, strength and quickness made him

an absolute nightmare for teams to try to block. After a solid

sophomore season, Coach Tautkus moved Zach to the nose

guard position. Many thought Zach’s presence would

surely be felt but some wondered if he would have as many chances at tackles. Zach records 60 tackles his

junior year and 74 his senior year in which he was usually

double teamed every single played. If not double teamed

he was cut or simply ran away from. Zach finished his

career 7th on the all-time tackle list with a 188 tackles. He has the most

tackles ever from a defensive lineman in school history. Zach was named to the all-conference team his junior and

senior year for his outstanding play. Zach was also named to both the All-State Team, and Hartford Courant’s All-

Area team. Zach is the only player to ever be named to the All-Area team and the first defensive lineman to ever

make All-State. Zach will go down as truly one of the best players in Knights history.

Defensive Tackles

Bryan Parks 2001-2002

# 90

Bryan Parks knew very little about football his junior year but was a great lacrosse player so thought it might be some

fun to try football. It took Parks a few games but by the end

of his junior year he began to be a force on the defensive line. This momentum Bryan would take into his senior year

where he would be one of the most dominating defensive

linemen in the conference and arguably in the state. He had over 50 tackles even though he was double teamed almost

every play. Because of all of the double teaming that went on,

it opened up the gates for Justin Russell, and Chris Wells who

both had huge years. Parks was referred to as an animal up front and between him and Matt Zagura (the other defensive

tackle) the Knights defensive line was big, and extremely fast.

Bryan was named to the All-Division and All- Conference teams, and still to this day has been the only Ellington player

invited to the High School All Star Game Vs. Rhode Island. In

college Bryan played lacrosse for Assumption College

Defensive Tackles

Murvin Tackling 2003-2004

# 65,77

The first day Murvin Tackling showed up to practice, Coach Keith Tautkus asked him his full name. When he said Tackling

for his last name, Keith said ha-ha nice joke what's your real last

name? As soon as coach found out that was his real last name he knew Murvin would be special. After joining the team after

the second game of the 2003 season Murvin would make his

impact felt. His work ethic in practice junior year got him on

the game field within 1 week. He consistently challenged the varsity team at practice and within a few weeks was starting a

defensive tackle. Murvin’s big year would come in 2004

when he was a senior. He would end the year with 75 tackles which is the most ever by a defensive tackle. He is tied for

second on the school record list for tackles in a game when

he had 21 tackles against Windsor Locks. Murvin was named to the Uncas League All-Division team in 2004,

and won the Knights best lineman award.

Second Team: Cliff Demarest (2006), Sean Coverdill (2011)

Defensive End/Linebacker

Ryan Wolverton 2002-2004

# 54 Many would argue Ryan Wolverton was one of the

most dominating defense players in Knights history.

Ryan would play 3 seasons of varsity ball for the Knights. He was named to the All-Uncas Division team

three times, and named to the All-Pequot Conference

team twice. Wolverton played End his sophomore and junior year but was then moved to middle linebacker his

senior year. Midway through the season Ryan would be

moved back to end where he would have a huge end of the

season and would eventually lead the Knights in tackles. One of Ryan’s best games had to be his play against Hyde

in 2002, his sophomore year where he had two huge sacks.

Ryan also had a huge punt block touchdown against H-K in 2003 that proved to be the difference in a season changing

24-20 win. Ryan finished his career second on the all-time

tackles list with 174 tackles. His most being 79 his senior year. Wolverton has the most tackles from a defensive

lineman in a season and a career.

Defensive End/Linebackers

Jake Schneider 2008, 2010-2011

# 24

Jake was another “new” football player when he joined the Knights in 2008. He burst onto the scene

his first year and quickly became a star for the JV

team. Jake did not come back for his sophomore year, but came back as a junior and excelled for his

final two years. With Paquette playing nose guard

Coach moved Schneider and Levassuer to end/linebacker position. Some plays they would

play true defensive end, some they would play

linebacker, some they would read. Schneider

proved over both seasons how valuable he was to the defense. Jake recorded 74 tackles his junior

year and 90 his year to place him 9th overall with

166 tackles in his career. Jake was named to the all conference team both his junior and senior

season.

Second Team: Luke Levassuer (2010), Tory Lussier (2006)

Linebackers

Justin Russell 2000-2003

# 83

Justin Russell joined the Knights Football program in 2000, as

a freshman. Justin started as a freshman and showed a lot of

promise at defensive end. His sophomore year he played defensive end and was named to the All-Uncas Division

team at end. Russell would be moved to middle linebacker

his junior and senior years where he would have monster seasons. In 2002, Russell led a stingy defense with 86

tackles. His performance at Hyde (11 tackles) might have

been the best defensive performance of his career as he

made three goal line stops, 2 in the backfield. Russell’s senior year was nothing different. He had 110 tackles,

and even missed a game. Russell played the second half

of the season with a cast up his entire arm but it did not slow him down. He was named to the Pequot All-

Conference Teams his junior and senior years and was

nominated for All-State by many coaches in the Pequot. Justin was the teams M.V.P in 2003 and also

had an award named after him (Neal Schindler and

Justin Russell Award) for starting for four years. Justin will go down as one of the top defensive players

of all time, a player that truly made offenses change their game plan.

Nick Kellner 2006-2008

# 40

Nick 0 is by far the smallest player on the all time

team. He also may simply be the toughest. Nick

joined the Knights and became a special team

standout as a sophomore. He was moved around in

the beginning of his junior year until he was put

right next to All-State linebacker Sam Ziter. Kellner

and Ziter formed a very strong tandem as the two

racked up the most tackles between any two

teammates in Knights History. Kellner had 105 tackles

as a junior, and tied for a team lead with 131 his senior

year. That gave Kellner an average of 90 tackles per

year (based on his three years on the team) which is the

most in school history. Kellner is second on the all time

tackles list with 268 career tackles and is also third on

the tackles individual game with 19 tackles (against

Tolland 07) Kellner was truly a special football player,

showing the size is not everything in football.

Sam Ziter 2005-2008

# 44 Sam Ziter played four seasons of varsity football for the

Knights. Sam and Mike Demarest are the only players to

ever play four seasons of varsity football and they currently hold the record for games played. Sam may have played a

lot of games but he was truly a special linebacker. Sam

crushed all the school records set by Justin Russell and

finished his career with 354 tackles. He also is tied with teammate Nick Kellner for tackles in a season with 131.

Kellner and Ziter formed a great line backing corps for

the Knights. Ziter was a hitting machine always looking to put a lick on the opposing running back. He also was

a very solid running back where he took his hitting

mentally when he carried the ball. Ziter was named to

the all Pequot team three times and was also elected to the All-State team following the 2007 season.

Christian Schneider 2010-2013

# 22

Christian joined the Knights football program his freshman

year and had a great first season for the JV team. It was

evident that the third Schneider in the program would be a

special one. Christian spotted in the game both offensivly

and defensivly his sophomore year for the 10-0 team and by his junior year he was ready to take over the starting

linebacker position left by Ken Vollaro. In Christian’s first

season at linebacker he destroryed the school record when he recorded 162 tackles at middle linebacker and help lead the

Knights to a 9-1 record. Christian came into his senior season

with an injured ankle and was never 100% at any point of the season. This did not slow down his production as he recorded

108 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and

recovered 2. The stat that is not on there is the solo tackles that

Christian made, or the touchdown saving tackles. Christian’s angle to the ball carrier and his great fundamentals made him

never out of the play regardless of how many blockers opposing

teams sent him. He ends his career second on the all time tackles list, and if was not for a loaded senior class his sophomore season he may be the all time leader in tackles.

Second Team: Erick Knickerbocker (2003), Ray Chouinard (2008), Matt Janiga

(2010), Sean Tynan (2012)

Defensive backs

Derek Lussier 2005-2007

# 10

Derek Lussier started three years on the Knights defense, two of which

coming at cornerback for Ellington. He ended his career with 132 tackles

and countless interceptions. Although interception stats have not been tracked it is believed with great confidence that Lussier has the most

Interceptions in Knights history. Lussier brought passion, commitment and

attitude to the Knights and 2005 and was absolutely key in the Knights

turnaround in 2007. Lussier played the game the right way and got everything out of his ability. He was named to the All Pequot team

following his 2007 season where he helped pace the Knights defense

with 79 tackles. Lussier also started on offense, his junior year he played quarterback and running back, and his senior year primarily running

back. Lussier will go down as one toughest hardnosed football players

that Ellington has ever seen. Lussier saved one of his best

performances for his final game. In a game that the Knights were thoroughly beaten by Tolland, Lussier played each and every down

recording at the time a team record 22 tackles. Derek is also one of

the only two players to ever complete a four year football career in college.

Brian Gelsomino 2000-2002

# 10

Brian was the Knights defensive corner for three years

in 2000, 2001 and 2002. With Brian’s pure speed,

football smarts and athleticism Gelsomino became a

dominant defensive back for the Knights. Ellington

would man Brian up against the opposing team’s best

receiver. Brian was on the All-Division Team and All-

Conference Team at cornerback both his junior and senior

year. Gelsomino had a breakout junior season as he

became a factor on both sides of the ball, but a broken

collar bone in his senior year put his senior year in

jeopardy. Brian worked hard to get back and returned for

the final four games and was able to finish out his career

with the Knights on the field. Although Brian was a

dominant defensive back his biggest play may have come

on offense. Brian caught a pass from quarterback Josh

Rhodes on a broken play and took it to the end zone against

Hyde in 2001. His score ended up being the difference in the

game.

Defensive backs

Nate Tembi 2007-2009

# 27

Nate joined the Knights in 2007 after a breakout freshman season

with the Roadrunners in 2006. Nate, who played linebacker at

youth, was moved to Safety his sophomore year. Nate made the

transition very easy and developed into one of the top safeties in

the league in his sophomore year. He was named to the all-

conference team, one of only two Knights ever to receive this

honor. Tembi was also an all-conference safety his junior year

as he paced the defensive backfield with 75 tackles. Nate

spent his senior year playing linebacker and some safety and

was named to the all-conference team again, this time on the

offensive side of the ball. Nate sits fourth on the all time

tackles list with 197, clearly the most by anyone who played

defensive back. He also finished his career with 29

touchdowns, 19 his senior year which is second on the

school record list. Nate will be famous for years to come with his TD

run against Canton which is being said to be the best run ever in Knights history. Tembi was also named to the Class “M” All-State Team following his Senior Year.

Second Team: Cody Anselmo (2009), Jeff Morgan (2004), Austin Tautkus (2012)

Punter

Matt Zagura 2002

# 98 When Matt Zagura decided to join the football team his

senior year nobody thought he would be an impact player, and

let me tell you nobody thought he would be the punter. Zagura became a huge force on the defensive line but even a better

punter. He was averaging over 35 yards a kick and had great

direction on where the ball was going. During practice one day Coach Tautkus saw Matt punting on the sideline and quickly

made a move to move him to punter. Matt took advantage of the

opportunity and had a great season in 2002. He was awarded by

being named to the All-Uncas Division Team as the Punter. Zagura also started on the defensive line in 2002 where he, Brian

Parks, Pete Okrasa, and Ryan Wolverton formed the best

defensive line in the league. Zagura was an All-New England Track and Field Star and still holds many shot put records for the

Knights

Kicker

Mike Reimer 2007

# 12 After years of recruitment Mike Reimer finally decided to

give football a try his senior year. Reimer played for the

Knights in 2007 and showed that although he only played one

year, he was one of the most gifted athletes to ever put on the

uniform. Reimer started for Ellington at WR, and Safety, but

he is on the all decade team because of his kicking abilities.

Mike is one of only two Knights to make a field goal and has

the most touchback kicks of all time. At practice Mike kicked a

field goal from 55 yards out. Reimer was named to the All-

Pequot Conference team in 2007. He was also only the second

player (Jason Gelsomino) to be picked as the Journal Inquirer's

player of the week. Reimer also was a baseball star for the

Knights, earning all-state honors during his time.

Utility

Neal Janiga 2010-2012

# 3

“Neal J” came to the Knights after a long and successful

career at the youth level. He brought with him skill,

strength and intangibles that make him one of the greatest ever to put on the uniform. During his junior season Neal

saw the field on defense at almost every position including

all linebacker positions, corner, and safety. He was the first sub in and usually found a spot on the field somewhere. He

played quarterback and slot back on offense and was the

special team’s player of the year because of his versatility. Neal made the most of his opportunities his junior year and

with a senior class of over 20 he did not get the playing time

he would have if he played any other year. Going into the

2012 season most believed the Knights would struggle to go .500 after losing almost all of their starters from the previous

year. Neal went from utility man to the starting four back and outside linebacker. Neal responded by

rushing for over 1,000 yards, and recording 105 tackles. He was the team’s MVP and helped a “rebuilding” Knights team a 9-1 record. Neal may go down as the best special team’s player of all time as

well where he recorded over 25 tackles on kick off team, blocked numerous punts and always seemed to

make a difference on the field every play he was out there. A player that could play any position had the intangibles that can never be defined by any statistic.

All-Time Team 1st Team Roster

Offense

Quarterback: Peter Vamvilis

Running Back: Greg Wright

Running Back: Joe Tarpinian

Running Back: Chad Anselmo

Receiver: Jason Gelsomino

Receiver: Bryce Metzger

Receiver: Brendan Coverdill

Center: Mike Rafinello

Guard: Alex Voukounas

Guard: Ken Vollaro

Tackle: Cody Giroux

Tackle: Neal Schindler

Defense

Nose: Zach Paquette

Tackle: Bryan Parks

Tackle: Murvin Tackling

End: Ryan Wolverton

End/OLB: Jake Schneider

Linebacker: Justin Russell

Linebacker: Nick Kellner

Linebacker: Sam Ziter

Linebacker: Christian Schneider

Defensive Back: Derek Lussier

Defensive Back: Brian Gelsomino

Defensive Back: Nate Tembi

Utility/Specials

Punter: Matt Zagura

Kicker: Mike Reimer

Utility: Neal Janiga

All-Time Team 2nd Team Roster

Offense

Quarterback: Josh Rhodes

Running Back: Mitch Diresta

Running Back: Jake Ziter

Running Back: Anthony Allegra

Receiver: Mike Reimer

Receiver: Mel Thorne

Receiver: Shane Hatheway

Center: Nick Salvador

Guard: Ben Bahler

Guard: Chris Wells

Tackle: Jason Hoffman

Tackle: Matt Swayner

Defense

Tackle: Cliff Demarest

Tackle: Sean Coverdill

End/Olb: Luke Levassuer

End/Olb: Tory Lussier

Linebacker: Matt Janiga

Linebacker: Ray Chouinard

Linebacker: Erick Knickerbocker

Linebacker: Sean Tynan

Defensive Back: Cody Anselmo

Defensive Back: Jeff Morgan

Defensive Back: Austin Tautkus

Utility: Joe Leslie

The Best of the Best

Top Player All-Time: Jason Gelsomino

Top Offensive Player All-Time: Chad Anselmo

Top Defensive Player All- Time: Justin Russell

Top Lineman All-Time: Zach Paquette

Best Offense: 2002 Season

Best Defense: 2011 Season

Best Team: 2002 Team

Best Season: 2011 10-0

Best Game: 2002

Comeback vs. North

Branford

Biggest Comeback:

2002 vs. North

Brandford

Biggest Heartbreak:

2011 vs. Wolcott

Top Games Of All Time

1. Ellington 29, North Branford 28 (2002) – Trailing 28-7 with four minutes to go the Knights had

North Branford right where they wanted. Josh Rhodes started the comeback with a 70 yard TD pass to Jason Gelsomino. After a botched onside kick attempt, the Knights defense stuffed North Branford on two plays and used their final time outs. On third and long North Branford tried to catch Ellington off guard by punting. Ellington was ready and the ball bounced right up to Greg Wright who took it to the house for a score. The Knights now trailed by 6. Ellington then attempted an onside kick and while Chris Wells took out three thunderbirds Jake Ziter fell on the ball and the Knights took over. On the first play Ellington ran the hook and ladder to perfection as Brian Gelsomino caught the ball and tossed it back to his brother Jason. Brian Parks nailed the extra point to give Ellington a 29-28 lead. Jason Gelsomino picked off a pass to seal the deal and the biggest comeback in Knights History.

2. Ellington 27, Coventry 14 (2011) – The Anticipation for this match –up alone would get the game on

the top ten list top games of all time. Ellington and Coventry both came into the match at 9-0 with the Uncas Division and Pequot Conference Title on the line. Both teams had already clinched a playoff berth, but this was the real championship game both teams were concerned with. Coventry got out to a fast start and led 7-0 early on. Ellington came back and scored and the teams went back and forth in the first half and it was Coventry who led 14-13 at halftime. The Coventry lead could have been biggest but Rider connected with Brandon Coverdill for 34 yards to get the Knights back on the board. After a stop late in the quarter Ellington moved the ball all the way down to Coventry’s five yard line but could not score and went into half trailing 14-13. Ellington had been a better second half team all year and the same was true on Thanksgiving. Bryan

Rider became a one man wrecking machine and saved his best performance of the year for the biggest game. Rider scored from 5 yards out to give Ellington a 19-14 lead. This is where the score stayed most of the fourth quarter and the Patriots got the ball back with one more chance to win it. On the first play Sean Tynan picked off the pass to pretty much seal the deal for the Knights. Rider scored again and moved the lead to 27-14 Knights. Rider finished the game with 186 yards rushing and 100 yards passing in one of the greatest performances by any Knight Player of all time. Ellington had achieved perfection for the first time ever

3. Ellington 13, Hyde 12 (2001) – In Ellington’s first official varsity game as a member of the Pequot

Conference, Ellington was matched up against defending Class S State Champion Hyde. Hyde stuck a sword into Ellington’s field before the game, but it would be the Knights who would be celebrating at the end of this game. Ellington led most of the way, as their defense simply shut down the Howling Wolves attack. The Knights winning score came when Josh Rhodes, who was scrambling for his life, found Brian Gelsomino in the flats. Gelsomino caught the pass took the ball all the way to the end zone for the score.

4. Ellington 41, Tolland 34 OT (2004) – a game that had anything and everything. It started off with a

second quarter fight and the Knights lost their two best defensive players who were ejected. The Knights trailed 27-14 at halftime. The second half Ellington rallied back to tie the score, and actually take the lead. Tolland however rallied back to tie it, and was driving for the winning score when Bryce Metzger picked off a pass in Ellington territory. In overtime Anthony Allegra would score on fourth and goal, and he would also make the game winning tackle to secure the win for Ellington.

5. Ellington 40, Gilbert 34 OT (2001) – Ellington’s Greg Wright threw a touchdown pass to help lead the

Knights into overtime. In overtime it was Wright who scored from three yards out on third and goal to help secure the win for Ellington. The win secured Ellington a piece of the Uncas division in 2001, as Gilbert came into the game undefeated in the league.

6. Ellington 34, H-K 28 (2008) – Tied 28-28 with four minutes to go, Ellington drove the ball down the field

to score the winning touchdown. The drive seemed to stall at midfield when Ellington was faced with a third and seventeen. On that third down Peter Vamvilis found Shane Hatheway for a seventeen yard pick up to convert the third down. Later in the drive, Sam Ziter scored on third and goal from the three with thirty two seconds remaining in the game.

7. Wolcott 32, Ellington 26 OT (2011) – For many years the Cromwell game (at number 7) had been the

biggest heartbreak game in Knights History. That was until 2011. Ellington led by two scores going into the fourth quarter and could not hold onto to its first ever State Playoff game against Wolcott. The Knights defense which ranked second in the state during the season could not get a stop in the fourth quarter as Wolcott scored two scores to tie the game at 26. Wolcott got the ball first in the overtime and scored. The Knights offense which had been firing on all cylinders all night went quiet

and an incomplete pass on fourth down gave Wolcott its first playoff victory of all time. The Knights did everything in this one except take home the victory. As sweet as the 2011 season was this game will always be in the back of players and coaches minds.

8. Ellington 20, Gilbert 17 (2012) – Ellington knew traveling to Gilbert week 3 of the 2012 would be a

huge challenge. Ellington defeated Gilbert in 2011 en route to a 10-0 record, but in 2010 when they last traveled to Gilbert they were beaten by over 30 points in one of the most embarrassing losses in the programs history. The Knights trailed for a majority of the game and after an interception and score for Gilbert late in the third quarter the Yellow Jackets led Ellington 17-7. Christian Schneider showed how important special teams were by taking the ensuing kickoff back for a score to bring Ellington back to life. After a big stop on defense Coach Byrne dug into the bag of tricks as Neal Janiga faked a sweep and threw the ball deep to a wide open Brendan Coverdill for the go ahead score. Gilbert took the ball down the field and set up

for a game tying field goal with seconds to go. The snap was bobbled and Gilbert’s holder tried frantically to get the first down. The Knights pursued him and made the tackle 2 yards shy of the first down.

9. Cromwell 35, Ellington 28 OT (2004) – A game that may go down as the biggest heartbreak of all

time, the Knights fell inches away from being the first to ever beat Cromwell in a regular season game. With under thirty seconds remaining in a 28-28 game, Jeff Morgan caught a pass from Sean Palla and pitched it back to Chad Anselmo for the hook and ladder play. Chad ran the ball forty yards down the side line and appeared to be in the end zone when he was knocked out of bounds. When the reff’s conferred they marked Chad out inside the one yard line. The reff’s messed up the play clock as there should have been three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the game went to overtime, where Cromwell won it.

10. Ellington 30, Tolland 12 (2002) – The first ever thanksgiving day class pitted two archrivals that had

only played one football game ever, but yet both teams treated it like a tradition. Ellington was 9-1 and Tolland was 4-0 in the division. The winner would take home the Uncas crown. A game in which Ellington physically dominated the score midway through the first half was 12-8 Tolland. But after trailing 12-8, the Knights would take care of business scoring the next 22 points. It would be a great ending as Patrick Harrington would get a sack on the last play of the game to end his and the many other seniors great career with a 10-1 record.

11. Ellington 24, H-K 20 (2003) – This marks one of only two games in the Top 10 to be played somewhere

other than Ellington High School. The Knights trailed 12-0 in the second quarter to H-K before the Defense woke up. Justin

Russell picked up a fumble and took it into the end zone for Ellington’s first score. Their second score came when John Swayner hit Bryce Metzger from 8 yards out to get Ellington back into the game. The Knights scored again on defense when Ryan Wolverton fell on a blocked punt in the end zone. But the drama of this game came late in the fourth quarter when H-K was driving; they had a second and goal play from the five yard line. H-K tried a halfback option pass but Jeff Morgan was waiting for it and picked it off. The Knights were then able to run out the clock with huge third down runs by Jake Ziter and Anthony Allegra.

12. Ellington 12, Gilbert 6 OT (2009) – The Knights led 6-0 for most of the game until Gilbert

scored late in the third quarter to tie it 6-6. Ellington almost gave the game away as they fumbled in their own end zone twice, but somehow managed to make it out of the end zone and punt the ball back away to Gilbert with only minutes remaining in the game. Gilbert drove the ball back down to Ellington’s one and appeared ready to put the Knights away but a fumble at the goal line gave the Knights an extra life. That extra life would be in OT. Gilbert started with the ball, and on the first play it was linebacker Matt Janiga who stepped up and sacked Gilbert’s QB. After stopping the Yellow Jackets, the

Knights scored on third and goal when Justin Vamvilis completed a screen pass to Nate Tembi who took it into the end zone for the win.

13. Ellington 55, Tolland 7 (2003) – After trailing 7-0 the Knights put up 55 points against arch rival

Tolland to totally embarrass the Eagles in Tolland. This game was a coming out party for Bryce Metzger who scored four

touchdowns in the second quarter. Three of the touchdowns were on the receiving end of John Swayner passes. Swayner had a career day with 252 yards passing and four touchdown passes. In the third quarter Metzger added to his touchdown total, this time passing one to Jeff Morgan. Sean Palla, Chad Anselmo and lineman Erick Knickerbocker all added scores for the Knights who finished the season 9-2.

Other Notable Games:

Ellington 22, Tourtolette 0 (2000) – First Varsity Victory

Hyde 20, Ellington 15 (2004) – Knights Lead All The Way until End as Willie

Herriot scores a 40 yard screen play to break Knights.

Ellington 38, Morgan 21 (2006) – First Win on the New Field, Mike Reimer

scores the first Touchdown.

Avon 13, Ellington 6 (2007) – Avon Knocks Ellington Out of the Playoffs

Tolland 13, Ellington 6 (2006) – After a frustrating season Ellington almost

ends Tolland’s dream season but can’t score down the stretch.

Ellington 7, Coventry 0 (2009) – Ellington knocks Coventry out of Playoffs in

a defensive struggle. Sophomore Bryan Rider scored the only TD.

Ellington 7, Coventry 0 (2010) – Again Ellington knocks Coventry out of

playoffs

Ellington 14, Avon 5 (2011) – Ellington beats Avon for first time; clinches spot

in Class M Playoffs

Avon 14, Ellington 7 (2012) – Avon breaks the Knights 22 game win streak.

Ellington had chances to score before halftime, and also missed a field goal.

Weston 29, Ellington 22 (2012) – In similar fashion to 2011 the Knights led in

the fourth quarter but could not close out another playoff game. The game will

be known for the onside kick to some, but to most it will be known for the off

field events that took place before kickoff.

Ellington 38, Coventry 14 (2012) – Another Thanksgiving Classic as both

Ellington and Coventry were vying for a playoff spot. The Knights capitalized

on 8 Coventry Fumbles, as Neal Janiga saved his best performance for his last

at EHS.


2000-2013

Le

ag

ue

Ch

am

pio

ns

20

01

Kn

igh

ts

7-4

Re

co

rd

Uncas D

ivis

ion C

ham

ps

20

02

Kn

igh

ts

10

-1 R

eco

rd

Uncas D

ivis

ion C

ham

ps

20

11

Kn

igh

ts

10

-0 R

eco

rd

Uncas D

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ion C

ham

ps

Pequot C

onfe

rence C

ham

ps

20

13

Kn

igh

ts

6-5

Reco

rd

Pequot N

ort

h C

ham

ps

Te

am

MV

P’s

20

00

: Jo

e T

arp

inia

n

R

un

nin

g B

ack/

Def

ensi

ve

Bac

k

20

01

: Jo

e T

arp

inia

n

R

un

nin

g B

ack/

Def

ensi

ve

Bac

k

20

02

: Ja

son

Gel

som

ino

Slo

t B

ack/D

efen

sive

Bac

k

20

03

: Ju

stin

Ru

ssel

l

Lin

ebac

ker

20

04

: B

ryce

Met

zger

Slo

t B

ack/D

efen

sive

Bac

k

20

05

: C

had

An

selm

o

R

un

nin

g B

ack/L

ineb

acker

20

06

: E

dd

ie S

kro

wo

nek

Ru

nn

ing B

ack/L

ineb

acker

20

07

: D

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Lu

ssie

r

Slo

t B

ack/

Def

ensi

ve

Bac

k

20

08

: S

am Z

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Ru

nn

ing B

ack/

Lin

ebac

ker

P

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Vam

vil

is

Q

uar

terb

ack

20

09

: N

ate

Tem

bi

R

un

nin

g B

ack/D

efen

sive

Bac

k

20

10

:

Mat

t Ja

nig

a

Ru

nn

ing B

ack/

Lin

ebac

ker

20

11

:

Ken

Vo

llar

o

G

uar

d/L

ineb

acker

20

12

:

Nea

l Ja

nig

a

Ru

nn

ing B

ack/L

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acker

20

13

: Jo

e L

esli

e

Qu

arte

rbac

k

All-P

eq

uo

t P

laye

rs -

Off

en

se

2001

Matt Dunphy

2002

Patrick Harrington

2003

Erick Knickerbocker

2004

Eric Reichle

2005

Alex Voukounas

2009

Tanner Tate

2010

Ken Vollaro

2011

Ken Vollaro

2012

Sean Tynan

2013

Ben Bahler

C

ente

r

Gu

ard

Tac

kle

Q

uar

terb

ack

Wid

e R

ecei

ver

R

un

nin

g B

ack

2007

Derek Lussier

2008

Cody Anselmo

2010

Justin Vamvilis

2012

Christian Schneider

O

ffen

sive

Sp

ecia

list

(U

tili

ty)

P

lace

Kic

ker

2004

Matt Swayner

2005

Dylan Fischer

2010

Jason Hoffman

2011

Jason Hoffman

2013

Trevor Printy

2002

Jason Gelsomino

2004

Jeff Morgan

2005

Reid Martin

2006

Mike Riemer

2007

Mel Thorne

2008

Shane Hatheway

2012

Austin Tautkus

2012

Brendan Coverdill

2001

Greg Wright

2002

Andy Roland

2002

Greg Wright

2003

Bryce Metzger

2004

Bryce Metzger

2005

Chad Anselmo

2009

Nate Tembi

2011

Mitch Diresta

2002

Josh Rhodes

2008

Peter Vamvilis

2011

Bryan Rider

2012

Joe Leslie

2013

Joe Leslie

2001

Bryan Parks

2004

Sean Palla

All-P

eq

uo

t P

laye

rs -D

efe

nse

2001

Justin Russell

2002

Ryan Wolverton

2003

Ryan Wolverton

2004

Ryan Wolverton

2010

Jake Schneider

2011

Jake Schneider

2013

Jake Hinkel

D

. Lin

e

En

d

L

ineb

acke

r

DB

S

pec

iali

st/

P

2001

Josh Rhodes – Punter

2002

Matt Zagura – Punter

2002

Anthony Allegra – ST

2007

Nick Kellner- ST

2008

Cody Anselmo- ST

2002

Chris Wells

2002

Justin Russell

2003

Justin Russell

2004

Anthony Allegra

2004

Jake Ziter

2005

Bryan Wells

2006

Sam Ziter

2007

Sam Ziter

2008

Nick Kellner

2008

Sam Ziter

2009

Ray Chouinard

2010

Matt Janiga

2011

Luke Levassuer

2012

Neal Janiga

2013

Christian Schneider

2002

Bryan Parks

2004

Murvin Tackling

2005

Mike Haight

2006

Alex Voukounas

2007

Chris Hardy

2008

Aaron Charette

2009

Bryant Grey

2010

Zach Paquette

2011

Zach Paquette

2011

Sean Coverdill

2012

Ben Bahler

2001

Brian Gelsomino

2001

Joe Tarpinian

2001

Jason Gelsomino

2003

Jeff Morgan

2004

Sean Palla

2004

Bryce Metzger

2005

Jason Tautkus

2007

Nate Tembi

2007

Nate Tembi

2009

Cody Anselmo

2010

Brennen Wesley

2011

Jason Moustafa

2012

Mike Casciano

2013

Mike Casciano

Knig

hts

Pla

yer

s 2

00

5: C

had

An

selm

o R

un

nin

g B

ack

20

07

: S

am Z

iter

, L

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ack

er

20

07

: M

el T

ho

rne,

Wid

e R

ecei

ver

20

09

: N

ate

Tem

bi,

Ru

nn

ing

Bac

k

20

11

: Z

ach

Paq

uet

te, D

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siv

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20

11

: K

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, G

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20

12

: S

ean

Tyn

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Gu

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Con

nect

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Hig

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Coa

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Ass

ocia

tion

ALL-STATE

El

lin

gt

on

Kn

igh

ts

St

ar

te

rs

Ce

nt

er

G

ua

rd

2001

Justin Norton

2002

Justin Norton

2003

Brian Sardinha

2004

Alex Voukounas

2005

Mike Rafinello

2006

Mike Rafinello

2007

Tanner Tate

2008

Tanner Tate

2009

Nick Bastarache

2010

Nick Salvador

2011

Nick Salvador

2012

Nick Salvador

2013

Kevin Gilson

2001

Matt Dunphy

2002 Patrick Harrington

2003 Erick Knickerbocker

2004

Eric Reichle

2005

Alex Voukounas

2006

Alex Voukounas

2007

Mike Demarest

2008

Mike Demarest

2009

Tanner Tate

2010

Sean Tynan

2011

Sean Tynan

2012

Sean Tynan

2013

Justin Ames

2001

Chris Wells

2002

Chris Wells

2003

Ryan Wolverton

2004

Ryan Wolverton

2005

Marty Lavigne

2006

Mike Demarest

2007

Aaron Charette

2008

Aaron Charette

2009

Ken Vollaro

2010

Ken Vollaro

2011

Ken Vollaro

2012

Ben Bahler

2013

Ben Bahler

2001 Patrick Harrington

2002

Cody Giroux

2003

Cody Giroux

2004

Matt Swayner

2005

Dylan Fischer

2006

2007

Chris Hardy

2008

Jordan Webber

2009

Jordan Webber

2010

Jason Hoffman

2011

Jason Hoffman

2012

Sean McKillop

2013

Sean McKillop

2001

Neal Schindler

2002

Neal Schindler

2003

Neal Schindler

2004

Kiel Miller

2005

Dylan Fischer

2006

Dave Resutek

2007

Mike Rafinello

2008

2009

David Lavoie

2010

Jack Quinn

2011

Jack Quinn

2012

Trevor Printy

2013

Trevor Printy

G

ua

rd

T

ac

kl

e

T

ac

kl

e

Of

fe

ns

ive

Lin

e

El

lin

gt

on

Kn

igh

ts

St

ar

te

rs

Wid

e R

ece

iver

Wid

e R

ece

iver

2001

Brian Gelsomino

2002

Brian Gelsomino

2003

Jeff Morgan

2004

Jeff Morgan

2005

Jason Tautkus

2006

Mike Reimer

2007

Mike Miller

2008

2009

Matt Janiga

2010 Brendan Coverdill



2013

Ben Kloter (TE)

2001

Jeff Waselewski

2002

John Swayner

2003

Eric Senger

2004

Eric Senger

2005

Paul Millette

2006

Mel Thorne

2007

Mel Thorne

2008

Shane Hatheway

2009

Mike Cleary

2010

Aaron Daley

2011 Austin Taut/Cleary

2012

Austin Tautkus

2013

Shane McGowan

2001

Greg Wright

2002

Greg Wright

2003

Chad Anselmo

2004

Chad Anselmo

2005

Chad Anselmo

2006

Eddie Scrownek

2007

Derek Lussier

2008

Cody Anselmo

2009

Cody Anselmo

2010

Jason Moustafa

2011

Jason Moustafa

2012

Mike Casciano

2013

Mike Casciano

2001

Jason Gelsomino

2002

Jason Gelsomino

2003

Bryce Metzger

2004

Bryce Metzger

2005

Reid Martin

2006

Deadrick Baker

2007

Shane Hatheway

2008

Nate Tembi

2009

Nate Tembi

2010

Mitch Diresta

2011

Mitch Diresta

2012

Neal Janiga

2013

Mark Hickman

2001

Joe Tarpinian

2002

Andy Roland

2003

Jake Ziter

2004 Jake Ziter/Allegra

2005

Cliff Demarest

2006

Demarest/Lussier

2007

Sam Ziter

2008

Sam Ziter

2009

Ray Chouinard

2010

Matt Janiga

2011

Jake Schneider

2012 Christian Schneider


2001

Josh Rhodes

2002

Josh Rhodes

2003

Josh Rhodes

2004

John Swayner

2005

Sean Palla

2006

Peter Vamvilis

2007

Peter Vamvilis

2008

Peter Vamvilis

2009

Justin Vamvilis

2010

Justin Vamvilis

2011

Bryan Rider

2012

Joe Leslie

2013

Joe Leslie

Ru

nn

ing

Bac

k

Ru

nn

ing

Bac

k

Ru

nn

ing

Bac

k

Qu

arte

rbac

k

Sk

ill

Po

sit

ion

s

No

se

D

. L

ine

D

.Lin

e

2001

Bryan Parks

2002

Bryan Parks

2003 Murvin Tackling

2004 Murvin Tackling

2005

Dylan Fischer

2006

2007

Chris Hardy

2008

Zach Paquette

2009

Zach Paquette

2010

Mike Cleary

2011

Sean Coverdill


2013

Ben Bahler

2001

Pat Harrington

2002

Matt Zagura

2003

Cody Giroux

2004

Matt Swayner

2005

Mike Haight

2006

Mike Haight

2007

Dave Resutek

2008

2009

Bryant Grey

2010

Victor Viega

2011

Victor Viega

2012

Nick Salvador

2013

Sean McKillop

2001

Kyle Clouky

2002

Ryan Wolverton

2003

Ryan Wolverton

2004

Ryan Wolverton

2005

Reid Martin

2006

2007

Zak Berrapski

2008

Tanner Tate

2009

Tanner Tate

2010

Jake Schneider

2011

Jake Schneider

2012

Neal Janiga

2013

Jake Hinkel

2001

Justin Russell

2002

Pete Okrasa

2003

Eric Reichle

2004

Eric Reichle

2005

Tory Lussier

2006

Tory Lussier

2007

Mike Demarest

2008

2009

Sean Coverdill

2010

Luke Levessur

2011

Luke Levessur

2012

Andrew Pearce

2013

Andrew Pearce

El

lin

gt

on

Kn

igh

ts

St

ar

te

rs

E

nd

/OL

B

En

d/O

LB

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Zach Paquette

2011

Zach Paquette

2012

Ben Bahler

2013

Josh Frazer

De

fe

ns

ive

Lin

e

2001

Chris Wells

2002

Chris Wells

2003

Jake Ziter

2004

Jake Ziter

2005

Sam Ziter

2006

Sam Ziter

2007

Sam Ziter

2008

Sam Ziter

20

09

Matt Janiga

20

10

Matt Janiga

20

11

Sean Tynan

20

12

Sean Tynan

20

13

Trevor Printy

2001

Matt Dunphy

2002

Justin Russell

2003

Justin Russell

2004

Cliff Demarest

2005

Cliff Demarest

2006

Cliff Demarest

2007

Nick Kellner

2008

Nick Kellner

2009

Tanner Tate

2010

Ken Vollaro

2011

Ken Vollaro



2001

Jeff Waselewski



2004

Chad Anselmo

2005

Chad Anselmo

2006

Mike Demarest

2007

Derek Lussier

2008

Ray Chouinard

2009

Ray Chouinard

2010

Jake Schneider

2011

Jake Schneider

2012

Neal Janiga

2013

Jake Hinkel

2001 Joe Tarpinian (FS)

2002

Andy Roland

2003

Anthony Allegra

2004

Anthony Allegra

2005

Alex Voukounas

2006

Alex Voukounas

2007

Shane Hatheway

2008

Shane Hatheway

2009

Nathan Tembi

2010

Luke Levessur

2011

Luke Levessur

2012

Andrew Pearce

2013

Andrew Pearce

2001

Brian Gelsomino

2002

Brian Gelsomino

2003

Bryce Metzger

2004

Bryce Metzger

2005

Jason Tautkus

2006

Mel Thorne

2007

Mel Thorne

2008

2009

Mitch Diresta

2010

Mitch Diresta

2011

Mitch Diresta

2012

Shane McGowan

2013

Shane McGowan

2001

Jason Gelsomino

2002

Jason Gelsomino

2003

Jeff Morgan

2004

Jeff Morgan

2005

Derek Lussier

2006

Derek Lussier

2007

Deadrick Baker

2008

Cody Anselmo

2009

Cody Anselmo

2010

Brennen Wesley

2011

Mike Casciano

2012

Mike Casciano

2013

Mike Casciano

2001

Greg Wright

2002

Greg Wright

2003

Sean Palla

2004

Sean Palla

2005

Reid Martin

2006

Mike Reimer

2007

Nate Tembi

2008

Nate Tembi

2009

Jason Moustafa

2010

Jason Moustafa

2011

Jason Moustafa

2012 Garrett Boulanger

2013

Mark Hickman

C

orn

erb

ack

Co

rnerb

ack

Saf

ety

Saf

ety

Lin

eb

acker

L

ineb

acker

Lin

eb

acker

L

ineb

acker

El

lin

gt

on

Kn

igh

ts

St

ar

te

rs

De

fe

ns

ive

Ba

ck

fie

ld

2001

Joe Tarpinian

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Justin Vamvilis

2011

Austin Tautkus

2012

Austin Tautkus

2013

Danny Hayes

Nam

e

Sea

son

s

Y

ears

1. K

eith

Tau

tku

s 1

4

2

00

0-2

01

3

2. R

ich

Gel

som

ino

10

20

01

-201

0

3. E

rick

Knic

ker

bo

cker 1

0

2

00

4-2

01

3

4. S

ean

Byrn

e 9

20

05

-201

3

5. Ja

son

McC

allu

m

8

2

00

2-2

00

9

6. S

teve

Zit

er

7

2

00

2-2

00

8

7. A

nd

y M

org

an

7

2

00

0-2

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6

8. B

rian

Sk

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7

20

06

-201

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9. B

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zon

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20

04

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11

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us

20

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n B

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2000-2013

Name Sr.Yr TD 2XP XP FG Total PTS1 Chad Anselmo 2005 32 5 0 0 2022 Greg Wright 2002 29 5 0 0 1843 Bryce Metzger 2004 28 7 0 0 1824 Jason Gelsomino 2002 27 8 0 0 1785 Nate Tembi 2009 29 2 0 0 1786 Sam Ziter 2008 22 6 0 0 1447 Joe Leslie 2013 20 8 0 0 1368 Sean Palla 2004 12 1 35 0 1099 Mitch Diresta 2011 15 1 4 0 96

10 Christian Schneider 2013 15 2 0 0 9411 Bryan Rider 2011 15 1 0 0 9212 Neal Janiga 2012 15 0 0 0 9013 Mark Hickman 2015 14 2 0 0 8814 Derek Lussier 2007 11 10 0 0 8615 Mel Thorne 2007 14 0 0 0 8416 Brendon Coverdill 2012 14 0 0 0 8417 Jake Ziter 2004 13 2 0 0 8218 Shane Hatheway 2008 12 2 0 0 7619 Anthony Allegra 2004 11 2 5 0 7520 Mike Riemer 2006 11 1 3 1 7421 Cody Anselmo 2009 11 3 0 0 7222 Brian Gelsomino 2002 11 2 0 0 7023 Joe Tarpinian 2001 11 1 0 0 6824 Andy Roland 2002 11 0 0 0 6625 Josh Rhodes (Rush) 2002 8 3 8 0 6226 Cliff Demarest 2006 9 3 0 0 6027 Matt Janiga 2010 10 0 0 0 6028 Jason Moustafa 2011 9 3 0 0 6029 Jeff Morgan 2004 8 3 0 0 5430 Justin Vamvilis 2010 3 2 30 0 5231 Bryan Parks 2002 0 1 43 1 4832 Jason Tautkus 2005 5 3 7 0 4333 Reid Martin 2005 7 0 0 0 4234 Scott Tiernan 2008 1 0 36 0 4235 John Swayner (Rush) 2003 5 4 0 0 3836 Justin Oliver 2012 0 0 30 2 3637 Eddie Skowronek 2006 5 1 0 0 3238 Mike Casiano 2013 5 0 0 0 3039 Deadrick Baker 2007 4 1 0 0 2640 Matt Loos 2003 4 0 1 0 2541 Austin Tautkus 2012 4 0 0 0 2442 Justin Russell 2003 3 1 0 0 2043 Ben Kloter 2014 0 0 20 0 2044 Peter Vamvilis (Rush) 2008 3 0 0 0 1845 Mike Cleary 2011 3 0 0 0 18

All- Time Scoring List

46 Jake Schneider 2011 3 0 0 0 1847 Ryan Wolverton 2004 2 1 0 0 1448 Brian Sardinha 2003 2 0 0 0 1249 Eric Senger 2004 2 0 0 0 1250 Brannen Wesley 2010 2 0 0 0 1251 Shane McGowan 2014 2 0 0 0 1252 Mitch Cobb 2011 0 1 9 0 1153 Paul Blackwelder III 2002 1 1 0 0 854 Phil Maychek 2006 0 0 7 0 755 Christian Senger 2000 1 0 0 0 656 Jeff Waseliewski 2001 1 0 0 0 657 Jesse Pincince 2001 1 0 0 0 658 Erick Knickerbocker 2003 1 0 0 0 659 Todd Vivolo 2004 1 0 0 0 660 Paul Millette 2005 1 0 0 0 661 Sam Schneider 2006 1 0 0 0 662 Casey Wolverton 2007 1 0 0 0 663 Mike Demarest 2008 1 0 0 0 664 Casey Rancaioili 2008 1 0 0 0 665 Aaronn Charette 2008 1 0 0 0 666 Ryan Moustafa 2009 1 0 0 0 667 Ray Chouinard 2009 1 0 0 0 668 Lucas Horvath 2011 1 0 0 0 669 Luke Levassur 2011 1 0 0 0 670 Andrew Pearce 2013 1 0 0 0 671 Zach Luginbuhl 2015 1 0 0 0 672 Danny Hayes 2014 1 0 0 0 673 Jake Hinkel 2015 1 0 0 0 674 Tyrek Noel 2016 1 0 0 0 675 Iziah Castro-Vega 2016 1 0 0 0 676 Christian Rider 2015 1 0 0 0 677 Jeremiah Mason 2015 1 0 0 0 678 Mike Miller 2007 0 2 0 0 479 Chris Deptula 2000 0 1 0 0 280 Murvin Tackling 2004 0 1 0 0 281 Mike Maniscalchi 2004 0 1 0 0 282 Alex Voukounas (Safety) 2006 0 1 0 0 2

All- Time Scoring List

# YR NAME PTS

1 O2 Jason Gelsomino 130

2 O5 Chad Anselmo 118

3 O9 Nate Tembi 118

4 O1 Greg Wright 104

5 O4 Bryce Metzger 92

6 11 Mitch Diresta 90

7 O7 Mel Thorne 84

7 12 Neal Janiga 84

9 O7 Derek Lussier 80

# YR NAME PTS


2 O2 Greg Wright 184



4 O9 Nate Tembi 178

6 O8 Sam Ziter 144

7 14 Joe Leslie 136

8 O4 Sean Palla 109


# YR NAME TD's


2 O9 Nate Tembi 19


4 O1 Greg Wright 16


6 12 Neal Janiga 14

6 O7 Mel Thorne 14

8 O2 Greg Wright 13

SCORING RECORDSEllington High School Records

Total Points - Career

Touchdowns Scored- Season

Total Points - Season

# YR NAME TD


2 O2 Greg Wright 29

2 O9 Nate Tembi 29



6 O8 Sam Ziter 22

7 14 Joe Leslie (Rush+Rec) 20

8 11 Bryan Rider (Rush) 15

8 12 Neal Janiga 15


YR Team Name TD

12 Housatonic Joe Leslie 6 (3R,3P)

14 Enfield Joe Leslie 5 (1P, 3R, 1 REC)

O3 Tolland Bryce Metzger 5

O7 Canton Peter Vamvilis 5

O3 Tolland John Swayner 4

O2 WL Josh Rhodes 4

12 Stafford Neal Janiga 4

O4 Old Say Bryce Metzger 4

O3 Gilbert Jason Gelsomino 4

O7 Canton Mel Thorne 4

YR NAME Score YardsO8 KR Cody Anselmo 90O9 KR Nate Tembi 8512 KR Christian Schneider 85O2 Rec Jason Gelsomino 84O5 KR Chad Anselmo 80O7 KR Nate Tembi 80O6 KR Mike Riemer 80O4 KR Bryce Metzger 79O5 Run Reid Martin 78O9 Run Nate Tembi 78O4 Rec Bryce Metzger 75O3 Run Eric Senger 75

Touchdowns Scored- Career

SCORING RECORDS - 2

Touchdowns Scored- Game

Longest Touchdown Scores

# YR NAME X11 O2 Bryan Parks 432 O8 Scott Tiernan 363 O4 Sean Palla 354 12 Justin Oliver 304 O9 Justin Vamvilis 306 15 Ben Kloter 206 O2 Josh Rhodes 87 O5 Jason Tautkus 7

# Points

1 61

2 60

3 55

4 53

5 52

6 51

SCORING RECORDS - 3

Team Offense - Most Points in a Game

Extra Points

2011-Sports Sciences

VS.

2002- Housatonic

2004 - Stafford

2003 -Tolland

2011-Canton

2004-Housatonic

# YR NAME VS. YARDS1 O5 Chad Anselmo Gilbert 2752 O9 Nate Tembi Stafford 2693 O5 Chad Anselmo Housy 2554 O9 Nate Tembi Housatonic 2535 11 Mitch Diresta Windsor Locks 2226 11 Mitch Diresta Gilbert 2017 O5 Chad Anselmo Tolland 1968 12 Neal Janiga Coventry 1898 O1 Joe Tarpinian Valley 18910 O5 Chad Anselmo Cromwell 16911 O5 Chad Anselmo N. Branford 16812 O7 Sam Ziter Canton 16813 12 Neal Janiga Windsor Locks 16714 O2 Greg Wright Stafford 16415 O2 Andy Roland Stafford 161

13 Christian Schneider Coventry 16116 O2 Greg Wright Valley 15517 O3 Chad Anselmo Stafford 155

# YR YARDS1 O5 1535

2 O9 11613 O1 10624 O2 10345 11 10596 12 10017 O1 9788 13 907

# YR Games1 O2 102 O1 93 13 64 O5 5

O8 56 O9 4

12 411 4

Nate TembiNeal Janiga

100 Yard Games - Rushing

Mitch Diresta

Chad AnselmoJoe Leslie

Joe TarpinianSam Ziter

NameGreg Wright

Rushing Yards - Single Game

Joe Leslie

Greg WrightGreg WrightMitch DirestaNeal Janiga

Ellington High School RecordsRUSHING INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Joe Tarpinian

Rushing Yards - SeasonNAME

Chad Anselmo

Nate Tembi

# S.YR YARDS1 O5 21682 O2 20963 O8 15264 O9 15015 11 14236 13 14157 O4 12258 O1 11789 12 111210 13 108111 O4 89112 11 872

# YR TD1 O1 162 O5 15

O9 154 12 125 13 10

O2 1011 10

8 O4 9O8 9O4 9

# YR TD

1 O1 26

2 O5 24

3 O7 19

4 13 18

O9 18

5 12 14

6 O4 13

7 O1 11

Sam ZiterNate Tembi

Chad Anselmo

Sam ZiterMatt Janiga

Joe Tarpinian

Anthony AllegraBryan Rider

Neal Janiga

Jake Ziter

Joe Tarpinian

RUSHING RECORDS - P2

Sam Ziter

NAME

Greg Wright

Rushing Touchdowns - Season

Chad Anselmo

Neal Janiga

Greg Wright

Nate Tembi

Jake Ziter

Rushing Yards - Career

Nate Tembi

Joe Leslie

Christian Schneider

Joe Leslie

NAMEGreg Wright

Joe Leslie

NAMEChad AnselmoGreg Wright

Rushing Touchdowns - Career

Mitch DirestaJoe Tarpinian

Mitch Diresta

Neal Janiga

# YR NAME YARDS VS1 O7 Peter Vamvilis 268 Canton2 O8 Peter Vamvilis 253 Canton3 O3 John Swayner 252 Tolland4 O8 Peter Vamvilis 245 HK5 O2 Josh Rhodes 227 Hyde6 12 Joe Leslie 210 Housatonic7 O4 Sean Palla 205 O.Say8 O3 John Swayner 185 Morgan9 O7 Peter Vamvilis 185 Gilbert10 O8 Peter Vamvilis 185 Avon11 O8 Peter Vamvilis 178 Housatonic12 O6 Derek Lussier 167 Gilbert

# YR YARDS1 O8 15202 O4 13833 O3 13474 12 12475 O7 12056 13 11327 O2 11078 O1 10009 10 96110 O9 70711 11 636

# YR YARDS1 O8 30792 13 23793 O2 21074 O9 17555 O4 13836 O3 13477 11 6368 O7 5879 O5 436

# YR TD1 O3 211 O2 213 O7 183 O8 185 O4 176 12 158 13 109 O1 8

John Swayner

Ellington High School Records

OFFENSIVE INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

Josh RhodesJosh Rhodes

Passing Yards - Single Game

Passing Yards - Season

Joe Leslie

NAMEPeter VamvilisSean Palla

Peter Vamvilis

Joe Leslie

Justin Vamvilis

Sean Palla

Bryan Rider

Peter Vamvilis

Justin Vamvilis

Passing Yards - CareerNAME

John Swayner

Josh RhodesJustin Vamvilis

John SwaynerBryan RiderDerek LussierAdam Hurwitz

Passing Touchdowns - Season

Joe Leslie

NAME

Josh RhodesPeter Vamvilis

Sean PallaPeter Vamvilis

Joe Leslie

Josh RhodesJoe Leslie

# YR TD1 O7 392 O2 293 13 254 O3 215 O4 176 10 167 O6 6

# YR NAME VS TD1 O7 Peter Vamvilis Canton 52 O2 Josh Rhodes Windsor Locks 4

O3 John Swayner Tolland 4O2 Peter Vamvilis Canton 4

5 O2 Josh Rhodes Hyde 3O3 Josh Rhodes Morgan 3O3 John Swayner Coventry 3O7 John Swayner Housatonic 311 Bryan Rider Enfield 3

Bryan Rider Housatonic 3O8 Peter Vamvilis Gilbert 3

# YR PCT.1 12 57.30%2 11 49.40%3 O6 48.40%4 O7 48.12%5 O3 48%6 O8 47.20%7 O3 47%8 O2 46%9 13 45%

10 42%10 O5 36%

# YR YARDS1 O4 138.32 O8 138.23 O3 122.54 12 124.75 O7 120.56 13 102.97 O2 100.68 O1 100.00

Josh RhodesJosh Rhodes

Sean PallaPeter VamvilisJohn SwaynerJoe Leslie

Peter Vamvilis

Passing Touchdowns - Game

Completion Percentage - Season

Passing Yard Per GameNAME

NAMEJoe Leslie

Derek Lussier

Passing Touchdowns - Career

Sean Palla

Sean Palla

Joe Leslie

Justin VamvilisDerek Lussier

NAMEPeter VamvillisJosh Rhodes

John Swayner

Joe Leslie

Joe Leslie

Peter VamvilisJohn SwaynerJosh Rhodes

Bryan Rider

Justin VamvilisAdam Hurwitz

Peter Vamvilis

# YR NAME Vs. YARDS

1 O2 Jason Gelsomino Hyde 206

2 O3 Bryce Metzger Tolland 149

3 O7 Derek Lussier Canton 123

4 O7 Mel Thorne Canton 121

5 O8 Shane Hatheway Canton 115

6 O1 Jason Gelsomino Gilbert 113

# YR YARDS1 O4 6862 O2 6323 O6 5804 O7 5565 O3 5206 O8 4917 12 4798 12 4349 O8 41610 13 34011 O8 34212 O3 33713 10 252

# YR YARDS

1 O4 1206

2 O2 959

3 12 900

4 12 729

5 O9 584

6 O6 580

7 O7 556

8 O8 491

9 O5 371

Shane Hatheway

Jason GelsominoMike RiemerMel Thorne

Bryce Metzger

Bryce Metzger


RECEIVING RECORDSReceiving Yards - Single Game

Receiving Yards - SeasonNAME

Austin Tautkus

Receiving Yards - Career

Cody Anselmo

Nate TembiMark Hickman

Matt LoosMitch Diresta

Austin TautkusBrendan Coverdil

NAME

Bryce Metzger

Jason Gelsomino

Chad Anselmo

Cody Anselmo

Mike Riemer

Mel Thorne

Shane Hatheway

Brendan Coverdil

# YR TD1 O2 12

O7 123 O6 94 O4 8

O3 8O8 8

7 12 78 13 69 O1 510 O3 4

O3 4O4 4O1 4

O8 4O8 4

# YR TD

1 O4 17

2 O2 16

3 12 14

4 O7 12

5 O6 9

6 O4 8

7 O8 8

8 O2 7

9 13 6

10 O3 4

Brian Gelsomino

Matt Loos

Mark Hickman

Mike Riemer

Jeff Morgan

Shane Hatheway

Receiving Touchdowns- Season

Brian GelsominoMark Hickman

NAMEJason Gelsomino

Mel ThorneMike RiemerBryce MetzgerBryce MetzgerShane HathewayAustin Tautkus

Matt Loos

Jeff Morgan

Jason Gelsomino

Jeff Morgan

Receiving Touchdowns- Career

Brendan Coverdil

Mel Thorne

Jason GelsominoCody Anselmo

NAME

Bryce Metzger

Nate Tembi

# YR Name Position Tackles

1 2008 Sam Ziter LB 354

2 2013 Christian Schneider LB 2863 2009 Nick Kellner LB 2684 2003 Justin Russell LB/DE 2415 2012 Sean Tynan LB 2206 2009 Nate Tembi DB 1977 2011 Ken Valero LB 1958 2009 Ray Chouinard LB 1949 2011 Zack Paquette DL 18810 2004 Ryan Wolverton DE 17811 2011 Jake Schneider LB 16612 2003 Erick Knickerbocker LB 16113 2008 Mike Demarest DL/LB 15714 2012 Neal Janiga LB 15215 2011 Luke Levassur LB 14416 2010 Matt Janiga LB 13717 2004 Anthony Allegra LB 13618 2004 Jake Ziter LB 13419 2007 Derek Lussier DB 13220 2013 Andrew Pearce LB 12821 2013 Ben Bahler DL 12622 2006 Alex Voukounas LB/DL 12523 2009 Cody Anselmo DB 11824 2005 Chad Anselmo LB 11625 2002 Greg Wright DB 11526 2006 Cliff Demarest LB/DL 10827 2011 Jason Moustafa DB 10528 2004 Murvin Tackling DL 10229 2011 Sean Coverdill DL 10030 2006 Tory Lussier DL 9931 2009 Tanner Tate DL 9732 2002 Jason Gelsomino DB 9533 2002 Bryan Parks DL 9434 2013 Mike Casciano DB 9335 2004 Bryce Metzger DB 9236 2001 Matt Dunphy LB 8637 2006 Sam Schneider LB 8638 2002 Chris Wells LB/DL 86


DEFENSIVE INDIVIDUAL RECORDSTackles - Career

# YR NAME Position Tackles

1 12 Christian Schneider LB 162

2 O8 Sam Ziter MLB 131

3 O8 Nick Kellner MLB 131

4 12 Sean Tynan LB 127

5 O9 Ray Chouinard MLB 111

6 O3 Justin Russell MLB 110

7 13 Christian Schneider LB 108


8 O7 Nick Kellner MLB 105

10 12 Neal Janiga LB/DE 105

11 O3 Erick Knickerbocker OLB 95

12 11 Ken Vollaro LB 90

12 11 Jake Schneider LB 90

14 11 Luke Levassur LB 90


16 O6 Sam Schneider MLB/OLB 86

17 O1 Matt Dunphy MLB/DT 86

18 O2 Justin Russell MLB 84

18 10 Ken Vollaro MLB 83

20 11 Sean Tynan LB 82

20 O1 Greg Wright S 80

22 12 Andrew Pearce LB/DE 80

24 O7 Derek Lussier OLB 79

25 O4 Ryan Wolverton DE/LB 79

26 O8 Aaron Charette DT 78

26 O4 Anthony Allegra OLB 76

28 11 Zack Paquette DT 76

28 O4 Murvin Tackling DT 74

30 10 Matt Janiga MLB 74

29 10 Jake Schneider LB 74

30 O7 Nate Tembi S 72

31 O5 Bryan Wells OLB 70

32 O8 Ray Chouinard LB 70

33 13 Trevor Printy LB 70

34 O4 Chad Anselmo OLB 68

35 O8 Mike Demarest DE 68

36 O1 Joe Tarpinian S 67

37 12 BJ Rhodes LB 67

38 O2 Erick Knickerbocker OLB 66

39 12 Ben Bahler DL 66

40 O9 Nate Tembi OLB 65

41 12 Austin Tautkus DB 65

42 O6 Alex Voukounas DT/MLB 64

43 O6 Tory Lussier DE 63

44 O8 Andre Foote LB 63

45 O8 Nate Tembi DB 63

46 13 Jake Hinkel LB/DE 62

Tackles - Single Season

# YR NAME VS Tackles 1 11 Sean Tynan Housatonic 262 12 Christian Schneider Weston 233 O7 Derek Lussier Tolland 224 O4 Murvin Tackling W. Locks 215 O9 Cody Anselmo Hyde 216 12 Christian Schneider Coventry 207 O7 Nick Kellner Tolland 198 12 Christian Schneider Gilbert 199 O7 Sam Ziter Tolland 1810 13 Christian Schneider North Branford 1811 O3 Justin Russell Valley 1712 O7 Nate Tembi Tolland 1713 O8 Nick Kellner Tolland 1714 O8 Nick Kellner Housatonic 1715 O8 Sam Ziter Gilbert 1716 11 Ken Vollaro Housatonic 1717 12 Sean Tynan Gilbert 1718 O5 Mike Haight Housatonic 1619 12 Neal Janiga Housatonic 1620 O3 Erick Knickerbocker Valley 1521 O6 Nick Kellner Avon 1522 O8 Andre Foote Hyde 1523 O8 Sam Ziter Tolland 1524 O0 Ray Chouinard Canton 1525 12 Sean Tynan Coventry 1526 13 Christian Schneider SMSA 1527 O6 Sam Schneider Coventry 1428 O7 Mike Demarest Tolland 1429 O7 Nick Kellner Canton 1430 O7 Sam Ziter Locks 1431 O6 Sam Ziter Housatonic 1432 O8 Nick Kellner Canton 1433 O8 Nick Kellner Gilbert 1434 10 Ken Vollaro Avon 1435 10 Jake Schneider Housatonic 1436 11 Luke Levassur W. Locks 1437 12 Neal Janiga Gilbert 1438 12 Christian Schneider Stafford 14

12 Christian Schneider Avon 1412 Sean Tynan Stafford 14

Tackles - Single Game

Book was created and written by:

Erick Knickerbocker

This book is dedicated to members of the Knights

Football Family who have been associated with the

Knights program since day 1.

Keith Tautkus

Deb Pease

Rich Gelsomino

Last Update: January 2014

The History Of

2000-2013

Documents

History of Knights Football