Fairfield Warde Football Looking Forward To A Competitive Season

FAIRFIELD, CT — With a new football season suddenly upon them, the Fairfield Warde High School Mustangs are coming out to run with the best of them.

“This season feels like it has snuck up on us very quickly,” Head Coach Duncan DellaVolpe said.

The fallout of last year’s aborted season because of the pandemic is still being felt, he said, in terms of preparation and cogency.

“Not having any spring practice and only having 22 days together to prepare for the season, we have had to rush a lot to get ready,” he said.

Still, both coaches and players are thrilled to be back on the field with a full season ahead of them, and with the Mustangs facing off Saturday afternoon against the Blue Wave from Darien High School — the preseason’s No. 1-ranked team, and the 14th ranked in the state — they were going to be in the game.

“It feels good to be back out there,” DellaVolpe said, adding the players are excited and energized to be playing again.

Saturday's game ended with the Blue Wave defeating the Mustangs, 41-8.

Unofficially, there are 102 players currently in the Warde program, though the bulk are younger players, with only 14 seniors competing.

“We expect to be a team that continues to get better each week and compete in every contest,” the coach said, noting that despite difficulties with training due to COVID-19, they’ve worked in small groups to stay on task.

“The players have done a good job with getting together as often as allowed to build team chemistry,” DellaVolpe said.

Meanwhile, the younger players that make up the JV team are looking to shine.

“Our JV squad looks pretty solid since we have a lot of players — the most in my nine years at Warde — that are eager to play, especially after missing last season,” Junior Varsity Coach Bill Llewellyn said.

He admitted that because of COVID-19, there is clearly a learning curve for this group, which did not have a full freshman experience, but noted they appear to be learning fast.

“We have a really good group of skill players,” Llewellyn said. “And for the first time in a while we have depth in our line.”

“We also have two solid quarterbacks that will share the snaps, a nice crop of running backs and a very good kicker,” he said, adding that there’s a lot of depth on defense as well.

Meanwhile, the possibilities are burgeoning for a freshman team that Coach Christopher Verras said is hungry to play.

“For years ahead this group is going to help mold us into a strong team,” he said.

“We have a handful of players that are playing football for the first time, but they’re learning very quick, as the guys who have played are helping out in many ways to make everyone feel comfortable,” he said.

Likewise, Verras noted that COVID-19 is responsible for many changes he is seeing in his 10th year of coaching, including practices, but also just not taking the opportunity to play for granted — something he hopes to impress upon his players.

“Remember,” his message states, “football is nothing more than a game — a kid’s game. Go have fun like you’re a kid playing backyard football.”