“Next Man Up” philosophy getting it done for the Gaels
Dec. 8, 2015
SHELTON, CT — “Next Man Up” has become a familiar philosophy associated with the Shelton High School football team all season.
The Shelton Gaels used their “Next Man Up” in the form of senior captain, defensive back Ron Hubbard, on Monday evening against Newtown High School in the Class LL State semifinals. Hubbard picked up two touchdowns on the ground and even threw for one out of a wildcat formation, en route to a hard-fought, 35–28 Gaels win over Newtown High School at Finn Stadium.
Hubbard took over the duties at running back along with Keith Prior for senior running back Peter Hoff, who dislocated his kneecap, (first reported by Sean Patrick Bowley at GameTimeCT.com), late in the state quarterfinal game against West Haven on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Hoff racked up a lofty 205 yards on 22 carries to go along with a touchdown in the quarterfinal contest.
“We’ve had adversity the whole year, another kid week after week stepped up and it was my week to step up on offense and I got it done,” said Hubbard shortly after the Gaels semifinal win.
Hoff’s injury is nothing unfamiliar to the Gaels, who have grown accustomed to dealing with the absence of multiple offensive weapons. The Gaels earlier in the year lost arguably their most dynamic playmaker in the form of senior wide receiver Chris Kanios, who broke his leg in the first offensive series against Xavier High School on Oct. 23 in a 42–7 Shelton win.
Even though the Gaels have been barreling over any opponent in their path so far this season, they’ve been plagued by the injury bug. In the team’s game against Hamden High School on Friday Nov. 13, senior wide receiver Sam Kirk, brother to tight end Alex Kirk, also sustained a broken leg that ended his 2015 campaign as well.
On top of it all, starting quarterback Zach Tuskowski had missed two games due to a sprained foot, prompting senior defensive back David Wells to quarterback the team in his absence.
“We are lucky this year where we have a lot of depth on the team. We have 74 kids so we use a philosophy of next man up,” said head coach Jeff Roy prior to practice on Wednesday, Nov. 18. “We’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the year starting in the pre-season and the next man gets in there and he steps up and has been performing so we’ve been doing pretty well.”
With the loss of Hoff to injury late in the quarterfinal win over the West Haven Blue Devils on Tuesday Dec. 1, the Gaels have continued to plug on. Kanios, Kirk and Hoff accounted for 2,061 yards of total Gael offense in 2014 and 1,926 yards in 2015 according to MaxPreps.com. All this means for the Gaels is that they’ve needed to find sufficient replacements for the loss of production, and so they have.
With all the injuries to the receiving core, the Gaels have continued to receive top-notch play on both offense and defense from the likes of senior Kevin Robinson. Robinson himself has compiled 851 yards of total offense for the Gaels in 2015 also according to MaxPreps.com. The play of Robinson has allowed other receivers such as senior Anthony Schiavo, and senior tight end Alex Kirk to play key roles in the high-octane Gaels offense, which is averaging a staggering 40.7 points per game despite big blows to the offensive depth chart. Not to be outdone however, the Gaels defense has allowed a stingy 13.0 points per game in twelve games.
“Our whole receiver core has a lot to offer. Me and Alex Kirk were both returning starters and Anthony Schiavo has been playing great all year and all of us could really get the job done so we are not too worried,” said Robinson before practice on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
With the Gaels state playoff Class LL victories over West Haven and Newtown in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, they will play the Darien High School Blue Wave at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, CT on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 2:30 PM. The Blue Wave is coming off a monstrous defensive performance in which they shut down top ranked Southington High School and UCONN commit, Southington quarterback Jasen Rose, in a 49–7 slaughtering at Boyle Stadium in Stamford on Monday evening. The Blue Wave also cruised their way to a 41–7 drubbing of Staples High School in the quarterfinals on Dec. 1. The Blue Wave’s touted defense is paced by the newly crowned all-time Connecticut career sacks leader Mark Evanchick, who just recently passed current Indianapolis Colts linebacker Dwight Freeney for the sacks record, surpassing Freeney 63.5 to 60.
“It’s going to be a great game, a real tough game but we will be ready,” said Hubbard after Monday evening’s contest. “It’s going to be a hard-fought battle, a lot of hitting, but it will be a great game to watch.”
