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STAMFORD, Conn. It is only July, and it was far from the real thing. But the Stamford High School football team turned some heads in the third annual New Canaan 7-on-7 Grip It and Rip It Tournament on Saturday. A total of 21 teams from across Connecticut and a few from New York descended on New Canaan for a day of two-hand touch football with no pads, intended to showcase the burgeoning high school offenses.
Stamford was the only team from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference to make it to the semifinals. The Black Knights showed confidence and spirit on the offensive side that head coach Bryan Hocter hopes will carry into the regular season.
Coming into his second year under center, rising senior quarterback Bryan Broderick looked poised. Any quarterback can look poised when he does not have defensive lineman screaming toward him, but the promising signs were there for Broderick. Wide receiver Jake Demetros also made some noise for the Black Knights.
After a morning of pool play games, Stamford took the third seed in the afternoon tournament. The Black Knights defeated Iona and Greenwich before falling to defending Class L state champion Masuk.
Stamford is hoping the trend set by last year's tournament continues into the fall season. The four teams that made it to the semifinals of the Grip It and Rip It Tournament all qualified for the CIAC state tournament. The teams at the tournament included New Canaan, Greenwich, Norwalk, Fairfield Warde, Bridgeport Central, Masuk, Cheshire, Brookfield, Bloomfield, Newtown, Weston, Canterbury, Cheshire Academy, Iona, Mamaroneck, North Rockland, Rye, Scarsdale, Stepinac and White Plains.
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