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STAMFORD, Conn. The Black Knights wanted to send a statement to rest of the league in its season-opening game against Harding, Stamford High School's Chandler Foster said. Foster and the team's defense delivered the loudest message in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference contest.
Foster scored on an 81-yard fumble return in the second quarter, one of six turnovers on the night as Stamford rolled to a 43-0 victory over the Presidents. Barry Boderick scored three touchdowns, including a 43-yard interception return, and quarterback Bryan Boderick threw three touchdown passes. Foster also scored on a 1-yard run as Stamford jumped out to a 29-0 lead at halftime.
"Matt (Corcoran) stripped it and I picked it up,'' Foster said. "It was a scoop and go. We practice it all the time. I turned the corner and saw all green. I thought it might be a little more challenging."
Stamford set the tone on Harding's first offensive series. Three plays into the game, Barry Boderick recovered a fumble at the Harding 19. On the next play, Bryan Boderick found his brother with a nicely executed touchdown pass. The scoring drive was one play and seven seconds.
Harding moved to the Stamford 27 later in the quarter, when Foster picked up a loose ball and raced untouched down the left sideline. Harding went nowhere on its next drive, and Stamford marched back into the end zone with a 15-play, 58-yard drive. Foster capped it off with a 1-yard run.
"Two touchdowns feels pretty good,'' he said. "I wanted a third one, but it got called back."
Barry Boderick found John Pasard with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the 7:19 left in the second quarter, and then hooked up with his brother for a 9-yard scoring toss in the fourth quarter. Bryan added the final touch with his long interception return in the final minute. Barry completed eight-of-19 passes for 113 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
Coach Bryan Hocter saw room for improvement despite the lopsided margin. "We were really sloppy,'' he said. "We didn't get into a rhythm on offense. We played OK on defense. But for how much work we've put in, we should've been more crisp on offense."
The challenges grow harder for Stamford, which plays at Norwalk next week. Most experts believe this is a Stamford team that can make noise in the league and state this season. Friday night was a good start.
"We wanted to show that we're a team that intends to be there,'' Foster said. "We want to fight for the championship."
Contact Tom Renner at trenner@mainstreetconnect.us.
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