New Canaan 8 Red finished a strong season with a 10-0-1 record. Offensive Coordinators Scott Werneburg and Tom O’Dea, along with line coach Pat Leahy, coached an offense that produced 284 points on the year. On the defensive side of the ball, the NC 8 Red Defense ran by coach Mike Regan, Tom Pomrink, Mike Smith and Chris Marich only allowed 38 points in 11 games. Coach Werneburg and Coach O’Dea need special recognition as they are the only 2 coaches without kids on the team. Their hard work and dedication built relationships with players, taught them the details of football, and created life long memories. Many thanks to you both!
Along with the coaching staff the NC 8 Red team was led by captains David Zwick, Mac Gaumer, Steven Magyera and James Smith. These players did a great job leading and holding themselves and their teammates accountable, while creating an amazing team first environment. The 8 Red coaches empowered these boys to help manage their teammates and through this effort they have all grown as leaders. There was no more clear demonstration of their leadership than being down in the 3rd quarter of the semi-finals and rallying our team back to win!
Offensively and Defensively, 8 Red was driven by their line. Steven Magyera, Nick Demirjian, Lucas Parker, James Amundsen, Jack McInerney, Patrick D’Urso, Austin Gould, Owen Gershey, David Kleiman and Nicholas Leahy all played fantastic all year. The offensive backfield was led by James Smith at QB, Frank Green and Liam Regan at F and David Zwick and Scotty Leslie playing H. This unit coupled with our line was consistently productive and made NC’s run game one of the best in the league.
On the receiving side, NC 8 Red had options all over the field with varying size and skill receivers making them a difficult matchup for most teams. Mac Gaumer, Jamie Hall, Ben Marich, Josh Patterson, Tyler Thomas, James Hayes, Joe Diamantis, Luke Ditlevsen, Charlie Pomrink, Eli Nikas and Lachlan Harrington all contributed for this very talented group.
Many of the players listed above had large roles on both sides of the ball and Special teams. This group of dedicated football players demonstrated a championship attitude all year and were positively supported by great parents who set up the best tailgates in the
league. BBQ was a team favorite! Our team mom duties were shared by Erin Marich, Paige McInerney and Sam Gaumer and no detail was left unchecked. Each week the Zwick family opened up their home for our team to watch film and their support of our team was incredibly important and truly helped build our team’s culture.
Overall, the 8 Red football family had many helping hands and this championship is a shared experience by all. Thank you to the FCFL and its participants and NCYF as well.
