Reader Mail Time: A What-If in Stratford

It's reader mail time (lol)! I got an interesting e-mail last Sunday while I was away on business, and only got a chance to just write the guy back the other day saying "thanks for the e-mail." But with some teams' beginning their spring practices, it's an interesting concept: What if there was just ONE public high school in Stratford? How well would a combined Stratford-Bunnell football program fare with the rest of the state?

The author told me is that it would sure get the Staples fans riled up (even though they will meet in a scrimmage this August and probably not again until the following year, based on their new CIAC class designations). And that's a shame, though it's great fodder for another post some day and some time.

Here's the letter:

Tim,

I was looking on the SWC blog and tried to post
something on the FCIAC blog to stir up a hornets nest and was hoping
you could help me out.

When talking with a prominent senior running
back from Stratford High and a prominent wide receiver from Bunnell, we
all asked each other, "why the hell is Stratford 2 schools?!"

We
talked about the recent teams, and what it would be like. I won't get
to detailed about it and I'll keep it short, but even the FCIAC
heavyweights can't deny this.

Sean Murray, Steve Smith, and Chris
Sloat were the best quarterbacks in recent years in the SWC - and all
from Bunnell. Murray had EJ Yearwood and Daryl Staley, Smith had Marcus
Easley, Franklin, Mike Easley and Jackson. Sloat had Jackson Easley Harrison and Rosario. Obviously, Bunnell turned these players into championships. Stratford took great players, most notably from the past 2 years, and were on the brink of greatness.

Honostly
Tim, do you think that Ansonia or Greenwich would even stand a chance
of a team with Smith/Sloat in a spread with Torrey or Ox in the
backfield, with Easley, Harrison, Jackson, Ox/Torrey, Stenson, or
Vasquez to throw to? I could go on making a super team but am too tired.

Do you really think anyone in the state could hang with that?

Some even went as far as thinking that team would be nationally ranked!

Just wondering what an unbiased person thought about this.

E-mail me back or put it up on the blog, I'm sure that would be interesting for Staples fans haha.

-(Name withheld, unless the author let's me post it)

For such a small town, Stratford has a TON of talent. So in a way, the students are I guess fortunate enough to have two high schools. I would have loved to see some of these kids play Pop Warner since, if I recall, the town has just one team.

Yes, on paper, a 2007 version of this dream-team could very well be placed ahead of Ansonia in the state polls. Unless, of course, Masuk shines in the second half of the state championship game as it did and Ansonia steamrolled New London as it did.

But here's a bunch of other things to consider:

• If there was one high school in Stratford, how many of these athletes would have gone to St. Joseph, Fairfield Prep, or Notre Dame-Fairfield instead? Would all three if those programs had improved and made states?
• Would Craig Bruno be the coach, or Duane Shirden? In an alternate world, maybe Bruno would be the head coach at Bassick (where he is a teacher) or Harding (where he was once an assistant) and had one of those schools winning back-to-back titles?
  
• Would Torrey Mack or Octavias McKoy become slot receivers at Bunnell, or would Mario Guerrero become an every-down back at Stratford, alongside Oliver Aurelia? Or would you play a two-back spread offense instead (like New Canaan). What would be the best offense?
• Two platoon football could be alive in Stratford, and maybe Torrey and Ox become defensive specialists?
• Would Justin Shumyhora, who hasn't had to throw the ball much in his career, have been this year's Chris Sloat, and thrown for close to 3,000 yards?

Unless Stratford is REALLY facing a budget crisis, I don't see the town going back to one high school (unless Stratford High's building is past it's prime and they look to add on to Bunnell instead - Fairfield tried that in 1987, and it didn't work). But until then, the what-if aspect of football in Stratford could be pretty fun.