Peter Cox is surrounded by more than 100 kids in football uniforms. Most of them are from Bridgeport, some from surrounding areas, and other are visiting family from as far away as Kansas.

It’s a two-week camp that Cox, who works in the resource center and coaches football at Bridgeport Central High School, was able to set up through the National Football League’s Junior Development Program.

The cost for the kids — nothing. And they get to learn about more than football, they’re taught about life skills.

How many of these 12 to 14 year old boys will play football at Central. But the number of kids whose lives Cox will help shape will continue to grow.

In a city where teenage boys from a single-parent home can either walk the straight line or get tempted to join a gang, Cox has spent his last 11 years as a father figure and mentor to many Hilltoppers. The number he has got into college grows each year.

And from the Class of 2008, at least nine will go on to play college football.

“If you’re ever looking for a feel-good story, there’s one right there,” Central head coach Dave Cadelina said a few weeks back at the FCIAC Strongest Man competition.

“He’s not an Xs and Os kind of guy,” adds Central assistant coach John Carolina. “But what he’s done for our kids off the field has been amazing.”

So why does Cox do it? It’s not for the recognition. But he did see a difference almost immediately when he came over to Central from Amity Regional in Woodbridge. And he has his roots in Bridgeport, having gone to Bassick as a teen.

“In the suburban school, you have the parent involved. In the inner city, you become the mentor, the father, and everything else,” Cox said.

Cox said took one of his current players to the doctor Wednesday, with a note from the player’s mother saying he’s the guardian, “or as she said ‘coach/father,’” so the doctor could be release him to play football this season.

“So the doctor at first wasn’t going to do anything, but when he looked at the record and say the letter the mom wrote about me, and with my signature, he was fine’” Cox said.

And Cox does more than that for the student-athletes, much more than trips to the doctors and helping kids with applications and SAT scores. The 69-year-old former drill sergeant also brings the kids on road trips to various colleges so they can experience what campus life is like.

The hope is that they will enjoy the experience, and want to be on campus after four years of high school.

“My car is four years old in December, and I’ve got 146,000 miles on it,” Cox said like it’s no big deal. “That’s my passion — to make sure they do well in school, to make sure they do well in their SAT courses, then get them into college.”

Tomorrow there’s a trip to Lackawanna College in Scranton, PA, where he’s going with recent Central graduate Dewayne Guscott. Coming along for the ride — Rashaad Bass, an Ansonia lineman who will room with Guscott this fall. They are heading out to meet with the coaching staff and fill out some paperwork.

And Guscott is just one of many thankful past and future Hilltoppers who understand what Cox has done to help out.

“Without Coach Cox, I probably wouldn’t even be in college,” Guscott said. “He puts in so much work – I can’t even count how many times we’ve been to McDonalds, driven us to a college, or that he’s called up a college so he’d get our names in a coach’s ear.”

Guscott has estimated Cox’s fuel bill to be around $7,000 since his freshman year. And that’s included trips from South Carolina to Maine.

“When I first met him, he was kind of a hard ass, telling us not to quit on him,” Guscott said. “Now it’s all love. He’s like a father, and I feel like a son to him.”

One of those Central players who Cox convinced not to quit is Trevardo Williams, who has a full ride to UConn waiting on the table after he preps this year at Canterbury School. He’s convinced none of his good fortune would have happened without Cox’s support.

“He’s the one responsible for us going to college,” Williams said. “When we need a ride, he gives it to us. When we need some guidance, we’ll go to him, he’s the one we can rely on.”

Williams said he’s also thankful for Cox, who gave him the advice to do a year of prep school before taking his offer to play at UConn.

“I could have different choices, and what he told me made me think twice about the choice I made,” Williams said. “With him being there, I just feel like I’ve accomplished something, like someone is on my side, guiding me.”

Timmy Reece, who is heading off to play football at American International College, says it’s more than the miles Cox puts on the car that makes his a hero to the football community.

“Not a lot of people go the extra mile,” Reece said. “Coach Cox does. I remember my freshman year, [former running back] Akeem Wright’s grades were so bad that Coach Cox found a school for him all the way out in California. Not a lot of coaches do that.”

Reece, too, will soon be brought to college in Cox’s white van. And when Cox drops him off in Springfield, he says it will be like saying good by to a dad.

“He’s the type of man you’d want in your corner at all times,” Reece said. “I love him like a father because that’s what he is to us.”

And while Cox does see himself as a father figure to many of Central’s players, he also feels he’s helping to do God’s work.

“It’s like God sent him down here, and he says that’s why he does it. He’s such a devout Christian,” Guscott said. “He thinks this is his way of paying back God for all he has given, and he wants to give back to people. He’s just a nice person.”

Though Cox’s work has been appreciated by the community, it may be he doesn’t think he’s done anything to help out just yet. Or that he’s found his life’s calling.

“It’s worth it, 100%,” Cox said. “If I can help one kid, it’s worth it.”

It’s not easy for Timothy Reece to find a pair of decent shoes for his size 17 feet. But it was a normal head size that helped him get a spot of the Connecticut team that defeated Rhode Island in the Governor’s Cup back on June 27.

Reece, who will play on both the offensive and defensive lines tonight for Fairfield County in the Hall of Fame Classic at West Haven High School, was just in the right place at the right time.

“It’s funny because I went to the practice [in Southington] to see [Central teammates] DeWayne [Guscott] and Trevardo [Williams] play, and they were looking at me. And after the practice they called me over and told me to try this helmet on. They said, ‘if it fits, you’re on the team,,” Reece said.

And as it happened, the helmet was a perfect fit.

“DeWayne and Trevardo were kidding me that it was the easiest tryout ever,” Reece said. “I guess you cold say it was a Cinderella story, but I proved I should have a spot.”

Reece was a first-team All-FCIAC offensivve lineman this season, and was on the second team as a junior. He has started for three seasons under head coach Dave Cadelina.

But it’s the relationship he has with assistant coach Peter Cox that Reece and his teammates talk about just as much.

“We have a great coaching staff all the way from the head coach down to the water boy,” Reece said. “Coach Cox has been a big influence on our lives. He drives us back and forth to the All-Star games, and he helped us get into college. It’s good to have those people on your side.”

Reece will be heading to American International College in Springfield, MA, in a few weeks to continue both his athletic and academic careers. He will be reunited with former Central linemate Terrance Mercer, who will be a junior at AIC.

“AIC was attractive to me because I wanted to be close to home, not to mention they are looking good this year,” Reece said. “Terrance got me interested, so I’ll be chilling with him while we hope to win a title.”

But first, Reece wants to help Fairfield County break its five-game losing streak against the New Haven County all-stars. Even if he didn’t qualify to play because of his helmet size.

“It’s good to be chosen to be a player in the All-Star game,” Reece said. “When you get called upon, it’s your responsibility and duty to your school and your town, and in this case, your county.”

There may have only been four schools involved - and technically only three teams - in the first-ever Pamby Motors Strongest Man Competition, but it looks like the foundation has been built for the future.

Football players from Ridgefield, Bridgeport Central, Newtown, and Stamford high schools competed in such events as the tire roll, the truck pull, and the Viking press today at Ridgefield High School’s Tiger Hollow.

How do these events relate to football? On the surface, they may not seem to translate. But as Ridgefield strength and conditioning coach Pete McLean (see video below) explained, what the kids did on the field is equal to their individual offseason training programs.

Even the sandbag shuttle - where athletes have to carry a sandbag 40 yards, drop it on a mat, and sprint back for another bag - is part of the everyday conditioning.

“It’s 200 yards with a sandbag,” said Ridgefield fullback Mike McKnight, who won that individual event. “You can feel your legs getting heavier as it goes on.”

Based on the final event - the tug-of-war - Newtown took home the first title, and a $1,000 donation to its athletic department from Pamby Motors. Though undersized, the Nighthawks had no problem knocking off Bridgeport Central in the finals.

The big winner on the day was Stamford junior linebacker Khairi Fortt, who won two events, placed second in one, and placed in all six.

Individual results:

Truck Pull:

1. David Bray, Newtown
2. Jaydell Roy, Central
3. John Aminiti, Newtown
4. Anthony Julbes, Stamford
5. Stephen Saprenza, Newtown
6. Khairi Fortt, Stamford

Tire Flip:

1. Julbes
2. Joe Sullivan, Ridgefield
3. Patrick Wrabelesky, Stamford
4. Soprenza
5. Fortt
6. Giovanni Marmalejas, Stamford

Stone Carry:

1. Fortt
2. Bray
3. Wrobleski
4. Sullivan
5. Mike McKnight, Ridgefield
6. Mike Sheldon, Ridgefield

Dead Lift and Hold

1. Fortt
2. Wrobeleski
3. Jubles
4. Sullivan
5. Soprenza
6. Bray

Viking Press:

1. Albert Wright, Central
2. Roy
3. Wrobeleski
4. Marmalejas
5. Sean Brown, Central
6. Dan Sheldon, Ridgefield, and Fortt

Sand Bag Shuttle

1. McKnight
2. Fortt
3. Shaquan Amour, Stamford
4. Wright
5. Sullivan
6. Stephen Supienza, Newtown

Three players received $500 scholarships to be used towards their college education as well: William Bass (Bassick), Richard Holmes (Danbury), and Chris Payne (Wilton).

Wilton’s Tim Eagen was introduced as the FCIAC’s coach of the year by his mentor, Tom Fujitani, who he served under as an assistant coach for several years, and thanked his assistant coaches and the Warriors’ booster club for its efforts in helping to build a top-notch program. Ridgefield’s Kevin Callahan introduced one of his former players, New Fairfield’s Andy Buchsbaum, as the SWC’s coach of the year.

Carl Cairo (Greenwich) and John Pereira (Pomperaug) received their league’s respective assistant coach of the year awards.

The scholar-athletes honered were:

• William Bass, Bassick
• Nick Verderosa, Bethel
• Chris Green, Brien McMahon
• Kenneth Cobb, Bridgeport Central
• Steven Moss, Brookfield
• Jeffrey Farrell, Bunnell
• Greg Passineau, Canterbury
• Richard Holmes, Danbury
• George Rhein, Darien
• Matthew O’Laughlin, Fairfield Ludlowe
• Thomas Marx Jr., Fairfield Warde
• Jonathan Meyers, Greenwich
• Scott Hickling, Joel Barlow
• Victor Ciancetta, Masuk
• Chris Lemoine, New Canaan
• Patrick Cassidy, New Fairfield
• Jonathan Henion, New Milford
• Eric Puffer, Newtown
• Cyprian Oyomba, Norwalk
• Patrick Purrell, Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Stephen Barton, Pomperaug
• Tyler Strittmatter, Ridgefield
• Michael Dinihanien, St. Joseph
• Jason Zins, Staples
• Justin Shumyhora, Stratford
• John O’Leary, Trinity Catholic
• Jameson Cherilus, Trumbull
• John Midy, Westhill
• Dylan Hannum, Weston
• Chris Payne, Wilton

Also honored were a few unsung heroes of the game, the referees. Without them, of course, the games wouldn’t count in the standings. Bob Seirup, who has been working with the Fairfield County Football Association for 54 seasons, was honored as its official of the year. Bill Vasutro was the Colonial Football Association’s honoree.