Many people attending the 47th Annual JCC Schoolboy/Schoolgirl Classic wanted to see what UConn-bound Heather Buck could do on the court. But it was a future college rival from Stamford who stole the show.

Trinity Catholic star Da’Shena Stevens, who is heading to St. Johns, stole the show with 15 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks, three assists, and three steals in the West team’s 99-73 win in Bridgeport on April 12.

Buck did pump in 14 to pace the East, but Stevens showed why she was heavily recruited as well.

“I’ve just grown over the years, whether it was with leadership or whether it was developing my game more,” Stevens said. “I really enjoyed my high school career, I’ve been through so much with my team, and my teammates have been there for me.”

Though Buck spent most of her time covered by AAU rival and future UConn track athlete, Notre Dame-Fairfield’s Candace Williams, Stevens did get a chance to take in the Southington star’s performance.

“She’s a great player,” Stevens said. “She plays tough, but I think we both did.”

Westhill senior Jess Williams, who will play next season at Division II Southern Connecticut, received the Ken Lieberman Hustle Award for her performance. Williams had a game-high 21 points.

Thirty of Fairfield County’s finest football-playing scholar-athletes were honored April 10 by the Ralph DeSantis chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Also honored at the dinner at Continental Manor in Norwalk were the head and assistant coaches of the year in the SWC and FCIAC, as well as two officials of the year.

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.

I’ve been on ice skates once, as a 4th grader who had sprained his ankle twice in the prior year. Needless to say, I refused to let my father let go of me that day on a frozen Mill River in Fairfield, and that pair of Caldor skates lay useless in my parent’s basement forever.

My floor hockey career ended as a sophomore in high school when I jumped in front of Kevin Arrix, a sophomore on the New Canaan varsity, to block a shot and ended up with something like 30 stitches above my right eye. (Kevin apologizes to this day, even though I take the blame)

But you don’t have to own a stick or know how to skate to understand that FCIAC teams cannot compete at the CIAC Division I level. Read the full story