By Tim Parry

Former Wilton lineman Joe Smith was told to dislike people only because of the color of their football uniform. But he’s become good friends with someone who wears the red and black on New Canaan, former Ram Kyle Duncan.

And that has nothing to do with the Hall of Fame Classic, which has Smith (left) and Duncan as teammates on the Fairfield County team which will play New Haven County at West Haven High School tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Smith and Duncan will take their games - and their personal belongings - to Bowdoin in a just a few weeks.

“I feel pretty fortunate to be able to go up to Maine with someone I already know, and that he’s a nice kid, and we have some similarities,” Smith said.

That includes postseason accolades. Both were CHSCA All-State offensive linemen in their respective divisions. Both started on the defensive line, too.

“I kind of get a preview of what the next four years are going to be like, even though I’m going to be on the defensive side of the ball and he’ll be on offense,” said Duncan (left). “I really think [Bowdoin] should be getting two quality football players.”

Smith chose Bowdoin over several NESCAC and Ivy League schools, and says he was very close to heading to Cornell. But he knew Bowdoin was the school for him when he set foot on campus for the first time.

“I know I’m not going to play in the NFL,” Smith said. “I wanted to balance the academics and the athletics.”

But right now, Smith is taking a crash course in New Canaan’s spread offense. After four years of starting in the three-point stance, Smith is adjusting to a two-point stance.

But Duncan, who went through the adjustment two seasons ago, has helped mentor his new friend - and his Fairfield County teammates.

“Going to the two point stance, it’s kind of weird and you are back on your heels a little bit, but the kids here have really started to pick it up well,” Duncan said. “He’s a great offensive lineman. If he was in this spread system for even a year of so, he would have just been great.”

Another plus for Duncan and the Fairfield County team - three of the five offensive linemen from the Class MM state champion Rams will be protecting former Rams quarterback Charlie Westfal.

“It’s absolutely awesome. I never thought I’d get a chance to play again with Mike Glass and Charley Donnelly ever again,” Duncan said. “Especially when we’ll be protecting Charlie Westfal. It’s like old times, it’s great.”

Smith plans to major in psychology, while Duncan is looking at a major in government and legal studies.

By Tim Parry

2007 should have been “The Year of The Bus” at Harding.

Coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season, and with the Presidents faring very well in a local 7-on-7 passing league, Byron Jackson was going to be one of the top players to watch in the FCIAC.

But The Bus, as he’s been called since his Bridgeport Raiders Pop Warner days, never got out of the garage. He was hampered by injuries, the team was in turmoil, and Harding ended its season winless - including a loss to Bassick that ended that school’s six-season long winless streak.

So the Hall of Fame Classic, which will be played Friday at 7:30 at West Haven High School, will be his chance to show the state what could have been.

It’ll also be Jackson’s going away party. Jackson was accepted at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and was invited to walk on to the Golden Lions football team.

“They wrote and told me I qualified to be a walk-on prospect, so I’m going to walk on and see what happens,” Jackson said. “Hopefully I’ll get a spot down there, hopefully they’ll like me.”

And even if they don’t, Jackson says he likes where he’s heading, and thinks the school is the perfect fit for him.

“It’s a good school for what I want to study, accounting,” Jackson said. “It’s a good move for me, and hopefully it will be big.”

At 5-foot-8, 185-pounds, Jackson certainly won;t be the biggest back on the field. But what he lacks in height he makes up for with breakaway speed.

Recent Wilton graduate Joe Smith, who will also play for the Fairfield County team in the game Friday, can attest to that. Though the Warriors defeated Harding on homecoming in 2006, Jackson put on quite a show. He ran for 195 yards on 21 carries, including a 65-yard touchdown.

“When you see speed like that, and you aren’t really used to it, it sneaks up on you,” said Smith, who will play at Bowdoin. “He broke away real quickly.”

Did the time fly by for Jackson as fast as one of his long-distance scoring romps? Jackson laughs and agrees that his four years as a starter at Harding went by real quick.

“It went by real fast, I still remember my first day being up there as a freshman,” Jackson said. “As a matter of fact I remember being up there as an eighth grader and wanting to play.”

And the nickname?

“One of my Pop Warner coaches told me when I was 9 or 10 that I looked like Jerome Bettis and that I kind of ran like him,” Jackson said. “And I used to wear those leather sleeves on my arm, so he just gave me the nickname ‘Bus’ and it stuck.”