Fairfield Warde Football Chasing Elusive Winning Season

During Duncan Della Volpe's first two seasons as Fairfield Warde football coach, the Mustangs have climbed from the lower tier to a middle-of-the-pack team in the FCIAC.

Della Volpe brings a 10-10 mark into his third season, but after a pair of 5-5 finishes, the Mustangs want to get off the treadmill. They want to make the next step, and that means jumping into the FCIAC's upper echelon.

"We want the winning season, but I think it was important that we got some stability within the program," Della Volpe said. "We finished where we deserved to finish the last two years. Now the goal is to get to six, seven, eight wins, and I think that is realistic, schedule or not. We can do it."

If there is one thing that Della Volpe has accomplished during his brief time at Warde, it's creating that stability. The numbers are solid with more than 100 players in the program, including 50 on the freshmen level.

This year's squad boasts 23 seniors, the most in Della Volpe's three years. He had 15 seniors two years ago and only eight last season.

"I think the buy-in has started to show the last two years at the freshman level," Della Vople said. "Retaining thoe kids is now our job and we'll definitely do that. There's a lot of sudents and boys in this school to pick from. We're getting a lot of newcomers who haven't played before."

The Mustangs graduated their three best offensive players - running back Alex Delaney, wide receiver Craig Lowery and quarterback Will Halliday, a trio which accounted for about 75 percent of the team's last season.

Despite those losses, Della Volpe believes the ingredients are in place to make the jump. Offensively, he sees a team with greater depth and  more balance.

Senior Chris Foley, who backed up Halliday last year, takes over behind center.

"We hope we can distribute the ball more evenly instead of just going to Lowery," Della Volpe said. "I think we're stronger offensively because we can both run and throw the ball more evenly this season."

The coach foresees a running game by committee with seniors Devon Lofton, David Wolffe and Joe Marx sharing the load. Juniors Kevin Jacques and Ryan Jacob also have impressed during the preseason.

For the wideouts, Della Volpe says Kevin Sullivan is a good position receiver with fellow seniors Dario Pugliano and Kevin Krug providing speed on the outside.

Mike Money, Jordan Irizarry and John McKeown will anchor the Mustangs' offensive line. Money, a huge lineman, is getting looked at by a number of schools, including UConn, Fordham and Temple.

Marx is among of veteran group of linebackers. Other key defensive players include senior defensive end Gerry Walker and junior strong safety Max Garrett. Della Volpe characterizes his defense as faster and more hard-hitting than a year ago.

"We have a core group of linebackers that have started for three years now," he said. "They finally hit the weight room together and they finally pushed each other in the offseason, and it's made all the difference.

"The more phsyical we are up front, the better we're going to be everywhere else. At least that's how we're playing it. I think we're at that point right now."

Confidence was an issue at times last season for the Mustangs, who are still looking for more overall consistency. And there is always the tough FCIAC schedule.

Warde opens with McMahon, which was one of the most improved teams in the FCIAC teams last season. The Mustangs visit FCIAC champion Darien in week two, then host perennial league power New Canaan in week three. Warde also faces road games at Ridgfield and Staples.

Winning the opener could be crucial in terms of setting a positive tone for the season.

"I want to make sure we're playing at a faster pace defensively," Della Volpe said. "That's our goal. We worked hard to try to get faster as a team, more agile as a team. I think if we get that first win, they'll be okay for the season."

Unlike last season when the Mustangs played an out-of-conference contest against Prince Tech, all 10 games this year are FCIAC foes.

The slate also includes Bassick, Trinity Catholic, two-time defending Class S state championship St. Joseph (which appears to be in a rebuilding mode), Wilton and the annual Thanksgiving Day battle against Fairfield Ludlowe.