Coming off a Bye in week 5, the 2-2 Darien Blue Wave Football team hits the gridiron once again. This week they travel upstate to take on the 5-0 Wilton Warriors at Fujitani Field.

Darien enters play at 2-2 on the season, coming off a win against Fairfield Warde in week 4. That was a game Darien only led 20-14 at the half, but than Jake Wilson and the offense turned the jets on, outscoring the Mustangs 35-0 in the second half. Wilson rushed for a career-high 188 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Juniors Clifton Shelton and John Rooney picked up their first career varsity touchdowns. But the biggest change made by head coach Mike Forget has been the playing of Trevor Herget two-way. Herget, who has been a receiver for most of his career saw limited time at the position last year. In 2022 Herget has totaled 6 receptions for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Two of which came against Warde. Trevor is just the latest edition of the Herget family on the Blue Wave football squad, however, with the injury of Liam McBride, Herget brings much-needed size to the WR core. Herget also intercepted a pass from Warde’s Charlie Gulbin and returned it 40 yards! Juniors Brady Pokorny and Briggs McGuckin also added a receiving touchdown against the Mustangs. Simeon Doll had a breakout game throwing for four touchdowns and the first time in his career 200+ yards. The offense finally came alive in week 4, and so did the defense! The D line recorded its first sacks of the year, with Charlie Thom, Jack Barber, and Jack Silsby getting to Warde QB Gulbin for a loss. The bottom line is Darien has the momentum riding into Wilton. Darien, with the practices from the bye week, has been given the time to tweak any errors and come in bulletproof against the Warriors.

The 2021 meeting between these two teams saw Darien trailing to Wilton late in the fourth quarter with only special teams touchdowns keeping them in it. But with Miles Drake, Matt Minicus, and Tighe Cummiskey turning it on in the last eight minutes the Wave took down Wilton 56-36.

Wilton enters play Friday at 5-0 on the season. The Warriors have taken down Norwich Free Academy, Fairfield Ludlowe, Bristol Central, Brien McMahon, and Tolland. The Warriors have played an easier slate of games, but they are still 5-0 for only the third time in school history. Wilton lost some key seniors last year with Grant Masterson, Jake Sommer, Ben Calabrese, and Parker Woodring, to name a few. This year the team returns zero offensive starters and five on the defense. Senior QB Andrew Acosta-Rua will look to stay hot, and junior Peter Reyes taking the running duties. Wilton is led by receiver Tommy McKiernan who brings size and will be the guy for Darien to try and shutdown. The Warriors’ defense returns some key players from last year and looks to be a staple again in 2022. DE Carter Galante, DE Owen Theoharides, and Linebackers Todd Wooding and Christian McLaughlin are the defensive guys to look out for. McLaughlin had a 75-yard defensive touchdown vs. Brien McMahon a couple of weeks ago and supplies the agility and IQ of a solid linebacker. Wilton will be coming in hot, having played the past five weeks. Their Thanksgiving game against Tolland was moved to last Friday night, meaning the Warriors will not get a week off until the final two weeks of the season. So the story for Wilton will be their inexperience. With 11 new guys starting on the offense this will be the first time that Acosta-Rua and McKiernan will be tested against a top-tier opponent. They have managed to score 146 points in the first five games for an average of 29.2 per game.

So the Wilton defense will show up and play the same lockdown D they have played since week 1 and it will be up to Jack Barber, Layton Reesor, and the defense to pressure the inexperienced offense for Wilton.

Friday Gameplan

It’s another Friday Night Lights, and Darien will be up against the packed house of Wilton fans at Fujitani Field. It’s another whiteout for those fans looking to support their Wave as they look to break .500 for the first time in 2022. It may be a Friday, but the seven connector should be seeing little traffic with travel teams from Darien to Wilton High at around 25 minutes. Clear skies are in the forecast with temperatures in the 60s. 

If you are planning on staying in Friday night and want to follow the Wave, DAF Media has you covered with the live stream. You can listen to DAF play-by-play guy Braden Schenck, joined by Darien analyst Michael Mercein, and Wilton analyst Tommy Fox, call the action with kickoff at 7:00pm.