Zanor: NFA girls soccer, St. Thomas More hoops, UConn football, and other thoughts

Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while getting ready to see if the Patriots can have more luck in Germany on Sunday morning than they’ve had in the United States this season …

*It’s been a thrill watching the Norwich Free Academy girls soccer team make some history during this postseason. The Wildcats captured their first  ECC tournament championship banner a week ago and then knocked off two teams - Fairfield Warde and Trumbull - from the FCIAC, the Fairfield league that has been NFA’s nemesis over the years, to reach the Class LL quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

I’ve seen some great state tournament soccer games over the years while working for the Shoreline Newspapers, New Haven Register, and Middletown Press, and NFA’s 3-1 win over Trumbull on Wednesday night in Norwich is right up there with the best of them.

NFA, which has won 10 straight, met Notre Dame-Fairfield on Friday with a chance to go to the state semifinals. No matter the outcome, it has been one thrilling ride for the Wildcats.

“Every day at practice coach (Ryan Fabry) and I tell the girls it could be our last one but we say destiny is in your hands,” NFA head coach Taylor Shannon said. “You guys are good enough to keep it rolling.”

More: Norwich Free Academy girls soccer rolls into Class LL quarterfinals

*Speaking of destiny … the Killingly football team has been takin' care of business this season after an 0-2 start. Killingly improved to 6-3 with a big win over New London on Thursday night. They host Woodstock Academy on Thanksgiving Day and a victory over the Centaurs still won't guarantee Killingly one of the eight spots in the Class L playoffs.

Killingly, which is No. 9 in the Class L playoff rankings, will need some help, namely losses from No. 5 Shelton (6-2), No. 6 Darien (6-2), No. 7 South Windsor (6-2), No. 8 New Milford (6-2) and No. 10 Fairfield Ludlowe.

Killingly has remarkably been to the state semifinals for seven consecutive seasons. Destiny, however, is not in their hands right now.

*It was great seeing recently retired Bulletin photographer John Shishmanian back on the sidelines for the NFA-Trumbull Class LL girls soccer match. Shish is working as a freelancer and has not lost his fastball after a year away! We’re hoping to see more of Shish’s great photographs during the winter season.

More: STM coach Quinn earns win No. 1,000

*Basketball excellence just oozed from the old Boston Garden on Causeway Street whenever I went to see the Boston Celtics play. I get the same feeling walking into the old basketball barn in Oakdale to watch St. Thomas More.

Legendary prep basketball coach Jere Quinn is in his 46th season with the Chancellors. Quinn’s teams have never finished below .500. Over 250 of his players have earned college scholarships, and more than 50 have played professionally, including a good number in the NBA.

I saw Quinn celebrate win No. 1,000 at Worcester Academy on January 24, 2018. It was an historical night for New England basketball.

Quinn, 68, has guided the Chancellors to a National Prep School championship (2011) and five New England championships, as well as 16 other New England finals and two other national finals.

Quinn has another talented team this season. The Chancellors defeated Rocktop Academy, 119-77, in their season opener on Thursday in Oakdale. The Chancellors had six players score in double figures, led by University of Cincinnati recruit Tyler Betsey’s 29 points and eight rebounds.

*Do we really need to see this score - Tennessee 59, UConn 3 -  scrolled across the TV screen on a Saturday afternoon anymore?

I hereby implore the presidents of UConn, UMass, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine to hold a summit inside the FanDuel Sportsbook at Mohegan Sun and hash out details to bring back the Yankee Conference. It’s time.

Instead of trips to Knoxville, Ann Arbor and South Bend, the Huskies’ 2024 football schedule should look like this:

Aug 31: Yale

Sept. 7: at Fordham

Sept. 14: New Hampshire

Sept. 21: at Holy Cross

Sept. 28: at Maine

Oct. 12: Rhode Island

Oct. 19: Georgetown

Nov. 2: Villanova

Nov. 9: at Lehigh

Nov. 16: Bucknell

Nov. 23: at UMass

After 13 consecutive losing seasons and no bowl victories since a 20-7 win over South Carolina in the PapaJohns.com Bowl on Jan. 2, 2010, it’s time to see “UConn 26, New Hampshire 24” on our TV screens. Big-time college football doesn't belong in Storrs.

*STUCK IN THE ‘70s: On November 12, 1976, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics defeated the New Orleans Jazz, 117-110, at the Boston Garden. Sidney Wicks paced the Celtics with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Jo Jo White added 20 points and five assists. The Jazz had one of my all-time favorite backcourts that season: Pete Maravich and Gail Goodrich. Maravich, however, shot just 4-for-17 against the Celts that night. Three months later, Maravich scored 68 points against the New York Knicks at the Louisiana Superdome.

Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: NFA girls soccer, St. Thomas More hoops, UConn football, and other thoughts