There has been a wave of excitement surrounding Tolland High School football this season.
It comes with the turf - a big buzz surrounding the construction of a new artificial surface at the THS stadium field. The field will debut on Sept. 20 against Rocky Hill. The scheduled 6:30 p.m. kickoff will be preceded by opening ceremonies.
Tolland opens the season at Killingly on Sept. 13.
Head coach Andy Bourquin has 15 years under his belt and faces a solid core - despite losing nine players on both offense and defense - in trying to improve on last year's 5-5 record.
The top returning players include:
• Senior quarterback Chris Janton (6-1, 180).
• Senior running back/safety Devon Kokoszka (6-1, 185).
• Senior running back/cornerback Alex Suchecki (6-1, 155).
• Senior receiver/cornerback Ben Noonan (6-3, 185).
• Junior running back/safety Austin Hainey (6-0, 180).
• Senior lineman Nick Poulin (6-2, 220).
• Sophomore fullback/linebacker M.J. Vanderpool (5-10, 190).
• Sophomore lineman Liam Berry (5-10, 200).
Bourquin said the major weakness is lack of varsity experience, but with a solid interior line, tat could take care of itself with playing time.
For the full Eagles' schedule visit:
http://tolland.patch.com/groups/sports/p/tolland-high-school-201314-football-schedule
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