Written by MacKenzie Miller |

Photos by Natalie Buchetto and MacKenzie Miller |

As it is always sad to see a season end, Morgan Football celebrated theirs on Sunday night of December 11 at 5 p.m. Their banquet, one of the biggest yet, was held at Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook. The night opened with Coach Peter Nye briefly speaking. Then Coach “Old Man Hylan,” said grace before each table got their food. After settling in, Coach Nye began to recognize each player from the freshman, sophomore, and junior class. As the players shook the hands of their coaches, they received verbal recognition for their contributions to the team and also possibly a pin or a varsity letter.

Later in the evening, the Morgan Football 2016 Highlight Reel was shown including the best plays from each game of the season. Afterward, during dessert, Coach Nye had all of the seniors sit in the front of the room. He held a small “interview” with each player. These interviews were both football related but also personal with some humor. Then, before the night ended, five separate awards were given out to a player who was most deserving of each award…

• Senior George Limosani earned himself the Malamute Award for best overall lineman
• Senior Harry White earned the Offensive MVP Award due to him having impressive numbers on yardage and catches
• Senior Eli Luchuk earned the Todo Award (Unsung Hero) which is someone overall who did a lot of work but didn’t get a lot of the credit
• Senior Zach McCray was named the Defensive MVP
• Senior Madden Ward earned the Overall MVP Award
• Sophomore Ryan Caldwell earned the Most Improved Award

Additionally, three seniors made First Team All-Pequot Conference:  offense, wide receiver Harry White,  defense, outside linebacker Eli Luchuk and defensive lineman George Limosani. Overall, there were 18 seniors on the team this year. Even though many were first-year players, Coach Nye claimed it “was great because they filled gaps for us, and they helped keep us in many games.”

Not only did the high number of senior players help lead the Huskies to a great season but also the underclassmen. Coach Nye says, “The funny thing with our team this year was that there were nights that they didn’t show up, but by the end of the year, they played until the very end in games where we seemed overmatched.” As the senior class graduates and each player moves up a grade, there is still a lot of optimism looking into the future. Already, there were quite a few underclassmen who stepped up during games this season. Nye informs that “we’ll be young next year, but these underclassmen got a lot of varsity experience this year.”

Just like the close of every year with every sport, certain talents will be lost, but additional talents will be gained. Morgan Football had a good run this 2016 season and some players are already preparing for their next season by hitting the Morgan weight room. Lastly, there are a few seniors who could possibly continue their football career in college. Either way, a legacy is left behind from each and every player that is a part of the Morgan Football team.