Colonels Face Bacon Academy Today

The Ledyard High School football team travels to Bacon Academy Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against a team that has struggled this year. The Bobcats are 1-4, with their only win coming two weeks ago – a 47-14 clubbing of Wilcox Tech.

Otherwise there has been little to cheer about in Colchester. But Ledyard Coach Jim Buonocore isn’t looking past anyone.

“Bacon Academy can present a lot of problems. They run two different offenses in the spread, as well as the double wing. They’ve got some good size up front and they’re tough, physical kids,” he said.

Actually, Bacon’s record could be misleading. Three of their four losses came against Montville, East Lyme and Waterford, three strong programs that Ledyard has yet to face.

“So we’ve got to make sure that we’re extremely disciplined and prepared to adjust to either offense,” Buonocore said. “And we’ve got to be able to adjust quickly, because they run out of a no-huddle system.”

On last week’s 19-0 win over Stonington, Buonocore said he was pleased with his team’s showing all around.

“We were solid offensively. Our offensive line set the tone for us. We moved the ball extremely well. We didn’t punt one time and we ran for over 300 yards. John Rainy and Alex Manwaring each had over 100 yards. Offensively I feel real good about where we are and where we’re going.”

Buonocore said Rainy, Ledyard’s junior transfer quarterback, just keeps getting better.

“John’s a tremendous athlete, and with each game he’s becoming a better quarterback. His athleticism, though, it what has gotten him to this point, and I’m eager to see how good he becomes as a quarterback. He’s made some great strides, and I think he’s got just a really bright future in front of him for us and for our program.”

Defense last week was no slouch either, Buonocore said.

“We did a phenomenal job on defense,” he said. “When you can hold a team to under 100 total yards, that means you’re doing something right.”

He gave special recognition to the Colonels’ defensive line, including Josh Lawrence, Darren Alexander and Colin Grim. “They’re doing a nice job for us down below, and they played real well for us holding up against that offense last week.

“I was real happy with the whole game in general,” he said, “from offense to defense, and special teams. I thought it was a real solid effort from everybody involved, and that includes our scouting team. It was a total team effort.” 

Ledyard, which dropped its third game to New London, may have received a gift last week when Montville lost to Griswold. But Bunocore said he is not paying much attention to the standings at this point.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” he said. “(Bacon Academy) is a divisional game, so it’s certainly an important game in reaching our first goal, which is to win the divisional championship. So we’re just eager to get out there Saturday and take another step forward.”