Ledyard High School To Induct Six Into Football Hall of Fame

Ledyard—The second class of inductees into the Ledyard High School Football Hall of Fame has been announced by head coach and athletic director Jim Buonocore.  The class of 2012:

Jeff Hammock is a 1967 graduate of Ledyard High School. He was a four year member of the varsity football team. In Ledyard’s first varsity game against Windham Tech in 1965, he scored on a 52 yard run on the first offensive play from scrimmage in school history. He also recorded a 4 touchdown game that season in a 44-22 win over North Branford in which he was named New London County’s Touchdown Club Player of the Week. He was an honor student as well as an outstanding track athlete at Ledyard High School. He briefly attended the US Naval Academy but after two years decided to enlist in the Navy. He later graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1973 with a degree in Chemistry. Jeff passed away in 1974 at the age of 25 when he became lost in the desert in Kenya for five days while he was on an anthropological expedition.

Robert Caron is a 1977 graduate of Ledyard High School.  Caron starred as a fullback on offense and a lineman on defense. Caron was named to the All-ECC team in 1975 and 1976. In 1976 football season Caron ran for 776 yards and 11 touchdowns. Caron was also an outstanding wrestler at Ledyard winning the ECC and State Titles in 1976 and 1977 in the 185 pound division. Robert has been a wrestling official for the past 20 years in Southeastern Connecticut and also served as the freshman football coach at Ledyard High School from 2003-2007. He currently is the manager of the Hill Top Inn and Suites in North Stonington.

Tim Curtis is a 1977 graduate of Ledyard High School. He was an All-ECC and honorable mention All-State performer at tailback for the Colonels. During the course of his career Curtis tallied 2,619 yards, 24 touchdowns and 172 points. Curtis was also a standout track performer for the Colonels. Upon graduation from Ledyard High School, Curtis continued his playing career at Southern Connecticut State University for one season before finishing his career as a running back at the University of New Haven where he graduated in 1982. Curtis served in the Groton Town Police Department from 1983-2008 and retired as a Lieutenant. He now is employed by the State of Connecticut within the Department of Children and Families.

Jay Lanoue is a 1987 graduate of Ledyard High School and helped lead the Colonels to their first state championship in 1986 as a tailback and outside linebacker.  He was a two time selection to the All-ECC team as well as being named All-Area by The Day and The Bulletin.  Over the course of his career Lanoue carried the ball a school record 501 times. He totaled 29 touchdowns and 174 points during his career. In the 1986 State Championship game, Lanoue threw a 40 yard halfback option pass for a touchdown as the Colonels defeated Stratford 12-6.  

Tommy Whipple was the starting Quarterback for the  1991 state championship football team. In his senior season he threw for 827 yards and accounted for 15 touchdowns. He averaged 36.2 yards per kick as the punter and was named to the All-ECC and All-Area teams. Whipple made the play of the game in the 4th quarter of the state championship game in 1991, securing an errant snap that went over his head and booming a punt which pinned Newtown deep in their territory to secure the victory for Ledyard.  Whipple was also a standout track performer for the Colonels and still holds numerous school records. Whipple currently is the owner of Total Native Solutions which deals with merchant banking and energy efficiency.

B.K. Mignault is a 2002 graduate of Ledyard High School.  During the course of his career Mignault threw for 2,777 yards and 47 touchdown passes which is a school and ECC record. He was named to the All-ECC team in 2000 and 2001 and was also named to the all-state team in 2001. He was 15-4 as the Colonels starting quarterback. After graduation, Mignault played football at Sacred Heart University and was a back-up wide receiver as well as a member of the special teams in 2002 and 2003. He graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2006.  He currently serves as a Sales Manager at Lenora and resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Coach Buonocore states: “It is an honor to announce and welcome the second class of inductees to the Ledyard High School Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was organized as a way of maintaining the rich and storied tradition of football at Ledyard High School.  This allows our program to properly recognize, preserve, and honor the former athletes and coaches who have made significant contributions to Ledyard Football over the past 49 years since the program began.  It allows the past to meet the present, and for our present players to fully grasp and understand that they are a part of such a special organization. Once again, we feel that we have put together a great group of inductees who have distinguished themselves on and off the football field as fine representatives of Ledyard High School and our football program.”

The hall of fame class will be honored at half-time of the Ledyard – New London football game which will be played on Saturday November 10th at 10:30am.  They will be officially inducted at the 2012 varsity team awards ceremony in January. The Hall of Fame display is housed in the main hallway at Ledyard High School. For more information regarding the Hall of Fame, contact Coach Buonocore at jbuonocore@ledyard.net