Hand's Matt Walsh
The bigger the stage, the better Matt Walsh plays.
So it wasn?t surprising to see the senior listed as the leading tackler in Hand?s 23-6 victory over Windsor in the Class L state championship game.
Walsh tallied 15 tackles, including 10 solo, and forced two fumbles in the Dec. 8 game to cap the Tigers? perfect season and land Hand its 11th state title.
Windsor, and its highly touted offense, also entered the contest unbeaten. The Warriors scored first, on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter after taking over following an interception.
?Everybody talked about how explosive their offense was,? Walsh said. ?They could run the ball, they could throw the ball, they could do whatever they wanted to.?
The Warriors never scored again, in large part due to Walsh, the 2012 Register All-State Most Valuable Player, a punishing and relentless middle linebacker.
?Other than (the touchdown pass), we really contained them,? Walsh said. ?We didn?t give up too many big plays besides that one touchdown. We knew we were in for a battle, but we knew we had what it took to go out on top.?
Walsh?s performance in his final game resembled many others during the course of the season in which Hand went 13-0 and finished as the No. 1 team in the final Register Top 10 Poll.
The Tigers earned victories in the regular season over eventual state champions Hillhouse and Xavier in addition to Class LL quarterfinalist West Haven.
Walsh almost single-handedly carried his team past Xavier, scoring five rushing touchdowns in a 40-20 victory that ended the Falcons? 30-game winning streak. Continued...
But Hand coach Steve Filippone was even more pleased with Walsh?s play on the defensive end in that contest.?We were playing a big, physical team on a slow track,? Filippone said. ?We needed him to have a great night, and he did. Yes, he scored how many touchdowns he scored, but he was in on 75 defensive plays, and that was big for us.?
But it?s not just Walsh?s physical attributes that Filippone considers special.
?He?s very humble and unassuming,? Filippone said. ?Walking around the hall, you wouldn?t know he was a scholarship athlete. He?s a good student, and he sets a very solid example for the younger kids to follow.?
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Walsh made 182 tackles and three sacks as a senior. Walsh was selected to the coaches all-state team and the Walter Camp all-state team, where he was a finalist for player of the year honors.
Filippone?s been impressed by Walsh ever since the coach set eyes on him as a youth player in the seventh grade.
The coaching staff decided against bringing Walsh to the varsity level as a freshman, but Filippone called him an ?impact player? as a sophomore.
Walsh?s stock has been rising ever since.
During his junior year, perhaps the most important in the college recruiting process, Walsh made 100 tackles, two sacks and recovered four fumbles and earned Register All-Area honors.
In August before his senior season, Walsh committed to play at UConn, most likely as a fullback. Continued...
?When you watched films on him as a junior, he was just a devastating blocker,? Filippone said. ?I still think he has tremendous upside there. He is an extremely good blocker and he has good hands. That?s why they recruited him.?Walsh saw less action in the backfield as a senior, but still managed to score 10 touchdowns.
?It was almost a they-didn?t-need-me situation,? Walsh said. ?Coach Fil said there?s no point in putting me back there if it?s not necessary. We weren?t going to take a chance of getting an injury. It just wasn?t worth it if I got hurt. Our defense would?ve had to fill a big hole.?
Walsh said the UConn coaching staff compared him to former Husky fullback Anthony Sherman, who?s now with the Arizona Cardinals.
?They feel like I can be like (Sherman) in their pro-style offense,? Walsh said. ?They haven?t done that with the past few fullbacks, but they said they will give it to a fullback if they feel he can run with it, and they feel I can run with it. This offseason I am going to be working as hard as ever to get in there.?
?
The bigger the stage, the better Matt Walsh plays.So it wasn?t surprising to see the senior listed as the leading tackler in Hand?s 23-6 victory over Windsor in the Class L state championship game.
Walsh tallied 15 tackles, including 10 solo, and forced two fumbles in the Dec. 8 game to cap the Tigers? perfect season and land Hand its 11th state title.
Windsor, and its highly touted offense, also entered the contest unbeaten. The Warriors scored first, on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter after taking over following an interception.
?Everybody talked about how explosive their offense was,? Walsh said. ?They could run the ball, they could throw the ball, they could do whatever they wanted to.?
The Warriors never scored again, in large part due to Walsh, the 2012 Register All-State Most Valuable Player, a punishing and relentless middle linebacker.
?Other than (the touchdown pass), we really contained them,? Walsh said. ?We didn?t give up too many big plays besides that one touchdown. We knew we were in for a battle, but we knew we had what it took to go out on top.?
Walsh?s performance in his final game resembled many others during the course of the season in which Hand went 13-0 and finished as the No. 1 team in the final Register Top 10 Poll.
The Tigers earned victories in the regular season over eventual state champions Hillhouse and Xavier in addition to Class LL quarterfinalist West Haven.
Walsh almost single-handedly carried his team past Xavier, scoring five rushing touchdowns in a 40-20 victory that ended the Falcons? 30-game winning streak.
But Hand coach Steve Filippone was even more pleased with Walsh?s play on the defensive end in that contest.
?We were playing a big, physical team on a slow track,? Filippone said. ?We needed him to have a great night, and he did. Yes, he scored how many touchdowns he scored, but he was in on 75 defensive plays, and that was big for us.?
But it?s not just Walsh?s physical attributes that Filippone considers special.
?He?s very humble and unassuming,? Filippone said. ?Walking around the hall, you wouldn?t know he was a scholarship athlete. He?s a good student, and he sets a very solid example for the younger kids to follow.?
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Walsh made 182 tackles and three sacks as a senior. Walsh was selected to the coaches all-state team and the Walter Camp all-state team, where he was a finalist for player of the year honors.
Filippone?s been impressed by Walsh ever since the coach set eyes on him as a youth player in the seventh grade.
The coaching staff decided against bringing Walsh to the varsity level as a freshman, but Filippone called him an ?impact player? as a sophomore.
Walsh?s stock has been rising ever since.
During his junior year, perhaps the most important in the college recruiting process, Walsh made 100 tackles, two sacks and recovered four fumbles and earned Register All-Area honors.
In August before his senior season, Walsh committed to play at UConn, most likely as a fullback.
?When you watched films on him as a junior, he was just a devastating blocker,? Filippone said. ?I still think he has tremendous upside there. He is an extremely good blocker and he has good hands. That?s why they recruited him.?
Walsh saw less action in the backfield as a senior, but still managed to score 10 touchdowns.
?It was almost a they-didn?t-need-me situation,? Walsh said. ?Coach Fil said there?s no point in putting me back there if it?s not necessary. We weren?t going to take a chance of getting an injury. It just wasn?t worth it if I got hurt. Our defense would?ve had to fill a big hole.?
Walsh said the UConn coaching staff compared him to former Husky fullback Anthony Sherman, who?s now with the Arizona Cardinals.
?They feel like I can be like (Sherman) in their pro-style offense,? Walsh said. ?They haven?t done that with the past few fullbacks, but they said they will give it to a fullback if they feel he can run with it, and they feel I can run with it. This offseason I am going to be working as hard as ever to get in there.?
?
Source: http://shorelinetimes.com/articles/2013/01/13/life/doc50f32753710e2129155927.txt
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