Pirate seniors close careers with win

Soph QB Farrell has bright future

By: Bob Nuse
   The season finale for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South football team offered a view of the present, but also a glimpse into the future.
   The Pirates finished their season with a 28-7 win over Nottingham on Saturday. In the victory, senior running back Ryan Lupo completed his record-setting career by rushing for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But there was also a sign of things to come, as sophomore quarterback Conner Farrell had his best game of the season, completing a pair of touchdown passes.
   For Lupo, the two touchdowns ran his season total to 25, while the 166 yards gave him 1,767 for the season — the second highest total in school history. For his career, Lupo finished with a school record 3,068 yards rushing.
   Lupo heads a senior group that has helped turn around the South program in Smith’s first two seasons as head coach. The Pirates went 10-1 a year ago and followed that up with a 7-3 season this year.
   "The seniors made huge contributions for us this year," Smith said. "The whole right side of our offensive line, with Andrew O’Shaugnessy and Brett Sodie, they were seniors who had waited three years for their chance and they came through. We probably had the best rushing season in the history of the school with over 2,300 yards and 37 touchdowns. And the way the line came together was a big part of that."
   While the seniors will be missed, there are still young players who will return and attempt to keep the program moving forward. J.B. Fitzgerald, who caught a touchdown pass Saturday, will be back to lead the defense. And Farrell, who took over as the starting quarterback in the third game of this season, will be back with more experience as a starter.
   "I think this year is going to really help him in the long run because he got to play basically a whole extra season at the varsity level," said Smith, whose team won six of its final seven games. "It’s an advantage to him to be able to see the varsity defenses and get that kind of experience.
   "He played a real good game in a close win against Notre Dame, which was a game where we relied on him to make some big plays at the end. He made some nice plays this season and he also made some sophomore mistakes. He will learn as he goes. He’s a hard worker and a real student of the game."
   Farrell completed seven of 14 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. One touchdown pass went to Fitzgerald, while the other was to senior Stuart Adams.
   "Conner had a good overall game and some of the passes he connected on were to underclassmen, which was a good sign for the future," Smith said.
   In two years, the Pirates are 17-4 under Smith, who seems to be building a solid foundation.
   "I thought we had a good year," the South coach said. "It was going to be tough for us to follow up the kind of season we had last year. But a couple of snaps here or there and we would have had a shot of at least matching what we did last year."
   In Saturday’s win over Nottingham, a Farrell to Fitzgerald touchdown pass in the first quarter staked the Pirates to a 7-0 halftime lead. After the Northstars drew even in the third quarter, Lupo scored on the first of his touchdown runs for a 14-7 lead. In the fourth quarter, Lupo scored again before a Farrell to Adams touchdown pass closed out the scoring.