Ledyard Football Honors Its Own

Members of the 2011 Colonels football team and the first class of inductees into the Ledyard High School Football Hall of Fame were honored Saturday at the annual football banquet, held at Lake of Isles.

"The evening was wonderful,” said Ledyard High School Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Jim Buonocore. “More than 200 people attended to honor the past, present, and future of Ledyard High School Football.”

Football Hall of Fame inductees included Coach Bill Mignault, Jimmy Popp, John Langford, Kyle Banks, the late Mike Daggett and Lou Vasquez.

“We were very happy to have the first class of inductees on hand along with many Ledyard football alumni, including players from the 1986 state championship team,” Buonocore said.

The following awards were given to members of the 2011 team:

Booster Club Award – Tom Finney

Special Teams Performance Award – Andrew Lee

Boats Inc. Offensive Player of the Year – Alex Manwaring

Coaches Award – Cody Wooten

Holdridge Most Improved Award – Cal Williams

New England Awards, Outstanding Linemen – Kyle Wilson, Ben Morales, Evan Stockman, Alec Gabriel and Bobby Bozym

William F. Mignault Hit Award – Dallas Smith

Mike Daggett Award – Matt Daggett

John M. Langford Award – Slade Baxley

Leighton Defensive Award – Darren Alexander, Josh Lawrence

ECC Sportsmanship – Josh Lawrence

Thanksgiving Day MVP – Alex Manwaring, Slade Baxley

Walter Camp All-State – Alex Manwaring

CHSCA All-State – Alex Manwaring, Dallas Smith, Kyle Wilson

All-ECC – Alex Manwaring, Dallas Smith, Kyle Wilson, Slade Baxley, Ben Morales, Matt Daggett, Darren Alexander, John Rainey and Cal Williams.

“The 2011 season was a wonderful ride and the banquet was a culmination of the hard work, commitment, and dedication the players put forth into making it all happen. It will go right along with the season in that it will be a big part of what we remember and will always hold dear to our hearts,” Buonocore said.

“I had envisioned this evening for a while now, and I could not have asked for a better night,” the coach added. “The tradition of Ledyard football is strong and the night was a clear indication of what we have and why it is so very special.”