Bobby Wood Set to Represent New Fairfield in Governor's Cup

For the past two high school football seasons, preparing to play the New Fairfield Rebels presented opposing coaches with a question few were able to answer: how to stop quarterback Bobby Wood.

After a stellar junior campaign in which he threw for nearly 1800 yards and threw for 16 touchdowns, the hype surrounding Wood before his senior year was unparalleled. Universally touted as one of the best quarterbacks in the state, expectations were high for both Wood and the Rebels coming into the 2009 season. Sometimes the pressure of expectations gets to a player, and he and his team suffer as a result. This was not the case with Bobby Wood.

All Wood did was amass more than 2700 yards of total offense (1940 passing, 791 rushing), score 24 touchdowns (14 passing, 10 rushing), lead the Rebels to a 6-4 record and a Patriot Division championship, and earn 1st team All-SWC and All-State honors.

More recently, Wood added another accomplishment to his already impressive credentials by being selected to play for Team Connecticut in the 12th Annual Governor’s Cup, becoming the first New Fairfield player to do so. The Governor’s Cup pits the best players from the state of Rhode Island against the best players from the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut All-Stars, who will be coached by Roy Roberts of Bloomfield, are 8-3 all-time against their counterparts from Rhode Island, and have won the game seven years running.

“It’s pretty exciting to be able to play with the best players in Connecticut, especially after playing against some of these guys during the regular season”, says Wood. Some opponents turned teammates include Andrew Clements, Ben Crick, and C.J. Elser of Pomperaug, Connor McNamara of Newtown, and Alex Trump of Masuk. “I’m looking forward to getting back on the field and seeing how I stack up against the cream of the crop”, Wood added.

Notably missing from Team Connecticut, however, are players from some of the premier programs in state. FCIAC Champion Staples, Class LL Champion Cheshire, four-time defending Class MM Champion New Cannan, and Class SS Champion St. Joseph will send no players to the Governor’s Cup.

If this past season was any indication, Wood will handle himself just fine among, as he put it, the “cream of the crop”. Against SWC runner-up Masuk, Wood posted 396 yards of total offense. Against Class M runner-up Bethel, he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Against perennial contender Newtown he racked up 389 yards of offense, and accounted for four touchdowns. After falling behind by fourteen points against the Nighthawks, Wood’s two highlight reel scramble-turned touchdowns sparked a Rebel offensive explosion that resulted in a stunning 42-21 victory over Newtown.

It seems as though football will be a part of Wood’s future beyond the Governor’s Cup as well. Wood plans on doing a post graduate year at Salisbury School, where he will compete for the starting quarterback position. “I got a couple of offers but none of them seemed to be the right fit for me,” said Wood when asked to explain his decision to PG. Whatever the case, Salisbury is lucky to land the services of a superb quarterback like Wood.

June 26th looks as though it will be a fairly busy day for Bobby Wood. Sometime around 10 am, he and his classmates at New Fairfield High School will receive their diplomas. After walking at graduation, Wood will depart for Rentschler Field in East Hartford to help Team Connecticut defend its Governor’s Cup title at 7 pm. Team Rhode Island will attempt to accomplish what the teams of the Southwest Conference could not: contain Bobby Wood. Good luck Rhode Island, you’re going to need it.