Notable CT high school football players make signing day choices.
ANSONIA — A city’s mayor isn’t typically the kind of dignitary to attend the local high school’s National Signing Day ceremony. But Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti and his family were proudly present at the Ansonia High School library on Wednesday afternoon.
There, son David Cassetti Jr. and fellow captains Alex Romanowski and Chris Kaminski put the icing on the cake for their 2022 Class S championship season by announcing their college football goals: Cassetti signed to NCAA Division II University of New Haven play, and both Romanowski and Kaminski announced that they would play at Division III UMass-Dartmouth.
“At Ansonia, the school and the community come together so everyone is very proud,” said coach Tom Brockett.
While that wasn’t the over-the-top event due to the introduction of an early signing period in late December, on National Signing Day — the start of the NCAA’s official signing period for Division I and II athletes — a few notable state players still made their collegiate decisions Wednesday.
Cassetti, who was a New Haven Register First Team All-State selection along with Romanowski, will be joined at UNH by Connecticut players Giovanni Vicens (OL) from Derby, Brian Rose (WR) from Stamford and Nehemiah Johnson (WR). from Capital Prep.
Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic endorse Freddie Camp, another Register first-team All-State player who has signed with Rhode Island. Granby/Canton quarterback Will Migliaccio (to Marist), Hartford Public defenseman Elijah Perry (Central Connecticut), Hamden Hall quarterback Ethan Coady (Pace) and teammate Ian Rose (Stony Brook) were among some of the other notable state signers.
Second-team Register All-State lineman Howard Stedford also signed with Pace. His former teammate, 2021 Register All-State First Team linebacker Michael Reddick from Maloney, who played a postgrad season at Taft, has signed on to play at Brown. [View our ongoing compilation of CT signees and commits here].
For Cassetti, who rushed for 2,204 yards and 33 touchdowns as Ansonia went 13-0 and won his first state championship since 2016, New Haven’s appeal lay in its strong football tradition and rapidly expanding athletic program and facilities, while the university focused on one prepared for a possible move to Division I.
“They definitely have something going,” Cassetti said of UNH. “They are definitely investing a lot of money in their football program. They have a brand new facility (the Peterson Center) which is crazy. I just really liked it.”
The advice Mayor Cassetti gave his son as a young soccer player applies again at UNH. “I told Dave from the start, since he was a little kid you have to start at the bottom and work your way up and prove yourself,” he said. “It’s all up to him.”
Both Romanowski and Kaminski reveled in their college choices, nodding to their younger brothers — freshman lineman Jacob Romanowski and junior end Preston Dzubina — to continue Ansonia’s storied tradition. “Stay in the weight room and he’ll be here for the next three years,” Alex Romanowski said of his brother.
“Preston wants to be there next year too,” Kaminski said of his brother. “You have to keep working and get another championship.”
A number of prominent players announced they would attend state programs as preferred walk-ons, including two state Player of the Year: law quarterback John Neider and Barlow’s Danny Shaban. Neider was the Gatorade and Connecticut High School Coaches Association Player of the Year. Shaban was Register’s Player of the Year.
