Holidays

Traffic, Parking, Other Rules for Those Attending Turkey Bowl Game on Thanksgiving

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The 2019 Darien-New Canaan Turkey Bowl starts at 10 a.m., Thanksgiving morning at Darien High School, and for the 4,000 people with tickets, there are rules about where to park and how to get onto the high school campus. Expect delays in traffic, so give yourself plenty of time. If you’re one of the lucky people parking on the campus, you got your parking pass with your tickets. Don’t forget to bring it. If you don’t have a parking pass (or forgot to bring it or you lost it or the dog ate it or you left it in your unlocked car and it was stolen overnight), you’re not going to get in.

Holidays

How to Buy Tickets for Turkey Bowl 2019, Coming to Darien High School

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Turkey Bowl 2019 will be held on Thanksgiving morning at 10 a.m. in the Darien High School Stadium. The agreement between Darien and New Canaan to host the Turkey Bowl in Stamford cannot be renewed because this alternate site is unavailable. Following the guidelines set by our first responders, we are limited to 4,000 spectator tickets to be shared between Darien and New Canaan. To accommodate our fans, we are including two temporary sets of bleachers for the game. Although this is a community event, it belongs first to the students and to the student athletes who are participating.  As a result, we will prioritize student ticket sales, and offer remaining tickets to the public.

Public Safety
Seeger Minicus Court dec six seventeen

Probation Agreement Reached for Two Darien Teens Charged After Assault on New Canaan Teen [UPDATED]

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A judge agreed Wednesday to grant probation to two Darien teenagers who were charged in November in connection with the assault on a New Canaan boy, and after community service is completed, there won’t be a record of the criminal case, the attorney for one of the teens said. Editor’s note: This article has been updated at 8:43 p.m., with comments from Jack Joyce’s attorney and with a correction. Attorney Stephen Seeger of Stamford said his client, Brian Minicus, 18, “apologized to the victim and to his own family,” at the hearing in state Superior Court in Norwalk. Minicus had previously apologized to the victim. According to Hearst Newspapers, Minicus said at the court hearing:

“I want to apologize to the victim, my family, especially my mom and dad, and all of Darien.

Public Safety
Joyce Court

Second DHS Student Applies for Accelerated Rehabilitation in Connection with New Canaan Incident

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Jack Joyce, one of the Darien High School students arrested last month following an escalating social media exchange that ended with the assault of a New Canaan juvenile, was applied for a special form of probation Thursday in state Superior Court in Norwalk. Appearing before Judge Alex Hernandez, Joyce’s Norwalk-based attorney, John Thygerson, said the teen is applying for accelerated rehabilitation to address misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer. __________

— This article originally was published by NewCanaanite.com. __________

If granted, the pretrial program—a form of parole—is typically designed to impose specific conditions on Joyce over a period of time that, if met, would result in dismissal of the criminal charges. Wearing a blazer, blue shirt, red tie and khakis, an unsmiling Joyce stood by while Thygerson requested of the court that media outlets seeking to photograph and videotape the proceedings be disallowed from doing so.

Public Safety
Seeger Minicus Court dec six seventeen

DHS Senior Seeks Probation for New Canaan Assault Charges

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One of the Darien High School seniors arrested following the widely discussed assault of a New Canaan juvenile one night last month is seeking a form of probation to address criminal charges leveled against him. An attorney for 18-year-old Brian Minicus said during an appearance at state Superior Court on Wednesday that that his client is applying for accelerated rehabilitation or ‘AR.’

__________

— Most of this article originally were published by NewCanaanite.com. Some information from the Darien News has been added, as noted, along with some comments from Matthew Maddox from the NewCanaanite.com article that weren’t originally in the Darienite.com article. __________

Wearing a light blue shirt, pink-striped tie, tan slacks and blazer, Minicus was sworn in by Judge Alex Hernandez and offered short responses as to standard questions about his own criminal history — he has no prior convictions — and his understanding of the AR program. Minicus is scheduled to appear next on Jan.

Public Safety
Brian Minicus Jack Joyce

In Darien’s Latest Pre-Turkey Bowl Fiasco: How Police Say Juvenile Trash Talk Led to Adult Arrests

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The assault of a New Canaan juvenile this month that resulted in the arrests of three Darien teenagers began with “hostile” and “antagonistic” trash-talking between high school students through text and Snapchat, court documents show. ____________

— This article, in slightly different form, originally was published  by NewCanaanite.com. An editorial from Darienite.com is added at the end of the article. ____________

The evening started when the juvenile victim, hanging out with three friends at one of their houses, received an invite to the Old Kings Highway, New Canaan home to watch a movie. The juvenile began texting and “chirping” via Snapchat with a Darien acquaintance there.

Public Safety
Brian Minicus Jack Joyce

Three Darien Teens, Two of Them Football Players, Arrested After New Canaan Boy Beaten [UPDATED]

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New Canaan police on Wednesday evening arrested three Darien teenagers by warrant following the assault of a boy earlier this month. Brian Minicus, 18, was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful restraint; Jack Joyce, 18, was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer; and a 17-year-old was charged with conspiracy to commit third-degree assault and second-degree unlawful restraint. Police withheld the name of the third offender because of his age.  

Joyce and Minicus play as quarterback and wide receiver, respectively, for the Darien High School football team, and their arrests come on the eve of the Turkey Bowl. It isn’t clear whether or how the arrests will affect their ability to play in the annual Darien-New Canaan rival football game that’s held each Thanksgiving morning, or whether the third teen arrested also is on the Blue Wave roster.

News

Turkey Bowl at Boyle Stadium This Year and Next

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Boyle Stadium at Stamford High School will be the venue for this year’s Turkey Bowl game between Darien and New Canaan football teams and next year’s as well, Darien Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner announced late Tuesday afternoon. The stadium, with a capacity for more than 10,000 spectators, can handle the crowds of football fans from both towns, making it a good fit to host the rivalry, Brenner said. Here’s the announcement:

The Darien Public Schools and the New Canaan Public Schools are pleased to announce that we have secured the use of Boyle Stadium in Stamford to host the 2017 and 2018 Turkey Bowls on Thanksgiving morning each year. With a capacity of over 10,000 spectators, Boyle Stadium is the ideal venue for this traditional rivalry game between the schools, and we are thrilled that our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in this exciting environment. Neither school district’s stadium has such a large capacity, which has resulted in many community members from both towns being turned away from attending the event in the past.

Holidays
Turkey Bowl Tickets sell out 911-21-16

Turkey Bowl Tickets for Darien Sell Out in 5 Minutes (We Beat New Canaan)

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All remaining tickets for the widely anticipated New Canaan-Darien Thanksgiving morning football game sold out in 37 minutes, New Canaan school district officials said. Darien had fewer available tickets than New Canaan, and those sold out even quicker. All 2,800 tickets allocated to New Canaan High School had sold out by 12:37 p.m. Monday, while the 1,900 tickets for Darien sold out by 12:05 p.m., New Canaan High School Athletic Director Jay Egan confirmed. Officials landed on that 60-40 split because the Rams are hosting this year’s Turkey Bowl at Dunning Stadium in New Canaan. Individual students and football families were allowed to purchase tickets in advance, Egan said.

Sports

Darien Football Triumphs Over New Canaan, 28-21, for Turkey Bowl/FCIAC Championship

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By Terry Dinan

Leave it to the career state record holder to leave his mark when it counted the most. With Darien leading New Canaan 28-21 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter of the 2015 FCIAC Championship at Stamford’s Boyle Stadium, Darien defensive end Mark Evanchick dropped Rams quarterback Michael Collins for his first sack of the game, forcing a turnover on downs and all but clinching the conference title for the Blue Wave. ______________

— This article originally was published by NewCanaanite.com. ______________

The Rams would get one more shot to tie the game, but a New Canaan fumble was recovered by Darien at midfield with 1:08 left in the game, sealing the championship for the Wave. It was the second consecutive year the Blue Wave topped the Rams for the FCIAC title, having won last year’s contest by the same 28-21 score.

Holidays

Turkey Bowl Essentials: A Breakdown of the Darien-New Canaan 2015 FCIAC Championship

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Here’s Terry Dinan’s take on the Darien/New Canaan matchup for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl game, also the 2015 FCIAC championship game. This was originally published in NewCanaanite.com, which has allowed us to reprint it here:

By Terry Dinan

When it was generally accepted that last season’s FCIAC Championship would probably be the last in conference history, most agreed that the heart-stopping contest between New Canaan and Darien was a fitting coda to a storied history of title games. Fortunately for area high school football players, coaches and fans, theBlue Wave’s 28-21 win over the Rams last Thanksgiving would not be the final chapter—the FCIAC was able to work things out to salvage the conference championship game, the 50th in league history. And wouldn’t you know what two teams would end up facing each other in the Turkey Bowl in 2015? Yep…you guessed it.

Sports

Ties to Both Darien & New Canaan: Who These Poor, Conflicted Souls Will Root For

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NewCanaanite.com published this article on those unfortunates among us who have divided loyalties, with a little guy with (ram) horns whispering in one ear that they should root for the red team and an angel on their other shoulder recommending they stay true blue:

By Michael Dinan

New Canaan’s rivalry with next-door neighbor Darien finds perhaps its rawest form of expression in the Turkey Bowl, the annual Thanksgiving morning football game between two ultra-competitive and athletic high schools. Set for 10:30 am. this Thursday, at Stamford High School’s Boyle Stadium, the 2015 Turkey Bowl again doubles as the FCIAC championship game (both teams are undefeated this season) and follows a shocking comeback victory for the Blue Wave one year ago. The Rams would regroup and post their own late-game win vs. Darien in the 2014 state final, though many would say there’s something extra-special about the Turkey Bowl itself—a local tradition that sees thousands of NCHS and DHS alumni gather during the family holiday.

Sports
Turkey Bowl pre thumbnail

The Turkey Bowl Cometh: Get Your Tickets, See the Video

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Tickets have gone on sale for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl football game between Darien and New Canaan high schools, and the Darien Athletic Foundation has a video out for Blue Wave Fans. The “Turkey Bowl hype video” (posted on YouTube and shown just below) by DHS Senior Jack Book shows glorious scenes from Darien’s victorious Turkey Bowls to get you ready for next week’s game, to be held at 10:30 a.m. at Boyle Stadium at Stamford High School. Pre-sale tickets are on sale at the Darien High School main entrance until 12:30 p.m. Friday as well as Monday and Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, according to the announcement on the Darien High School website. Tickets cost $8 each. You can also buy tickets at the gate on Thanksgiving Day for $10.