On Top of His Game

When Kevin Morse was a boy playing for the Milford Pop Warner Elks, people told him that he would excel in football.  He took that advice and ran with it just like it was a fumbled football.

"I started playing for the Elks when I was 10 years old.  I was a running back and I led the league in touchdowns and yards gained.  I averaged four touchdowns a game," Morse said.

After the Elks, Morse, 25, went on to play football for Jonathan Law HS and always had aspirations of taking his game to the next level.  So it was a dream come true when Morse tried out and made the Connecticut Bearcats, a Wallingford-based minor-league football team, as starting rookie linebacker.

He loves the game.

"I get to take out my aggression in a controlled atmosphere," Morse said.  "Then there's the team camaraderie, like going into battle."

He scored points early in the minor league.

"I saw that the ball came loose, I picked it up and just ran with it.  That was my first touchdown for the Connecticut Bearcats," Morse said.

Halfway through the season, Morse was leading the team in sacks.  Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, he and his team won the New England Football League Colonial Conference Championship.

Now, the Bearcats have the opportunity to take their team even farther.  Tomorrow, at 4 p.m, the Connecticut Bearcats will take on the New York City Falcons, champion of New York's Five Star Football League, in Riccitelli Field at Sheehan HS in Wallingford. 

"I would love to see all my friends from Milford show up to support the team," Morse said.

The winner of the Harvest Bowl will have the chance to play in a National Championship in Orlando, Fla.

But football isn't the only thing happening in Morse's life right now.  In October, he completed his technical training at Porter and Chester Institute and is now working full-time in the HVAC field.  Morse also has two beautiful young boys, Kadin and Kamrin, with his long-time girlfriend and now fiance, Roxann Dimaio.

"I would love to see my kids play football when they are ready.  It is great discipline and it teaches teamwork and responsibility," Morse said.

Things have not always been this good for Morse, however.  Throughout high-school and shortly after, Morse struggled with drug addiction.  He had trouble turning his life around for a time, and seemed lost.  But with the birth of his children and hard work in sobriety, Morse is in remarkable recovery. 

He has been sober for two years and now works with the schools educating children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  The mayor has recognized him for extraordinary community service with Operation Habitat and the restoration of Walker Pond. 

"Kevin was always very involved with building strong relationships with the kids," said Annaliese Spaziano, a Milford public school teacher, who was assigned to oversee the restoration activities. 

"He taught them team-building and went above and beyond his duties.  I think it is very admirable what Kevin is trying to do."

Now, Morse is trying to carry his message to even more students by bringing the "Who Am I" Conference to Milford's high schools.  "Who Am I" is an educational program which Morse and his friend, Laura Costillo, formed this year to teach kids about respect and strong morals, and to help them find out who they are and what they want to do in life. 

"We want to know what these kids want to do, and then offer them the resources to achieve their goals," Morse said.

"I am so proud of him," his fiance Dimaio said.  "We all believed in him, and never gave up.  He's an amazing role model for Kadin and Kamrin."