Sean Marinan led Xavier football to five state championships between 2002 and 2016 before leaving to coach at Southern Connecticut.

Now Marinan is back at Xavier but things are a little different. Last year, the Falcons went 3-7 and Marinan is rebuilding.

“We’re very much a work in progress,” he said. “I’m trying to temper people’s (expectations) a little bit, not to expect too much too fast. We lost some kids that transferred and we’ve had some injuries. We’re trying to restructure everything from the ground up.”

Marinan is one of the many new football coaches or coaches who have returned to the high school sidelines this season. Dario Highsmith Jr., a former star at Middletown High, is coaching at his alma mater. Brian Mazzone left the Stafford co-op to be an assistant at Enfield,

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