Week 1 high school football wrap-up: Tautkus 2.0 era off to solid start at Ellington

Sep. 13—ELLINGTON — Keith Tautkus has been on the sidelines of Ellington High's football field countless times before.

Friday night was no different, as Tautkus began his second stint as the Knights' coach.

At the same time, Friday night was about as different as it could possibly be.

"I have to tell you it was a little emotional coming back here for the first time as a head coach since (son) Austin passed away," Tautkus said. "I've been on the sideline (since), but it's still not the same as it being your program again. It was emotional for me. I'm excited to be here again. I'm excited to get this going again."

Tautkus, who takes over the team from Sean Byrne, most recently served as an assistant to Erick Knickerbocker at Rockville High in 2018 and 2019.

But when the head job at Ellington opened up, he couldn't resist.

"I was still willing to throw some more years into coaching," Tautkus said. "And having the opportunity to come back home, it was something that was just exciting. I mean, I love Rockville. I love coaching with Erick. I love those kids over there...But I would feel guilty if I could do something to make this program better and I was somewhere else, because this is home."

Tautkus, a 1974 graduate of Ellington High, was the team's first coach when it was started in 1999. Following two JV seasons, the Knights became a full varsity program in 2001.

Over the next 12 seasons, Tautkus posted an 83-42 record and led the Knights to their first two Class M playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012.

Following the 2012 season, Tautkus elected to move on from the team in order to watch his son Austin — who graduated from Ellington High in 2013 — play in college.

Austin continued his career at Western Connecticut State University, playing for one season before succumbing to injuries he sustained in an ATV accident in June 2014 at age 18.

Tautkus, who moved to Western Connecticut State with Austin, continued to serve as an assistant defensive line coach until 2016.

After Knickerbocker — an Ellington football alumnus — became Rockville's head coach in 2018, he brought Tautkus on as an assistant. Tautkus spent two seasons with the Rams before taking the Ellington job in March.

When asked if he ever thought he'd be a head coach again, Tautkus answered without hesitation.

"No. I had no desire to be a head coach again. Frankly, I was quite happy being a position coach and letting someone else handle all the crap that goes on as head coach. Let them do that, I was happy with that."

But now that he's back, Tautkus hopes he can bring the Knights back to their past levels of success.

"I think we can," Tautkus said. "We've got to get our numbers up, and there's a lot of banging on classroom doors and talking to kids and going to the middle school. I think we have 15, 16 freshmen. We'll see how many of them stay as players. But we're excited about that young group we have. They've worked hard."

The Knights took the first step towards that goal with Friday's 40-6 thrashing of the Coventry co-op in the season opener.

And even though Austin wasn't there physically Friday, Tautkus still felt his son with him.

"I talked to him a little bit down there and said 'I hope you're with me, and help me out,'" Tautkus said. "I think he did."

Even though it's been only one game, Tautkus said that the 2021 Knights compare to some of his past teams, particularly with the amount of talent the team has at the skill positions.

"I would say that this is one of the hardest working teams I've had," he added. "I think that's why if they continue to work and keep earning the right to win, I think they'll be okay. But they've got to keep after it. It's just one game."

When asked how long he's planning to stay with the Knights this time, Tautkus, who turned 65 in August, chuckled.

"I'll be here for a couple years," he said. "I don't know how long that's going to be. You know, family situations change and whatever. I don't how long, but right now, all I know is I'm having fun."

Big-time assistant coaches

One of the spectators patrolling the sidelines at Friday night's game between the Windsor High football team and Manchester was former Warriors defensive lineman Chris Baker. Baker played at Penn State and Hampton before spending nine seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Washington Football Team, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cincinnati Bengals from 2009-2018.

Baker, who recorded 12 sacks and 214 tackles in his NFL career, has helped coach his alma mater since the summer.

"When I made some mistakes (against Manchester), he came over and talked to me," Windsor junior quarterback Elijah Cromartie said. "And he's really helping the defensive linemen. It's great to have that NFL experience around us."

Several other former Windsor players, including safety Tyler Coyle, who played at UConn and Purdue and is now on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, and cornerback Jason Pinnock, who played at Pittsburgh and was drafted in the fifth round (No. 175 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, have also returned to assist coach Rob Fleeting and his staff.

"(Baker) has been great," Fleeting said. "He and the other guys have been working hard with our kids. In the summer, they got the kids together and worked with them. We have great alumni buy-in, which is really helpful."

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