Derby High vs. Shelton High School

Silver Turkey Award Winners

Joe Zoppi of Shelton captured the 2016 award. Zoppi caught a pair of touchdown passes, kicked three field goals and five extra points.

The annual Derby/Shelton Football game doesn't have a Most Valuable Player Award. Instead, it has a tradition all its own in the form of the "Silver Turkey Award" which has been presented every year since the defunct Suburban News first presented the award. The tradition has been carried on by The Valley Times and Valley Publishing.

The award has been given 50 times so far with Shelton players winning 31 times to Derby's 19. Only eight underclassmen have ever won the award, and Jeff Schultz was the only repeat winner having pulled off the feat in 2006 and 2007 until Mark Piccirillo duplicated the feat in 2013. Running backs have dominated the award having won the award 20 times. Quarterbacks are next with nine winners. Shelton players had won the award for seven straight years and ten of the last twelve, until Derby's Ray Kreiger broke the streak in 2011. The seven year streak is the longest by either team in the history of the award.

We want to thank Bill Pucci, former editor of the Valley Times for providing the listing.

Back to Derby/Shelton Rotary