Former Stratford football coach Walt Czekaj passed away Monday night at age 72 from a undisclosed illness.

This is the 20th anniversary of Stratford's only state football championship, winning the Class SS division by beating Sacred Heart 48-2 at Trumbull High School. That Red Devil team, which finished No. 1 in the New Haven Register Top 10 poll, featured the Four Horsemen, current Stratford coach Duane Shirden, Curtis Eller, Pete McKoy and Robert Yearwood.

Czekaj also coached wrestling and was a physical education teacher at Stratford. He also coached football at Norwalk High.

Most importantly, he was a geuine human being who cared about his players and cared about people, especially his students. He will be sorely missed around the Stratford community.