And, finally, we bring you the Elite 8 power rankings for Southwest Connecticut, where, frankly the best football is played year-in, year-out.
I had a real, real, real tough time sifting through my memory, basing what I’ve seen, heard and what I know about our fair region’s top teams, and then matching that up against Friday’s wild proceedings to produce this week’s rankings.
There was, however, no doubt as to my No. 1. New Canaan dissected St. Joseph efficiently and — dare I say — ruthlessly on a rainy afternoon at Dunning Stadium (video highlights, especially for you non-Cablevision subscribers, will be upcoming tomorrow. Sorry I haven’t had much of a chance. Hopefully the Central-Greenwich highlight reel whet the appetite some).
Before we get to the rest of the list, just a quick word on those of you who don’t know: The Elite 8 rankings are strictly southwest Connecticut, which is to say the Connecticut Post’s coverage area for football. This means all of the SWC, all of the FCIAC, the lower-NVL (Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Woodland), the southwest CSC teams (Platt Tech, Bullard Havens, Abbott Tech), and the Western SCC: Fairfield Prep, Shelton, Amity, Milford schools, West Haven, Notre Dame-WH, New Haven schools and Hamden. The Green Dragons and Wilbur Cross are as far east as we go. So no Cheshire, no Wallingford, no Shoreline and no Xavier.
I’d like to include the entire SCC, but we cover 50 schools already, which is already pushing coverage on a Friday night.
Anyway, here’s the quick rundown of the Elite 8 heading into Week 7.
1. New Canaan – Finally got to see the Rams play, and a big game at that. Turner Baty throws an excellent ball and his receivers — especially Cody Newton, who is fly paper every time the Rams are in a tough spot — are fantastic. The lines are tough, the defense is strong. This is a confident group, which understands the best is yet to come. Not too many flaws here… if any at all. They’re No. 1, partially by default given the teams ahead of them going down. Staples and Pomperaug were options, but this was an easy decision.
2. Pomperaug – Probably the surprise of the list, especially since they vault over Staples. I’ve seen Pomperaug twice. Both times they dismantled their SWC opponent. In week 1 they blitzed Stratford and in Week 3 they hammered Bethel–a team that has subsequently handled almost everyone else on its schedule. Pomperaug has one the the best defenses I’ve seen and some of the best collection of players I’ve seen. They’d give anyone in this list a battle, and then some.
3. Staples – Perhaps I’d like them more with Brandon Pacilio still under center. But this is remains a very strong team without him. We’ll learn more about Staples in the next few weeks as new QB Keith Gelman cuts his varsity teeth at QB. Staples’ defense, one of the best I’ve seen this year, should give him ample time to grow.
4. Notre Dame-WH – I dabbled in ranking this wrecking crew higher. They have some of the SCC’s best playmakers and, frankly, frittered away that Week 2 game against Xavier. Since then, they’ve been on a big-time roll. Their blitz of Wilbur Cross last week was, perhaps, the most impressive performance of the week. This is a team that’s only motivated itself after falling to Xavier. I like the Green Knights more and more each week.
5. Hamden – My former No. 1 Green Dragons… what to say? That game was theirs for the taking last week, but Xavier seems to have exposed some cracks in their armor. The offense really hasn’t exploded the way we thought. Jordan Teague‘s ankle injury hasn’t helped (then again he still ran for over 100 yards against Xavier) and the passing game can be suspect at times. The defense, however, is outstanding. It did everything it could in last week’s game. It can’t play any better. The SCC Division I is a brutal, unforgiving league. I’ll take Hamden’s 5-1 resume over most.
No. 6 Greenwich – The Cardinals have been impressive in all but a game. Last week’s performance against Central was one of their worst I’ve seen in a long time: Misthrown balls, critical turnovers and a sudden inability to stop the run. Yet, after all that, the Cardinals still were in a position to win — or at least tie — the game. Central just played better. There are some flaws to fix, but I’m going to give the Cardinals a pass for now. Central was their third straight road game and, perhaps, were preoccupied over what Central couldn’t do against Trumbull (a team it handled rather easily) to think about what Central could do to them. Greenwich losses are rare, they may not be as good as New Canaan at this point, but they’re still pretty darn good.
No. 7 Masuk – I thought Masuk would have a much easier time with Stratford and, for awhile, they did until Stratford tied up what was once a 21-0 game. Remember, this is still a very young bunch and it’s going to make some errors. But when push came to shove, Masuk showed it knows how to respond to a challenge. The run game has probably been the team’s most impressive weapon thus far (Colin Markus is going to be a good player for a long time). Masuk may have run more, especially if Anthony Giaimo‘s injury keeps him out for an extended period. The defense has been prone to giving up real estate, but their second-half performance vs. Stratford was a step in the right direction.
No. 8 Central — Where to rank the suddenly resurgent Hilltoppers. They clearly deserve to get in here because they clearly showed they stack up with anyone. There were some moments against Greenwich that made you scratch your head over how the Hilltoppers could have lost to Trumbull so decisively. Maybe they really need to feature Christon Gill more as a runner than a passer and get him into an open field? That 9-play, third-quarter drive on the ground that gave Central the lead against Greenwich was a thing of beauty. You just don’t see teams push Greenwich around like that. The defense can be very good. Still, the Trumbull loss is still fresh in our heads. We’d like to see Central go toe-to-toe with New Canaan before they can make a real dent in the rankings.
So, there you go… one man’s thoughts on where our regional teams stand heading into Week 7. Again, tough call on how to rank them. As we’ve seen, nothing is certain. We can guarantee this: there will more shakeups in the weeks ahead.
finally the rams are where they belong, but i still think the game of the year is NC vs. The BIRD. two weeks cant come fast enough!
Nov. 6, 2009 Greenwich vs. New Canaan. Red and white all over the stadium. Two proud programs going toe to toe and my wife wants me to rake the leaves. Is she kidding me or what. Get their early!!
where’s the mailman? FEAR THE MAILMAN.
Hard to argue with you. I guess I would agree with you on this rating. After such a crazy week – anything is possible. I’ll be honest, the state is well-balanced, but I haven’t see a truly DOMINANT team out there. I think it’s a down year talent wise across the state. I haven’t seen Pomperaug yet, but will probably wait for SWC Championship for that. Masukrules will say “Masuk should be higher” but where polls are concerned, you must beat lesser opponents with decisiveness at least on one side of the ball. They haven’t established that consistently this year. Thanks for the attention to HS Football Sean!
The Wreckers loom for NC,Staples will take down NC if the Rams make it to the title game,they have to get by Greenwich and Central first(these are not MM cupcake teams)…I think if SPB did a poll of the greatest game played this decade it would be the 2005 Staples @ NC game, many dub this the “Slence of the Rams”,after chanting “overated,overated” the NC folks had no idea what would take place in the final minutes/seconds as the Wreckers pulled one out for the ages on the last play of the game to give them a 28-24 win ,I am sure many would have bet their country club memberships that the game was in the bag!
if the championship game comes down to NC vs. Staples then the wreckers are in big trouble. Nobody has been able to contain NC’s offense this season. Even if Staples holds NC to a season low 28pts or so that still means the wreckers need to score more then that to win. Not gonna happen. Staples better worry about Ludlowe because they are going to lose that game, and NC better worry about the BIRD or they will ruin a second perfect run. I dont see a team in NC’s path that can beat them, except for themselves that is. Coaching is just too good and NC has too many weapons.
p.s the wreckers QB was over the line when he threw that ball, it shouldnt have counted…2 of the refs were from westport coincidentaly
Off the top of my head, a few memorable games I’ve seen live as a high school reporter:
2005 — Staples at New Canaan (reg season)
2006 — Bunnell vs. Staples (Class L championship) — My personal favorite
2002 — West Haven vs. Greenwich (Class LL championship)
2003 — West Haven vs. Danbury (Class LL semifinals)
2004 — New Britain vs. Greenwich (Class LL championship)
2005 — Woodland vs. Brookfield (Class SS championship)
2001 — Notre Dame-WH at West Haven
2002 — Ridgefield at Amity (Class L semifinals)
…
SPB lets add NC vs Hand 2007 final to that mix as well. i’m sure there are many others we could add.
I wasn’t there live (I was at Ansonia-New London) …but I did catch that game on TV. Amazing.
It sounds like your not sold on Staples, they’re ranked too high, I would have them 5th behind Hamden.
About #1. NC and Popmeraug are definelty well-oiled machines. Though NC is like a Swiis watch, very percise with delicate movements. Pomperaug on the other hand is a German Panzer Tank! Beware the “Hammer”!
Good analogy.
SPB – Glad to see that Bunnell – Staples game is still up there on the list. My personal favorite as well, probably the best football game I’ve been too. I did hear that NC – Hand game in 07 was a good one too.
Bunnell and Masuk should be higher. As for the Bunnell-Staples championship game, I smile every time its mentioned. Of course no disrespect to Staples, they had a great team and are a great program.
This year’s NDWH-Cheshire game was not too bad. Still hard to believe
NDWH did not come away with a “W” against Xavier.
NC was a much better “team” last year. The X factor for them this year is Baty. He is a very very good QB. However, he tends to make mistakes when flushed (St Joe’s should have had 3 picks on him) and doesn’t like to get hit. A team with athletic DB’s that can bring pressure will give them fits (think the Giants against NE).
Their running game is very average and they are small up front (other than Hanratty) and at LB. They also don’t seem to have any kicking game at all. A team that can pound them with the run and control the clock would win – think Pomp or Staples. Staples had this game plan last year with a 6-5 team and almost took down NC.
Then again Baty could throw for 450 yards and 5 TD’s and they still win.
danbury had west haven beat that game,dropped td in endzone,thge last time they made a dent as well,oh the memories
great points Patriot – I’d agree all the way around on that. baty is much more deadly in a straight drop back – injuries have made that line a lot smaller than they were at the beginning of the year
I think the one thing they need to get him to do on the roll out is throw the ball away. A lot of the problem seems to be that he just wants to wait until that last second to try to find someone open
i like the anology of comparing the rams to the patriots, thank you. i am not sure being called a Swatch is a compliment, cant they be more like a rolex or a Patek Phillipe.
PatPatriot, we may just get to see an NC vs. Staples FCIAC Chapionship game, so we will get to put your theory to the test. I think NC wins that game…but im also biased. I also believe Staples may lose to Ludlowe this week.
Cardinals vs. New Canaan is my bet – don’t be fooled by one off night, SPB! Hmm, a QB who doesn’t like to be hit, that is interesting, PatPatriot.
Watching the highlights of the New Canaan game I appreciate the way they run their offense even more than I did while standing in the rain. TJ put it correctly, when he likened them to a Swiss watch.
Not a SWATCH, but a Swiss watch….Rolex/Patek-Phillipe ARE Swiss watches.
Yeah that 2006 Bunnell-Staples game was one of the best I have ever seen.