SPB's High School Football

The SWC quarters had no upsets as No. 5 New Fairfield, No. 6 Pomperaug, No. 7 Weston and No. 8 ND-Fairfield all lost. So now we’ve got one more round until round until the Finals. Will we have a Stratford-Kolbe rematch in the title game? Here’s what I think.

No. 3 Newtown vs. No. 2 Kolbe
All about Newtown: Newtown is tough. They play very physical and look for contact on almost every play. Newtown could’ve beat KC on Feb. 9 but missed 18 free throws and turned the ball over twice in the last 20 seconds en route to a 63-62 loss. Casey Tenney is a solid ball handler who can score inside and out. Tenney dropped 21 on KC in a losing effort. Josh Engler is also a threat on the Newtown team.
All about KC: Even though the Cougars had a close game against Newtown, KC did seize control taking 9-point and 10-point leads at certain points of the game. Newtown, on the other hand, never seemed to have a firm grip on the game. KC only won by a point but could have won by more as it shot 3-10 from the line in the last minute of the game.
Prediction: KC 69-64
No. 4 Masuk vs. No. 1 Stratford
All about Masuk: Masuk lost to the Red Devils 64-42 on Jan. 15 and gave up 14 pts, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks to Brandon “The Big Shakespeare” Sherrod. The Panthers were all but shut down with no one scoring in double digits. Hard to envision a different outcome on Tuesday.
All about Stratford: Stratford dominated Masuk in the second half on Jan. 12. After leading 29-23 at the break, Stratford outscored Masuk 18-6 in the third. The Panthers really can’t hang with Stratford for 32 minutes. The only teams that can in the SWC are KC and maybe Newtown.
Prediction: Stratford 71-59

Unofficial quarterfinal awards
Baller of the quarterfinals, Brandon “The Big Shakespeare” Sherrod, Stratford: Had 14 pts, 17 rebounds and 13 blocks in a 57-46 win over ND-Fairfield.
From way downtown…bang award, Danny Carmichael, KC: Hit five 3′s and scored a game-high 33 points to lead KC to a74-59 win over Weston.
Stopper of the quarterfinals, Jalen Graham, Masuk: Had three blocks in Masuk’s 58-44 win over New Fairfield.

The Quarters came, went and took four teams fishing with it. No. 3 Harding, No. 5 Trumbull, No. 7 Trinity and No. 8 Ridgefield lost in a quarterfinal that didn’t come with many surprises, other than the Presidents losing. Let’s see who will be fishing after Tuesday. Start the boat!

No. 6 Stamford vs. No. 2 St. Joseph
All about Stamford: Marc Guirand came through with a layup with nine seconds left to help Stamford pull off the only upset of the day over Harding. The Black Knights got creamed by the Cadets just about a month ago (86-67, Feb. 12). SJ starts slow, so the Black Knights will have to take advantage of that or they could be out of it by halftime.
All about SJ: Timajh Parker has played so well that he’s earned himself a nickname (from me of course). Now when you see Parker, call him “too easy,” becasue basketball is just way too simple for this guy. 30 pts, 12 rbs and four blks against TC. The Cadets will need to get a hand in Guirand’s face, he hit seven 3′s in a losing effort on Feb. 12.
Prediction: St. Joseph 84-71

No. 4 Bassick vs. No. 1 Central
All about Bassick: As Ja’mill Powell’s mom told me after Bassick’s win over Trumbull, “we got them when it counted.” The Lions did just that and looked good in the second half over Trumbull outscoring the Eagles 47-32. But Bassick looked ugly against Central on Jan. 22 in a 65-57 loss where the Lions turned the ball over 37 times. However, Bassick is very long and Kyle Geer can bang in the paint with Jerome Parkins. Also the sg matchup of Powell and Jerry Washington (Central) is pretty even.
All about Central: Obviously Central plowed through Ridgefield 66-34 but, Central won’t have such an easy time with Bassick. Both these teams match up evenly at just about every position. This game will come down to defense, a battle that Central won last time. Although the Hilltoppers turned the ball over 21 times, they forced 37 Lions’ miscues.
Prediction: Central 74-59
Unofficial quarterfinal awards
Baller of the quarterfinals, Timajh “too easy” Parker, St. Joseph: Scored a game-high 30 points grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots.
From way downtown…bang award, Julian Sanders, Trumbull: In a losing effort, Sanders nailed four treys.
Stoppers of the quarterfinals award, Central: It’s defense only gave up double digits in the fourth quarter (11) and the Hilltoppers were the only team to not lose a quarter on Saturday.