We press on with the final two classes of the CIAC state quarterfinal draw.
In Class M, which has strengthened considerably in recent weeks, we have a defending state champ vs. a young but talented SCC Division II power.
We have a pair of playoff babies in Plainville and Gilbert/Northwestern, who have played in a grand total of one playoff game in their histories. Plainville might be the feel-good story of the tournament. Having gone 1-19 in its two previous seasons, they’re in the playoffs with a new coach. They go into the tournament, however, without their starting QB.
On the other side of the draw, we have Brookfield, an SWC power just two years removed from a state title taking on Lyman Hall, SCC school making its second playoff trip, but still hobbled somewhat by the absence of three key players. Finally, we have a CCC upstart in Platt vs. an ECC power in New London that is only three years removed from its title.
Class S looks weaker than previously thought a few weeks ago, with many of the teams backing into the tournament draw. Hyde takes a three-game losing streak into its game with Ansonia, the state’s all-time leader in playoff appearances. The Chargers looked dominant throughout before getting bumped off by Naugatuck on Thanksgiving.
We have Sacred Heart, the state’s only 6-4 team to make the field, but on that’s led by the best passing duo in the state. The Hearts, making their first playoff appearance in 22 years takes on one of the surprise teams of the tournament, Valley Regional/Old Lyme — dominant at 10-0 and having the best season in school history.
We have both of last year’s Class SS finalists, Montville and St. Joseph in the draw. Montville, playing as well as anyone in the state, takes on Cromwell. St. Joseph, out of the FCIAC, hobbles into its state quarterfinal to take on Jack DeBiase and Woodland.
Again, read the synopsis, make your pick and add your comments on who you think will advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
Class M
No. 8 Hillhouse at No. 1 Berlin
WHERE — Sage Park, Berlin
RECORDS — Hillhouse 7-3 (SCC Division II West runners-up); Berlin 10-0 (CCC Division III champion)
PLAYOFF RECORD — Hillhouse 6-2; Berlin: 3-12
LAST APPEARANCE – Hillhouse: 2008 (lost to Darien in Class MM semifinals 35-32); Berlin: 2009 (defeated Bethel 46-6 in Class M championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH –Hillhouse: Fresh. RB Harold Cooper (1,000+ yards rushing); Sr. RB/LB Taurese Washington; Sr. WR/DB/K Steven Dejournett; Sr. OL/DL Tyvon Williams (6-0, 365); Soph. QB Je’Vaughn Moore. Berlin: Sr. RB/LB Max DeLorenzo (1,174 yards rushing, 18 TD); Sr. LB Mason Powers (6-2, 210); Sr. OL/DL Joe Dellaquila (6-3, 220)
KEY STATS – All-state back Max DeLorenzo is committed to UConn. …Berlin averages 40 points (5th best in the state) and allows just over 11 per game. It’s closest victory was 12-6 over Bloomfield. The Redcoats have won 12-straight dating to last year’s playoffs. …Hillhouse is playing in its second state playoff under coach Tom Dyer. Hillhouse has won 2 state titles and is 5-2 in the state playoffs since 2002. …The Academics have won three straight since a 9-6 loss to No. 1 Xavier.
THE PICK – Berlin 35-14
No. 5 Plainville at No. 4 Gilbert/Northwestern
WHERE – Robert H. Frost Complex, Torrington High School
RECORDS – Plainville 8-2 (CCC Division IV co-champions), Gilbert/Northwestern 8-2 (Pequot Uncas runner-up).
PLAYOFF RECORD – Plainville 0-1; Gilbert/Northwestern 0-0
LAST APPEARANCE — Plainville: 1997 (lost to Platt 18-11 in 1997 Class M semifinals). Gilbert/Northwestern: First appearance.
PLAYERS TO WATCH –Plainville: Sr. OL/DE Kevin Spence (6-0, 200); Jr. RB Adam Foster; Jr. FB/DE Chris Kuzia; Sr. FB/LB/QB Ross Zettergren; Sr. OL/DL Leon Stefanski; Gilbert/Northwestern: Jr. OL/LB J.P. Dulac (8 sacks); Jr. RB Devon Molway (1,210 yards rushing, 10 TD); Sr. WR/DB Drew McCarthy (5 INT).
THINGS TO KNOW – Neither team has ever won a playoff game. …Plainville coach Chris Ferrell is in his first year. Plainville was 0-10 and gave up 397 yards last season. This season, Plainville has allowed just 121. …Plainville won seven straight at midseason, including its first home win in three years, before a Thanksgiving loss to Northwest Catholic. …Plainville lost QB Tony Lopizzo for the season with a knee injury suffered in that game. …Gilbert has rushed for 2,082 yards and 23 TDs this season and has registered 33 sacks, second-best recorded in the state behind Masuk. The Yellowjackets have also made 13 interceptions.
THE PICK – Gilbert/Northwestern 28, Plainville 7
No. 6 Lyman Hall at No. 3 Brookfield
WHERE – Brookfield High School Stadium Field
RECORDS – Lyman Hall 7-3 (SCC Division II West runners-up), Brookfield 8-2 (SWC third-place)
PLAYOFF RECORD – Lyman Hall 1-0; Brookfield 7-4
LAST APPEARANCE — Lyman Hall: 1985 (defeated Middletown 28-18 in Class M championship); Brookfield: 2008 (defeated Ledyard 16-14 in Class M championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Lyman Hall: Jr. RB Joe Desandre (1,114 yards, 13 TD rushing); Sr. RB/DB Zac Falconeri (1,1138 yards, 18 TD); Sr. QB/CB Kyle Upton; Sr. RB/LB Billy Graeb Brookfield: Sr. WR/DB Brian Kelly (19 catches, 542 yards, 10 TD; 300 yards rushing 4 TD; 9 INT, 3 defensive TDs); Soph. RB/LB Leaon Gordon (1,161 yards, 14 TD rushing); Soph. QB Boeing Brown (1,057 yards 15 TD); Sr. TE/LB Shea McGorty (6 sacks); Sr. OL/DL Dion Koumoutseus (6-3, 300); Sr. DB/WR Nick Paez.
THINGS TO KNOW – Brookfield is making its fifth state playoff appearance under coach Rich Angarano. …Brookfield’s Brown took over as the starter after a week 1 loss to Newtown. …Brookfield is recorded as the No. 10 rushing offense in the state with 2,570 yards …Brookfield has won seven straight since a 49-7 loss to Masuk, scoring more than 40 points in four of those games. ..Gordon has run for over 200 yards in his last two games. …Desandre and Falconeri are only the second pair in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season. …Lyman hall won six straight games at midseason, including a 28-20 victory over fellow Class M playoff team Hillhouse. …Three Lyman Hall players were suspended 10 days for violation of school policy the day before Thanksgiving.
THE PICK – Brookfield 28-14
No. 7 Platt at No. 2 New London
WHERE – Canamella Field, New London
RECORDS – New London 8-2 (ECC Large Division runners-up); Platt 8-2 (CCC Division III third-place).
PLAYOFF RECORD – New London 7-6; Platt 1-3
LAST APPEARANCE — New London: 2009 (lost to Bethel 42-6 in Class M semifinals); Platt: 2004 (lost to Branford 54-14 in Class MM semifinal).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Platt: Sr. RB/LB Henry Jackson (623 yards, 8 TDs rushing); Jr. QB/CB John Marks (1,625 yards, 13 TD passing); Kahari Davis; Sr. OL/DL Anthony Sanders; New London: Sr. QB Josh Clements (1,400 yards, 20 TDs); Jr. RB/LB Kyle McKinnon (900 yards rushing, 13 TD); Sr. FB/LB Stefan Dance; Sr. WR/DB Garrick McQueen; Sr. LB Carlos Lozada.
THINGS TO KNOW – Platt is ranked No. 20 in passing offense. …Platt’s only losses were to Division III rivals Bristol Eastern (28-20) and Berlin (45-14). …New London averages 32 points per game, and just 11 points per game. …The Whalers won eight straight during the season, its only losses were to Montville in the season opener and NFA on Thanksgiving.
THE PICK – New London 49-6
♦♦♦♦
Class S
No. 8 Sacred Heart at No. 1 Valley Regional/Old Lyme
WHERE – Valley Regional High School, Deep River
RECORDS – Sacred Heart 6-4; Valley Regional/Old Lyme 10-0 (Pequot Sassaucus champion)
PLAYOFF RECORD – Sacred Heart 1-2; Valley Regional/Old Lyme 0-0.
LAST APPEARANCE — Sacred Heart: 1991 (lost to Stonington in Class SS championship); Valley Regional/Old Lyme: First appearance.
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Sacred Heart: Soph. WR/DB David Coggins (78 catches, 1,417 yards, 9 TDs; Sr. QB Rohan Ifill (2,607 yards, 24 TD, 14 INT); Valley: Jr. QB Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn (2,262 yards total offense, 24 TD passing, 26 TD rushing); Sr. DE/TE Mitchell King (6-6, 232); Sr. OL/DE Cavan Flynn.
THINGS TO KNOW– Sacred Heart’s Coggins and Ifill form the top passing-catching combo in the state. Both are No. 1 in their respective categories. …Ifill is No. 1 in the state in total offense. …Coggins, considered one of the top sophomore talents in the country, is back from a 1-game suspension for fighting during a Week 9 win over Woodland. …Fairfield-Sonn, a converted wide receiver, is No. 9 in total offense. …King has offers from Tulae and Temple, and receiving interest from several other Division I schools. …Valley Regional has allowed just 55 points this season, lowest total in the state, and is ranked No. 10 in total offense. …Sacred Heart has allowed 28 points per game while scoring 31 points per game.
THE PICK – Sacred Heart 36, Valley Regional/Old Lyme 34
No. 5 Woodland at No. 4 St. Joseph
WHERE – Taft Field at Fairfield Ludlowe
RECORDS – Woodland 7-3, St. Joseph 7-3
PLAYOFF RECORD – Woodland 4-1; St. Joseph 10-2
LAST APPEARANCE — Woodland: 2007 (lost to Seymour 46-28 in Class SS semifinal); St. Joseph: 2009 (defeated Montville 14-3 in Class SS championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Woodland: Sr. QB/DB Jack DeBiase (6 INT; 1,384 yards, 13 TD rushing; 819 yards passing); Jr. OL/DL Zack Plourde; Jr. DL Jeff Holder; Sr. TE/LB Zach Happy; Sr. RB/DB Jake Pinhoe; St. Joseph: Sr. FB/LB Tyler Matakevich; Sr. QB Joe Della Vecchia (2,395 yards, 27 TD passing, 522 yards rushing, 4 TD); Sr. WR/DB Quinn Irwin; Sr. RB/DB Joe Burns; Sr. WR/DB Pat Mulligan (12 TD); Sr. RB/LB L.J. Hunt (724 yards rushing); Sr. LB Sean Chinova.
THINGS TO KNOW – Woodland is No. 7 in the state in rushing offense, with 2,669 yards per game. …DeBiase converted from tailback to quarterback this season and is No. 11 in total offense. …St. Joseph is no. 7 in total offense, but allows 25 points per game. …Della Vecchia is questionable with an ankle injury suffered in the Thanksgiving finale vs. Trumbull, as are two linemen. …Matakevich, an all-state pick as a junior, missed the first five games of the season with a broken foot. St. Joseph is 4-1 with him in the lineup. …St. Joseph’s losses were to Wilton, Darien and Trumbull. …Woodland’s losses were to Ansonia, Wolcott and Sacred Heart. …Both teams claim a victory over Class L combatants New Canaan (St. Joseph) and Naugatuck (Woodland). …St. Joseph is 3-0 over NVL teams in the last two years, including a 57-7 victory over Holy Cross in last year’s semifinals.
THE PICK – St. Joseph 34-20
No. 6 Hyde at No. 3 Ansonia
WHERE — Jarvis Stadium at Nolan Field, Ansonia
RECORDS – Hyde 7-3 (Pequot Sassaucus fourth-place), Ansonia 9-1 (NVL runners-up)
PLAYOFF RECORD – Hyde 8-3; Ansonia 24-13
LAST APPEARANCE — Hyde: 2009 (defeated Northwesth Catholic 21-0 in Class S championship); Ansonia: 2009 (lost to Northwest Catholic 24-0 in Class S semifinal).
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Hyde: Jr. OL/DL Robert Fairweather (9 sacks); Sr. OL/LB Marquis Lee; Jr. QB/S James Baker-Howard; Soph. RB Gary Ormond; Jr. RB/LB Devan Dolphin. Ansonia: Sr. RB Montrell Dobbs (2,397 yards, 26 TD rushing); Jr. QB Eliot Chudwick (21 TD passing); Fresh. RB/DB Arkeel Newsome (661 yards, 10 TDs rushing); Jr. TE/DE Sean Rowley; Jr. LB Tyler Wood; Soph. WR/DE Andrew Matos.
THINGS TO KNOW – Hyde, the defending class champion, started the season 7-0, but enters the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. …it scored just 20 points combined in the three losses. …Overall, Hyde has scored just 164 points (16.4 average), worst of any playoff team. …Ansonia won nine straight before losing the season final to Naugatuck. …Dobbs is the state’s leading rusher, leading scorer (21 ppg), and the team’s only senior. …He has rushed for over 300 yards four times, and over 200 yards seven times. …Ansonia is No. 2 in rushing offense (behind Montville) and No. 5 in total offense. …It allows 22.0 points per game.
THE PICK – Ansonia 40-6
No. 7 Cromwell at No. 2 Montville
WHERE – Montville High School Turf Field
RECORDS – Cromwell 7-3, Montville 9-1
PLAYOFF RECORD — Cromwell 4-4; Montville 2-5
LAST APPEARANCE — Cromwell: 2008 (defeated Ansonia 14-12 in Class S championship); Montville: 2009 (lost to St. Joseph 14-3 in Class SS championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH –Cromwell: Jr. QB Anthony Morales; Jr. WR/DB Brett Director; Sr. WR/DB Lorenzo Hart; Montville: Sr. RB/LB Tyler Girard-Floyd (1,575 yards, 22 TD rushing); Sr. RB/DB Skyler McNair (548 yards, 7 TD rushing); QB/DB Troy Nunes (879 yards, 11 TD passing); Sr. TE/LB Cody Bigelow; Sr. RB/DE Elijah Brown; Jr. LB Ken Strecker.
THINGS TO KNOW – Montville has the No. 1-ranked recorded rushing offense in the state (3,149 yards, 41 TDs) and the No. 3 scoring offense in the state behind Masuk and New Canaan. …The Indians’ only loss was 24-14 to Fitch in Week 3. …Cromwell coach Lou Bronk is in his first season. He took over for Sal Morello, who started the program 10 years ago and won a state championship before taking over at Middletown this summer. …Cromwell opened the season 0-2, but has won seven of eight games. …It’s only other loss was 29-28 to Haddam-Killingworth in OT two weeks ago.
THE PICK – Montville 42-13
How are the Connecticut classes broken up? Is there a set number or do they put the Largest XX number of teams in LL, and XX number of teams in L… Either way, what does the enrollment breaks end up being.
I saw that New Canaan has an enrollment of about 1218… Does CT use grades 9-11 to determine Classification or all four grades? Thanks.
SPB said: “THINGS TO KNOW – Woodland is No. 7 in the state in rushing offense, with 2,669 yards per game.”
Really? Sign me up!!!
What a shock! Sean Patrick Boring picked all FCIAC teams to win!
Really, dude? You’re going to nitpick a typo?
SPBoring calls out Remm-dogg…alert the media.
@John Malone – page 8 has the info you’re looking for, along with the #of boys enrolled in grades 9-12 for each school.
http://www.casciac.org/tournament_packets/fb1011.pdf
Errors have been fixed. You guys try doing 16 playoff capsules on every playoff team, many of which you haven’t even seen this season. We filled in the gaps with information based on statistics. Deadline approaches, errors are made. Thanks for your input.
A job well done, indeed. That is more work than I would like to handle.
Where are you headed tomorrow?
Hillhouse 18 Berlin 14: I know DeLorenzo is great, but Hillhouse is a quality team. I have to pick an upset somewhere, why not here?
Plainville 28 Gilbert 21: I guess? I have no idea. Whoever wins is going to get crushed in the 2nd round regardless.
Brookfield 35 Lyman Hall 16: A competitive game without the suspensions. With them? Not so much. Kelly runs wild.
New London 34 Platt 20: Two very athletic teams go at it in what could be a very good game. Look out for McKinnon of New London. I saw him way back in the Staples/Bunnell/New London scrimmage and he was the best player on the field that day.
Valley 34 Sacred Heart 19: I rode the Sacred Heart bandwagon all year, but I’m hopping off here. Too much defense for Valley.
Woodland 28 St. Joes 24: I’ve seen St. Joes three times this year (Darien, New Canaan, Trumbull) everytime their defense started off strong then fell off dramatically after the half. Woodland has enough that if they are able to handle the expected Cadets fast start, they can pull it out.
Ansonia 42 Hyde 6: Dobbs and Ansonia bounce back against a Hyde team that has fallen off the face of the Earth.
Montville 35 Cromwell 14: Montville has some monsters, if they can keep away from mistakes they should not only be fine for this game, they should be able to run the table.
Class S:
Sacred Heart @ Valley Regional: 30-14 Valley. Sacred Heart wants to win? Knock Fairfield-Sonn out of the game. Seen both teams play and while Sacred Heart can win this game Valley is the better team. Not sure how Sacred Heart is going to deal with four 6’3″-6’6″ wideouts. It’ll be a good game. This is where I’ll be tomorrow.
Woodland @ St Joes: Pickum. I’ve seen St Joes on tape once and haven’t seen Woodland so I’m not gonna comment.
Hyde @ Ansonia: 49-0 Ansonia. Hyde is BAD. Easily the worst team in the playoffs. They have an impressive defensive line but are weak and soft everywhere else. Hyde’s team from last year would have rolled over Class S this year but this isn’t the Hyde team from last year. If Ansonia doesn’t crush Hyde they are in serious trouble the rest of the way. I’ve seen both teams play. Ansonia’s playcalling baffles me but Hyde is WAAAAY down this year.
Cromwell @ Montville: 28-21 Cromwell. Cromwell is peaking at the right time. Cromwell winning is a big upset but it is in them to do it. Cromwell can’t run the ball at all so if Montville can shut down Cromwell’s passing game they’ll win. If they can’t it’ll be a good game. My upset pick.
OK I lied. Gilbert and Plainville could lose to Hyde.
Gilbert in particular is a bad team. Gilbert is 8-2 up north? Could be 2-8 on the shoreline.
Like the women in the office pool who base their picks on the team’s Mascots and always win, I’m going to go by helmets (since SPB put in all that hard work to show them in the first place) – V2
Berlin v Hillhouse – Berlin’s B helmet is boring, I love the Dallas Cowboy knock-off, gotta go with Hillhouse in this one
Plainville v GN – Plainville are the blue devils, and they just put a P on their helmet, even though GN’s number on helmet is not great, the lack of Plainville creativity costs them
Lyman Hall v Brookfiled – Two very nice high school mascot inspired helmets, Brookfield has more zip to it and nudges out the strong trojan guard
Platt v New London – No contest here, New London’s Green Bay inspired helmet can’t be beat
Sacred Heart v VROL – Sacred Heart has so much potential but whimps out with the staid SH, you have to go with the VROL courageous Native American depiction which is so rare in this PC world (e.g. Syracuse)
Woodland v SJ – I can’t make out Woodlands scheme, a little schitzo, wouldn’t matter, the Hog barrels through.
Hyde v Ansonia – Ohh Hyde you tried, too intricate. Ansonia’s helmet displays domination and seeks submission
Cromwell v Montville – Sorry Montville you succumbed to peer pressure, you’re the Indians not the Arrowheads or Tomahawks, the Ivy inspired C wins
SPB, I thought you had a sense of humor, dude. Yikes.
Of course it was a typo. Jeez.
Sorry. It’s been a long day.
SH is a dangerous team. Very unpredictable, of course. Nice pick.
Hillhouse over Berlin? That’s a joke.Jonathan Law should have won that 12-9 game they lost back in October.Hillhouse is a one dimensional team,they have no passing game
For those wondering…ticket prices from the “tournament package”, which is of course *subject to change:
PRICE OF ADMISSION * (* subject to change)
Quarter-final and Semi-final Games:
Free – Children five (5) and under
$5.00 — Senior Citizens (Age 65 and older)
$5.00 — Students (Grades 1-12)
$8.00 — Adults (All others not in the above categories)
Final Games:
All tickets will be $10.00
I love the helmet picks
backpedaling pequot——-does the pequot conference have the only kids that graduate?thats the difference between storied programs and one year wonders,dont sellout now mr.conference of the decade.
Great piece and layout, not nitpicking typos… two picks I disagree with (6 I think you are dead on) – I think Platt will give New London a better game – in general, because there are so few non-conference games to really give any sort of an indicator, i’ve seen enough of the CCC this year to know Platt isn’t horrible… I know Berlin comes out as the ‘best team of the CCC’ mostly because they played an incredibly weak schedule… but Platt won’t get blown out.
I’m sipping the Valley Regional kool-aid – at least til they play St. Joe’s, which won’t win a game in Class S by less than 2 touchdowns – totally outclass all the other teams including Ansonia and Montville. The weather will be a factor on the passing game and Valley’s pass defense was tested a bit in the pequot (some of those teams, Coginchaug and Hyde come to mind, do throw the ball a bit). I’ve seen a lot of two teams this year and one is Valley and the other is Daniel Hand… and i’ve seen the teams they’ve played. Valley isn’t that far off… they can play physical and I think Fairfield-Sonn would be one of the top players in the SCC as well.
Valley’s one of the few teams I haven’t seen. I’d really like to see them. So hoping they actually win.
Hey Ray Brown, I noticed you haven’t said anything bad about St. Joes lately…..perhaps because you know you’re going to get smacked when we meet.
@ ray brown: Backpedaling? Seriously? But I do understand the hate… Someone said something good about a team that wasn’t known as “the land of 19 year old seniors” and “the reason for the 4 in 5 rule being changed.” Sooo… in your world talking positive about someone else is talking negative about Ansonia. I understand your hate.
@Jeff: Hyde doesn’t really throw much even when they had a “big time” qb they were really 90% run. Coginchaug throws more but only when things are not going their way. Both Hyde and Coginchaug are Wing-T teams would be more than happy to hand the ball to four different kids ten times each and walk out with 250 yards rushing.
Morgan and Cromwell are your throw every down teams in the Pequot. In fact Morgan’s QB has as high of a ceiling on the next level as ANY PLAYER IN THE STATE at any position. The kid was out all of last year or his D1 offers would be from top 25 programs instead of lesser schools.
How on earth does one pick a 6-4 team to score 36 points against an undefeated team that gave up 34 points in its 9 conference games?
@mike – Sacred Heart’s good like that. … They could also lose 49-7.
Rather, division games.
I don’t think Valley’s going to roll SH by any stretch, but knowing Paul Ginter and the work he’s done with Valley defenses over the years.. I have to think that if Sacred Heart wins that game, it’s going to be a 14-10 or 16-13 type of game.
That said.. the rest of the picks all look good. Thanks for the capsules.
@Mike … I’m sure. It’s more of a fun pick for me. I know little about Valley except: a) They’re huge. b) They’ve got a couple legit players. …I maybe underestimated the defense, but (shrug). It’s all in good fun.
I actually undertook a little experiment. The first score that came to my head was my pick. I’m sure I’m going to get hammered on these. Just watch.
The best game of the night will be the Naugatuck-New Canaan Game. Two spread offenses who can score from all over the field.
Staples-Glastonbury is very intriquing also. Look for the Wreckers to survive. barely.
Ansonia and Trumbull will both romp. Ditto Masuk. The speed of West Haven will do in Xavier openning the door for the Class L winner.
Darien is a mortal lock to beat weathersfield