SPB's High School Football

The regular season is over and, while 11 lucky regional teams will get to test their mettle in the CIAC state tournament, for most regional team the football season is already a distant memory.

Practice for basketball or hockey or swimming or wrestling gets underway this week. The regular season for winter starts in two weeks.

So while we prepare for the state quarterfinals and the rest of our area athlete prepare for the winter season, or a long deserved break, we will begin to take stock of the best players in the region.

So what we’re going to do is start the debate on who the best players were at each position. There is a more involved system going on behind the scenes at Hearst Connecticut Newsgroup for an all-area team that will be unveiled around Christmas wee, but here’s a chance for players and fans to lobby for their top picks.

Here are the categories.

It’s going to require a lot of thought on your part because picking these teams are tantamount to moving Chess pieces around a board.

We would like your TOP 2 in the following positions, TOP 4 in offensive line. There can be NO repeat selections.

OFFENSE: QUARTERBACK, RECEIVER/END, RUNNING BACK, OFFENSIVE LINE (4), KICKER
DEFENSE: DEFENSIVE LINE, LINEBACKER, DEFENSIVE BACK, PUNTER
ALL-PURPOSE (This spot is reserved for men who excel in a variety of spots and don’t fit into any of the above categories).
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: You can pick anybody from above.

*Important*: You must list them like this:

QB: name, name.
RB: name, name.
WR: name, name…

Any comments MUST come after the selections.

The Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate, Danbury NewsTimes and Greenwich Time coverage area includes:

All of the FCIAC, all of the SWC and the following schools from the SCC, NVL and CCC: Shelton, Law, Foran, Amity, Notre Dame-WH, West Haven, Fairfield Prep, Ansonia, Seymour, Derby/O‘Brien Tech, Bullard-Havens, Platt Tech, Abbott Tech. (A few fringe teams are being discontinued from our coverage area because they never called our offices to report their games this season).

All other teams are ineligible. This is a regional awards list, so as much as many of you would love to chime in on your favorite players from around the state, please don’t.

(An aside: I’m curious to see how everybody does with this project. Enjoy).

St.  Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia rarely makes trips to Ansonia’s Jarvis Stadium. But while attending the Thanksgiving Day game between Naugatuck and Ansonia on Thursday, suddenly everybody who spotted the coach was his best friend.

“People kept coming up to me and I had no idea who any of them were,” Della Vecchia said Friday.

Turns out, inquiring minds all wanted to know two things: How’s his quarterback son Joe Della Vecchia’s leg, and will he be playing on Friday?

The senior quarterback, who led St Joseph to a Class SS championship last season and carried the team’s offense throughout most of this year’s 7-3 season, injured his lower leg during what his father said was a horse-collar tackle in the late stages of St. Joseph’s 38-27 loss to Trumbull on Wednesday night.

Typically senior Della Vecchia’s response to the questions was a guarded,  “Who wants to know?” knowing most of his newfound friends would be from Woodland, St. Joseph’s opponent in the Class S semifinals Tuesday night at Fairfield Ludlowe.

On Friday, when contacted by Connecticut Post, Della Vecchia said his son’s injury was similar to the one that sidelined him in for a couple of late-game drives during a Week 3 loss to Darien. Joe Della Vecchia returned to play in the final series of that 13-10 loss.

“He’s day-to-day right now,” said coach Della Vecchia, adding that he communicated the same information to Woodland coach Tim Shea. “We’ll see. He’s going to stay off it for a couple of days and we’ll see how he feels.”

Della Vecchia said senior Joe Burns would be taking all of the snaps in practice until his son felt well enough to return. That might mean Sunday, maybe Monday. “He’s a good athlete,” coach Della Vecchia said of Burns. “He’ll do fine if we need him.”

Senior RB/FB Tyler Matakevich, who hasn’t carried the ball much since returning from a foot injury at midseason, has been begging for more carries to help the team.

“We haven’t really used him a lot on offense,” said  coach Della Vecchia, adding that senior L.J. Hunt has developed into a strong starter at tailback.  “Tyler’s still tentative. He’s still getting his conditioning back. But we may need to lean him now. He may not come off the field.”

The Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowl between Darien and New Canaan had all the makings of a bloodbath, the salvo fired from a select few players on the Darien football team with their pregame bluewash at Dunning Stadium.

New Canaan’s blood boiled when its residents saw the midnight decorations at their school Wednesday morning. Heck, police were posted at a fall-league hockey game between the two schools. The football players were going to be out for blood on Thanksgiving Day. Darien’s players would have reacted in kind.

But Darien — more specifically, coach Rob Trifone – was going to have none of it. When first hearing of the news he vowed to forfeit the game unless the perpetrators came forward. Thankfully for everyone, it didn’t come to that. Administrators singled out those responsible effectively dealt suspensions.

But Trifone and his players didn’t stop there. His captains suggested and he agreed more had to be done to quell the anger and restore respect and civility to a fierce rivalry.

They offered to stand in front of thousands at Darien and publicly apologize over the PA.

It went off with a hitch (the microphone was acting up), so AD John Kellaher stepped in and read the the Darien football team’s statement. Darien and New Canaan captains hugged in the middle of the field, Trifone, who applauded the New Canaan senior introductions, hugged New Canaan’s coach Lou Marinelli went up and wished every one of the Rams well, and thankfully we all got back to football.

“What happened Tuesday night is not representative of what either program is about,” a conciliatory Trifone said afterward.

Without two key starters and several players on its side, the FCIAC champions — poetically, perhaps — got trounced 42-14 and limped off the field down two more starters, most notably DE and captain Charlie Kunze, who spent most of the day on crutches after a lower leg injury, and safety Will Weinstock, who missed the game entirely.

“The players that missed the game for disciplinary reasons had less of an impact than the injuries,” Trifone said. “Obviously it was a combination of both. If we played without those five and full strength, we would have been in the game. We played the game 80 percent strength. At thist junctire I don’t (know what kind of team he’ll have for the playoffs). I expect both of them to be back, but I’ll know more by the weekend.

New Canaan motivated more by playoffs at this point, rode the talents of Kevin Macari into the postseason. He caught a TD, threw a TD and ran a punt back for a TD.

“He’s a great player. A great high school player,” Marinelli said, before adding, “It’s a shame, it’s really a shame — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — that they didn’t have those kids. It’s a little tarnished not having them full strength and I feel for Rob. I hope their kids and our kids learned a lesson from this that this doesn’t help anybody.

“As much as the rivalry… it’s is all that’s good about high school football, that the communities are proud of their programs.”

Regardless of what happens at this point, both sides dealt with the issue incredibly well up to and into Thanksgiving Day, displaying humility, grace and forgiveness on a day custom-made for it.

It turned out to be quite the Thanksgiving Day. Not a ton of upsets, but certainly plenty of surprises.

NAUGATUCK 38, ANSONIA 20 — Greyhounds hold Dobbs, Ansonia in check

SYNOPSIS – Even though many of us believed Naugatuck had a shot, this was probably the shocker of the afternoon. Not  because of final score (although that was eye opening in and of itself), but because how Naugatuck’s line thoroughly handled Ansonia and, by extension, Montrell Dobbs. The only Ansonia senior was held to 94 yards rushing and, with that option gone, the Chargers took to the air … with disastrous results. Eliot Chudwick was sacked four times and the Greyhounds raced away with the game. Erich Broadrick threw three long touchdown passes and the Chargers could do nothing with three turnovers dropped into their lap.

So Naugatuck wins the NVL Championship, beating Ansonia for the first time since 2001 and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2001. They earned the No. 3 seed and get (drumroll…) New Canaan in, perhaps, the most intriguing of the four quarterfinals. FCIAC’s best playing the NVL’s best on their turf. Earlier in the season, when it was clear the Greyhounds would be good, Naugy  fans wanted a rematch with Notre Dame-WH, but this is the next best thing. As for Ansonia, they dropped to No. 3 and get reeling Hyde (losers of 3 straight) in a home quarterfinal. The winner gets the Montville-Cromwell winner.

SHELTON 38, DERBY/O’BRIEN TECH 14: Shelton smothers Derby in 100th meeting

SYNOPSIS — So much for Derby having a shot to win this game. Shelton’s backup (and future QB) Frank Camerino came off the bench in place of injured starter Jonathan Groth (fractured ankle) and Ryan DeAngelis came back from an ACL injury suffered in the spring, to lead the Gaels to a thorough beating of their Valley rivals in the 100th (or so) meeting. They both ran for over 150 yards and DeAngelis — who got a nice senior memory, after all — scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to break a 14-14 deadlock.

Derby/O’Brien Tech (which will disband this year, O’Brien Tech is starting fund raising to create their own team.), quickly went to upset special to blue plate special. Sparkplug QB Ray Kreiger went down with a concussion and with him basically went Derby’s hopes. It was 28-14 at halftime, 21-14 after three.

Shelton finishes 6-4, their season defined by losses to Wilbur Cross, Notre Dame, Cheshire and an excruciating 14-7 loss to Xavier. Derby finishes 5-5, one game short of its first winning season in 14 years. A majority of its players return, including Krieger and Jake Tomczak. We’ll be watching them in the NVL.

By the way, what’s with this talk about discontinuing the series? …Because Derby’s in the NVL? Is the NVL about to switch up its scheduling? I heard this a few times this week. Insight please.

CENTRAL 29, HARDING 25 — DeSouza, Hilltoppers rally past Harding

SYNOPSIS – An absolutely stunning final score, given Central’s pedigree and Harding’s struggles these last few seasons. It’s even more stunning when you see that Harding actually had a 12-point lead at halftime behind some great play by junior TaQuan Broadway (155 yards receiving) and QB Julius McCord (263 yards passing) Central couldn’t stop them so, down 19-7 at halfime, the Hilltoppers shifted back to their ground game with John E. Johansen MVP award winner Lucas DeSouza running for 127 and David Anderson adding 90 and a couple of TDs to put Central ahead and then ahead for good.

Still, Harding actually had a 25-22 lead on Broadway’s 1-yard run. But Davin Campbell capped it with a 6-yard score with seven minutes left.

It was Central’s 12th straight victory, they finish 6-4. But — wow — was Harding up to the challenge. Awesome job. Hopefully this isn’t the last we hear from them.

“We had 30 kids on the sidelines and those are the ones that wanted to play. They had to make the grades as well as come to practice every day and that’s the program we’re building here,” second-year coach James Morris said. “My hats off to all my kids. I love them.”

STAPLES 27, GREENWICH 8 — Staples tops Greenwich, qualifies for state playoffs

SYNOPSIS – Staples was both an immovable force and an unstoppable object in this game, scoring on three of its first five possessions and over 200 yards of offense to put the hard-luck Cardinals out of their 2010 misery. Greenwich finishes 5-5 for the first time since… since… well, before even Mike Ornato’s time as coach.

The Cardinals, seeing themselves clearly overmatched, pulled early and often from their bag of tricks (an opening onside kick, using lineman Anthony Schepis as a fullback on a trick run), but little worked against Tyler Jacobs, Pat Murray, freshman Jack Massie and Co. Injuries completely took Greenwich out of the equation in Week 1. But There’s hope for the future in Greenwich, even though the once-mighty Cardinals haven’t made the state playoffs in three years now.

As for Staples, now headed to Glastonbury for its quarterfinal game (and the Xavier-West Haven winner awaiting in the semifinals), looked good coming off its 15-13 loss to Trumbull. Massie, a baby at 14-years old, had an interception but otherwise ran the Staples’ O effectively, with John Heil and Murray also scoring and Jacobs running plays out of the wildcat. Still, this is a team that rides defense to win ball games. It’ll be intriguing to see just how far this team can go in Class LL.

FORAN 56, LAW 21 — Schumitz returns, leads Lions past Lawmen
SYNOPSIS – In week 1, I watched Foran QB Tucker Schumitz put on a show in a 28-27 OT victory over Branford and thought, man, this kid is headed for all-area. But in Week 3, Schumitz’s stellar-senior season was cut short when he broke his collarbone early in a Saturday loss to Hillhouse. Though the Lions admirably won three more games, they just weren’t the same.

But there were whispers that me might return. On Monday, the three-sport star was cleared and made the (now wise) decision to play in the Battle of Milford. Boy, is Foran glad he did. Schumitz gave us all a glimpse of what might have been, accounting for 5 TDs in a 56-21 victory. Foran (5-5) may or may not have had a real shot to reach the postseason in a crowded Class M field. We’ll never know, but it was great to see Schumitz return (like many area players this year) from a “season-ending” injury.

As for Law, it had the offense but no defense this season. They finish 3-7 and we look ahead to what they bring back next year.

WEST HAVEN 32, FAIRFIELD PREP 13 — Philips brothers lead West Haven rout of Prep
SYNOPSIS — West Haven needed to win to have any shot at the Class LL playoffs. Even with a 32-13 victory, produced and directed by senior Kevin Philips and kid brother Ervin (combined 280 yards rushing), and Cheshire’s thorough victory over Southington, their postseason fate still didn’t look rosy.

Funny story about this. The story filed by Post veteran Lou Pintek said West Haven was out, and even quoted coach Ed McCarthy (who knows the points better than anyone else) saying so. But as the games continued to filter in, it looked like the Westies would get a shot. Then New Milford upset New Fairfield, effectively keeping Newtown at 1100 points and we had ourselves a three-way tie, with West Haven’s tiebreakers points easily putting the Westies in at No. 8.

So now West Haven, as expected by McCarthy in Week 9, gets another shot at No. 1 Xavier (which needed a few big plays just to knock off Middletown 27-14). The Westies had a 28-27 lead in the third quarter in that game, and a sure pick-6 that tipped off the hands of a defensive back and into the waiting arms of Graham Stewart. Final score Xavier 42-28. What will the Westies bring this time?

Fairfield Prep, meanwhile, finishes a respectable 3-7 under first-year coach Tom Shea. They were 0-10 for the first time in school history this time a year ago. Now it seems like they’re on the mend.

BROOKFIELD 48, BETHEL 26 — Brookfield rolls past Bethel, into state playoffs
SYNOPSIS — Brookfield (for all intents) needed a win to get in. Bethel needed everything to go right. And it looked that way throughout a wild first half, with Bethel back Brian Birdsell ripping through their defense for 127 yards and three touchdowns in the game’s first 14 minutes.

No worries. No problem with soon-to-be all-state utility man Brian Kelly on the case. Kelly finished with five catches, 134 yards, three receiving touchdowns, a 16-yard touchdown run, a 54-yard kickoff return, seven tackles and an interception. Oh, and thrown in Leaon Gordon’s 200-yard rushing afternoon and the Bobcats punched their playoff ticket with a 48-26 victory. Yow.

Bethel, a year removed from a Class M state playoff berth was game this season. It had an upset victory over Newtown under its belt. But it just couldn’t get another. Brookfield, meanwhile, advances to Class M playoffs (otherwise known as the Berlin invitational), just two years removed from winning it all in 2008. They get Joe Desandre, Zac Falconeri and Lyman Hall in the quarterfinals. Lyman Hall will be down several players stemming from a 10-day suspension.

FAIRFIELD WARDE 21, FAIRFIELD LUDLOWE 16
SYNOPSIS — Craig Lowery scored a touchdown and set up others by Alex Delaney and David Wolff as the Mustangs outlasted Nate Ryan and Fairfield Ludlowe by five points to finish a respectable season with a 5-5 record under second-year coach Duncan Della Volpe. Warde lost to three playoff teams this season, New Canaan, Darien and St. Joseph, and will probably have to find a way to get through these teams if they want to truly contend in future seasons.

As for Ludlowe, it was a trying 1-9 season. They lost to (improved) Harding and avoided a winless season by beating Westhill. They lost a lot of players from year ago, so this wasn’t totally unexpected. They have a slightly harder mountain to climb to reclaim the kind of record they had a year ago (6-4).

NORWALK 8, McMAHON 7 — Bears send Tucci out a winner
SYNOPSIS – A year ago, we couldn’t stop talking about how Norwalk lost this game, on a failed strategy to eschew a fourth-down punt which led to a last-second McMahon victory. Embattled coach Pete Tucci took the blame. Though Norwalk looked promising after defeating Greenwich 19-7 in week 1, they only one two more games heading into the Thanksgiving rematch with a markedly improved McMahon squad.

This time, Norwalk emerged victorious, playing off its emotions over Tucci’s last game as coach. They got a second-quarter touchdown and 2-point conversion from Anthony Ferraro and then relied on their defense to do the rest in an eventual 8-7 victory that sent the 13-year coach out with a happy memory after a 59-72 stint. Athletic director Wayne Mones has said he would like to have a replacement in by Christmas.

McMahon ends a resurgent season under coach A.J. Albano 6-4, including victories over Ridgefield and Central. They lose a few stars, but should have a promising outlook in 2011.

NOTRE DAME-WH 47, HAMDEN 0 — Green Knights easily take out Hamden in 60th Green Bowl
SYNOPSIS – Notre Dame began the season No. 1, lost to Xavier late, then lost to West Haven late. That alone would have had Sean Goldrich and the Green Knights back in the state playoffs to defend their title (they’d probably be at Masuk Tuesday). But the North Haven game… the North Haven game. ND had chances to take a commanding lead, didn’t, let North Haven back into the game and then a Goldrich pick and subsequent touchdown basically sealed their fate. Still, 7-3 this year and an 11-1 state championship season last year is plenty to be proud about, the breaks just didn’t go ND’s way this season. There will be some rebuilding next season, however.

Speaking of which, it looks like there’s going to be a lot of that going on at Hamden. The Green Dragons were never competitive (they scored a mere 29 points this season, including the Green Bowl shut out), just one season after going 7-3. It looks like a long way back for Hamden.

NEW MILFORD 21, NEW FAIRFIELD 14 — New Milford rallies to win Candlewood Cup
SYNOPSIS – Newtown was one bonus game away from qualifying for the Class LL state playoffs over West Haven. This game was their culprit: New Milford’s victory over New Fairfield.

New Milford jumped out to an early 13-0 lead, let it slip in the third quarter and then reasserted themselves in the fourth. Conor Burns took a short pass from Karl Bradshaw for a 56-yard touchdown and then New Milford defense did the rest, forcing three of their four turnovers in New Fairfield’s final drives of the game. Judging by their comments after the game, this victory made the rest of the Green Wave’s 2-9 season just dissolve into the air.

New Fairfield (3-7) had some early injuries but did a decent job under new coach Anthony Fata after losing quite a few players from their 6-4 season a year ago. The Rebels had Pomperaug worried a week ago. Almost had Bunnell beat. Perhaps next year.

Notre Dame-Fairfield 34, Immaculate 28 — Zumbo, Lancers hold off Mustang rally
SYNOPSIS – It has been a trying season for Kevin Harrigan and the rest of the players at Notre Dame. They lost transfer quarterback Nick Chacho to an ACL injury before the season kicked off. With a limited roster, hey had trouble scoring or stopping most teams. But here’s some good news, they got back to running the ball and used that formula to pound winless Immaculate in the Superintendents Cup, a victory ND coach Joe Beler dedicated to his father, Joe Sr., who died earlier this year.

Immaculate, led by QB Greg Wax got within 6 points late, but the Mustangs couldn’t complete the comeback.

Frank Zumbo did most of the dirty work for ND this time. Sophomore Nigel Beckford is a man to watch next season. Here’s hoping Chacho returns for a resurgent 2011.

WILTON 38, TRINITY CATHOLIC 20 — Warriors pound Trinity Catholic
SYNOPSIS — Few teams had the regular season schedule Wilton had. The Warriors played six state playoffs teams, including four to start the season. They could only beat one, St. Joseph, and went 3-1 against everyone else. Them’s the breaks, but at least Wilton went out in style with a thorough win against a dangerous Trinity Catholic squad.

Ned Hemmerle ran for over 200 yards and Wilton’s defense had three picks, recovered a fumble and also stopped Trinity’s strong offense on fourth down to finish the year 4-6. Not bad.

Trinity, meanwhile, had the offensive horses but had troubles stopping teams on defense this year and finished 3-7. The good news on Thanksgiving was that head coach Peter Stokes returned to the sidelines (in a limited capacity) for the first time since suffering a heart attack last month.

NORTH HAVEN 40, AMITY 24
SYNOPSIS – Tyler Vallie, Kyle Kalanta and Amity fought the good fight, but playoff-ready North Haven took care of business rolling to a 27-3 halftime lead behind a three TDs from Brandon McLane. North Haven clinched the No. 7 in the state playoffs, and got a road game against former Hammonasset foe Hand at the Surf Club. I’m sure the Indians, who also lost to Hand in its last state playoff appearance in 2007, are hoping for lots of wind.

As for Amity, the first season under new coach Bert Mozealous ends 4-6, but not without a few surprises along the way. Not a bad season for Amity in an SCC Division I that Shelton and Xavier on their regular schedule.

PLATT TECH 34, ABBOTT TECH 28
SYNOPSIS – We didn’t get a ton of information on this game, but congrats to Platt Tech for winning their first game of the season. Sounded like a pretty good game, as was their game against Foran the week before.

♦♦♦♦

Just a quick thing I noticed.

There has been an inordinate amount of horrible injuries around the state this season. More ACL tears, concussions and broken collarbones and broken legs than I care to count.

This is a violent sport and injuries happen, but it’s very clear at this point that 10 games is a lot for high school. And now we’re playing another three (and in, Trumbull and Darien’s case they could potentially play 14. There is such a thing as too many games. I think we’ve reached the threshold. Ten regular-season games is plenty, and the league title games are worthless. Let’s all remember this when we’re looking to expand to 11 games. Me included.

♦♦♦♦

Now, a bit of Thanks.

Thanks to all the players, coaches and administrators from all over our region (and beyond) who made this another great high school football season.

Especially the players. You guys do all the hard work, make all the sacrifices. We just watch.

Regardless of how you finished your season, what triumphs you may have had, what disappointment or even tragedy you may have endured, thanks for all of your dedication and hard work in giving us this amazing season. Everyone on my side of the aisle is truly blessed to cover such outstanding young men. To the seniors who just completed their season, we wish you well in the coming years. Make us proud again.

To all of the other journalists and citizen reporters who gave their time and got involved to help bring this football season to all of those who couldn’t see it live and in person. There are too many to list here for now, and maybe I will at the real end of the season, but for now I am indebted to all of you.

And to everyone else who comes here for high school football news, we thank you most of all. We had nearly 16,000 people visiting this blog this Thanksgiving Eve and Day. We had 1,600 people tuned into the Live Blog Wednesday night and another 2,700 people tuned in on Thursday. Thanks for being interested and coming here to see what’s up around the region and the state. We’re thrilled you keep coming back and it makes us all work harder to give you the best coverage we can.

I’m taking a break for the next day. I’ll catch every one on the other side for the state semifinals.

Thanks and take care,

Sean Patrick

Ladies and gentlemen, your new and improved CIAC state football playoff pairings and schedule.

QUARTERFINALS  — Tuesday, Nov. 30: 6:30 p.m. at sites of the highest seeds.
SEMIFINALS — Saturday, Dec. 4: at West Haven, 2 & 7 p.m.; Municipal Stadium, Waterbury, 2 & 7 p.m.; Finn Stadium, Shelton, 2 p.m.; Bulldog Field, Bunnell, 2 p.m.; Middletown, 2 p.m.; Jess Dow Field, 2 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP — December 10 & and Dec. 11 at Rentschler Field (times TBA).

The schedule has been approved by the CIAC.

CLASS LL

• THE QUALIFIERS — 1. Xavier (10-0), 2. Norwich Free Academy (10-0), Trumbull (9-1), Glastonbury (9-1), Staples (9-1), Conard (8-2), Hall (8-2), West Haven (8-2)
• THE MATCHUPS — West Haven at Xavier, Hall at Norwich Free Academy, Conard at Trumbull, Staples at Glastonbury
• LEFT OUT — Southington (8-2), Newtown (9-2), Pomperaug (8-2)
• WHAT HAPPENED — Hall got just enough points to stay ahead of the pack, Cheshire defeated Southington, which dropped Southington into an eventual three-way tie with Newtown and West Haven. West Haven won the final berth with 98 tiebreaker points vs. Newtown’s 92 and Southington’s 86. Pomperaug finished a mere bonus away from making it a 3-way tie.
• RATING — Four star

CLASS L

• QUALIFIERS – 1. Masuk (10-0), 2. Hand (9-1), 3. Naugatuck (9-1), 4. Wethersfield (9-1), 5. Darien (10-1), 6. New Canaan (9-1), 7. North Haven (9-1), 8. Bristol Eastern (9-1).
• THE MATCHUPS — Bristol Eastern vs. Masuk (at Bunnell), North Haven at Hand, New Canaan at Naugatuck, Darien at Wethersfield
• WHAT HAPPENED — Maloney’s loss to Platt opened the door for Bristol Eastern to qualify with just enough bonuses. Naugatuck’s unexpected victory over Ansonia, however closed it to any 2-loss team in the division (and prevented a potential Darien-New Canaan rematch). New Canaan’s victory over Darien and North Haven’s win over Amity allowed those teams to join the field. Darien got unexpected help from Norwalk to claim the No. 5 seed over New Canaan.
• RATING – Five star

CLASS M

• QUALIFIERS — 1. Berlin (10-0), 2. New London (8-2), 3. Brookfield (8-2), Gilbert/Northwestern (8-2), Plainville (8-2), Lyman Hall (8-2), Platt (8-2), Hillhouse (7-3)
• THE MATCHUPS – Hillhouse at Berlin; Platt at New London, Lyman Hall at Brookfield, Plainville vs. Gilbert/Northwestern (at Torrington)
• WHAT HAPPENED — Platt’s upset of Maloney vaulted the Panthers into the field. Coventry/Windham Tech’s loss to Ellington/Somers and Cheney Tech’s loss to East Catholic knocked both of those teams out of contention and opened the door for Hillhouse, which held off Wilbur Cross 30-28 to qualify.
• RATING — Three star

CLASS S

• THE QUALIFIERS — 1. Valley Regional/Old Lyme (10-0), 2. Montville (9-1), 3. Ansonia (9-1), 4. St. Joseph (7-3), 5. Woodland (7-3), 6. Hyde (7-3), 7. Cromwell (7-3), 8. Sacred Heart (6-4)
• THE MATCHUPS — Sacred Heart at Valley Regional/Old Lyme, Cromwell at Montville, Hyde at Ansonia, Woodland vs. St. Joseph (at Ludlowe).
• WHAT HAPPENED — St. Joseph got enough bonus points to clinch a home game. Ansonia’s loss dropped it into a first-round matchup with Hyde. Sacred Heart, needing two bonus games to tie Coginchaug for the final spot, got exactly two (Crosby and Torrington). Sacred Heart then beat Coginchaug on tiebreakers for the final spot.
• RATING — Three star

Extra! Extra! Get all your live scoring updates, and playoff point updates, right here.

It’s all hands on deck for the staff of Hearst-Connecticut Newspapers — the Connecticut Post, the Danbury News-Times, the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. We’ll be at nearly every single game in the Southwest Connecticut region for our biggest live scoring blog of the season.

If you’re at home, just click the window below to follow along on everything that’s happening across the state: who’s scoring, who’s winning, whose playoff hopes are alive, whose playoff dreams are dead — from 7 a.m. until closing time when all the points are tabulated and all the playoff teams are accounted for. While your Turkey bakes, just click the window below, sit back and enjoy.

Look below for the internet and radio broadcast schedules.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

CLASS LL

• They’re IN: Xavier (9-0, most likely the No. 1 seed with a victory over Middletown); Norwich Free Academy (9-0, most likely the No. 2 seed with victory over New London); Trumbull (9-2, has clinched a home game awaiting seeding); Glastonbury (9-1 – has also clinched a home game, likely the 3 or 4 seed); Conard (8-2, will finish anywhere between 5 and 8.)
• Must Win: Southington (8-1 – a win and D.J. and the Blue Knights will be the No. 5 seed, a loss and they’ll be praying West Haven or Newtown doesn’t catch them on bonuses); Staples (8-1, a win and they’ll be the No. 6 seed; a loss and they’re almost toast).
• Pray: Hall (8-2, looking for bonus help to capture the last spot). Newtown (8-2, needs Brookfield and New Fairfield to win, West Haven to lose to sneak in. A Staples loss would help, too). Pomperaug (needs Bethel and Notre Dame-Fairfield to win to have any shot). West Haven (must win and have Southington lose, Amity, Wilbur Cross to win.

CLASS L

• They’re IN: Masuk (10-0 – the top seed); Darien (10-0 – must win to secure the No. 2 seed, can fall as far as No. 8). Hand (9-1, likely the No. 3 seed. Could get 2 if Darien loses).
• Must win: Wethersfield (8-1 – a loss and they’re in serious trouble); Naugatuck (8-1 – a loss and they’re out); North Haven (8-1 – a loss and they’re out); Maloney (8-1 – a loss and they’re out); New Canaan (8-1 – a loss and they’re out).
• Pray: Bristol Eastern (8-1 – a win and then one of the remaining contenders to lose to have a shot, preferably Maloney); Windsor (8-2 – Two teams ahead to lose, or all of its bonuses to outpoint Eastern). Avon (8-2 – needs two or three ahead to lose). Middletown (7-2 – win and a miracle).

CLASS M

• They’re IN: Berlin (10-0 – most likely the top seed); New London (8-1 – most likely No. 2); Plainville (7-2).
• Must win: Brookfield (7-2 – actually, they can get in with a loss but only if a few behind it lose. Clinches home game with a win.); Coventry/Windham Tech (7-2 – in with a win); Gilbert/Northwestern (7-2 – in with a win); Lyman Hall (7-2 – in with a win); Platt (7-2 – in with a win).
• Pray: Hillhouse (6-3 – must win and get at least one above to lose, preferably Platt); Putnam/Tourellotte/Ellis Tech (6-3 – win and at least 2 above to lose); Waterford (6-3 – win and at least three above to lose). Everyone else needs a miracle.

CLASS S

• They’re IN: Valley Regional (10-0 – No. 2 seed unless Ansonia loses, then No. 1); Ansonia (9-0 – top seed with win over Naugatuck); Montville (8-1 – most likely the No. 3 seed); St. Joseph (7-3 – can still get a home game if enough bonuses come in); Woodland (7-3 – slight chance at a home game); Hyde (7-3 – locked in as the No. 6 seed); Cromwell (7-3 – locked in as the No. 7 seed).
• Pray: Coginchaug (7-3) and Sacred Heart (6-4) It comes down to Sacred Heart bonus points. If the Hearts can get THREE of the following teams to win, they’re in: Torrington, Crosby, St. Paul, Derby. If they get two, it’ll go to tiebreakers (SH trails right now). If just one, Coginchaug will advance.

BROADCAST SCHEDULES

New Canaan at Darien, 10:30 a.m. — MSG Varsity-Connecticut

• For those of you who have Cablevision, the mothership high school sports network will be broadcasting live from the scene at Darien High School. Mike Quick and the gang will have all the info you need. But the guys might need help deciphering the state playoff points, so look for a special guest at halftime.

Naugatuck at Ansonia, 10:30 a.m. — WELI 960-AM and WATR 1320-AM

• On WELI is “The Coach” George DeMaio‘s famous Thanksgiving Extravaganza. He and his crew will broadcast the game and, afterward, friends Steve Kirck, The Day of New London‘s Ned Griffen and other special guests will stay on the air until every playoff team is accounted for. Frankly, it doesn’t get any better than right here.
• Bob Sagendorf and Steve Gesseck of WATR are the best local game broadcasters in all of Connecticut. Sagendorf was a longtime ESPN employee and Gesseck knows the NVL better than anyone. Die-hard NVL fans must listen to their broadcast.

McMahon at Norwalk, 10:30 a.m. – WSTC 1400-AM / WNLK 1350-AM

• Matt Levine and his crew have seen just about every FCIAC team this season. So who better to give you the inside look at the Norwalk city title and coach Pete Tucci‘s final game? They do a great job getting as much information as possible for listeners.

Staples at Greenwich, 10 a.m. — WGCH 1490-AM | WWPT 90.3 (Wreckers Radio) Live video feed

• Veteran Rob Adams and the WGCH gang will be broadcasting the game. They know everything you need to know about this matchup, this rivalry, and the state implications surrounding it.
• The Student station at Staples High School do a fantastic job. Do yourself a favor and check these up-comers out. If you must watch this live, this is the place to go.

The 60th Green Bowl: Notre Dame-WH at Hamden, 10:30 a.m. — SportingnewsCT.com OR GoGreenKnights.com (live video feed)

• Steve Kirck and veteran broadcaster Don Boyle have done every Notre Dame game this season. If you bleed green and gold and can’t make it to the game, there’s no where else to go.

Xavier vs. Middletown (at Wesleyan), 10 a.m. – CNX Radio 1710-AM

Who is the region’s player of the year?

We’ve asked this question before. And we’ve received a variety of answers.

New Canaan’s Kevin Macari, Trumbull’s Phil Terio, St. Joseph’s Joe Della Vecchia, Ansonia’s Montrell Dobbs (the state’s leading rusher), Brookfield’s Brian Kelly, Masuk’s Casey Cochran.

All of them have gaudy statistics that are easily picked from atop the pile.

But here’s one you may or may not have thought about: Masuk’s Jon Testani.

He plays outstanding run defense, he plays outstanding pass defense, he catches touchdown passes, he booms field goals (well, not that many attempts… yet) and, perhaps immeasurable, he kicks touchbacks almost every time, making offenses go 80 yards against one of the best defenses in the state.

Will he win any Player of the Year awards? Erm… maybe not unless MSG’s Mike Quick is picking them. (From the beginning, Quick has called Testani the most valuable player in the region.

“As far as high school players go,” Quick said to me a few weeks ago. “He’s the most valuable.”

Anyone who watched Masuk dismantle Newtown 42-0 to win its first SWC championship and finish undefeated both for the first time since 2003, can attest to the truth of that statement.

Testani, a baseball player by trade who’s verbally committed to play up at Storrs next year and will try to walk on as a kicker at UConn, put in an MVP performance Thanksgiving Eve. He crushed five touchbacks (and a few others that came close), picked off a pass to set up his own touchdown a 45-yard touchdown strike from Casey Cochran.

All together, they don’t light up the stat sheet like Dobbs or some of the other great players in our region. Those guys are specialists. Testani’s specialty is football.

Behind Testani, Masuk rolled to victory (avenging last season’s upset that knocked them out of the playoffs). In the process, they clinched the No. 1 seed in the Class L playoffs at 10-0 — the first 10-0 season since 2003. Now this Masuk squad will attempt to do what the 2003 team couldn’t: Win a state title.

“One of the things coach has always stressed is ‘Finish,’” Testani said. “On our lifting shirts, it says ‘Finish’ on the back. And every letter means something. That ‘N’ in ‘Finish’ means ‘Newtown.’ So we came out tonight and to beat Newtown, and that’s what we wanted to do.

“We prepare for every team the same exact way. This team has so much character. We’ll come out to practice every single day and get after it, get coached up and learn everything we can about the next team. This is the best part of the season right here.”

ELSEWHERE FROM OUR REGION…

Trumbull 38, St. Joseph 27 – Trumbull appeared to have picked off right where it left off last week at McDougall Stadium, down, out and packing it in. But Trumbull, down 24-7 early, rallied to beat St. Joseph 38-27 in what sounded like an incredible game at McDougall Stadium.

Trumbull has clinched a home game and at least the No. 4 seed in the state playoffs, which begins Tuesday. St. Joseph still has a good shot at hosting a game in the Class S playoffs, but the Hogs’ primary concern right now is the leg of QB Joe Della Vecchia. He was hit hard and had to be wheeled off the McDougall Stadium turf. His status, as of Thursday, is unknown.

Pomperaug 38, Oxford 6 – Kellen Croce threw for over 200 yards and Kevin Maxen scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Panthers to an 8-2 finish. But are they finished? Yes. Enough happened in the CCC Wednesday night to seal Pomperaug’s fate. They’ll miss the playoffs. Still, an overall good season for the Panthers in a follow up of last year’s 2009 runner-up team. The loss to Brookfield was their Waterloo. Oxford, which suffered some debilitating injuries in midseason, finishes a respectable 5-5.

Bunnell 16, Stratford 7 –There were no playoffs on the line, but the stars were out at Bunnell High School, with Buffalo Bills receiver Marcus Easley Rutgers receiver Mark Harrison two of the bigger names. But the biggest star of the night was Bunnell junior David Camille, who ran for 74 yards, a touchdown and both 2-point conversions as the Bulldogs topped rival Stratford for the fourth straight time. The Red Devils finish 3-7, but coach John Svatik assures us it won’t be for long.

Bassick 28, Bullard-Havens 12 — What a night for Bassick’s Jacquii Tuck, who ran for a school record 314 yards on 34 carries and scored three touchdowns to get Bassick its first victory of the season over  Bullard-Havens, which received some fine running from Nick Rodriguez (117 yards) and John Shannon (129) but couldn’t overcome five fumbles.

Ridgefield 27, Danbury 14 – This hasn’t been an easy season for either of these teams. Ridgefield had some lofty expectations, but its youth proved too much to overcome. For Danbury, it was a trying season not just because of its 3-7 final record, but playing through the loss of assistant coach Bo Williams just two weeks ago. Danbury overcame a slew of mistakes in the first half and was within 12-7, but Ridgefield — behind new quarterback Connor Rowe — turned on the jets in the second half to pull away.

Stamford 53, Westhill 6 – It seems like only yesterday that I stood on Ridgefield’s Lancaster Field and witnessed the Tigers absolutely take apart Stamford 35-7. I remember thinking to myself, Stamford might not win a game all year. The story in The Advocate about how coach Bryan Hocter‘s players weren’t even getting enough food to eat, had just come out as well. But Stamford rallied at midseason, shocked playoff-bound Trumbull and then capped this amazing season off at 6-4 by winning the Frank Robotti trophy with a thorough beating of Westhill. Lots of people out there are suggesting Hocter as a Coach of the Year candidate. Either way, amazing job.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest 24-hours of the Connecticut sports calendar.

Tomorrow, thousands of Nutmeg state residents will get up, rub the sleep out of their eyes, grab a cup of coffee or some breakfast and head over to their favorite Thanksgiving Day rivalry game.

It is a day where records are thrown out. Where everybody is undefeated. And a day where memories that will live eternity are created.

It is a day where advanced algebra becomes a pastime as everybody tries to figure out who is in, and who is out of the state playoffs.

But first, we start with the Wednesday night appetizers and there are plenty of these to whet your Thanksgiving Day appetite.

Here’s the regional schedule for Wednesday night:
Westhill at Stamford, 6 | Ridgefield at Danbury, 6 | St. Joseph at Trumbull, 7 | Seymour at Woodland, 6 | SWC Championship: Masuk at Newtown, 7 | Weston at Barlow, 7 | Oxford at Pomperaug, 7 | Stratford at Bunnell, 7 | Bullard-Havens at Bassick, 6

Here’s the state schedule

Here’s What to Look For: We could have Class S wrapped up tonight. Woodland will clinch a Class S spot with a victory over Seymour. …Sacred Heart (which plays Wilby) will clinch with a victory. …Pomperaug needs to win to give itself any shot at getting in (lots has to happen on Thanksgiving Day). … Newtown needs to win to get in. Cromwell plays Coginchaug for one of the last Class S spots. …There are also a few CCC games tonight that will go a long way in determining who from Class LL and L will reach the playoffs. West Haven will be intently watching those games and that Guilford/Hand game tonight at the Surf Club.

To follow along on all the action, click the window below. It is a live Twitter feed from all across the state.

You can also listen to George DeMaio‘s Thanksgiving Eve Extravaganza – Live reports and updates from Wednesday night’s games – WELI 960-AM. He’ll be in the studio getting Wednesday night updates from his cadre of correspondents all across the area.

Here are the other games being broadcast tonight:
Westhill at Stamford, 6 p.m. — WSTC 1400-AM / WNLK 1350-AM
Wilby at Sacred Heart, 6 p.m. — WATR 1320-AM

If you’re at a game, and want to participate in the live blog, just get a Twitter account and send updates from your game through your mobile phone. Remember to add #ctfb to the end of your Tweets to have your update show up on this space.

Our HUGE Thanksgiving Day live blog will begin tomorrow at 7 a.m. Thanks and enjoy the games.

A little more than 24 hours before their huge meeting with Darien in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving, New Canaan awoke to a pretty bad joke. Their field and their school had been vandalized with Darien Blue Wave paint. It was on the school’s doors, signs and on the field house plaza of Dunning Stadium.

Police: Darien football players vandalized New Canaan

Police and school officials later identified at least five students from Darien, including two starters and a reserve on the recently-crowned FCIAC Champion and CIAC playoff-bound football team, according to sources. Those players, according to Darien athletic director John Kellaher “will not be playing football for Darien this year.”

The act of vandalism has created quite a stir down here in Shangri-La and, apparently has resulted in rather swift justice to those involved. The incident was first reported at about 6:45 this morning. Police and school officials outed five perpetrators a little after noon.

“Darien High School officials did extraordinary work in identifying the five students responsible for all the painting,” New Canaan athletic director Jay Egan said. “They will find appropriate disciplinary actions for the boys. New Canaan and Darien are great rivals. It is as good a rivalry as you can find but we also have a great mutual respect for each other.”

Stamford Advocate reporters Dave Ruden and Paresh Jha are on the case and will be updating any more news that come across.

This is a silly and unfortunate incident that has turned one of the best Thanksgiving Day matchups — the New Canaan-Darien ‘Turkey Bowl’ — into a plain old turkey. A tainted one, at that.

New Canaan needs this game to qualify for the state playoffs. It’s not right that we don’t get to see Darien’s best team on the field for the remainder of the season because of a foolish and disrespectful act. The Blue Wave football team figures to be properly affected by the loss of their (now former) teammates and the embarrassment of what they’ve wrought. Not just now, but for the rest of the season as the remainder of the team chases a state championship, and maybe for the rest of their lives.

It was an elaborate and silly prank, yes. It really caused no harm, except to waste money on cleanup. We see these things all the time — even at the highest institutions (Yale-Harvard-MIT, anyone?)

But there’s a difference between a harmless prank and a crime. Vandalizing property is a crime.

As is underage drinking, which apparently caused the suspension of several Lyman Hall football players on the eve of their biggest game of the season, as well. Or stealing, which led to the arrest of a couple of Southern Connecticut State football players according to WTNH.

This is more of a reminder that the kids playing high school are still kids, who are sill learning what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior while under the auspices of their families, teachers and coaches. Let’s hope they, and everybody else out there, have learned a valuable lesson from this incident.

Hopefully we’ve seen the end of these selfish and irresponsible acts. Can we please get back to playing football now?