Archive for the ‘Football Championships’ Category

Brave New World: CIAC Quarterfinal Previews (Class M & S)

Monday, November 29, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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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

Brave New World: CIAC Quarterfinal Previews (Class LL & L)

Monday, November 29, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Yes! Finally, we have ourselves, in my humble estimation, a legit playoff season in Connecticut high school football. The pairings have been set, the hype is just starting to boil to the surface.

It’s time to see who the best teams in the state really are.

It’s time to start the new and improved CIAC Football State Playoffs. The playoffs we’ve been pining for in this space for the better part of three years. And now it’s here.

So we’ll kick off this brave new world with our first batch of preview and pick-the-winners segments. We’ve scoured the newspapers, stat machines and websites (and our own brains) and have given you what we believe are pretty comprehensive looks at each of the state playoff pairings. But, if anything’s amiss, I’m sure you’ll let us know.

We start with Class LL and L, the best two of the bunch. Quite a few intriguing matchups, too.

In Class LL we have an SCC rematch in the 1/8. We have the FCIAC-CCC Challenge in the 6/3 and 4/5 and then the ECC’s best vs the CCC Division II’s second-best in the 2/7.

In Class L, another clash of SCCs and old Hammonasset foes at the Surf Club, mighty Masuk vs. unheralded Eastern at Bunnell, limping Darien vs. first-timer Wethersfield, and FCIAC power vs. NVL champ (in perhaps, the most intriguing game of the night).

We throw our picks into the ring this time. But don’t let us sway you, vote for who you think will win.

All games start 6:30 p.m.

Class LL

No. 8 West Haven at No. 1 Xavier

WHERE – Palmer Field, Middletown
ON THE AIR – WELI 960-AM, Hamden/New Haven; CNX Radio, 1710-AM, Middletown
RECORDS — West Haven 8-2 (SCC Division I East co-champion), Xavier 10-0 (SCC Division I West champion).
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD – Xavier 2-2; West Haven 6-5
LAST APPEARANCE – Xavier: 2009 (lost to Staples 31-28 in Class LL semifinals); West Haven: 2006 (lost to Staples 28-7 in Class L semifinals).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – West Haven: Sr. WR Tremayne Barnes, Sr. RB Kevin Philips; Fresh. RB Ervin Philips; Sr. QB Nick Nieves. Xavier: Sr. LB/TE Graham Stewart; Sr. DE Eric Mischke; Sr. FB/LB Mike Mastroianni; Sr. LB Austen Ahern.
YOU SHOULD KNOW– Xavier defeated West Haven 42-28 in Week 9, a game in-which West Haven led 28-27 late in the third quarter. …Xavier has allowed the 5th least points in the state (87).  …Stewart is verbally committed to Boston College. …Behind the Philips brothers, West Haven averages 31 points scored. But they also allow an average of 20 points a game on defense. …WH coach Ed McCarthy has won 301 games, most active and No. 2 all-time in Connecticut. …Xavier has been ranked No. 1 in the NHR media poll for 10 consecutive weeks.
OUR PICK — Xavier 34, West Haven 20

No. 5 Staples at No. 4 Glastonbury

WHERE – Tomahawk Field, Glastonbury
ON THE AIR – WWPT 90.3, Westport (Wreckers Radio)
RECORDS — Staples 9-1, Glastonbury 9-1 (CCC Division I co-champion)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD – Staples 9-6, Glastonbury 4-2
LAST APPEARANCE — Staples: 2009 (lost to Cheshire 28-21 OT in Class LL title game); Glastonbury: 2009 (lost to Cheshire 21-9 in Class LL semifinals).
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Staples: Jr. QB/RB/DB Tyler Jacobs (915 yards, 11 TD rushing, 7 interceptions); Sr. LB/FB Rob Gau (83 tackles, 3 interceptions); Sr. TE/DL Pat Murray (11 sacks, 4 TDs); Sr. LB/TE Chris Coyne. Glastonbury: Sr. QB/FS Corey Santor (1,245 yards 10 TDs passing; 608 yards rushing, 14 TDs.); Sr. RB/DB Malcom Crossen; Sr. LB Kadeem Ward.
YOU SHOULD KNOW– Both teams average approximately 31 points per game. …Staples allows 10 points per game, Glastonbury 14. …This is Glastonbury’s third straight trip to the playoffs under coach Peter Pfeffer. They won the 2008 Class LL title. …Glastonbury’s only loss was 33-14 to Southington in Week 2. …Staples was 8-0 before falling to Trumbull, 15-13. …Staples QB Chet Pajolek‘s season ended with an ACL injury in a Week 8 win over Ludlowe. Freshman Jack Massie (320 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT) has been the primary QB, though Jacobs runs the offense out of the wildcat.  …Murray and Coyne are both committed to Yale.
OUR PICK — Staples 34-14

No. 6 Conard at No. 3 Trumbull

WHERE – McDougall Stadium, Trumbull
RECORDS – Trumbull 9-2 (FCIAC runners-up); Conard 8-2 (CCC Division II champion)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD — Conard 0-3; Trumbull 5-5
LAST APPEARANCE — Conard 2009 (lost to Notre Dame-WH 42-14 in Class L semifinals); Trumbull 2005 (lost to Xavier 21-7 in Class LL semifinals).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Conard: Sr. RB/LB Jon Esposito; Sr. QB Reid Gustafson; Sr. OL/DL Kevin Fisher. Trumbull: Sr. WR/DB/KR Phil Terio; Sr. QB/DB Ian Milne; Sr. FB/LB Don Cherry; Sr. OL/DL Bryan Barnash; Sr. WR/DB Tom Pauciello.
YOU SHOULD KNOW– Esposito is Conard’s all-time leading rusher with 4,381 yards. He has run for over 200 yards in Conard’s last three games, including a 258-yard performance in a 47-7 victory in the season finale. …Conard’s losses this season were 33-20 to fellow LL qualifier Glastonbury and 10-9 vs. Class L qualifier Wethersfield. …Trumbull lost the FCIAC Championship to Darien 17-7. It’s only regular-season loss was 27-19 to Stamford. …The Eagles tend to rotate between QBs Milne and Sr. Brian Gallo.
OUR PICK — Trumbull 34-7

No. 7 Hall at No. 2 Norwich Free Academy

WHERE – NFA Sports Complex & Artificial Turf Field, Norwich
RECORDS – Hall 8-2 (CCC Division II runner-up), NFA 10-0 (ECC Large champion)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD — Hall 0-3; NFA 1-2
LAST APPEARANCE — Hall: 1986 (lost to West Haven 35-18 in Class L championship); NFA: 2002 (lost to West Haven 47-26 in Class LL semifinals).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Hall: Sr. QB Riley Carroll (2,150 yards, 23 TDs, 6 INT passing); Sr. LB Justin Sundstrom (11 tackles/gm); Sr. LB Kevin Farrah (8 tackles/gm); NFA: Sr. RB/S Anthony Facchini (1,052 yards rushing); Sr. LB Nick Cipriano; Fresh. RB/DB Marcus Outlow.
YOU SHOULD KNOW – Behind Carroll, Hall has the fifth-best recorded passing offense in the state with 216 yards per game. . …Hall started the season 8-0, but has now lost two straight 27-24 to Windsor in OT, 41-0 vs. Conard in the season finale. …NFA is the 12th-best scoring offense in the state with 35.7 points per game. It has posted shutouts in three of its last four games. …Facchini, who has played the second half of the season with a broken hand, ran for a career-best 215 yards in a 20-14 regular-season finale victory over New London.
OUR PICK — NFA 34- 0

♦♦♦♦

Class L

No. 8 Bristol Eastern at No. 1 Masuk

WHERE – Bulldog Field, Bunnell High School, Stratford
RECORDS — Bristol Eastern 9-1 (CCC Division III runners-up), Masuk 10-0 (SWC Champions)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD – Bristol Eastern 1-1; Masuk 8-10
LAST APPEARANCE – Bristol Eastern: 2007 (lost to Berlin 36-28 in Class M semifinals). Masuk 2009 (defeated Newington 56-13 in Class L championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Bristol Eastern: Sr. RB Dylon Ouellette (1,284 yds, 18 TDs rushing); Sr. QB Mat Yopp (800 yards, 9 TDs passing); Sr. OL/DL Steven Julius; Sr. RB/LB John Chiaradio. Masuk: Sr. WR/DB/K Jon Testani (5 TDs, 5 FG, 5 INT); Jr. QB Casey Cochran (2,474 yards, 35 TD, 7 INT passing); Jr. RB Colin Markus (999 yards rushing, 16 TDs; Sr. WR Tyler Perimenis (615 yards, 8 TDs receiving); Sr. WR/S/KR Joe Diaz; Jr. DB Shawn Flynn; Sr. LB Anthony Calabrese.
YOU SHOULD KNOW – Masuk is undefeated for the first time since 2003. It has defeated its 10 opponents by an average score of 50-6, best margin in the state. … Masuk has the fourth-best recorded offense in the state, with 393 yards per game. …Cochran is No. 2 on the state’s passing list.  …Masuk has scored the most points 498 and allowed the second-least points in the state (63) and leads the state with 36 sacks. …Bristol Eastern averages 36 points per game and allows 17 points per game. …Eastern’s 355 points scores is the school’s most for a single season. Ouellette is No. 8 on the all time school rushing list. …Eastern’s only loss was 40-24 to Berlin.
OUR PICK — Masuk 49-7

No. 5 Darien at No. 4 Wethersfield

WHERE – Cottone Field, Wethersfield
RECORDS — Darien 10-1 (FCIAC champions); Wethersfield (CCC Division IV champions)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD – Darien 9-6; Wethersfield: 0-0
LAST APPEARANCE – Darien: 2008 (lost to New Canaan 26-7 in Class MM championship); Wethersfield: First appearance
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Darien: Sr. LB/FB Jake Weil; Sr. OL/DL Charlie Kunze (8 sacks); Sr. DE Tucker Morehouse (13 sacks); Sr. RB/DB Graham Maybell (532 yards, 5 TD rushing); Sr. QB Chris Allam (1,268 yards passing, 15 TD, 8 INT). Wethersfield: Sr. LB/RB Chris Lesure (888 yards, 15 TDs, 8 sacks ); Sr. QB/DB Steve Vasquez (946 yards passing, 9 TD; 981 yards rushing, 14 TD); Sr. WR/DB Eric Melendy; Soph. LB Devon Henry.
YOU SHOULD KNOW – Darien won the FCIAC for the first time in 12 years. …5 players, including two starters were suspended for the remainder of the season after a vandalism incident at New Canaan’s field the day before Thanksgiving. …Darien was 10-0 before losing the Thanksgiving Day game to New Canaan 42-14. The Blue Wave had allowed just 80 points to that point. …Kunze, all-state as a junior, left the game with a high ankle sprain and is questionable, as is DB Will Weinstock. …Wethersfield’s Vaszquez is listed No. 17 in total offense in the state.
OUR PICK — Darien 24-7

No. 6 New Canaan at No. 3 Naugatuck

WHERE – Naugatuck High School
RECORDS – New Canaan 9-1, Naugatuck 9-1 (NVL Champions)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD – New Canaan 16-4; Naugautck 2-2
LAST APPEARANCE – New Canaan: 2009 (defeated East Lyme 28-0 in Class MM championship); Naugatuck: 2001 (lost to Greenwich 33-7 in Class LL semifinals).
PLAYERS TO WATCH — New Canaan: Sr. WR/DB/KR Kevin Macari (36 catches, 768 yards, 15 TDs); Sr. QB Matt Milano (2,322 yards, 33 TD, 11 TD passing); Sr. OL/DL Conor Hanratty; Sr. RB/DB Joe Costigan; Sr. NG Ryan Schullman; Sr. OL/DL Jack Atchue. Naugatuck: Sr. QB Erich Broadrick (1,136 yards, 15 TD passing); Jr. RB/LB Jake Yourison (453 yards, 3TD rushing); Sr. WR/DB Tyler Conklin; Sr. OT/DT Aaron Echevarria (6-5, 270).
YOU SHOULD KNOW– Naugatuck is making its first state playoff appearance since 2001. This is its first time hosting a state final. …New Canaan has won four straight state championships (all in Class MM, all with a different quarterback) and making its sixth straight appearance in the state playoffs. New Canaan has won 8-straight state playoff games dating back to 2006. It’s last loss was to East Lyme, 20-14 in the 2005 Class MM semifinals. …Milano has thrown for over 200 yards seven times and over 300 twice. …Naugatuck upset Ansonia to win its first NVL title and return to the state playoffs for the first time in eight years.  …Broadrick threw for 301 yards and 5 TDs. Echevarria had four sacks. …New Canaan’s only loss was a 28-27 loss to St. Joseph; Naugatuck fell to Woodland 25-6.
OUR PICK — New Canaan 42, Naugatuck 20

No. 7 North Haven at No. 3 Hand

WHERE – The Surf Club, Madison
RECORDS — North Haven 9-1 (SCC Division II East champions), Hand 9-1 (SCC Division I East co-champions)
ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORD — North Haven 0-1; Hand 14-6
LAST APPEARANCE – North Haven: 2007 (lost to Hand 35-7 in Class MM semifinals); Hand: 2007 (lost to New Canaan 34-30 in MM championship).
PLAYERS TO WATCH – North Haven: Sr. FB/LB Chris Matteis (856 yards, 12 TDs rushing, 77 tackles; Soph. RB/DB Jalon White (836 yards, 11 TD; Jr. QB Joe Schwab (554 yards, 6 TD passing; 500 yards, 6 TD rushing); Jr. TE/LB Mark Zurlis (10 tackles/gm); Sr. TE/LB Brandon McLane. Hand: Sr. QB Zach Miller (2,007 yards, 17 TD, 4 INT passing; 496 yards rushing); Sr. WR Alec Pacelli (44 catches, 852 yards receiving); Jr. RB Kevin Frey; Sr. RB/LB Michael Leone; Jr. NG Joe Demichele; Sr. LB A.J. Hill.
YOU SHOULD KNOW — North Haven has amassed 2,857 yards rushing and 35 TDs, the fourth-best rushing offense in the state. …Its 3,592 yards of total offense is 11th best in the state. …The Indians have won nine-straight games, including a 20-17 victory over Notre Dame-WH. …Former SCC Hammonasset rivals, North Haven hasn’t beaten Hand since 2001 (0-4). …Hand has the sixth-rated passing offense in the state. Millerhas thrown for over 200 yards in eight games. …Hand has never lost an early-round playoff game (5-0 in semifinals). …Its only loss was 38-14 to Notre Dame-WH.
OUR PICK — Hand 28, North Haven 21

THANKSGIVING DAY SCORING BLOG – Scores & Playoff News

Thursday, November 25, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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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

FCIAC Championship replay (Darien 17, Trumbull 7)

Monday, November 22, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Just a quick recap for posterity: The 2010 FCIAC championship game between Trumbull and Darien at McDougall Stadium on Friday.

Like we discussed in the aftermath, this victory was a mission statement from Darien, a message to the rest of the state as it heads into the Turkey Bowl clash with New Canaan. It was a statement that read a) Darien (10-0) is an excellent football team with an outstanding defense. b) It can beat any team put in front of it.

Led by an otherworldly effort from Jake Weil (10 tackles, two fourth down stops in the first half and a key fumble recovery – he should have been the game’s MVP), the Blue Wave held Trumbull scoreless in five trips inside Darien territory in the first half and off the scoreboard long enough for Graham Maybell (104 yards, TD), Chris Allam (103 yards, TD, INT) and the offense to reassert themselves with the single wing in the second half.

Once the offense took the lead, with a 12-yard strike from Allam to Peter Gesualdi, it was back to bone-crushing defense again. Peter McDonough‘s hit on Trumbull’s Phil Terio on fourth and short to end the third quarter allowed Darien to take a two-touchdown lead (set up by Allam’s 49-yard strike to Clay Barker).

And, after Trumbull had a crucial touchdown called back on a penalty, C.J. Raia iced it with a 32-yard field goal.

Just a few minutes and one so-what? touchdown from Trumbull later, Darien could finally celebrate their biggest win of the season, collectively thumb their noses at anyone who doubted them (especially this reporter), and get ready to play arch-rival New Canaan.

Essentially, the game doesn’t mean much for Darien except seeding for the Class L playoffs. But with New Canaan desperately needing a victory to get into states, you can be sure the Blue Wave would love to knock them off, and any remaining doubts about their football team (and reading comments, it seems there are still a few).

♦♦♦

Here’s the game plan for this week.

You have your mAd ScIenTiSt! scenarios: Class LL | Class L | Class M | Class S

Tonight the latest state polls will be released, as will our Elite 8.

On Tuesday, we’ll preview all of the Thanksgiving Day football games.

On Wednesday night, we’ll be running the Live Thanksgiving Night Football Blog.

On Thursday, we’ll run the Live Thanksgiving Day Football Scoring Blog, and then get you up to date on all the playoff pairings as they’re finalized.

We’ll recap it all over the weekend and get ready for the state quarterfinals.

Let’s get ready to rumble.

ThE mAd cIaC fOoTbAlL pLaYoFf sCiEnTiST! – Class M

Sunday, November 21, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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His Madness llllllooooooveess CLASS M.

It’s MAD I tells ya! MAD! So many teams. So much madness. Figuring it out on Thanksgiving will be enough to dump you into the loony bin!

And did His Madness overhear George DeMaio and Matt DeMaio call this division the Berlin Invitational on the radio the other day?

His Madness thinks that sounds about right. Though look out for New London and Brookfield.

His Madness will save his Bethel friends some time: It looks pretty dicey.

Anyway… Onto the madness

CLASS M
BERLIN 9-0 1220 – CLINCHED
New Britain 120 (LL)
Bonus 80 - East Catholic (Cheney); NWC (Plainville); Tolland (EO Smith); Bloomfield (Windsor); Rocky Hill (St. Paul); Bristol Eastern (Central); Platt (Maloney); Rockville (South Windsor)
Min – 1220 – 1300
Max – 1340 – 1420

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Clinched a home game. Can get the top seed with a win and a New London loss or just bonus points.

NEW LONDON (8-1, 1140) - CLINCHED
NFA 200 (LL)
Guarantees 10 – Waterford/East Lyme
Bonus 50 – Windham (Wilcox Tech); Wilton (Trinity); Fitch (Ledyard); Stonington (Westerly); Killingly (Putnam)
Min – 1150 – 1200
Max - 1350 – 1400

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Clinches a home game with a win. Can get the top seed with a win and bonus help over Berlin.

PLAINVILLE (8-1, 1090) – CLINCHED

Northwest Catholic 130
Bonus 80 – Maloney (Platt); Weaver (Hartford Public); RHAM (Bacon); Bulkeley (SSMA); EO Smith (Tolland); Rockville (South Windsor); East Catholic (Cheney); Fermi (Farmington)
Min - 1090 – 1170
Max - 1220 – 1300

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Clinches at least a home game with a win.

That leaves five spots and 12 million teams vying for them (OK 14).

BROOKFIELD (7-2, 970)
Bethel 160
Guarantee 20 - Weston/Barlow; Stratford/Bunnell
Bonus 30 - Immaculate (NDFF); New Milford (New Fairfield); Pomperaug (Oxford)
Min - 990 – 1020
Max - 1150 – 1180

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: In with a win, clinches a home game. A loss and can still qualify, but realistically only if at least three contenders lose.

COVENTRY/WINDHAM TECH (7-2, 950)
Ellington/Somers 150
Guarantee 30 - Enfield/Granby; Housatonic/Gilbert; Windsor Locks/Stafford
Min – 980
Max – 1130

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Locked in with maximum and minimum points. Win clinches a spot. Loss and they’ll need serious help.

GILBERT/NORTHWESTERN 7-2 950
Housatonic 150
Guarantee 10 - Stafford/Windsor Locks;
Bonus 30 – Haddam/Killingworth (Valley Reigonal); Granby (Enfield); Ellington (Coventry)
Min – 960 – 990
Max - 1110 – 1140

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Clinches with a victory. Loss and they’ll need serious help.

LYMAN HALL 7-2 950
Sheehan 120
Guarantee 10 - EH/Branford
Bonus 50 – Platt Tech (Abbott); Hillhouse (Cross); Law (Foran); Guilford (Hand); Amity (North Haven)
Min - 960 – 1010
Max - 1080 – 1130

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Clinches a spot with victory. A loss and they’d be in the same boat as Brookfield: needing at least three other contenders to lose.

If all of the above teams win, that leaves ONE spot with 8 million teams vying for it.

PLATT (7-2, 860)
Maloney 190 (L)
Guaranteed 10 - Tolland/EO Smith
Bonus 50 - NWC (Plainville); East Catholic (Cheney); Rocky Hill (St. Paul); New Britain (Berlin); Bloomfield (Windsor)
Min – 870 – 920
Max – 1060 – 1110

Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: It might rip the hearts out of every remaining contender (and Maloney in Class L) if it happens to win on Thanksgiving. It would easily hurdle over Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech, beat Hillhouse with one bonus game and Cheney Tech with two bonuses (although those bonuses aren’t exactly sure things.

An easier way is a victory and  loss by one of the teams above.

CHENEY TECH (7-2, 910)
East Catholic 110 (120 – 10S)
Guarantee 10 - Platt Tech/Abbott Tech
Bonus 50 – SMSA (Bulkeley); Wilcox Tech (Windham); Putnam (Killingly); Bullard-Havens (Bassick); Prince Tech (Capital Prep)
Min – 920 – 970
Max - 1030 – 1080

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Needs to win and one of  the six top contenders to lose, especially Platt which could outpoint Cheney if one spot remains. If two teams above lose, write 8-2 Cheney Tech in.

HILLHOUSE (6-3, 860)
Wilbur Cross 150 (140 + 10LL)
Guarantee 10 - Foran/Law
Bonus 40 - North Haven (Amity); Guilford (Hand); Branford (EH); Sheehan (Lyman Hall)
Min - 870 – 910
Max – 1020 – 1060

His Madness SEZ: Needs to win, and get a loss from at least one of the teams above — especially Platt and Cheney Tech.

PUTNAM/TOURTELLOTTE/ELLIS (7-2, 880)
Killingly 100 (-10 for Class S)
Guarantee 20 - Abbott/Platt; Capital Prep/Prince Tech
Bonus 30 – Wilcox Tech (Windham); Bullard-Havens (Bassick); St. Bernard (Montville)
Min – 900 – 930
Max – 1000 – 1030

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: They’ll need to win and hope two top contenders lose, especially two of these: Platt, Coventry, Hillhouse, Cheney Tech, Gilbert/Northwestern.

LEDYARD 5-3 780
Fitch 170 (L)
Guaranteed 10 - Plainfield/Griswold
Bonus – 30 Wilcox (Windham); Bacon (RHAM); Branford (EH)
Min – 790 – 820
Max – 960 – 990

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Need to win, get all of its bonuses and have a bunch of the contenders to lose, especially Cheney Tech, Putnam, Hillhouse, Coventry, Gilbert, Lyman Hall (not in that order).

WATERFORD 6-3 800
East Lyme 160 (L)
Bonus 50 - Stonington (Westerly); St. Bernard (Montville); Ledyard (Fitch); Bacon Academy (RHAM); Plainfield (Griswold)
Min – 800 – 850
Max – 960 – 1010

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: They have slight chance, just needs lots and lots of teams to lose ahead of it.

BETHEL 6-3 770
Brookfield 170
Guaranteed 10 - NDFF/Immaculate;
Bonus 40 - Newtown (Masuk); New Milford (New Fairfield); Barlow (Weston); Stratford (Bunnell)
Min - 780 – 820
Max - 950 – 990

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Same as Waterford, but with slightly less a chance.

WATERTOWN 6-3 760
Torrington 170 (L)
Guaranteed 10 - Kennedy/Crosby
Bonus 40 – Seymour (Woodland); St. Paul (Rocky Hill); Wolcott (Holy Cross); Wilby (Sacred Heart)
Max - 940 – 980

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Even worse than Bethel and Waterford.

ENFIELD (7-2, 840)
Granby Memorial 100
Guarantee 20 – Stafford/Windsor Locks; Housatonic/Gilbert
Bonus 10 - Ellington (Coventry)
Min - 860 – 870
Max – 960 – 970

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: Even worse than Bethel, Waterford and Watertown (get the picture?)

WOLCOTT (6-3, 740)
Holy Cross 150
Guaranteed 20 – Crosby/Kennedy; Wooldand/Seymour
Bonus 20 – Wilby (Sacred Heart); Killingly (Putnam)
Max - 910 – 930

The Mad Playoff Scientist SEZ: This is like the the eighth level of Inception.

If Wolcott got in, duck and cover. The end is nigh.

No Doubt About Darien: Blue Wave win FCIAC Championship

Saturday, November 20, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Darien's Clay Barker catches a 49-yard pass from Chris Allam to set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Darien's 17-7 victory over Trumbull in the FCIAC title game.

Graham Maybell runs for yardage during Darien's FCIAC championship victory.

All season long, Darien silently seethed beneath the talk. They heard the whispers. They read the clippings.

They had a good team, those of us supposedly in the know said, but they weren’t boss. They couldn’t be boss.

Just look at the schedule. Not one heavyweight among them. You beat St. Joseph? Yeah, but not at full strength. Red Lion Christian? Wasn’t that a glorified JV team? Just wait until they played a real squad.

They champed on their mouth guards. They wrung their hands. They lifted a little harder in the weight room, paid closer attention to their game plans. And then took inventory of all who slighted them. They were 9-0, but felt disrespected.

They plotted their vengeance.

On Friday night at Jerry McDougall Stadium, the home of the very same Trumbull football team they were to face in the FCIAC championship game, the Blue Wave did what they always did: They patiently waited for their moment and pounced… full force.

“Yeah, people underestimate us, but that’s what we thrive on,” senior defensive lineman Jake Weil said (singling out this space as one of Darien’s motivational targets). “We read the press. It gets us fired up. …We just had to come out, prove everybody wrong.”

Darien won its first league championship in 12 years, beating big, bad Trumbull on its own field with a methodical second half that resulted in a 17-7 victory.

Their staunch and stingy defense, led by Charlie Kunze and an otherworldly effort from Weil, held down the fort until Graham Maybell, Clay Barker and Chris Allam got the offense in gear.

They went back to their basic offense, riding Maybell in the single wing down beneath the shadow of the Trumbull goal line. Then Allam struck the unsuspecting Eagles with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Peter Gesualdi.

That’s been Darien’s formula all year long. Play tough, disciplined football. Check the fence for weaknesses, plot the breakthrough. Darien did it to take its 7-0 lead. They did it to make the score 14-0. They did it to add the clinching field goal.

With Trumbull (and, by proxy, the rest of the league) vanquished and no one remaining on top of the heap, they looked around the field and collectively asked Does anybody want to doubt us now?

The answer should be a resounding no.

That’s because Darien proved the most important believers are the teams that believe in themselves — from the starting 11 down to the very bottom of the roster. From there, anything can happen.

“I know our schedule’s not the best, no offense to the teams we played,” Kunze said. “But we played Red Lion, and it was the most physical game I’ve ever been a part of. So we were confident coming into this one. We knew what kind of team we had and we knew we didn’t have to prove anything. It only matters what we think of ourselves and we knew we had a great team.”

They believed, and now they’re 10-0. Undefeated — the last of their kind in the FCIAC, one of seven left in Connecticut.

There’s no doubt about it, in 2010, Darien is one of the top teams in the state.

Yes, there’s still the matter of New Canaan in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving. And — as far as the standings look now — they still must defeat New Canaan to assure themselves a spot among the state’s elite.

The FCIAC title game victory will look nice in a display case, but perhaps the most important thing to take away from the game is message this victory sends — a message to all that may stand in front that the Blue Wave from here onward (beginning with New Canaan next week).

They haven’t just arrived, they’ve been here all season.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” Kunze said of the coming week. “We’ve got practice bright and early tomorrow morning. We’re going to start getting ready for them (New Canaan) and we’re really excited.”

Trumbull could only lament the things that might have been. Five times they were in Darien territory in the first half, three times inside the 20, but didn’t score a point vs. Darien’s defense. Trumbull fails to ‘cash in’ during first half

They’ll go back to the drawing board with a short week before taking on St. Joseph on Thanksgiving Eve back at Trumbull.

THE CLINCH IS IN

Here is some good news for Trumbull fans: Enough happened around the state last night (namely Glastonbury beating Simsbury ) to allow Trumbull to clinched a berth in the Class LL playoffs.

Yes. Trumbull is in. …And so is St. Joseph. They also clinched a spot when North Branford rallied to beat Coginchaug.

So the Thanksgiving Eve game means only for seeding in Class LL and S.

Also clinching in Class LL was Glastonbury, whittling that field down to four spots — including the winner of Hall/Conard. So if you’re scoring at home, that’s just three spots for Newtown (win and in), Southington (win and in), Staples (win and in) …and West Haven or maybe even Pomperaug, should twp of the above falter.

In Class M, Plainville joins the field alongside Berlin and New London (now just five spots for about a dozen and a half teams.

Hyde, despite losing to Valley  Cromwell last night, is very close to clinching in Class S along with Valley Regional, Ansonia, St. Joseph. That would leave four spots. Woodland and Sacred Heart are closing in on playoff berths.

Class L is and remains an absolute mess. No guarantees for anyone.

The Mad Scientist is ready to reveal his formulas this week.

Until later.

Add: We’ll have much more to add to the video above, including interviews, later this evening.

The CIAC Presents: The State Playoff Worksheet (The HAL Supercomputer)

Monday, November 15, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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CIAC’s PLAYOFF POINT WORKSHEET

The Sunday of Week 9 is typically not fun for me. It’s the day when I wipe the sleep out of my eyes, clear off the table, grab a paper and pencil, open the computer and transform into The Playoff Mad Scientist.

“OK. Xavier. Has 1280 points. Finishes the year with Middletown. Middletown has seven wins. That’s 170 points. Xavier defeated Notre Dame, Foran, Cheshire, Amity, Fairfield Prep, Shelton, Hillhouse, Hamden and West Haven. …It gets 20 guaranteed points from Notre Dame/Hamden and Fairfield Prep/West Haven… It will get bonuses for Cheshire (over Southington); Amity (North Haven); Foran (Law); Shelton (Derby); Hillhouse (Wilbur Cross)… Oh, wait, Foran also plays Platt Tech…? Guh… so Xavier has another 10 potential bonus, so that’s 60 total. …Xavier’s 1280 + the guarantees means they can finish with no less than 1300 points with a loss. …If they win, they will finish no worse than 1470… Their maximum point potential is 1530.

Ok. Next is NFA…

And so on. Over and over again down the list until I think a team has no shot at earning enough points to qualify. It’s time consuming for the leagues that I know. Then you get to Class M and S and deal with the Pequot Division, where teams have crazy compound names and still have two games to play.

That’s when the migraine sets in.

Hal Levy

But if you want to stay ahead of your peers, you have to know the playoff scenarios ASAP. I’ve been doing this for 10 years. I learned how to do it from Hal Levy, the late editor of the Shoreline Times, whose job it was to meticulously calculate the entire state for the CIAC. He used to have exclusive rights to the CIAC playoff points and we used to wait, with baited breath, until Hal unveiled the numbers in his newspaper.

Then came the internet, and with it Matt Fischer of the CIAC. He instantly developed a program on the CIAC’s website that tabulated all the points and kept track of the bonuses. Poor Hal was obsolete in this regard.

But what Fischer’s program didn’t do was go through all of the points and give you scenarios and tell you who was clinched, still alive or eliminated. Concocting scenarios was left to the sports writers — with varying degrees of error. (We’re writers, dammit, not mathematicians!)

So Hal still did this. To stay ahead, he typically knew three weeks in advance what Hyde needed to do to qualify in Class S. We’d typically cross-reference our numbers with Hal’s.

Hal died of cancer in 2008. The CIAC playoff scenarios was one of Hal’s many legacies.

Now, two years after Hal’s death, Fischer has recreated his services with a program that gives us all of the team’s potential bonuses and guarantees and tells us who’s alive and who’s clinched in all the CIAC playoff points.

Welcome to the 21st Century. Now we’re all obsolete.

Introducing the CIAC’s PLAYOFF POINT WORKSHEET.

I call it the HAL 9000 — the supercomputer from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and a tip of the cap to the former CIAC pointskeeper, Hal Levy.

Now you know — without suffering through a whole day’s worth of banging your head against your desk — where your favorite team stands in the CIAC playoff point race.

You know what guaranteed points your team will get. You know what Thanksgiving Games to count on for potential bonus points.

It updates in real time, so once the points start coming in on Thanksgiving, all we’ll have to do is refer to this to see where everybody stands to the minute and what — if any — chance they still have at getting it.

In short, you can figure the CIAC scenarios on your own and track it quickly.

Fischer sent the BETA to The Day’s Ned Griffen and I yesterday (well after we both calculated all of the points, smh) to check the computer’s math. It was spot-on, of course. There were a few minor glitches we needed to iron out before we signed off on its accuracy. Fischer unveiled it today.

What HAL tells us, and what NED and SPB confirmed is the following:

CLASS LL
Clinched: Xavier (9-0), NFA (9-0).
Win-and-in: Trumbull (8-1), Glastonbury (8-1), Hall (8-1), Newtown (8-1), Southington (8-1), Staples (8-1).
Win and help: West Haven (7-2), Conard (7-2), Pomperaug (7-2)

Everyone else is eliminated.

CLASS L
Clinched: Masuk (9-0)
Win-and-in: Darien (9-0), Hand (8-1), Avon (8-1), Naugatuck (8-1)
Win and some help: Wethersfield (8-1), North Haven (8-1), Maloney (8-1).
Win and lots of help: Bristol Eastern (8-1), New Canaan (8-1), Windsor (7-2).
Win and a miracle: Middletown (7-2), Notre Dame-WH (6-3), Fitch (5-3)

CLASS M
Clinched: Berlin (9-0), New London (8-1).
Win and in: Plainville (8-1), Brookfield (7-2), Enfield (7-2), Coventry/Windham Tech (6-2, 2 games remaining)
Still alive: Lyman Hall (7-2), Cheney Tech (7-2), Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech (6-2, 2 games left), Platt (7-2), Hillhouse (6-3), Gilbert/Northwestern (6-2), Waterford (6-3), Watertown (6-3), Bethel (6-3), Wolcott (6-3), Ledyard (5-3, 2 games left), Bullard-Havens (6-3) … and yes, even Derby/O’Brien Tech.

CLASS S
Clinched: Ansonia (9-0), Valley Regional/Old Lyme (8-0, 2 games left), Montville (8-1)
Win and in: Hyde (7-1, 2 games left), St. Joseph (7-2), Coginchaug (7-1, 2 games left).
Win and help: Woodland (7-2), Sacred Heart (7-2), Cromwell (6-2, 2 games left), Capital Prep/Classical Magnet (5-3, 2 games left).
Win and a prayer: North Branford (4-4, 2 games left).

Now that all of you have access to the scenarios, feel free to muse about all of them here.

Yes, 3/4ths of the Mad Scientist’s job is done, so the only thing left is digging up scenarios. But never fear, he’ll be around. We’ll post all of our scenarios here as we draw closer to Thanksgiving.

Week 8: Shock and Awe

Saturday, November 6, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Ben Ceci, right, attempts to take down New Canaan's Kevin Macari during lst half action between Greenwich and New Canaan at Dunning Field, Friday night, Nov. 5, 2010. Photo: Bob Luckey / Greenwich Time

Fairfield County is a breed apart from Connecticut when it comes to high school football coverage.

We’re blessed (cursed?) with four dailies, maybe a dozen and a half hyper-local weekly newspapers and websites, two radio stations and one huge TV conglomerate, the year-old MSG Varsity and Cablevision affiliate News 12.

They all converged like a tidal wave on Dunning Stadium Friday night, where dollars from two of the richest towns in the country outweighed the sense.

I’d never seen anything like it, you had WGCH and WSTC/WNLK radio broadcasters packed into the Dunning press box. You had yours truly filming, Dave Ruden writing and Matt Norlander (New Canaan News) musing for Hearst Connecticut. You had FCIAC official sponsor Hersam-Acorn, with New Canaan Advertiser’s man Dave Stewart and Greenwich Post’s Paul Silverfarb. AOL’s New Canaan Patch was there, too. as was Main Street Connect’s The Daily New Canaan…. (Did I miss anyone?)

And then, of course, you had MSG Varsity, the Cablevision monstrosity that has taken the tri-state high school scene by storm, at least in the Cablevision coverage area (most of us don’t get to see Varsity, unfortunately, including me).

Though its Connecticut coverage is typically tertiary behind Jersey, and New York, Varsity pulled all the stops and stars for this live broadcast. Yes, you heard me, live, and broadcast alongside another megamatchup from Jersey.

You had effervescent host Mike Quick alongside a couple other analysts and talking heads on the pregame studio show, which broadcast from the southwest corner of the end zone in an elaborate setup reminiscent of NFL Today. On the sideline, you had a broadcast reporter (didn’t catch her name) and the network’s website reporter, former Greenwich Time writer and colleague Jesse Quinlan.

New Canaan's Joe Costigan, right, outruns Greeniwch's Ryan Kelly and Jim Barrett at Dunning Field, Friday night, Nov. 5, 2010. Photo: Bob Luckey / Greenwich Time

And just for kicks, I guess, Cablevision’s News 12 had its very own helicopter — Chopper 12 — hovering not-so-silently above the event for aerial shots (and replays) from Dunning Stadium.

CTSN and WTNH eat your heart out.

The place was packed. It was a media circus. I half forgot this was a matchup between third- and fourth-place FCIAC teams and not the state championship. Then I realized, state championships never get this much coverage.

As for the game, well, it was a showcase all right — a New Canaan showcase. A showcase for senior receiver/defensive back Kevin Macari, who shined brighter than the kleig lights that descended on the field. He scored on three touchdown passes and a 70-yard interception as the Rams, fighting for their playoff lives, absolutely crushed Greenwich 42-20.

And it wasn’t even that close. This was two quarters of madness, which culminated in a 42-7 lead — the worst beating I’ve ever seen a Greenwich team take in my 10-plus years covering high school football and the worst beating New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said he’d never put on his rivals.

“It’s not too often you get to beat Greenwich,” Marinelli said. “But for us to do this, is mind boggling to me.”

What followed was 24 minutes of tranquility. By game’s end, with the throngs long since departed and the TV studio packed away, it looked like your ordinary high school football game …which all this really was in the grand scheme of things.

Trumbull's Phil Terio makes a one-hand interception on the Ridgefield goal line and returns it 100 yards for a touchdown. Photo: Barry Horn / The News-Times Freelance.

This game had more to do with New Canaan’s state playoff hopes. Its chances of moving the FCIAC title game to Dunning for the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving are pretty much finished, anyway.

That’s because meanwhile, up at Tiger Hollow, Phil Terio returned a pick 100 yards for a score as Trumbull took care of Ridgefield, 34-19.

In Wilton, Tyler Jacobs and freshman Jack Massi spelled Chet Pajolek at quarterback as Staples routed Wilton.

On Saturday, Darien did the expected and routed Westhill.

So all Darien needs to do is beat Norwalk and they’re in the FCIAC title game. Staples and Trumbull will duke it out next Saturday for the chance to play them.

Here’s a text message I received from Wilton during halftime of the New Canaan-Greenwich game.

“It’s time for a showdown.”

Ah yes.

A real one.

Don’t forget to bring the helicopter.

♦♦♦♦

Brookfield's defense swarms Pomperaug's Andrew Reel in Friday's 27-14 road victory.

In the SWC, Brian Kelly and Brookfield shocked Pomperaug 27-14 to all but knock the Panthers out of the SWC title race while affirming their hopes in Class M. It was a pretty surprising result, until you see that Pomperaug, which had won five straight, committed six fumbles, lost three. It’s been real, Pomperaug.

Brookfield just might reach the Class M field if it wins out. It’s got a toughie vs. Bunnell next week. Looking at the young roster, the Bobcats’ best days may still be in front of it.

On Saturday night, Oxford scored first and actually scored more points in one game (28) than Masuk had allowed all season (21), but Casey Cochran threw for 325 yards and six touchdowns as Masuk clinched a spot in the SWC title game with a 69-28 victory at Benedict Field.

Newtown inched one victory closer to making the SWC title game a Thanksgiving Day affair with a 28-0 victory over Barlow.

♦♦♦♦

In the NVL, we will not get an Ansonia-Naugy Thanksgiving Day showdown for the NVL championship. Woodland took out unbeaten Naugatuck rather easily and Ansonia crushed St. Paul 54-25.

So it’s going to be Montrell Dobbs and Ansonia vs. Jack DeBiase and Woodland in a rematch of “Kneegate,” the two-day, 41-36 Ansonia victory in Week 1, which was aided by DeBiase accidentally downing himself on fourth and goal in the fourth quarter (watch here).

Game time is Nov. 18 at Municipal Stadium.

♦♦♦♦

Finally, in the SCC we had scoring, scoring and more scoring.

And more scoring.

Guilford beat Law 62-57, which matched the state record for highest scoring game in the modern era (119 points – set by Vinal Tech/Rocky Hill in 1999).

Anybody got a DVD of this game? Or at least a boxscore?

In addition to the combined 101 points West Haven and Cross put up the night before, and the 97 combined put up by Notre Dame-WH/Cross scored last week, doth we detect a trend in the SCC?  (How about Wilbur Cross, by the way, you score 44 and 42 points in two games and lose them both.

It was low-scoring 82-point game, but Notre Dame-WH beat Cheshire 46-36 in the Wonder Bowl (as in, we wonder what this match up could have meant had the two teams not lost a few extra games along the way).

Lyman Hall, gunning for a showdown with North Haven next week for a spot in the playoffs, needed a goal line stand to hold off Amity 34-27.

Does anybody except Xavier play defense in the SCC anymore?

Here’s our Friday roundup, which includes a recap of Bunnell’s Bryan Castelot‘s 7-TD performance vs. Immaculate.

Saturday’s Roundup, detailing wins by Stratford, Masuk, Bullard-Havens, Trinity Catholic and Darien.

Whew.

Here are the updated CIAC Playoff Standings. Class L is looking juicier and juicer, isn’t it?

Lots more to come. Until then…

League playoff race update for Week 7

Sunday, October 31, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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Things got pretty much back to normal Saturday with all of the favorites winning, restoring some sanity to Week 7.

So as we move on to Week 8, here’s a look at the local league playoff races.

Here are the FCIAC playoff standings through Week 7.

FCIAC PLAYOFF HUNT

(Through Week 7)

Team FCIAC Pts Avg
Darien 6-0 720 122.0
Staples 7-0 840 120.0
Trumbull 6-1 790 112.9
New Canaan 5-1 560 93.3
Greenwich 5-2 630 90.0
Central 5-2 570 81.4
Ridgefield 4-2 480 80.0

Darien (Westhill, Norwalk remaining) and Staples (Wilton, Trumbull remaining) are in the lead and control their own destinies. But so does Trumbull (Ridgefield, Staples remaining), which will likely clinch if it wins out.

New Canaan (Greenwich, Central) needs to win out and hope for lots of help, likely Trumbull to lose to Ridgefield and Staples to lose to Trumbull to get a shot at outpointing Staples with one-loss.

There’s virtually no chance of any 2-loss team to make it.

NOTE: The FCIAC Championship will be played Friday, Nov. 19 at Trumbull’s McDougall Stadium.

SWC PLAYOFF HUNT

(Through Week 7)

Team SWC Pts Avg
Masuk 7-0 970 138.57
Newtown 6-1 770 110.00
Pomperaug 6-1 730 104.29
Brookfield 5-2 600 85.71
Bunnell 5-2 590 84.29
Oxford 5-2 590 84.29

Masuk (Oxford, Immaculate remaining) will clinch a berth with just one more victory. Let’s be honest. They’re practically guaranteed a berth.

Pomperaug and Newtown are in a tight race for second place. If they finish tied, since they don’t play each other the tiebreaker will go down to CIAC playoff points. Newtown (Barlow, Stratford remaining) has decided slight point edge. Pomperaug (Brookfield, New Fairfield remaining) will need lots of help. The Panthers would likely lose out in a points race.

NOTE: The SWC championship will be played Thursday, Nov. 18 at Brookfield. Unless, the two qualifying teams play on Thanksgiving. In that case the Thanksgiving game is your championship. I’m told SWC changed this in the offseason.

NVL PLAYOFF HUNT

(Through Week 7)

Brass Div All
Ansonia* 5-0 7-0
Derby/O’Brien 3-1 3-4
Watertown 2-2 4-3
Crosby 2-2 2-5
Wolcott 2-3 4-3
Wilby 1-3 1-6
Seymour 0-4 0-7
Copper Div All
Naugatuck 4-0 7-0
Woodland 4-0 5-2
Torrington 2-2 5-2
Holy Cross 1-3 4-3
Sacred Heart 1-3 4-3
Kennedy 1-4 2-5
St. Paul 1-4 2-5

This is pretty simple. No playoff points involved here. *Ansonia has clinched the Brass Division title with its 33-32 victory over Derby/O’Brien Tech. The Copper Division title will be decided this week when Woodland visits Naugatuck.

If Woodland wins that game, the NVL Championship will be a Woodland-Ansonia rematch, Thursday, Nov. 18 at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury (Ansonia won the first game 41-36 in Week 1).

If Naugatuck wins, it’ll be Naugy-Ansonia on Thanksgiving Day.

Yes, indeed.

Week 6: We’re Halfway Home

Friday, October 22, 2010 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
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♦♦♦

WALK OUTSIDE. Take a breath. Look around.

See that? Feel that? Taste that? There’s a chill in the air. Brilliant oranges, yellows and reds are blooming from the trees. The ground crackles and snaps beneath your feet. We’re knee-deep in autumn.

And those crowds on Friday night, they buzz just a little bit louder on the sidelines, don’t they? The cheers pack a little more wallop when something good happens. Those groans creak a little louder when something doesn’t.

We’ve reached the midpoint of the 2010 High School Football Season.

Can you feel it? The intensity is building.

Just five more weeks, and we’ll be scarfing down playoff scenarios with our Thanksgiving Turkey.

So what do we know? What have we discovered so far? Who’s up? Who’s Down? Who’s out?

Masuk's Jon Testani

Five weeks into the SWC season and nobody’s touched Masuk. Jon Testani, Anthony Calabrese and the first team defense hasn’t given up a point. The offense is explosive, with Casey Cochran and Colin Markus. The Panthers win by an average score of 45-3. I haven’t seen this much regular-season hype about a Masuk team since Wargo-Mish-Muniz-Cavanaugh-etc. in 2003.

The rest of the league has been competitive, but far, far behind the Monroe Panthers. It’s become a race for second place, with Bunnell, Newtown, Pomperaug and even Brookfield all jockeying for the second spot… for the right to get hammered by Masuk in the title game? It certainly looks that way. No worries. There’s always the state playoffs, and all are in contention.

Trumbull's Phil Terio

Five weeks into the FCIAC season, it’s not as clear-cut.

At the top, we have 5-0 Staples, which passed one test against Ridgefield and is biding its time until November, hoping to stay healthy and get one or two key players (read: sophomore Nick Kelly) back for the stretch run.

We have Phil Terio and 5-0 Trumbull, who have passed two huge tests vs. Central and Greenwich and is building confidence. We have 5-0 Darien, which is basically done with the competitive part of the FCIAC schedule and is waiting to see how the rest of the league shakes out. We have 5-0 New Canaan, which is just starting the competitive part of its schedule.

After that, Central (4-1) and Ridgefield are close behind, chasing their only losses of the season, waiting for the next round of big games. St. Joseph (3-2) is trying hard to stay afloat in the Class S playoff race, praying it can beat New Canaan Saturday and keep their season alive, praying senior Tyler Matakevich can return in time to make a difference in this, his senior season.

This league is just starting to heat up.

Who will reach the FCIAC championship? It’s a bottle neck right now, and there are worries we’ll have a three-team tie at the end of Week 9.

West Haven's Kevin Phillips

Five weeks into the SCC season, top-ranked Xavier and its bone-crushing defense remain the class of the league. Kevin Phillips and West Haven are 5-0, with an impressive victory over former No. 1 Notre Dame-West Haven on its resume. But their schedule only gets brutal from here: at Cheshire, vs. Hand, at Wilbur Cross, at Xavier.

Same goes for 4-1 Wilbur Cross. Speedster James Ward and the Govs earned an impressive victory vs. Cheshire last week, but their climb only gets tougher: at Hand, at Notre Dame, vs. West Haven… And Hand, and Notre Dame-WH and Shelton.

Foof.

Will someone rise to the top, or will these teams just knock each other off until nobody’s left standing?

Say what you will, nobody faces a gauntlet like the SCC Division I schools. Nobody. 8-2 might not get some of these teams into the playoffs, but it seems like it should. (I’m not complaining, just wish some other leagues would adopt the SCC philosophy… although I’ve heard other interesting alternatives).

Five/Six weeks into the NVL season, and Ansonia is all growns up. Maybe not physically (still lots of underclassmen — and you know what that means), but as a team they’ve answered the call with crushing victories over Holy Cross, Wolcott and Watertown. Montrell Dobbs is tearing the league up. Freshman Arkeel Newsome is turning heads — and not just when he runs by you on a kickoff return.

On the other side, you have, possibly, the first legit Naugatuck team since 2000. Unless Torrington, or Jack DeBaise and Woodland show up (these teams play Friday night), the season will come down to a mega-Thanksgiving Day matchup at Jarvis Stadium between the old Rivals.

Cherish the thought, NVL fans.

Five Weeks into the Connecticut High School football season the Southwestern Connecticut teams are still king.

Is there anyone up north or east (excluding Xavier, an SCC school) that can challenge any of our boys?

Six weeks left until the end of the regular season and we begin the quarterfinals and the road to Rentschler…

♦♦♦♦

Now, to business…

Here’s your Week 6 Lineup:

A look back and look ahead at the 2010 season to date, compiled by the football staff at Hearst CT, me included. What about you? What’s were your favorite games and moments from the first half of the season? WRITE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

The HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PAGE

ON THE AIR – WEEK 6

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

AND, finally, the neverending high school football live update Twitter feed:

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