It’s that time of year again… the Greatest Sporting Day of the Year in Connecticut.

Rivalry Week. Thanksgiving Week.

A day where every game means something — be it pride, a winning season, a .500 season, precious playoff points, bragging rights — and it’s played in front of, most likely, your largest crowd of the year.

For most of you seniors, it’s your last game. For a few others, it’s your first playoff game. And for a select precious few, it’s the start of what you hope to be a glorious championship season.

And for everybody, it’s time to tell us who’s going to win the games.

Pretty straightforward. Just read the preview, and pick ‘em. (Most of the statistics provided are via teams on Maxpreps.com, a minority of teams do not provide statistics.)

For complete state playoff scenarios, give the Mad Playoff Scientist a visit. He’s got all the goods for you. CLASS LL | CLASS L | CLASS M | CLASS S

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Tuesday Night

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Platt Tech at O’Brien Tech

WHERE/WHEN– Finn Stadium, Shelton; 6 p.m.
RECORDS — Platt Tech 3-6, O’Brien Tech 3-6
T-DAY SERIES — First meeting
LAST YEAR — First meeting
KEY STATS — O’Brien Tech sophomore QB Nick Coppola is second in the CSC in passing yards (725). …The teams met at J.J. Sullivan’s in Ansonia in hopes of creating a Thanksgiving week tradition.
AT STAKE — Four wins for both schools. Three straight wins for O’Brien Tech.

Oxford at Pomperaug

WHERE/WHEN – Edward Arum Athletic Complex, Southbury, 6 p.m.
RECORDS — Oxford 3-6, Pomperaug 7-2
T-DAY SERIES — Pomperaug 3-0
LAST YEAR — Pomperaug 38-6
KEY STATS — Pomperaug senior LB Tyler Valenti leads the state with 137 tackles (solo and assists). …Pomperaug’s defense is third in the league in points allowed (16.7 per game). …Pomperaug’s Matt Paola leads state with seven field goals, including state record 54-yarder vs. ND-Fairfield. …Oxford junior Brennan Diaz is tied for fourth in the SWC with 5 sacks. …Oxford is on a two-game win streak. …The game was moved from Oxford (on Thanksgiving Day) to Pomperaug due to field issues.
AT STAKE — An outside shot at a Class LL playoff berth for Pomperaug. Oxford’s first victory in the series.

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Thanksgiving Eve

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Abbott Tech at Wilcox Tech

WHERE/WHEN – Falcon Field, Meriden, 6 p.m.
RECORDS — Abbott Tech 2-7, Wilcox Tech 1-8
T-DAY SERIES — First meeting
KEY STATS — Abbott Tech snapped a 20-game losing streak vs. Stamford Academy in October and then followed it with a 27-14 victory over Wolcott Tech, the first CSC victory in program history. Wilcox Tech’s only victory was vs. Wolcott Tech, which is in its first year as a program. Wilcox Tech defeated Abbott Tech 44-12 in last year’s regular season.
AT STAKE — An unprecedented third victory for Abbott Tech’s football program.

Danbury at Ridgefield

WHERE/WHEN – Lancaster Field at Tiger Hollow, 7 p.m. [Time change]
RECORDS — Danbury 5-4, Ridgefield 7-2
T-DAY SERIES — Ridgefield 6-3
LAST YEAR — Ridgefield 27-14
KEY STATS — Danbury senior RB James Harrington is one of the FCIAC’s leading rushers with 1,022 yards and the leading scorer with 128 points. Danbury FB/LB Austin Calitro is committed to Villanova. …Ridgefield QB Connor Rowe is 2nd in the league in passing yards (1,706). Sr. WR Jack Heller is second in the league in receiving yards (544). Jr. Sam Gravitte is second in the league with 103 points scored and has 4 sacks.
AT STAKE — A shot at a state playoff berth for Ridgefield. A winning season for Danbury.

Woodland at Seymour

WHERE/WHEN– DeBarber Field, 6 p.m.
RECORDS — Woodland 5-4, Seymour 5-4
T-DAY SERIES — Seymour 6-3
LAST YEAR — Woodland 47-7
KEY STATS — Woodland sophomore Tanner Kingsley is one of the NVL’s leading passers (1,407 yards); Matt Zaccaginini is the third-leading rusher (1,266). David Alves leads the league with 7 sacks. …Seymour’s Luke Grabowski has passed for 1,037 yards. Jon Wilson has 923 rushing yards. …Both teams have lost two straight.
AT STAKE — Bragging rights. Seymour’s first winning season under coach Tom Lennon.

SWC CHAMPIONSHIP

Masuk at Newtown

WHERE/WHEN– Blue and Gold Stadium, Newtown, 7 p.m.
RECORDS — Newtown 8-1, Masuk 9-0
T-DAY SERIES — Masuk 8-6-1
LAST YEAR — Masuk 42-0
KEY STATS — Masuk is No. 1 in the state in scoring, 55.7 points per game, an average of 10 points higher than any other school. …UConn commit, QB Casey Cochran is third in the state with 2,448 passing yards. … Masuk leads league with just 89 points allowed. …Thomas Milone (138) and Colin Markus (126) are 2nd and 3rd in the league in scoring. …Newtown’s Lou Fenaroli leads the league with 1,539 rushing yards (school record), and points scored (162). …Newtown DL Hunter Bassett leads SWC with 8.5 sacks (9th in state). …Junior WR/DB Dan Hebert is tied for the league lead with 5 interceptions. …Newtown is the 10th-highest scoring team in the state (39.8 ppg). …The game was moved from Masuk to Newtown due to rain forecasts and field issues at Masuk. This was supposed to be Masuk’s homecoming. It has played just two game at home all season.
AT STAKE — The SWC Championship: Newtown’s first since 1997; Second-consecutive for Masuk. Class LL seeding for Newtown. Class L playoff spot for Masuk.

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Thanksgiving Day

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Barlow at Weston

WHERE/WHEN– Weston High School, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Barlow 3-6, Weston 6-3
T-DAY SERIES — Weston, 6-5-4
LAST YEAR — Weston 48-12
KEY STATS — Weston junior Tyler Hassett is tied for first in the SWC with five interceptions. …Weston has allowed 202 points, least of all SWC Patriot teams. …Barlow is third in the state with 2,941 rushing yards. …Barlow sophomore QB Jack Shaban leads the team with 1,016 yards (7th in SWC).
AT STAKE — Weston’s first state playoff berth. Bragging rights.

Brookfield at Bethel

WHERE/WHEN — Ralph DeSantis Field, 10 a.m.
RECORDS – Bethel 6-3, Brookfield 5-4
T-DAY SERIES –Brookfield 12-3
LAST YEAR – Brookfield 48-26
KEY STATS – Bethel has the No. 8 ranked rushing offense in the state, led by Brandon Schmidt (1,173 yards, 4th best in SWC) and Brian Birdsell. Schmidt is also No. 18 in the state in total offense and 4th in the SWC in scoring. Bethel’s Peter Serencsics averages 12 tackles a game and has 7 sacks. …Brookfield is 16th in the state in total offense. …Brookfield senior RB Leaon Gordon has rushed for 1,117 yards (5th best in SWC, 19th in state). Senior LB Joey Acquanita averages 11.6 tackles.
AT STAKE – The Gavel-Swanson Trophy. For Bethel, a shot at a Class M playoff berth. For Brookfield, a winning season.

Immaculate at Notre Dame-Fairfield

WHERE/WHEN – McCarty Field, Fairfield, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS — Notre Dame 0-9, Immaculate 0-9
T-DAY SERIES — Notre Dame 11-5
LAST YEAR — Notre Dame 34-28
KEY STATS — Notre Dame-Fairfield has lost nine in a row dating back to last year’s Thanksgiving Day victory over Immaculate. …Immaculate has lost 25 games in a row. It’s last win was 28-21 vs. Barlow on Oct. 10, 2009. …Notre Dame has won eight of the last nine meetings. …Notre Dame junior RB/DB Nigel Beckford is 11th in the state in rushing with 1,294 yards. …Immaculate has allowed 397 points, 4th most in the state. ND has allowed 428 points, most in the state.
AT STAKE — First win of the season for either team.

THE CANDLEWOOD CUP

New Milford at New Fairfield

WHERE/WHEN – New Milford High School, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — New Milford 3-6, New Fairfield 3-6
T-DAY SERIES — New Fairfield 3-1
LAST YEAR – New Milford 21-14
KEY STATS — New Milford is 21st in the state in team passing, led by Connor Shanahan’s 1,334 yards (3rd best in SWC). …New Fairfield’s Ardian Sahinovic is 2nd in the state in punting average (42.7 per att). Nick Guardi leads Rebels with 446 rushing yards. New Milford as a team has rushed for 565 yards.
AT STAKE — The Candlewood Cup. Bragging rights. A .500 season for New Milford.

Bassick at Bullard-Havens

WHERE/WHEN – Bullard-Havens High School, Bridgeport, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Bullard-Havens 6-3, Bassick 0-9
T-DAY SERIES — Bullard-Havens 4-2
LAST YEAR — Bassick 28-12
KEY STATS — B-H’s Angel Rosario is third in the CSC in passing, fourth in rushing and third in scoring while Equan Brooks is fourth in the CSC in receiving yards. Bullard-Havens is 13th in state with 2,465 rushing yards. …Bassick’s Vochan Fowler has thrown for 1,329 yards, fourth-best in the FCIAC; Morlo Macklin is No. 4 in the FCIAC with 532 receiving yards; Senior DE Brandon Williams is second in the league with 7.5 sacks. …Bassick has allowed 343 points, most in the FCIAC.
AT STAKE — Bragging rights; Avoiding a winless season for Bassick.

Wilton at Trinity Catholic

WHERE/WHEN – Trinity Catholic Alumni Field, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Trinity Catholic 3-6, Wilton 5-4
T-DAY SERIES — Tied 3-3
LAST YEAR — Wilton 38-20
KEY STATS — Wilton’s Alex Ward is 3rd in the FCIAC in receiving (524 yards); Travis Stella is No. 3 in rushing (724 yards). Wilton has the 20th highest scoring team in the state. …Trinity Catholic has lost five of its last six games since starting 2-1. Senior Dan Pason averages 11 tackles per game. TC’s pass-to-run ratio is 1:4.
AT STAKE — A winning season for Wilton; four wins for Trinity Catholic.

Stamford at Westhill

WHERE/WHEN — J. Walter Kennedy Stadium, Stamford, 10 a.m.
ON THE AIR — WSTC 1400-AM / WNLK 1350-AM
RECORDS — Stamford 6-2, Westhill 0-9
T-DAY SERIES — Stamford 11-4
LAST YEAR — Stamford 53-6
KEY STATS — Stamford QB Bryan Boderick has 1,054 passing yards, fifth-best in the league. …Stamford’s Chandler Foster is tied for 2nd in the FCIAC with 5 interceptions. …Westhill is on an 18-game losing streak dating back to a 32-12 victory over Harding on Sept. 12, 2010. … The Vikings are 11th in the state in tackles, but have allowed 338 points, third-highest in the league. … Stamford has won three straight in the series.
AT STAKE — Bragging Rights. The City Championship, which resides on Strawberry Hill. Stamford’s best record since 1995.
READ MORE — Stamford hopes to ‘finish the job’ vs. Westhill on Thanksgiving

THE ELM CITY BOWL

Hillhouse at Wilbur Cross

WHERE/WHEN – Bowen Field, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS – Hillhouse 6-3, Wilbur Cross 1-8
ALL-TIME SERIES — Hillhouse 31-23-7
LAST YEAR — Hillhouse 30-28
KEY STATS — Hillhouse sophomore Harold Cooper is the 4th-leading rusher in Connecticut with 1,650 yards, Hillhouse is the third-highest rushing team in the state, 3,244 yards. …Wilbur Cross averages just 13.7 points per game; Has lost seven straight since a 40-16 win over Law in Week 2.
AT STAKE — The Elm City Bowl trophy. A slight chance at a playoff berth for Hillhouse, the defending Class M champions.

North Haven at Amity

WHERE/WHEN – William E. Sim Field, Woodbridge, 10 a.m.
ON THE AIR — WELI 960-AM
RECORDS – Amity 4-5, North Haven 8-1
T-DAY SERIES — Amity 9-5-1
LAST YEAR – North Haven 40-24
KEY STATS – North Haven is the seventh-best rushing team in the state (2,682 yards, 335 pg), has almost as many run attempts (407) as passing yards (413). …Jalon White leads with 889 rushing yards, 3rd best in SCC Division II; QB Joe Schwab has 753 (5th best SCC D-II). Mark Zurlis averages 12.5 tackles per game. …Amity QB Tyler Vallie is ranked No. 19 in total offense. He’s 3rd in SCC Division I in passing yards (1,073) and fourth in rushing yards (867). …Amity is 20th ranked team in state rushing (2,211).
AT STAKE — A Class L playoff berth for North Haven, its third playoff berth in four years. A .500 season for Amity.

West Haven at Fairfield Prep

WHERE/WHEN — Alumni Field, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS – Fairfield Prep 5-4, West Haven 6-3
T-DAY SERIES –West Haven 12-3
LAST YEAR — West Haven 32-13
KEY STATS — Dillon Ryan has run for over 300 yards in three games since taking over for injured Joe McBride at tailback. QB Tom Brewster has Prep is 4-1 at home this season, but has been outscored 103-0 in the first half against all four winning SCC Division I teams it has faced (Shelton, Hand, Xavier, Notre Dame). …West Haven will likely get standout sophomore TB/DB Ervin Phillips back for the game. He had been injured the last three weeks.
AT STAKE — Fairfield Prep’s first winning season since 2007.

Foran at Law

WHERE/WHEN — Law Field, Milford, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS — Law 0-9, Foran 2-6
ALL-TIME SERIES – Law 21-17
LAST YEAR – Foran 56-21
KEY STATS — Foran has scored 90 points in its last two games, an 49-41 overtime win over Guilford; a 42-41 loss to Stonington. …QB Matt Aspinwall threw for over 300 yards in both games after returning from a month-long injury. He is 20th in the state in total offense (1,877 yards). …Foran’s other win was 41-20 over East Haven. …Foran has allowed 360 total points, most in the SCC. …Law’s Connor Falaguerra is has the 16th most receiving yards in Connecticut (678). …Law has allowed 40 or more points in six of nine games, including last three games.
AT STAKE — Bragging rights in Milford.

Norwalk at McMahon

WHERE/WHEN – Jack Casagrande Field, Norwalk, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS – Norwalk 7-1, McMahon 3-6
ALL-TIME SERIES – McMahon 31-18-1
LAST YEAR – Norwalk 8-7
KEY STAT – McMahon has lost six games by eight points or less, including losses to New Canaan and Staples by 3 points each. …Norwalk’s Delshawn Wilson is tied for 10th in the state with 5 interceptions, and is ranked 6th in the FCIAC in passing yards (1,043). …Norwalk is 4th in the state with 30.5 sacks, led by Patrick Whalen’s 7.5 (2nd best in FCIAC) and Kwazee Rice’s 7 …Norwalk allows just 15 points per game, the least points in the FCIAC (120).
AT STAKE — The Sam Testa Trophy. Norwalk’s first state playoff berth since 1998.
READ MORE — Norwalk eager to break playoff drought

St. Joseph at Trumbull

WHERE/WHEN– Dalling Sports Complex, Trumbull, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS — Trumbull 2-6, St. Joseph 3-6
T-DAY SERIES — Trumbull 21-5
LAST YEAR — Trumbull 38-27
KEY STATS — Both teams played in state championship games last year. …St. Joseph junior Jon Prutting is tied for fourth in the FCIAC with 4 interceptions. St. Joseph has 12 as a team. …St. Joseph has won two straight. Trumbull has lost six straight since a 35-8 win over Ludlowe in Week 3. …Trumbull LB Don Cherry will not play due to suspension.
AT STAKE — Bragging rights.

Harding at Central

WHERE/WHEN — Kennedy Stadium, Bridgeport, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Central 5-4, Harding 2-7
ALL-TIME SERIES – Harding 50-34-4
LAST YEAR – Central 29-25
KEY STATS – Central has won 12 straight series games, an all-time best. …Central has allowed 327 points this season (36.3 ppg), fourth-most in the league; Senior back Fred Tucker is the FCIAC leader with 1,147 rushing yards. … Harding’s Taquan Broadway has 712 rushing yards. …Harding has scored the third-least points in the FCIAC (77). …Head coach James Morris has been suspended by the Bridgeport school district Oct.18  for insubordination. He will not coach in the game.
AT STAKE — The John E. Johansen Trophy. The Bridgeport city championship.

Warde at Ludlowe

WHERE/WHEN – Taft Field, Fairfield, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Ludlowe 0-9, Warde 4-5
T-DAY SERIES – Warde 9-7
LAST YEAR — Warde 21-16
KEY STATS — Fairfield Ludlowe has lost 10 games in a row and hasn’t scored more than 14 points in any game. …Warde has led in the second half of eight games it has played. The Mustangs have lost two straight heading into the game.
AT STAKE — The Gallagher-Baryas Trophy. A .500 season for Fairfield Warde.

Bunnell at Stratford

WHERE/WHEN– Penders Field, Stratford, 10 a.m.
RECORDS — Stratford 3-6, Bunnell 7-2
ALL-TIME SERIES — Bunnell 35-20
LAST YEAR — Bunnell 16-7
KEY STAT — Bunnell’s Bryan Castelot has thrown for 2,257 yards, 5th best total in the state. Bunnell has the state’s sixth-best passing attack. Receivers Jawad Chisholm (914 yards), Jared Vazquez (842) are both among the state’s top 10 receivers; both have 4 interceptions. …Bunnell senior RB David Camille is 20th in the state in rushing (1,106 yards). …Bunnell is sixth in the state in scoring (42.0 ppg), but allows 26.4 points per game. …Stratford has allowed 364 points, third-most in the league. …Bunnell has won 9 out of the last 10 meetings.
AT STAKE — The Harvey E. Manning Trophy; Long shot chance at a Class L playoff berth for Bunnell.

THE TURKEY BOWL

New Canaan at Darien

WHERE/WHEN – Dunning Field, 10:30 a.m.
RECORDS — Darien 8-1, New Canaan 8-1
ALL-TIME SERIES — New Canaan 45-33-2 (New Canaan 10-4-1 on Thanksgiving)
LAST YEAR — New Canaan 42-14
KEY STATS — Darien hasn’t won this game since 2001. Darien junior RB Peter Gesualdi is tied for third in the state with 7 interceptions. Darien is 13th in the state in passing, junior Henry Baldwin set the school’s season passing TD mark with 24. …New Canaan’s Matt Milano is 8th in the state with 2,094 passing yards; earlier this season he broke Kurt Horton’s career touchdown mark. … Sr. WR Patrick Newton is among the FCIAC’s top receivers receivers with 634 yards. …New Canaan has the 5th-ranked passing attack in the state and is 11th in total offense.
AT STAKE — The Turkey Bowl trophy. FCIAC East title. Class L playoff berth for the winner. Home for the holidays for the loser.

THE 61st GREEN BOWL

Notre Dame-West Haven at Hamden

WHERE/WHEN — Hamden Field, 10:30 a.m.
ON THE AIR — SportingnewsCT.com OR GoGreenKnights.com (live video feed)
RECORDS — Notre Dame-WH 7-2, Hamden 1-8
ALL-TIME SERIES — Notre Dame 37-21-2
LAST YEAR — Notre Dame 47-0
KEY STATS – Notre Dame has the 12th-best rushing offense in Connecticut, 2,438 yards, led by Jevon Grey (929), Amihr Bess (722) and Cameron Tucker (522). Team has more rushing attempts (358) than total passing yards (310). …Notre Dame’s opponents are a combined 52-29. Its only losses have been against Xaver (9-0) and Hand (9-0). …Eamon DeTorro has 4 interceptions, three have gone for touchdowns. …Hamden has scored 154 more points this year (184) it did a season ago (29). …Notre Dame has won four straight in the series.
AT STAKE – Bragging rights. A Class L playoff berth for Notre Dame-WH.

FCIAC Championship

Staples at Greenwich

WHERE/WHEN – Staples Field, Westport, 10 a.m.
ON THE AIR — WGCH 1490-AM | MSG Varsity-Connecticut (tape delay, 7 p.m.)
RECORDS – Greenwich 8-1, Staples 8-0
T-DAY SERIES – Staples 4-2
LAST YEAR – Staples 27-8
KEY STATS — Staples leads Connecticut with 48 sacks, led by Pieter Hoets 8 and Mikel Washington’s 7. The Wreckers have allowed the third-least points in the league (125). Kevin Kearney is fourth in the FCAIC with 91 tackles despite being out with an injury the last two weeks…. Back Joey Zelkowitz is 3rd in the league with 800 rushing yards, despite missing the last two weeks. …Staples is second in the state with 5 field goals. …Jon Heil is the state’s highest-rated punter (43.1 avg). …Greenwich’s Shane Nastahowski is one of the FCIAC’s best rusher (925 yards) and 2nd-highest scorer (114 points). …Greenwich is the 13th-highest scoring team in the state (37.4 ppg) and No. 12 in sacks (22.5). …Staples has won 5 FCIAC titles, Greenwich has won 12. …The schools have faced off twice for the league title, Greenwich has won both (1974, 2007). …Greenwich’s last title was 2007 (37-0 over Staples). Staples’ last title was 2009 (14-10 over Central).
AT STAKE – The inaugural Jerry McDougall Trophy FCIAC championship; Class LL playoff seeding for Staples; Class LL playoff berth for Greenwich.
READ MORE — Nastahowski puts Cardinals on brink of FCIAC title, playoffs | Staples confident in replacement players | FCIAC championship breakdown

The Silver Turkey

101st meeting: Shelton at Derby

WHERE/WHEN – Lou DeFilippo Field, Derby
RECORDS – Derby 4-5, Shelton 7-2
ALL-TIME SERIES – Shelton 51-42-7
LAST YEAR — Shelton 38, Derby/O’Brien Tech 14
KEY STATS — Derby’s Ray Kreiger leads the NVL and is 4th in the state with 2,494 passing yards. He’s No. 3 in the state in total offense. Dillion McMahon is 2nd in NVL and 5th in state with 977 passing yards. Derby averages 35 points per game, allows 33 points per game. …Shelton has had three different starting QBs, and has thrown for just 632 yards. The Gaels have rushed for 2,087 yards, 24th best in Connecticut, led by Frank Camerino’s 997 yards. …Shelton averages just 20 points per game and allows 18.
AT STAKE — A ninth-straight series victory and a potential Class LL playoff berth for Shelton. Derby’s first victory in the series since 2002 and a .500 season. Bragging rights.

112th meeting: Ansonia at Naugatuck

WHERE/WHEN — Veterans Field, Naugatuck, 10:30 a.m.
ON THE AIR — WATR 1320-AM
RECORDS – Naugatuck 6-3, Ansonia 9-0
ALL-TIME SERIES – Ansonia 67-36-9
LAST YEAR – Naugatuck 38-20 (NVL Championship game)
KEY STATS – Ansonia’s Arkeel Newsome is the state’s leading rusher with 2,494 yards, and the state’s leading scorer with 41 touchdowns and 282 points. …Ansonia owns the state’s top rushing attack with 3,360 yards (just 40 ahead of NVL rival Torrington) and has the state’s third-highest total offense, 4,444 yards. It is the 2nd highest scoring team in Connecticut (after Masuk). …Naugatuck’s Jake Yourison is the NVL’s fourth leading rusher (1,215 yards) and is the 17th best scorer in Connecticut (12.7 ppg).
AT STAKE — For Ansonia, the top seed in the Class M playoffs.

Mike Lengel celebrates a fumble recovery in Saturday's SWC game-of-the-year vs Bunnell in Stratford. Newtown qualified for the state playoffs with the victory and faces Masuk for the league title on Thanksgiving Eve.

Jawad Chisholm, left, Andrew Calzone, right, tackle Newtown's Dan Herbert in Saturday's SWC heavyweight fight vs. Bunnell in Stratford.

After a delirious celebration on the eastern end of Bulldog Field, the thousands of previous events of the afternoon finally caught up to the Newtown football team. Panting, coughing, wheezing, chugging water bottles, they were at last told to get off their feet and gather around their coach.

They did so, thankfully, utterly spent, leaving their souls scattered among the souls of the Bunnell football players on the Bulldog Field turf.

Newtown 54, Bunnell 48. Final. Overtime.

“Guys,” Newtown coach Steve George said. “Out of all the years I’ve been here that was the most exciting game I’ve been a part of. And I’ve been around here along time now. You kept fighting and you did what you had to do.”

To a man, they all agreed. Best game they’ve ever been a part of. “Nothing comes close,” junior Dan Hebert said.

“Absolutely,” senior Lou Fenaroli said.

“This is the best day of my life,” senior lineman Hunter Bassett said.

While there have been plenty of games like this over the years, that this one was played on the final day of the penultimate week of the season — when the stakes are at their highest — crammed as much meaning into Saturday’s SWC showdown as any playoff game. The winner would move on to the playoffs. The loser was finished.

And it played out exactly like a heavyweight fight and an Olympic ping-pong battle all rolled into one. Haymaker after haymaker after haymaker until, finally, one mistake led to opportunity led to victory and defeat.

Fumble. Recovery. Hand off. Touchdown. Game Over.

Two teams entered. One team left.

“We left it all on the field,” Bunnell quarterback Bryan Castelot said.

“This is as tough as it gets,” vanquished Bunnell coach Craig Bruno said. “But they deserved it.”

They’re going to be talking about this game for the rest of their lives.

And what a way to end Week 9.

ELSEWHERE on Week 9 Saturday … Staples handled Westhill to punch its FCIAC title ticket along side Greenwich. And Westhill coach Dick Cerone, whose team played both squads, thinks fans should do themselves a favor and check that final out on Thanksgiving. … Stamford kept its faint playoff hopes alive with a 28-20 victory over McMahon. …St. Joseph isn’t going to defend its title, but it earned a small victory with its second straight win. …And, of course, the Saturday roundup which includes everything except Bullard-Havens loss to Cheney Tech.

On Week 9 Friday, we saw Notre Dame-West Haven move closer to a Class L playoff berth with a dominant victory over Fairfield Prep. …Matt Milano returned for New Canaan and led the Rams to a rout of Trumbull. … Norwalk took care of Ludlowe to move within a game of qualifying for the state playoffs. …Masuk crushed Weston to up its win streak to 22 games and continue its playoff course. …Pomperaug handled Stratford to keep breathing in the Class LL playoff race. …Bethel pounded Immaculate to stay alive in Class M. …Brookfield pounded New Milford. …And, of course, the Friday night roundup, which details how sophomores Connor Wallon and Ed Kochiss helped Shelton to a
big 42-28 victory over Cheshire. [VIDEO AT RIGHT]

And, finally, on Week 9 Thursday we watched Greenwich beat Danbury 17-7 with a stifling defensive effort and qualify for the FCIAC championship game. [VIDEO AT RIGHT] …Foran dug deep to defeat Guilford in (yet another) overtime thriller.

But, like Newtown, we aren’t done yet.

The Clinch is In

While Newtown players cheered about ‘Going to the ‘Ship!’ — a second-consecutive SWC Thanksgiving title game tilt with arch rival (and overwhelming favorite) Masuk in Monroe — they had unknowingly earned a berth in the Class LL state playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Yes, Newtown has clinched. As did 10 other state teams this weekend according to the H.A.L. Super Playoff Computer (aka the official CIAC State Playoff worksheet. And, of course, our good friend Ned Griffen at the Day of New London who first reported it at (looks at Twitter), 4:30 a.m. this fine Sunday morning.

In Class LL…

Xavier (9-0), Staples (8-0), and Conard (9-0) and Newtown (8-1) have clinched berths in the 2011 playoff field.

12 more teams are mathematically alive. In order, Hall (8-1), Norwalk (7-1), Greenwich (8-1), Ridgefield (7-2), Shelton (7-2), Pomperaug (7-2), Glastonbury (6-2), NFA (6-2), Stamford (6-2), Hartford Public (7-2), West Haven (6-3), New Britain (6-3) and Southington (6-3).

In Class L…

Windsor (9-0) and Hand (9-0) have clinched.

12 more teams are mathematically alive.

In order: 2. Coventry/Windham Tech (7-0), 3. Masuk (9-0), 4. New London (7-1), 5. New Canaan (8-1), 6. Notre Dame-West Haven (7-2), 7. North Haven (8-1), 8. Darien (8-1), 9. Farmington (7-1), Bunnell (7-2), 10. Torrington (7-2), 11. Middletown (6-2) and 12. Avon (6-2).

In Class M…

Ansonia (9-0) has clinched.

16 more teams are mathematically alive.

In order: 2. Ellington/Somers 7-0), 3. Ledyard (8-1), 4. Cheney Tech (8-1), 5. Berlin (8-1), 6. Waterford (6-2), 7. Wolcott (7-2), 8. Gilbert/Northwestern (6-2), 9. Stonington (5-3), 10. Bethel (6-3), 11. Hillhouse (6-3), 12. Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech (6-3), 13. Bullard-Havens, 14. Enfield (6-3), 15. Montville (5-4), 16. Tolland (4-4).

In Class S…

Capital Prep/Classical Magnet (9-0), Valley Regional/Old Lyme (9-0), Holy Cross (8-1) have clinched.

19 more teams are mathematically alive (some barely). In order:

4. North Branford (7-1), 5. Northwest Catholic (7-1), 6. Cromwell (7-2), 7. Rocky Hill (6-2), 8. Haddam-Killingworth (6-2), 9. Weston (6-3), 10. Prince Tech (6-3), 11. Bloomfield (5-3), 12. Griswold (5-3), 13. Coginchaug (5-3), 14. Seymour (5-4), 15. Killingly (5-4), 16. Woodland (5-4), 17. Plainville (4-4), 18. Old Saybrook/Westbrook (4-4), 19. Housatonic/Wamogo (4-4).

More to come…

Nick Kelly leaps to pick off Darien quarterback Henry Baldwin in the third quarter of Staples' snowly 42-23 win over Darien on Saturday.

Bethel's Brian Birdsell fights through Bunnell tackles during his six-touchdown effort Saturday at DeSantis Field. Bethel defeated Bunnell 56-46.

We asked for an upset last week and we got it, with Bethel’s stunning 56-46 victory over Stratford at Ralph DeSantis Field.

That was the only local surprise. Statewide, we saw both NFA (to Stonington) and New London (to Fitch) catch the upset bug and the state playoff picture looked slightly different than they did just days ago.

Of more immediate concern, the SWC playoff race fell out of focus somewhat with Bunnell’s loss. Now it’s anybody’s ballgame for the right to face Masuk at Bunnell on Nov. 16. (Sorry, kids. it’s true. They’re a lock.).

Staples’ win over Darien put the Wreckers and New Canaan’s win over Wilton put those schools in the drivers’ seat for the FCIAC title game. The NVL’s biggest games are coming up this week. The league’s championship picture should be clear before Week 9.

Hand and Xavier remained unbeaten in the SCC. And everybody’s gearing up for that showdown … Oh, wait.

All and all, it was a pretty crazy week, if not for the games then for the snow that dumped on the region turning a handful of games into snowball fights. I’ve never seen anything like it. And it’s still causing havoc across the region. Many towns are still without power. Some schools have, of course, canceled classes indefinitely. The U.S. government had declared a state of emergency.

It’ll be worth watching how long some of these schools remain closed, and how their teams will be affected in the coming days.

We’ve added a post on this issue and will collect information as is becomes available.

In the meantime, if you can read this, here’s look back at Week 7 and a look ahead to Week 8:

Bulldozers

Lou Fenaroli had another monster game for 6-1 Newtown

• Javon Grey, Notre Dame-WH – 27 carries, 204 yards, four TDs vs. Wilbur Cross
• Arkeel Newsome, Ansonia — 188 yards, 3 TDs on nine carries vs. Crosby
• Brian Birdsell, Bethel – Six touchdown runs vs. Bunnell
• Jack Shaban, Barlow — Ran for 168 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries vs. Oxford
• Lou Fenaroli, Newtown — 169 yards, 3 TDs, including 95-yard run vs. Brookfield
• James Harrington & Austin Calitro, Danbury — Combined for 263 yards rushing and five TDs vs Trumbull

Gunslingers

• Matt Milano, New Canaan — 19 of 24 for 298 yards and three touchdowns vs. Wilton
• Bryan Castelot, Bunnell – 28 of 50 for 425 yards and six touchdowns in loss to Bethel.
• Connor Rowe, Ridgefield — 20 of 28 for 217 yards and one touchdown vs. McMahon.
• Casey Cochran, Masuk — Threw for 395 yards and five touchdowns vs. New Milford.

Gamebreakers

• Matt Paola, Pomperaug — Tied a state record with a 54-yard field goal vs. record-holder Rico Brogna and Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Joey Zelkowitz, Staples — Ran for 188 yards on 15 carries and scored three TDs (including two from 60 yards out) vs. Darien
• Danny Rogers, Weston — Scored the game-winning TD in Weston’s cluch 16-9 win over New Fairfield
• Barry Boderick, Stamford — Punt return touchdown, TD catch vs. Ludlowe
• Joel Arroyo, Greenwich – Caught two long TD passes from Liam O’Neil in Greenwich’s overwhelming win over Westhill
• Donald Graham, Stratford — Ran for four touchdowns vs. Immaculate

Brick Walls

Ridgefield's Chris Mirra takes down McMahon's Damien Vega in Week 7.

• Kevin Kearney, Staples — 18 tackles, pass defensed vs. Darien
• Eddie Kochiss, Shelton – Interception return TD vs. Amity
• Chris Mirra, Ridgefield — Intercepted potential game-winning 2-point conversion vs. McMahon.
• Dylan Leeming, New Canaan — 16 total tackles vs. Wilton
• Brandon Freeman, McMahon — Returned an interception for a TD vs. Ridgefield
• Jack Yule, Pomperaug – 16 tackles vs. Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Shawn Flynn, Masuk — 10 tackles, interception vs. New Milford
• Warde defense — Forced six turnovers, including 2 interceptions apiece from Devon Lofton and Maxx Garrett vs. St. Joseph
• Mike Longo, Greenwich – Returned a fumble 82 yards for a TD vs. Westhill
• Mike Palomba, Trinity Catholic — Interception return TD vs. Bassick

Valiant in Defeat

• Tyler Vallie, Amity – Threw for 131 yards and a TD, rushed for 173 yards and a TD vs. Shelton.
• Chad Lawrence, Central – Ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns in loss to North Haven.
• Jared Vasquez, Bunnell – 10 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns vs. Bethel
• Nigel Beckford, Notre Dame-Fairfield — 20 carries, 134 yards, 2 TDs rushing, 98-yard kickoff return TD
• John Prutting, St. Joseph — Interception return TD vs. Warde
• Daron Britt, Law — Caught two touchdown passes in loss to Branford.
• Tahir Manning, West Haven – Caught two TD passes to give West Haven a halftime lead in a loss to Hand
• Taquan Broadway, Harding — 100 yards rushing vs. Norwalk

We’ll close the Top Performers section with a clip of Matt Paola‘s 54-yard field goal against Notre Dame-Fairfield. It tied the state record held by former Watertown star Rico Brogna … who just happened to be standing on the Notre Dame-Fairfield sidelines as the Lancers head coach. Paola and Rico posed for pictures afterward. Nice moment.

“When we were at midfield, I said to the offensive coordinator, `Get your two-point (conversion) play ready.’ ” — McMahon coach A.J. Albano, whose 2-point attempt failed in a 14-13 loss to Ridgefield.

Austin Calitro fends off a Trumbull defender during the Hatters' victory Friday night.

“Looking back now, I guess it was nice having that week off. The kids were fresh, their legs weren’t heavy. They were ready to play today.” — Stamford coach Bryan Hocter

“When we play in a tighter game than this it is really going to do us in,”  — New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli on his team’s penalty-filled 28-14 win over Wilton

“We were terrible tonight, absolutely terrible. We have to move on to the next one.” – Trumbull coach Bob Maffei, whose team lost its fourth-straight game, keeping Maffei at 99 career wins.

“We want to go out with a bang and set the tempo for next year. Those guys have to work hard and (if they do) this is what happens.” –Danbury senior FB/LB Austin Calitro after beating Trumbull.

“The upset. It’s a powerful thing that can change your season. It’s one of the best feelings a football player can have.” — Bethel FB/LB Brian Birdsell, whose six touchdown runs toppled Bunnell from the unbeaten ranks.

“No. 36 had a great game for them. He was all over the field,” — Bunnell coach Craig Bruno on Bethel FB/LB Brian Birdsell.

“We knew that tonight was a do-or-die situation for us. But we are going to pick our heads up, keep going and finish the season strong.” — Brookfield coach Rich Angarano on his team’s 41-0 loss to Newtown, which dropped it to 3-4.

Weston's Danny Rogers scores the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter vs. New Fairfield in the snow last week.

“I should have punted. Everyone makes mistakes. We were all fired up and we wanted to end the game right there.” — Weston coach Joe Lato on a fourth-down call that led to New Fairfield’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of Weston’s 16-9 win.

“That could have been the greatest third quarter in Staples history.” –Staples coach Marce Petroccio on the Wreckers’ 28-point outburst leading to a 42-23 win over Darien.

“It’s a football players dream to play in the snow. It was awesome.” — Staples RB Joey Zelkowitz.

“I think our kids at the half thought we had the game won, and they are too good an opponent to do that.” — Darien coach Rob Trifone on his team’s 42-23 loss to Staples, in which it held a 17-7 halftime lead.

“That’s our goal right now. It’s really big because none of us have ever been in a playoff game before, in any sport. We can smell it.” — Norwalk QB Delshawn Wilson on the Bears’ shot at breaking a 13-year playoff drought.

A lot of good ones out there this week, most having to do with the blizzard at Staples Field. So we’ve decided to drop this week’s best Tweets into slideshow form

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Tweets of the Week (Week 7 - 2011)

The best Tweets from Week 7 of the 2011 football season.

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The news that Torrington back Brenden Lytton had been carried off the field on a golf cart must have put a lump in every Torrington fan's throat. This announcement, Tweeted by Register-Citizen reporter Kevin D. Roberts assuaged their fears. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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SCC maven Ray Curren muses about Hand's penchant for slow starts against SCC teams from West Haven... (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Curren again, this time explaining how Hand is undefeated despite two tough halves against said West Haven schools. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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From former Danbury News-Times Sports editor, turned correspondent, Kevin Hutson. Pretty self-explanatory. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Ned Griffen of the Day, basically describing the events of Friday night: Bunnell, New London both going down. Darien was soon to follow. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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From yours truly. I sent this out just after Staples blocked a punt to set up their go-ahead TD in the third quarter. How right I was. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Daily Darien reporter Eric Gendron during the Staples-Darien game. That about sums up the field conditions. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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David Liberatore sums up the entire Staples-Darien game in one sentence. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Covering a football game in a blizzard was a first for me. And, I'm sure, these shivering cheerleaders on the Staples' sideline (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Paul Edwards delivers a classic football coach's line while I complained my hands were frostbitten from holding a camera. (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Ed Brunt brings up a hilarious point. When these co-op schools get together is it one massive student section or multiple? (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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I got a chuckle out of this. Kris Davidson did a good thing during the snowstorm Saturday. Will God pay it forward when Danbury plays Greenwich in Week 9? (Sean Patrick Bowley)

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Football weekends won't be the same without Coach Jerry McDougall on the sidelines. (Photo by Sean Patrick Bowley)

Welcome to Week 5, the midpoint of the 2011 high school football season.

And the big news of the day is, what else? Rain. Rain. And more rain. This is — what? — the third week of heavy rain forecasts already? (Check here for the latest)

So get ready for a few postponements tonight and possibly tomorrow as a front moves through our area. Notre Dame at Hand has already been moved to Saturday at 5 p.m. Masuk-Notre Dame to Saturday, 7. There will be others as we move closer to kickoff. So keep checking back here.

Of course, the big, big news of the week is the passing of Trumbull great Jerry McDougall, who will be on the minds of many this weekend, especially the Trumbull football players and coaches as they head to Darien.

Coach Bob Maffei, who was on McDougall’s football and baseball staff for almost 20 years, said the Eagles will wear stickers in McDougall’s honor and are dedicating this season to him. “We’re going to go out there and play our hearts out for him,” Maffei said. “I’m sure he’ll be watching. We’ll give him our best.”

Staples coach Marce Petroccio (Trumbull ’78) said the FCIAC will name the league’s championship trophy in McDougall’s honor. St. Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia says the St. Joseph-Trumbull Thanksgiving Day trophy will be named in McDougall’s honor.

Finally, memorial services have been set:  Calling hours are Sunday, 1 – 7 p.m. at Cyril F. Mullins Funeral Home (399 White Plains Rd. Trumbull). The funeral will be Monday, St. Theresa Church 5301 Main Street Trumbull, CT.

“I remember when he retired, there were so many testimonials. I was proud of every single one of his testimonials, but I joked with him, I was sick of talking about him,” said best friend Dick Whitcomb, who will read the eulogy. “He whispered to me the other night, he wanted his funeral to be about his life, not his death. That’s what I’m going to do. This will be like one of his testimonials. Like the old days.”

Read the official obituary here.

Now. On to the games!

Postponements: Notre Dame-WH at Hand, Saturday, 5 p.m. | Notre Dame-Fairfield at Masuk, Saturday, 7 p.m.

Featured Stories

• Norwalk has somehing to prove vs New Canaan
• FCIAC Notebook: Ridgefield’s defense a pillar of strength
• Bullard-Havens faces Capital Prep in battle of unbeatens
• SWC Notebook: Pomperaug to face Bunnell without Reel; Tarantino at QB for Newtown
• Jerry McDougall, Trumbull and Connecticut coaching legend, dies at 76
• Sean Patrick Bowley: McDougall’s lessons will live forever
  

Goodies

• Guide to Week 5′s Games
• Top Games to Watch
• The Elite 8

On The Air

• Guilford at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. — WELI 960-AM (960weli.com)
• Notre Dame-WH at Hand, Saturday, 5 p.m. — sportingnewsct.com or gogreenknights.com
• Ludlowe at Greenwich, Friday, 7 p.m. — WGCH 1490-AM (wgch.com)
• Torrington at Naugatuck, Friday, 7 p.m. – WATR 1320-AM (watr.com)
• New Canaan at Norwalk, Friday, 7 p.m. – WSTC 1400-AM / WNLK 1350-AM (wstcwnlk.com)

Week 5 Live Blog

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=0e4167a1bf” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=0e4167a1bf” >High School Football Live Scoring Updates</a>

Sorry we’re so late on these, but there were other work-related duties that got priority. But we’re happy to say the latest films have arrived.

We’ll start with Notre Dame-West Haven’s 28-15 victory over rival West Haven at Veterans Stadium.

The Green Knights waltzed home after an impressive 28-0 victory over Shelton, looking for their third straight victory over a West Haven team that was probably a little punch drunk after surviving a two-day bout with Hamden. It showed early as ND’s one-two combo of Cameron Tucker and Amihr Bess broke long touchdown runs for a 14-0 halftime lead.

Then the Green Knights’ defense — which has been outstanding all season — landed a haymaker of its own: Brandon Martin‘s interception return touchdown and a 21-0 lead. Game, set, match? Not if you have Ervin Phillips on your side. Following a key fumble recovery, Phillips and the Westies rallied to within a mere six points. All they needed was a stop on defense.

But Notre Dame’s offense, which had stagnated in the second half no thanks to a few costly penalties, scrapped together a clinching touchdown drive with minutes left in the game.

The Green Knights move to 3-1 and brimming with confidence as they head to the Surf Club for a huge match with 4-0 Hand. West Haven, with coach Ed McCarthy out due to undisclosed medical issues, heads home to face Division II Sheehan at Ken Strong Stadium.

Copious amounts of McCarthy in these clips. He’s a classic. Let’s hope he returns soon.

Grab the popcorn. Somebody get the lights. Roll Film.

Cameron Tucker races for a touchdown on the first series of Notre Dame-West Haven's 28-15 victory over West Haven. Vidcap by Sean Patrick Bowley

We wrapped up Week 4 with  quick strikes and big stops from Notre Dame-West Haven in its 28-15 victory over crosstown rival West Haven. We ended with another Masuk blitz, another Arkeel Newsome tidal wave and Norwalk moving to 4-0 for the first time since… (anyone?) On Saturday, we quietly wrapped it all with tech schools Bullard-Havens moving to 4-0 and Abbott Tech winning its first game since 2009.

With Newtown, Trumbull, Wilton, West Haven and Seymour all going down last week, the region is left with nine unbeaten teams.Pomperaug used defense to bring down Newtown. Greenwich used defense and Shane Natahowski to take out Trumbull. Ridgefield blitzed Wilton. Seymour’s era of good feeling ended against Wolcott.

And so the picture becomes clearer… or, at least, less muddled. In the local leagues, Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan and Staples are the only overall unbeaten teams in the FCIAC (Greenwich, too, since their loss was out-of-conference); Masuk, Pomperaug and Bunnell are the SWC’s only unbeaten teams; Ansonia and Naugatuck in the NVL; Xavier, Hand and North Haven in the SCC. Bullard-Havens and Capital Prep in the CSC.

It’ll be Judgment Day for six of those schools as we wind up the season’s first half. New Canaan travels to Norwalk; Pomperaug takes on Bunnell and Bullard-Havens plays Capital Prep. But those aren’t the only big games going on in Week 5.

But we’ll get to all of that. Let’s take a look at what went down in Week 4.

Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome vs. Holy Cross

Bulldozers

• Arkeel Newsome, Ansonia — 22 carries, 384 yards, 5 TDs vs. Holy Cross.
• Cameron Tucker & Amihr Bess, Notre Dame-WH — Combined for 296 rushing yards, three TDs vs. West Haven.
• Harold Cooper, Hillhouse — Ran for 344 yards and four touchdowns vs. Lyman Hall.
• Leaon Gordon, Brookfield — 158 yards, 3 TDs rushing vs. New Fairfield.
• Shane Nastahowski, Greenwich — 146 yards rushing, 3 TDs vs Trumbull.
• Frank Camerino, Shelton – Moved from QB to RB and ran for 125 yards and two TDs vs. Hamden.

Gunslingers

• Casey Cochran, Masuk — Threw for 310 yards, 4 TDs vs. Barlow.
• Brandon Schmidt, Bethel — Threw three touchdown passes to Cal Daniels, ran for two more to rally Wildcats past Oxford.
• Matt Milano, New Canaan — 212 yards passing, 2 TDs vs. McMahon. Rallied New Canaan back with TD run and TD pass in final minutes to win.
• Connor Shanahan, New Milford — 266 yards, 3 TDs passing vs. Immaculate.

Newtown's Louis Fenaroli, left, runs the ball while Pomperaug's Garrett DeLotto attempts a tackle in Southbury on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. Photo: Jason Rearick

Gamebreakers

• Derek Edwards, Norwalk — Eight catches, 122 yards, TD vs. Trinity Catholic.
• Donald Graham, Stratford — Scored two touchdowns in 95 seconds to spark a second-half Stratford rally vs. Notre Dame-Fairfield.
• Sam Gravitte, Ridgefield – Intercepted two passes, ran for a TD and kicked two field goals vs. Wilton.
• Garrett DeLotto and Brett Gaughan, Pomperaug — Both returned interceptions for touchdowns (Gaughan from 65 yards out, DeLotto from 95 yards for the deciding score)  vs. Newtown.
• Torri Voss, Harding — Forced a fumble that led to his deciding 1-yard TD in Harding’s win vs. Ludlowe.

Valiant in defeat

• Damien Vega, McMahon — Threw four touchdown passes in McMahon’s 36-33 loss to New Canaan.
• Alex Miller, Oxford — 308 yards passing, 2 TDs; 150 yards rushing 3 TDs rushing vs. Bethel.
• Lou Fenaroli, Newtown — Ran for 173 yards on 34 carries vs. Pomperaug.
• James Harrington, Danbury — Ran for three touchdowns in a 24-21 loss to Darien.
• Ray Kreiger, Derby -- Threw for 312 yards, two TDs, two interceptions in loss to Wilby.
• Nigel Beckford, Notre Dame-Fairfield — Ran for two touchdowns, returned an interception for a TD vs. Stratford.

McMahon coach A.J. Albano and QB Damien Vega (11) during the Senators' 36-33 loss to New Canaan.

“It’s very, very hard and I feel bad for the kids. They played their hearts out. They are so much better than a 1-3 football team.”

-McMahon coach A.J. Albano following a 36-33 loss to New Canaan, the second straight week the Senators lost a late lead against an FCIAC power.

“Thank God for our kids and their heart and hustle. Credit McMahon. They stuck it right to us. They are just on the cusp of being great.”

- New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli

“This is it. If you wear green and white, or are not from New Canaan, if you can’t get excited for this game … You measure yourself up to these teams.”

-Norwalk coach Sean Ireland, whose team moved to 4-0 after a 24-7 win over Trinity. Norwalk plays 4-0 New Canaan at home in Week 5.

“I haven’t been associated with a bad win yet. But this is a good win.”

- Stratford coach John Svatik

“That’s the first thing that coach (Callahan) said to us, `We haven’t lost to them in 17 years. Do you want to be the team that loses to Wilton?’ Obviously, we don’t.”

-Ridgefield QB Connor Rowe following an overwhelming 47-20 victory over Wilton.

“It’s frustrating. I’m not going to sit here and give you any company answer. It’s frustrating. It is absolutely frustrating.”

-Wilton coach Bruce Cunningham

“Feeling the way we did after that loss made us never want to experience that feeling again. We said to ourselves, `We will not lose again.’ “

-Greenwich LB Shane Nastahowski following Greeniwch’s 36-12 victory over Trumbull

“It was a lot of time on defense. But when they got down there, we found a way to stop them.”

-Pomperaug WR/DB/K Matt Paola, whose team defeated Newtown 16-9 on the strength of two interception return touchdowns.

“In a shootout like this, you have to keep answering back. That’s all we were thinking about.”

- Bethel QB Brandon Schmidt after Bethel’s wild, 54-41 win over Oxford.

“I’ve been on this team since the beginning, and I’ve been waiting for this day. Now, we have all the confidence in the world. I can’t wait to get back to school.”

-Abbott Tech RB Jake D’Amico, whose team defeated Stamford Academy 34-14 for its first win in two years.

“Everybody will say I ran it up on an 0-3 team, but I really didn’t. … It’s nothing on St. Paul. It’s on the CIAC.”

-Torrington coach Dan Dunaj following an 80-39 victory over St. Paul (see below)

He’s only a sophomore, but Micky Carbone summed up Ridgefield’s sentiments perfectly after Thursday’s big win over Wilton.

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Here’s a good one from our friend Bay on Twitter. He was referring to the New Canaan-McMahon game, but this pretty much summed many Week 4 results:

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Ned Griffen of the Day makes no secret of his love of good ol’ fashioned run games (And the Lord said: “Runneth thy pig of skin.”) After taking in a cornucopia that was the first-half of the Trumbull-Greenwich game, Ned jetted up the parkway to North Haven, where “God’s Offense” was in full effect. Leading to this:

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Ray Curren of Elm City Newspapers has hit the Twitterwaves hard to make his case for who should be No. 1, understanding he’s somewhat biased in the discussion with the #sccprdept hashtag. Still, it’s decent enough point he makes, but — correct me if I’m wrong here — Xavier’s was voted No. 1 this week, wasn’t it? #nolobbyingneeded.

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Finally, in the interest of discussion, I’ll submit my own Tweet (bug off, it’s my website) during the debacle up in Torrington Friday night.

Final score: Torrington 80, St. Paul 39. Somebody explain to me what in the name of Jack Cochran was going on up there? With 119 combined points, the game was one of the highest in modern Connecticut history, tying last year’s Law-Guilford game for second place, all-time. But at least that Law-Guilford game was competitive. This was… well…

Torrington had a 55-6 lead in the second quarter and 61-18 at halftime. But St. Paul’s varsity — throwing on every down — apparently was too much for Torrington’s JV. It scored three straight times to pull within 22 points in the third quarter (61-39). Awright, so it’s a 22-point game after three quarters and, with St. Paul marching back to the Torrington 1 in the fourth, it seemed like fair game for the Torrington starters to return. So after a St. Paul fumble, Torrington back Brendan Lytton runs 98 yards for a touchdown. He later throws a 40-yard TD pass on fourth-and-13 for the 73-39 lead with 4:39 left. Then, finally, starter Phil Bresson returns a pick for a touchdown and the 80-39 final.

According to the Register-Citizen article, there was a heated exchange between the two coaching staffs and Torrington coach Dan Dunaj left decrying the 50-point rule (which, as we know, is  the dumbest rule in sports). But all was well, Torrington only won by 34 points. Work on that JV defense, Dan.

Bizarre, bizarre, bizarre events in the good ol’ NVL.

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• Ansonia (4-0) at Seymour (3-1), Thursday, 6 p.m. – Always a great valley rivalry. But, honestly, if Seymour couldn’t stop Wolcott…
• Fairfield Warde (2-2) at Ridgefield (3-1), Friday  – Next to McMahon, no team in the FCIAC has been as snakebit as Warde. They need a signature win. This would be a start.
• New Canaan (4-0) at Norwalk (4-0), Friday, 7 – Speaking of getting that signature win. This is the Bears’ chance to really burst onto the state scene.
• Pomperaug (4-0) at Bunnell (4-0), Friday, 7 – Pomperaug’s won every which way it can this year. With Newtown and Brookfield vanquished, the Panthers face their highest hurdle until Masuk in Week 8. Bunnell plays its first big game of the year.
• Wilton (3-1) at McMahon (2-2), Friday, 7 – Losing to Ridgefield like it did was a major setback for Wilton. McMahon doesn’t want to hear about it.
• Notre Dame-WH (3-1) at Hand (4-0), Friday, 7 – The SCC game of the year of the week. Hand turned some heads with its dismantling of Cheshire. Notre Dame’s won three straight.
• Danbury (2-2) at Staples (3-0), Saturday, 2 – Staples has had two weeks to prepare for “Speedy” and the Hatters. Danbury has proven it can play, now it needs to prove it can win.
• Trumbull (2-1) at Darien (4-0), Saturday, 2 — This week is the start of a brutal, round-robin between Darien, Trumbull and Staples with some other toughies thrown in. Trumbull’s already in trouble, can it take Darien down with it?
• Capital Prep (4-0) at Bullard-Havens (4-0), noon – Moving over to the CSC, this could be the game that decides the eventual league champ and its state playoff participant.

And since everybody’s got a ‘Game of’ … ‘Player of’ … ‘Team of’ (and variations) of the Week: We’ll start our own ‘Game of’ poll starting this week. Beats the heck out of that silly NBC Connecticut Poll.

Time to grab the goodies and dim the lights for the final two highlight videos of Week 3. This should tide you over for a few hours before we publish a Wednesday night edition of the Guide to the Games as we bull straight ahead into Week 4.

Notre Dame-WH 28, Shelton 0

First, Notre Dame-West Haven’s 28-0 victory over Shelton at Finn Stadium.

Like many of the games played last Friday, this game was postponed due to lightning. Notre Dame’s offense moved the ball for most of the first half, but Shelton’s defense managed to hold. The only score was Eamon DeTorro‘s interception return touchdown for a 7-0 Notre Dame halftime lead.

The highlights pick up in the second half after a 70-minute lightning delay (giving me time to get there from across the Housatonic River). Undaunted, Notre Dame’s offense got in gear and scored three touchdowns while the defense held the Gaels (2-1) to 98 yards of total offense and, more important, off the scoreboard.

Amihr Bess ran for 131 yards and a score, Javon Grey had 105 yards and set up a score. As you’ll hear from Notre Dame coach Tom Marcucci, the win was a needed boost for the Green Knights. Notre Dame improved to 2-1 heading into Friday night’s clash vs. intracity rival West Haven (3-0).

WATCH

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Newtown 41, Weston 7

Next, we present first-half highlights from Newtown’s 41-7 victory over Weston the following day. This game never got played Friday night because of the thunder, rain and lightning.

The next day, Newtown unleashed some thunder and lightning of its own. “Thunder” Lou Fenaroli ran for 189 yards and four touchdowns while “Lightning” Dan Hebert returned a punt 85 yards for a score and intercepted two passes as the Hawks took advantage of seven Weston turnovers to win their third straight game.

Weston, which upset Brookfield 21-20 the week before, couldn’t get back sophomore back Dan Rogers or its offense moving against Newtown’s front. Not that the Trojans (2-1) didn’t have their chances. They pulled within 14-7 on a 65-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

But as the turnovers piled up, Newtown kept piling it on. The coup de grace was a fumbled exchange on the first series of the second half. Newtown recovered just 10 yards from the goal line and then scored to make it 27-7. Ballgame.

Newtown (3-0) travels to Southbury on Thursday, where it will face 3-0 Pomperaug in the biggest SWC game to date.

WATCH

The Day's Ned Griffen (at left, if you didn't know)

The Lonesome Polecat: The Day’s Ned Griffen catches up with Xavier

The hardest working writer in all of football took a trip to Middletown to check the Game of the Year of the Week, Cheshire at Xavier.

Among the discussions, Xavier’s new offensive coordinator and its suddenly not-so-impotent offense. There’s also a note about the last time Greenwich allowed more than 50 points in a game

(Hint: It’s been a long, long time).

Brookfield QB Boeing Brown

School Sports Stars Tackle Recruitment Game Online

Brookfield quarterback Boeing Brown is the cover boy on this article from Investors Business Daily. Yes, IBD.

We’re as shocked as anyone, but the story is definitely apropos. It’s about how recruits use various social media outlets — Facebook, Twitter, what have you — to help boost exposure to college football programs.

Brown has certainly been proactive in that department, perhaps more than any high school football player I’ve ever seen.

ADDED/UPDATED: Berks Catholic cancels Stamford trip… without telling Stamford

Late add from down Stamford-way, the planned Oct. 21 meeting between Stamford and Berks Catholic (Pa.) is apparently off. Berks Catholic booked a home date with Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia that same day. It only came to Stamford coach Bryan Hocter‘s attention because he just happened to randomly check out Berks’ schedule. Stamford AD Pete Samperi got in touch with the Berks Catholic coach, who told Samperi he made informed his principal of the change, but not his athletic director.

Samperi:

“I’m really upset now I was counting on the team as our 10th game. It makes a big deal in the standings, for the whole state, not just us. Now we are basically short a game and I’m waiting to hear from the CIAC what to do.”

The answer is, most likely, nothing. Stamford’s out of luck just two weeks from the scheduled date. It will probably be ruled a no-contest and the Black Knights will be stuck with just nine games.

This comes not long after Trumbull’s out-of-state game with Catholic Memorial (Mass.) was canceled after the lights went out in the second quarter of their Week 1 meeting. That, too, was ruled a no-contest.

Ah, the strange but true stories of bye week. Anybody wanna join the FCIAC as the 20th team? They’ll be your best friend.

Duffy: Masuk No. 2 again

Nothing we didn’t cover here, just a little more in depth from the News-Times’ Kevin Duffy. He starts with a cute story about New Milford coach Chuck Lynch‘s daughter and her take on the SWC juggernaut. He also chimes in on the fickle pollsters.

Around the SWC: Vote for SWC Player of the Week

More Duffy as he takes a closer look at the SWC. You can also vote for your SWC football player of the week.

Newsome wins CTPost Male Athlete of the Week

401 yards rushing, 5 touchdowns? No shock here.

NVL Football Blogguys on Week 4

Kyle and Remmy, your favorite semi-non-newspaper bloggers (semi, because Kyle freelances for the Republican-American) have been posting weekly video previews of the NVL season. If copious amounts of NVL news and analysis isn’t your thing, at least tune in to see what threads our boys are wearing this week. Very chic.

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Video: Fairfield Prep vs. Wilbur Cross and Rich Magdon ceremony

Fairfield Prep’s media department was hard at work this week compiling a video from last weekend’s victory over Wilbur Cross at Alumni Field. Lots of atmosphere captured, particularly the ceremony to honor former coach Rich Magdon for his decades of service to the Fairfield Prep program.

The dedication portion of the video begins at the 4:46 mark.

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Birdseysports Play of the Week

Of friends from Birdseye Sports covered the Darien-St. Joseph game. This week’s highlight is Peter Gesualdi’s acrobatic touchdown leap that gave Darien a 28-7 lead in the second quarter.

Included is yet another catch phrase, Oh my God, I don’t…. Yes! Yes! which, frankly, doesn’t ring as much as ‘Ain’t No Way.’

Keep trying Effusive-Fans-on-BirdsEye-Sports-videos. Keep trying.

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New London at Greenwich… THE MOVIE!

Our coworkers at the Greenwich Time have attempted to get some extra game highlights to help out yours truly. The equipment is limiting, but staff writer Scott Ericson did a fine job of capturing many of the touchdowns in Greenwich’s 51-33 loss to New London. So we helped him out by packaging all the highlights and postgame interviews onto an official video.

And, finally a couple of more football notebooks from elsewhere around the state:

NHR: Sheehan proving its doubters wrong

Despite just 31 players on its roster, Sheehan of Wallingford is 2-1.

ADD: Also curious quote from Woodland coach Tim Shea on about the NVL mindset before the Woodland-Law game.

“All week some of the other NVL coaches were e-mailing me, telling me to show what our league is made of. …”

Really?

Record-Journal’s Tuesday morning quarterback: It’s getting late early for Meriden teams

Story on the struggling Platt and Maloney football teams, plus notes from around here.

Hartford Courant: State and area rankings

The Courant’s state and area rankings. Funny how the state rankings includes just two of their local teams.