ALL HAIL HALL
Bridget McGann of Hall takes a shot as she breaks through the Conrad defense of, from left, Grace Kneidel, Isabel Lubin and McKenzie Bloom during the second half. McGann scored in the half to help Hall remain undefeated with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night at Hall High School in West Hartford during their Class L field hockey game.
Nine weeks down, three to go.
We’re officially into the home stretch of the high school football regular season. Most teams have their second bye on the horizon, and have Thanksgiving week rivalry games on the brain.
After nine weeks, Berlin is the only area team leading its respective class, as the Redcoats (8-0), the third-ranked team in The Courant’s area polls and eighth in the state, have been untouchable thus far.
Southington (third in Class LL), Hand-Madison (second in Class L) and Stafford/Somers/East Windsor (third in Class S) are all up toward the top of their classes, too, according to the CIAC’s point rating system.
Here’s where everyone else stacks up through nine weeks:
CLASS LL
1. SHELTON ( 7-0)
2. DARIEN ( 8-0)
3. SOUTHINGTON( 8-0) 4. NEWTOWN( 7-0)
5. GREENWICH ( 8-0) 6. FAIRFIELD PREP( 7-1)
7. NEWBRITAIN ( 7-1)
8. STAPLES ( 6-2)
Area teams on the bubble: East Hartford (6-2); Glastonbury (5-3)
Outlook: New Britain dealt a potential fatal blow to East Hartford’s season in Week 9, beating the Hornets 63-26. The Golden Hurricanes padded their stats and are safely in the top eight with a rivalry matchup against undefeated Berlin looming in the coming weeks.
Unsurprisingly, Southington is the top area team in Class LL. The Blue Knights beat Enfield 51-19 last Friday to stay perfect.
CLASS L
1. NAUGATUCK( 8-0)
2. HAND-MADISON( 8-0)
3. MIDDLETOWN( 7-0)
4. NORTH HAVEN( 7-1)
5. MALONEY( 7-1)
6. RHAM( 7-1)
7. WINDSOR ( 6-2)
8. BUNNELL ( 7-1)
Area teams on the bubble: Platt (6-2); Bristol Central (5-3)
Outlook: Naugatuck jumped from third to first in Class L after beating Seymour in Week 9, but undefeated Hand and Middletown are still sitting pretty.
After losing to Bristol Central, Platt is out of the top eight. The Panthers have arguably the most difficult remaining schedule in the state, with playoff teams Middletown and Maloney on the docket. A lot has to go right for the Panthers to be playing football come late November.
Windsor is safe — for now — but will need to take down Middletown in the final week of the regular season to stay in contention.
CLASS M
1. BERLIN ( 8-0)
2. ST. JOSEPH ( 7-1)
3. SHEEHAN ( 7-1)
4. KILLINGLY ( 7-1)
5. EAST HAVEN( 7-1)
6. WOLCOTT( 6-2)
7. BRANFORD ( 5-2)
8. CHENEY TECH( 6-2)
Area teams on the bubble: Rockville (5-3) Outlook: Berlin was atop Class Mbefore knocking off previously undefeated Bloomfield, and they’ll stay there once again with powerhouse St. Joseph on their tails. The Redcoats have Rocky Hill this week, then New Britain after that.
Sheehan is seeded third for a second consecutive week, and will face seventh-seeded Branford this week.
CLASS S
1. BULLARD HAVENS TECH( 8-0)
2. ANSONIA ( 8-0)
3. STAFFORD/SOMERS/EAST WINDSOR ( 8-0)
4. CROMWELL/PORTLAND( 7-1)
5. WOODLAND( 7-1)
6. O’BRIEN TECH ( 6-1)
7. VALLEY REGIONAL/OLD LYME( 6-1)
8. BLOOMFIELD ( 7-1)
Area teams on the bubble: Haddam-Killingworth (7-1)
Outlook: Ansonia’s win over Woodland helped them leapfrog Stafford/Somers/East Windsor, but the Bulldogs remain in the top half of the seedings following a 21-0 win over Ellington.
Cromwell/Portland beat Morgan 48-18 behind Bryce Karstetter’s six first-half touchdown passes. Bloomfield lost to Berlin, but hangs around in the top eight.
Haddam-Killingworth seems to have a strong playoff case at 7-1, but the CIAC point system doesn’t seem to agree. They’ll face Old Saybrook-Westbrook and Valley Regional/Old Lyme in their final two games.