Time to pick the true H.S. football contenders

MIDDLETOWN — The preliminaries are over, now it’s time for serious football.

Middletown High, undefeated and ranked No. 10 in the Register/GameTimeCT writers’ poll, begins the toughest part of its schedule at home tonight, Xavier has a do-or-die road game this evening, Cromwell/Portland will look to remain unbeaten against a neighborhood rival Saturday, unbeaten Valley/Old Lyme takes on another unbeaten tonight, and Wesleyan looks to solidify its reputation as a championship contender Saturday afternoon. Bristol Central (2-2) vs. Middletown (4-0) Rosek-Skubel Stadium, MHS Tonight at 6:30

Bristol Central began the year with easy wins over Hartford Public (26-6) and Wethersfield (33-0), sandwiched around a very tough loss to unbeaten Windsor (2919). Then last week, in a wholly unexpected result, streaking Maloney (3-1) hammered the Rams 34-7.

“I was very surprised at that,” said Middletown coach Sal Morello. “Central is very athletic in the skilled positions and their quarterback is a threat to go all the way at any time. There is no question Central will give us a lot of resistance.

“We’re going to have to come to play and continue what we’ve been doing, which is playing good football.”

Morello said his team is healthy and everyone is ready to go.

“For us to win, we’re going to have to play very good defense and we must contain their quarterback and limit their big plays,” said Morello. MIDDLETOWN to win. Xavier (2-2) vs. Fairfield Prep (3-1) Rafferty Stadium, Fairfield University Tonight at 6 Xavier coach Andy Guyon nailed it. “They’re a lot like us,” he said. “This looks to be an even match.”

For both it’s an early season game of survival. A loss by Xavier would make its prospect of qualifying for the Class LL playoffs bleak. While it would not be quite as devastating for Prep, it would be a damaging loss.

Prep has wins over winless Notre Dame (29-12), Amity (7-3) and Sheehan (38-21) and a loss to Shelton (19-15).

“We had a very good week of practice and the kids are excited about playing,”

said Guyon. “Prep is a bit confusing in that they have had some injury issues and have used a considerable number of players and done a variety of things. We have had to prepare for multiple things, so we have our work cut out.”

Guyon reported that feature back Ty Abrahams, who sat out the East Haven game with an ankle injury, is painfree and has been cleared to play.

While Guyon talked about the game being a toss-up, he has a couple of wild cards in quarterback Will Levis and wideout Kyle MacGillis, a pair that can score from anywhere on the field. Add Abrahams to the mix and perhaps the game tilts in Xavier’s favor, even though the Falcons are on the road and Prep is a slight favorite. XAVIER to win a good one. Old Saybrook/Westbrook (4-0) vs. Valley/Old Lyme (3-0) VRHS Field, Deep River Tonight at 6:30

Valley/Old Lyme coach Tim King called Old Saybrook/ Westbrook the best team his club has faced this season.

“They have a little bit of everything,” he said. “They have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, there is good size on the offensive line, they have speed, a good running back and their offense is well-balanced between the run and the pass.” In short, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, King said his club has been dealing with some injuries and that while his team had a week off to heal, that helped only a “little bit.”

“We need to cut down on penalties and control the ball,” he said. “We need to keep the ball out of their hands.”

In the end, King conceded it looked like an even match. In that case, go with the home team. VALLEY/OLD LYME to win. Haddam-Killingworth (2-2) vs. Coventry Co-operative (4-0) Pietrantonio Athletic Complex, Coventry Tonight at 7

This is a frying-pan-into-the-fire kind of game for H-K. Last week the Cougars were torched by Cromwell/Portland and this week they get another undefeated team, this time on the road.

H-K runs the ball and cannot fall behind as it it is not built to come from behind. While there is little doubt that H-K is building its program, this looks to be a tough evening upstate as it takes on Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton/Lyman Memorial. COVENTRY to win. Cromwell/Portland (4-0) vs. Coginchaug/Hale-Ray (2-2) Wally Camp Athletic Complex , Durham Saturday at 1 p.m.

Cromwell/Portland coach Randell Bennett gave his kids a couple of days off at the end of last week to heal.

“We were a little banged up after the short week in which we played two games,” said Bennett. “But we’re pretty healthy now. We know it will be tough going into their place. We’ve prepared our kids for a lot of noise as their crowd is pretty raucous. We need to stay calm and composed.”

He went on to say that it is a rivalry game and that both schools compete across the board and that has him concerned.

However, the nuts and bolts of this is Bennett’s team is heavily favored. The Panthers both pass and run and showed that in their one-sided win over H-K last week. “We want to establish the run,” said Bennett. In an example of the rich getting richer, C/P returns Kittrell Lauray, a running back who has been limited to defense because of a variety of injuries.

Coginchaug/Hale-Ray is improved over a year ago, but C/P appears to have too much of everything. CROMWELL/PORTLAND to win. Colby (0-3) vs. Wesleyan (2-1) Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field Wesleyan University, Middletown Saturday at 1 p.m.

This looks like a mismatch, but Wesleyan coach Dan DiCenzo will have none of that.

“Our kids know that they started with a tough schedule,” said DiCenzo. “We want to win a championship and we know we haven’t played a full 60 minutes yet. They have struggled offensively, but their quarterback [Jack O’Brien, 45-for-84, 278 yards] can extend plays with his feet and they’re pretty sound defensively.”

Colby lost to Trinity (35-0), Williams (24-7) and Middlebury (37-6). Wesleyan lost to Middlebury 30-27, won a thriller in overtime over Tufts 24-17, then beat up Hamilton 31-9 last week.

“It was a good win at Hamilton,” said DiCenzo. “We played well, especially in the second half. We challenged our offensive line to run the ball and Dario [Highsmith, Middletown High alum] had a great game with 95 yards rushing and caught five passes. He played very well.”

DiCenzo said his team is healthy, WESLEYAN to win. Vinal/East Hampton/Goodwin has a bye this week. Last week: 4-2. Season record: 18-9.