Big games this weekend for high school football teams

MIDDLETOWN — Interesting games dot the area football landscape this weekend, leading off with tonight's Class S showdown between Valley Regional/Old Lyme and Cromwell/Portland.

The Middletown vs. Newington game is fascinating because of what happened last year and there are all kinds of subplots in the North Haven at Xavier game, which is both Homecoming and Senior Night Saturday for the Falcons.

After the heartbreaker Vinal/ East Hampton/Goodwin lost last week, the Bellhawks have a real chance to win, H-K faces a turning point game at home, Coginchaug/Hale-Ray takes on one of the Pequot's best and Wesleyan faces what might be a trap game at winless Bowdoin.

Valley Regional/Old Lyme (5-1) vs. Cromwell/Portland (6-0)

Where: Pierson Park, Cromwell

When: Tonight at 6 p.m. There's a lot on the line in this one.

“This is a very big game relative to the playoffs,” said Valley coach Tim King. “It just might be that 8-2 won't be good enough to get in, isn't that amazing? So this is a very important game for us.”

Cromwell/Portland comes in as the favorite as it knocked off Old Saybrook/Westbrook 12-6 last week, a team that beat Valley 34-13.

“Cromwell has a bunch of athletes,” said King. “They probably have the most athletes of any team in the Pequot. They're not real big up front, but they never stop. They have an aggressive defense and they are explosive on offense. But we have some pretty good athletes, too.

“We're getting better. We just keep plugging along and I hope we're ready to play.”

King said it was important to keep the ball out of the Panthers' hands.

“You always want to do that,” he said. “You want to control the clock. It's one of those games that's all about who's ready to play.”

For C/P a win is important as it would tighten its grip on a playoff spot. A loss would be damaging in the very competitive Class S race, especially with Rocky Hill coming up on Thanksgiving.

Pick: Cromwell/Portland to win.

Middletown (6-0) vs. Newington (2-4)

Where: Alumni Field, Newington When: Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Let's turn the calendar back a year. Middletown was 6-0, Newington was 2-4, just like this year. Newington won the game.

“Let's hope we learned from that,” said Middletown coach Sal Morello. “Newington has 19 seniors so you know they remember. I just want us to continue our good play. The challenge for us is to show up and play like we did last Friday against E.O. Smith.”

Morello said his team is healthy and that this will be a game “to see how much we have grown over a year.”

The teams have three common opponents. Newington beat Farmington 26-20, MHS beat the Indians 41-0. Newington lost to Bristol Eastern 9-7, MHS beat

From page B1 Eastern 35-0. Newington lost to Bristol Central 20-17, MHS beat Central 56-26 in a game in which MHS trailed early.

The numbers favor Middletown, but the numbers did last year.

Pick: Middletown to win.

North Haven (4-2) vs. Xavier (3-3)

Where: McHugh Field, XHS When: Saturday at 6 p.m.

Coach Andy Guyon said his team "played really, really well" in its 42-28 win over Notre Dame last week and said his Falcons will have to play well this week.

“North Haven presents a world of problems with its single-wing offense,” said Guyon. “They are very disciplined and do all the basic things very well. They are very well-coached.”

North Haven is in the hunt for a Class L playoff berth and a loss would be a damaging blow to the Indians' chances. On the flip side, a Xavier win would make the Falcons relevant in Class LL. It's a huge game for both.

North Haven's signature win is a 17-14 decision over Cheshire. It has lost close ones to undefeated West Haven (33-27) and Shelton (31-20).

The clubs have no common opponents.

“We have to score first and then stop them,” said Guyon. “The single-wing is not a good come-frombehind offense, but if you fall behind that offense, it's hard to stop them.”

Guyon said that running back Ty Abrahams is 100 percent following his ankle injury. “You could see he was becoming more and more confident against Notre Dame,” Guyon said.

The Falcons will need another big game from quarterback Will Levis (25-for-30 against Notre Dame). “He played out of his mind,” said Guyon. “You saw what Penn State sees in him.”

North Haven is favored. Time for an upset.

Pick: Xavier to win.

North Branford (4-2) vs. Haddam-Killingworth (3-3)

Where: H-K High School When: Tonight at 6:30 p.m.

This is another of those turning-point games.

“Our kids have been playing better,” said H-K coach Mike Baklik. “I expect a close game. It is very important for us to get the ‘W’ as it would jump start us towards a better than .500 season.”

The two clubs have been playing each other since the Clinton administration, but in the quirks of high school scheduling, the two didn't play last year. “We're really looking forward to this game,” said Baklik. “And we're pretty healthy.”

North Branford needs the win to stay within shouting distance of a Class S playoff berth. Both clubs have wins over Morgan and Nonnewaug, their two common opponents, although North Branford's wins were blowouts.

It should be a competitive game, but a game in which run-heavy H-K must grab an early lead.

Pick: North Branford to win.

Vinal Tech/East Hampton/Goodwin Tech (0-6) vs. MCW United (0-6)

Where: Housatonic High School

When: Saturday at noon The Bellhawks’ loss last week to Thames Valley was excruciating. The lead changed hands all night, but VT/EH/GT took a 22-20 lead with a minute left to play, only to see Thames Valley come storming back to score with eight seconds left to win 28-22.

“It was a great game, but such a tough loss,” said Vinal coach Joe Cefaratti. “The cards just aren't falling our way. We are playing well and have been in just about every game, but we're not getting wins.

“Yet the kids remain upbeat and we've had good practices this week. We keep plugging and we tell the kids to hang in there, the tide will change.”

Cefaratti said that his varsity team is essentially last year's junior varsity team. “There are a lot of growing pains,” he said.

Both teams are winless and as Cefaratti said, “Something's got to give.”

Pick: VT/EH/GT to win its first.

Coginchaug/Hale-Ray (3-3) vs. Old Saybrook/Westbrook (5-1)

Where: Old Saybrook Turf Field

When: Saturday at noon Old Saybrook/Westbrook is likely not in a very good mood following its tough 12-6 loss to Cromwell last week. On top of that, this is a win the home team desperately needs to stay in the Class S playoff race.

Class S has seven unbeaten teams and seven one-loss teams. No question some good teams won't see the postseason, so for OSW, a win here is required.

All of which is bad news for Coginchaug/Hale-Ray.

The Blue Devils are lightyears better than last year's one-win team and their remaining opponents after this one are all winnable games. But OSW has too many weapons.

Pick: Old Saybrook/ Westbrook to win.

Wesleyan (4-2) vs. Bowdoin (0-6)

Where: Whittier Field, Brunswick, Maine When: Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

A long bus ride to Maine. Last time out, a crushing loss to Amherst. A week to think about a NESCAC championship likely lost. All of which adds up to a potential trap game for the Wesleyan Cardinals.

On paper, Wesleyan is vastly superior to the Polar Bears. Bowdoin gives up an average of 37 points per game while managing only 13 itself. Its total offense of 245 yards is dreadful and in its last outing, the Polar Bears were skinned 63-14 by Trinity.

While Wesleyan is just 1-2 against the NESCAC's good teams, beating Tufts in overtime (24-17) while losing crushers to Middlebury (30-27) and Amherst (21-17), it has hammered the bottom half of the league in Bates, Colby and Hamilton.

Bowdoin is at the very bottom of them all. Can Wesleyan get excited about playing Bowdoin? On Halloween weekend?. Pick: Wesleyan to win.

Last week: 7-1. Season record: 32-12.