CIAC STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
CLASS LL DARIEN VS. FAIRFIELD PREP
WHERE/WHEN — McDougall Stadium, Trumbull, 3 p.m.
TICKETS — Adults $10, Students/Senior Citizen $5
ON THE AIR/WEB — NFHS Network
SEEDS/RECORDS — No. 3 Darien (11-1); No. 1 Fairfield Prep (11-1)
COACHES — Darien:
Mike Forget, 1st season (11-1). Fairfield Prep: Keith Hellstern, 6th season (4619)
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY Darien (7-9)
1979-L def. Bristol Central 27-16; 1987-M lost to
East Catholic 14-0; 1989MM lost to Hand 34-28; 1991-M def. Berlin 35-22; 1992-SS def. Stratford 30-0; 1996-S def. Bloomfield 21-16; 1997-S lost to Bloomfield 39-21; 1998-M lost to Seymour 14-6; 1999-M lost to Weaver 69-26; 2008-MM lost to New Canaan 26-7; 2013-L lost to New Canaan 44-12; 2014-L-Large lost to New Canaan 21-20; 2015-LL def. Shelton 39-7; 2016-LL def. Ridgefield 28-7; 2017-LL def. Greenwich 31-22; 2019LL lost to Newtown 13-7. Fairfield Prep (3-1) 1977-L def. Xavier 22-6; 1982-LL def. Greenwich 18-6; 1988-LL def. Greenwich 7-0; 2013-LL lost to Southington 52-34.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Darien: David Evanchick, Sr., DE; Miles Drake, Sr., QB; Tighe Cummiskey,
Sr., RB; Matt Minicus, Sr., WR; Sean Quick, Sr., LB.
Fairfield Prep: Ryan O’Connell, Sr., LB; Tymaine Smith, Sr., LB/WR; Tim Pearson, Sr., WR; Connor Smith, Sr., QB.
STORYLINES
First to 13 points? Statistically speaking, that could be the case when these two heavyweights clash in the Class LL championship game.
Both defenses have allowed less than 13 points per game.
Darien, led by seniors David Evanchick (10+ sacks) and Joe Cesare (7 interceptions), has allowed just 12 points a game, including two shutouts this season.
For Fairfield Prep, it’s linebackers Tymaine Smith (88 tackles) and Ryan O’Connell (80 tackles) leading a defense that has allowed just 9.2 points per game, including four shutouts.
And the game will come down to whose offense breaks through.
Fairfield Prep’s averages 30.3 points a game. The Jesuits are led by Daniel Barnick’s 1,023 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and quarterback Connor Smith’s 493 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Smith has thrown 17 touchdowns with 11 of them going to Tim Pearson (51 catches, 640 yards).
Darien’s offense has scored 473 points, an average of 39.4 per game. It’s led by Tighe Cummisky’s 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns rushing and Miles Drake’s 1,800 yards and 28 touchdown passes.
This is the first meeting of the two programs. Darien has been a Class LL regular in recent years. The Blue Wave won three straight Class LL state titles from 2015-17 and then lost to Newtown in the 2018 quarterfinals and the final in 2019.
The game features two former assistants as head coach in their first title games. Darien’s Mike Forget was the defensive coordinator at Darien under Rob Trifone for the past eight seasons and coached in six state finals as an assistant coach. He became interim coach in 2020 and the official head coach this year.
Fairfield Prep’s Keith Hellstern took over for Tom Shea after the 2014 season, he was the defensive coordinator for the Jesuits when they lost to Southington the 2013 LL championship.
Both teams have avenged their one loss this season. Fairfield Prep lost to Greenwich, 14-7, on Oct. 2 and then defeated them 21-14 in the state quarterfinals. Darien beat New Canaan, 24-10, in the quarterfinals after losing on Thanksgiving, 12-7.
Fairfield Prep hasn’t been in a state title since 2013, a loss to Southington, and hasn’t won a state title since 1988, a 7-0 win over Greenwich.
From the preseason GameTimeCT/NHRegsiter poll to the one before Thanksgiving, Darien has been the No. 1 team. Darien defeated Newtown in a top 3 battle and took down St. Joseph in a 1 vs. 2 game.