Playoff picture coming into focus
Unless someone figures out how to derail Darien the rest of the way — New Canaan, perhaps — the fight for the final 2021 No. 1 ranking will take place in the Class LL playoffs.
Darien squashed No. 2-ranked and Class L favorite St. Joseph 42-14 Saturday at rainy Dalling Field. The Blue Wave won their sixthconsecutive game against the Hogs dating back to 2013 and are now one of six remaining unbeaten teams in the state — one of two in Class LL.
The other Class LL unbeaten team is Hall, which has defied weekly gloomy forecasts with narrow escapes and nice comebacks to reach 7-0 for the first time since going 8-0 in 2010.
Killingly (6-0) is the only remaining unbeaten team in Class M and there are three unbeaten teams remaining in Class S — Bloomfield (7-0), Ansonia (7-0) and Cromwell/Portland (6-0).
Darien faces Norwalk this week in yet another showdown of top FCIAC teams. It’s also another key game in an increasingly competitive, if muddy Class LL playoff field.
Without doing any math, here’s a broad look at the playoff picture as we head into the regular-season's final month:
CLASS LL
After Darien and Hall comes a wealth of contenders, starting with archrivals Shelton and Fairfield Prep are both 6-1 and ranked No. 3 and 4 in the LL rankings. And, hey hey, they play at Rafferty Stadium on Friday.
At No. 5 comes New Canaan, which pounded Greenwich to the tune of 62 carries and 307 yards to reassert itself at 6-1.
Southington (6-1), whose only loss so far is to Hall, is ranked No. 6 in the playoff standings. West Haven, which has benefited from its SCC Tier II schedule but came up with its biggest win of the year by beating Tier I Notre Dame-West Haven 27-20, is seventh.
All of the top seven teams control their own destiny, but many of them play each other (Darien-New Canaan, Prep-Shelton and West Haven-Prep, for example). So there is plenty of opportunity for other strong programs to capture one of the final three-or-four spots of the eight-team playoff field.
Staples (5-2) pulled into the No. 8 spot by knocking off Norwalk. The Wreckers play Ridgefield (4-3) and Greenwich (4-3) the rest of the way.
Norwalk, now 5-2 and ranked No. 9 in LL, also has opportunity, albeit against Darien and then Wilton. Hamden (4-2 and ranked No. 10) has games vs. Sheehan, Law, Westhill and Notre Dame-West Haven remaining.
Ridgefield (4-3, ranked No. 14) and Trumbull (5-2, ranked 11) play each other this week, with the loser likely done. Trumbull can reaffirm its case by winning out, but that means a mustwin vs. St. Joseph on Thanksgiving. Ridgefield will also need to win out, and can help itself with points and by eliminating competition by knocking off Trumbull and Staples.
Greenwich at 4-3 and ranked No. 12 might be in trouble with few points available, although it does play Staples late. Newtown (4-3, 13th) is also in a bind and would need to win out and get help. Same with Simsbury, which can only return to the conversation by beating Southington this week.
CLASS L
Thanks to Cheney Tech rallying to beat Thames River 26-20 in OT and Northwest United knocking
off Quinebaug Valley, the threat of the CTC qualifying multiple playoff teams lessened again last week.
Cheney Tech (6-1 5th), Thames River (6-1, 7th) and Quinebaug Valley (6-1, 10th) individually have good shots to make it. But because both Cheney and Thames play Quinebaug and Thames faces ATI, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely more than one will, especially if other contenders keep winning.
Despite its loss to Darien, St. Joseph (6-1, 1st) is a virtual shoo-in. Maloney (6-1, 2nd) faces Hall in a CCC Division I showdown this week. A win there will virtually guarantee the Spartans will also qualify.
Windsor (6-1, 3rd) faces tough squads in Berlin and Newington over the next two weeks, but it’s favored in both and should qualify, too. Same goes ofr Victor Rosa and Bristol Central (6-1, 4th). They should win their remaining three games.
Naugatuck (5-1, 6th) put itself back into the discussion by toppling Holy Cross. But the Greyhounds still must beat Wooldand or face the prospect of needing to beat Ansonia — which it hasn’t done in 10 years — to secure a spot.
Wilton (5-2, 8th) has made the most noise, but the Warriors are going to have to win out against Warde, Norwalk and Pomperaug and hope it’s enough. Warde and Pomperaug aren’t giving the Warriors too many points.
Masuk (5-2, 9th) also saved its season when it rallied from 28-points down to beat New Fairfield on Friday night, but also will need to win out — including against Newtown.
Other contenders here are Fitch (4-2, 11th), Hand (4-3, 12th), Wethersfield (5-2, 13th) and maybe even Cheshire (4-3), which can make a big move up the standings if it can somehow beat West Haven, Shelton and Southington.
CLASS M
Killingly (6-0, 1st) is the only real sure thing in a messy field which has three one-loss teams (Rockville, Avon, Branford), seven two-loss teams and Notre Dame-West Haven still a threat at 3-4 but ranked No. 13.
Ellington (5-2, 8th) and Plainville (5-2, 6th) losing unexpectedly last week also threw this class into further chaos.
The winner of Avon (4-1, 3rd) vs. Branford (5-1, 4th) this week will do themselves and the entire class a favor, as will the winner of Granby/Canton (4-2, 5th) vs. Coginchaug Co-Op (5-2, 7th) on Nov. 19.
Torrington (4-3, 9th), Law (5-2, 10th), Barlow (5-2, 11th) are also on the prowl. Despite losing to West Haven, Notre Dame can rocket back up the standings by winning out against the likes of Xavier, Hand and Hamden and some modest help elsewhere.
CLASS S
Bloomfield (7-0, 1st), Ansonia (7-0, 2nd) and Cromwell/Portland (6-0, 3rd) are all favorites to qualify,
although difficult games remain for all three.
Seymour (5-1, 4th) still has Woodland (5-2, 10th) and Holy Cross (5-2, 8th) left. At last one of those should do the trick. Morgan (5-1, 6th) has, perhaps, one toughie left vs. Ellington and is also a good bet to get in.
The wildcards here are New Fairfield (6-1, 5th) and Notre Dame-Fairfield (5-1, 7th), who play this week. Both teams need this game, especially New Fairfield which faces Newtown the week after. The Rebels would have been in a better spot had they not let slip a 28-point lead to Masuk.
Holy Cross (5-2, 8th) didn’t do itself any favors, either, losing to Naugatuck. Its game vs. Seymour on Nov. 18 is big. Woodland is teetering at 5-2, 10th-place, with Ansonia, Naugy and Seymour remaining.
Sheehan (5-2, 9th) can help itself immensely by beating Hamden and Hartford Public. Rocky Hill (4-2) and Ledyard (5-2) are going to need to win out and hope enough goes their way.
Again, this was a very broad look. We'll star taking deeper dives in the coming weeks.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
28 — The second-quarter point deficit erased by Masuk in its 29-28 victory over New Fairfield. It was the second time in three weeks that a game tied the state comeback mark, following Morgan’s 44-42 victory over SMSA on Oct. 16 (Morgan trailed 42-14 in the third quarter). The comeback record has now been tied six times since 1974, when St. Joseph first set it in a 37-30 rally past Bassick in 1974. The next five recordtying games, however, have all come over the last 11 years.
2-4 – Record of the No. 1-ranked team in the last six games involving the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the GameTimeCT / New Haven Register Top 10 poll. Both times, Darien was the No. 1 team. In 2016, the No. 1-ranked Blue Wave defeated No. 2 New Canaan 37-34 in OT. On Saturday, the No. 1 Blue Wave defeated No. 2 St. Joseph 42-14.
43-0 – St. Joseph’s record against teams not named Darien since 2017. St. Joseph has lost to Darien three times over that span. Its last non-Darien loss was 42-21 vs. Hillhouse in the 2016 Class M championship.
QUOTABLE
“I am speechless. I have dreamt about a moment like this since I was little. I told my quarterback I was going to run post, I saw the one high safety and I thought I was going to Moss him. When the ball was up in the air I thought ‘nobody else is catching this but me.’”
— Nick Saccu, Masuk senior quarterbackturned-receiver on the 40-yard touchdown catch from Dylan Jackson that got his team within a Jake Dellapiano 2-point conversion from completing a 28-point comeback in a 29-28 win over New Fairfield.