FCIAC weekends never lack for drama

With yet another big FCIAC football game about to kick off at his place Saturday, New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli was acting more like a giddy fan than coach of the No. 3-ranked team in the state.

Friday night had just seen No. 2-ranked St. Joseph hang on to beat No. 4 Ridgefield, 17-14, and No. 5 Greenwich cool off Trumbull 44-12, setting a Halloween weekend of at least three hotly anticipated games between FCIAC rivals, all involving the top-five-ranked teams in the latest GameTimeCT New Haven Register Top 10 Football Poll.

Marinelli had an idea. Sure, it was a fantastical and — yes — a very Fairfield County idea that’s sure to elicit eyerolls everywhere else, but hear him out:

“You know what would be fun?” Marinelli asked rhetorically. “Let’s get all three games at Boyle Stadium for a triple header.”

OK, so the groan-inducing idea of moving any FCIAC game not involving Stamford High School to Boyle Stadium aside, what better way to witness what is shaping up to be one of greatest weekends in league history?

And, ignoring the nightmarish logistics of pulling something like that off, Marinelli was serious.

“I think it would be great for our league,” Marinelli said Sunday. “When was the last time we’ve ever had something like this to showcase our league? I think it would be great. It would be exciting. It would generate a lot of interest and make a lot of extra money.”

As it is, casual fans are forced to choose, since they all kick off at approximately the same time Saturday.

At 2 p.m., current No. 4 Ridgefield will take a familiar trip down Route 35 to Fujitani Field and face archrival Wilton.

Ridgefield (4-2) hasn’t lost to Wilton in 22 meetings dating to the 1993 season. The Tigers will be looking for their 19th consecutive victory over Wilton dating to a 7-7 tie in 1999.

But this just might be a different Wilton team than usual.

Led by talents in QB Grant Masterson and WR/ DB Parker Woodring, Wilton (3-3) had a 1-point fourth-quarter lead on No. 1 Darien before losing 56-36 late.

The Warriors followed that up with a 20-17 victory over New Canaan, their first over the Rams since 1995 — incidentally, the last time they reached the state playoffs until two years ago.

Both teams are vying for spots in the ultra-competitive Class L playoff field, which includes defending champion and league rival and No. 2-ranked St. Joseph.

Speaking of the 6-0

Hogs, they’ll play host to No. 1 Darien (6-0) in perhaps the most anticipated game of the season … at least since Darien, the preseason No. 1, avenged its 2019 Class LL title loss to Newtown with a 27-14 victory in Week 3.

Saturday’s showdown at Dalling Field will be the first between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state since the 2019 Class L final between St. Joseph and Hand, won by St. Joseph 17-13.

But this is the first regular-season meeting of No. 1 vs. No. 2 since Xavier, then No. 2, defeated preseason No. 1 Notre Dame-West Haven 22-15. Xavier went on to win three consecutive Class LL championships after winning this game.

Heading into this game, St. Joseph has already won three consecutive state championships — in three different classes, no less. In fact, the Hogs own the state’s longest win streak of 29 and have won 44 of their last 46 games dating back to the 2016 Class M final.

St. Joseph’s two losses over that span? Both to the Blue Wave: 22-7 in 2018 and 42-10 in 2017.

In fact, Darien is on a five-game winning streak in the series. St. Joseph’s last win was 28-14 during its 2013 Class M championship season. The 2019 season marked the first time the teams didn’t play since 1997.

And, finally, at 3 p.m., Marinelli’s squad — ranked No. 3 before Saturday’s

20-17 loss to Wilton — plays at No. 5 Greenwich, which is coming off a seasonreaffirming 42-14 victory over Trumbull.

This is the first meeting between these two longtime FCIAC rivals since the 2018 Class LL championship, won by Greenwich — then coached by John Marinelli — 34-0 over his father’s team, quarterbacked by then-junior Drew Pyne.

With Greenwich already saddled with two losses, beating New Canaan is crucial to staying afloat in the Class LL race. Greenwich has won the last three meetings, but New Canaan had won the last six dating to 2009.

Incidentally, that 2009 season was the last time we could remember with such high weekly drama as this season.

That year, Trumbull beat Bridgeport Central 21-0 in Week 4. Central knocked off No. 1 Greenwich 14-13 in Week 6. New Canaan topped Tyler Matakevich and St. Joseph 35-25 and became No. 1 when it rallied from two touchdowns down and beat Greenwich 35-34 on a hook-and-lateral 2-point conversion catch by Kevin Macari. The next week, Central crushed New Canaan 42-7 and qualified for the FCIAC final.

Staples then famously beat Central 14-10 in one of the greatest FCIAC title games of all time. That game officially ended after 2015.

“You can write this, too,” Marinelli said. “It’s a shame with this year and all the talented teams in the FCIAC, that we don’t have an FCIAC championship anymore. This would have been a great year for it.”

RECORD-SETTERS

Bristol Central’s Victor Rosa turned in yet another pinball-wizard performance in a 68-50 home victory over Tolland on Friday night.

The senior quarterback ran 25 times for 406 yards and scored eight touchdowns, which set a school record and tied him for third-most all-time for a single game in state history.

Rosa’s 406 rushing yards, however, were only good for third all-time in school history, behind Tim Washington’s 449 yards in 2000 and 424 yards in 2001.

As far as passing goes, nobody’s had as good a two-week run as Morgan’s Drew Nye. The 6-foot-1 senior and son of former coach Peter Nye completed 38 of 54 passes for 466 yards and seven touchdowns — both school records — in an eye-popping 50-20 victory over unbeaten Coginchaug Co-Op.

The seven touchdowns tied 15 others for fourthbest in a single game alltime in state history.

It was a not-too-shabby encore to his 38-of-49, 517yard performance a week before, as Morgan tied a state record for comebacks by rallying from 28 down in the third quarter to beat SMSA 44-42.

Nye’s back-to-back weeks of 38 completions are both third-most for a single game in state history. His 517 yards vs. SMSA was good for seventh-most all time for a single game.

Nye has now thrown for 983 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two games. He’s thrown for

1,783 yards and 23 touchdowns in six games.

“It’s unbelievable, I’ve never seen anything like it,” first-year coach Kevin Sullivan said. The Huskies are 5-1 and on the verge of their first winning season since 2015.

OF NOTE

Abbott Tech/Immaculate handed Cheney Tech (5-1) its fist loss of the season, 7-6, leaving just two remaining in the CTC. Quinebaug Valley (6-0) staved off Bullard-Havens 47-38 and Thames River (6-0) defeated Platt Tech 18-6. All three CTC schools are vying for Class L playoff berths. St. Joseph, Quinebaug and Thames are the class’ last remaining unbeaten teams. ...Hall-West Hartford remained undefeated by rallying to beat Berlin 28-24 behind Matt Farber’s nine catches for 128 yards, a touchdown and his lategame interception. The Warriors sit alongside Darien (6-0) as Class LL’s only unbeaten teams . ... With Rockville stunning Granby/ Canton 42-0 and Morgan knocking off Coginchaug, Killingly remained Class M’s only unbeaten team, scoring 34 points in the first quarter en route to a 47-13 win over Montville . ... Four Class S teams remain unbeaten: Bloomfield (6-0), Ansonia (6-0), New Fairfield (6-0) and Cromwell/ Portland.

QUOTABLE

“This is why you stopped playing soccer and you came out to the football team. Go win the football game for us and make it as enjoyable as you possibly can. And that’s what he did.” — Wilton coach E.J. DiNunzio on kicker Michael Cooper, whose 32yard field goal with 8.9 seconds left gave his team a 20-17 victory over New Canaan, its first over the Rams since 1995.