CLASS L SEMIFINALS
NO. 4 NEW CANAAN AT NO. 1 ST JOSEPH
WHERE — Bunnell High School, Stratford TICKETS — Adults $10, Students/Senior Citizen $5
ON THE AIR/WEB — NFHS Network (Subscription required)
RECORDS — New Canaan 9-2, St. Joseph 11-0.
PLAYOFF HISTORY/WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS —
New Canaan (34-9): beat Wethersfield 42-7. St. Joseph (27-5): beat Wilton 49-7.
PLAYERS TO WATCH — New Canaan: Sr. QB Drew Pyne, Sr. WR/DB Zach LaPolice, Sr. LB Chris Carratu, Sr. DB Drew Guida. St. Joseph: Sr. RB Jaden Shirden, Sr. DE Mike Morrissey, Sr. LB Cole DaSilva, Jr. QB Jack Wallace.
STORYLINES — Another round, another FCIAC rematch for St. Joseph, whose closest game was a 29-point win over Fairfield Prep, and whose fourth win this season was a 58-14 victory at New Canaan on Oct. 4. The second-ranked Hogs have won 21 straight games, and their quest for a third consecutive CIAC title in third different division proceeds through the Rams. Junior quarterback Jack Wallace was named Connecticut’s Gatorade Player of the Year on Friday. New Canaan, No. 3 in the preseason poll and back up to No. 9 now, has won seven straight since that night at Dunning Field. Notre Damebound quarterback Drew Pyne has taken charge in the second half of the season, throwing three more touchdowns in a 300-yard night Wednesday against Wethersfield. Drew Guida’s return from injury has been a big factor in their surge to get here, and the Rams have several impact players on both sides of the ball. But they probably don’t have as many as the Cadets, unbeaten in the regular season for the first time in 36 years, led by a punishing defense and an offense that hasn’t scored fewer than 41 points in a game. St. Joseph won’t play a playoff game at home; with no lights at home, it went across town to Trumbull for the quarterfinals against Wilton and will take the show to Bunnell for this game after the semifinals moved from Sunday afternoon to Monday night. This will be the teams’ first CIAC playoff meeting. New Canaan leads the all-time series 11-5, but St. Joseph has won the past three, one in each of the past three seasons.
FORNO’S PICK — St. Joseph
SPB’S PICK — St. Joseph
PETE’S PICK — St. Joseph
NO. 3 MALONEY AT NO. 2 HAND
WHERE — Strong Field at The Surf Club, Madison TICKETS — Adults $10, Students/Senior Citizen $5
ON THE AIR/WEB — NFHS Network (Subscription required)
RECORDS — Maloney 10-1, Hand 11-0
PLAYOFF HISTORY/WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINALS —
Maloney (4-5): beat Berlin 35-7. Hand (28-8): beat Newington 52-0.
PLAYERS TO WATCH — Maloney: Soph. QB Angel Arce, Jr. RB James Tarver, Sr. WR/DB Kam Moreno, Sr. DL/OL Trevor Santiago. Hand: Sr. QB Phoenix Billings, Sr. OL/DL Ben Corniello, Sr. RB/LB Colin McCabe, Sr. TE Ethan Haberman.
STORYLINES — The rematch, a round early: Hand beat Maloney 54-14 in last year’s Class L championship game, the Tigers’ second consecutive CIAC championship. A three-peat for Hand, ranked atop the GameTimeCT poll all season, requires one more win over the No. 10 Spartans to reach the final. Maloney has won five in a row after its 42-35 loss at Newington on Oct. 25. Its young quarterback, Angel Arce, has been a standout, and Kam Moreno, healthy again, is an impact player on both sides of the ball. Running back James Tarver left the quarterfinal game in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury, but his status looks good for Monday. The Tigers, meanwhile, have won 35 in a row, rolling this season through 10 games that ended up with relatively easy wins, plus one last-minute comeback to beat Shelton 21-14 on Nov. 15. They’ve won the next two games by a combined score of 113-6 with eight different players in on the scoring. They’ve also won 20 in a row at the Surf Club.
FORNO’S PICK — Hand
SPB’S PICK — Hand
PETE’S PICK — Hand