CLASS L NO. 7 SHELTON AT NO. 3 MALONEY
NO. 8 CHESHIRE AT NO. 4 NEW CANAAN
Where: Dunning Stadium, New Canaan
Records: Cheshire 7-4, New Canaan 10-1
On the Air/Web: NFHS NETWORK
All-Time Playoff Record — Cheshire: 13-3; New Canaan: 36-11.
Players to Watch — Cheshire: Matt Jeffery, Jr., WR, Jeffery Gonzalez, Jr., RB/LB, Evan Russo, Jr., DE, Adam Vernon, Jr., LB. New Canaan: Matthew Salmini, Sr., LB, Walker Blair, Sr., DB, AJ Bell, Sr., LB, Ty Groff, Sr., QB/K, Hunter Telesco, Sr., RB.
What’s What: Cheshire's first playoff win since the 2009 Class LL final was the biggest of some big quarterfinal upsets, taking down top-seeded St. Joseph, which was ranked second in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll. Cheshire had lost its last three, and four of the last five, games against playoff teams during the regular season, but, well, Tuesday snapped that streak pretty hard. Matt Jeffery, the top lacrosse recruit in his class, started the season sharing time at quarterback, but since a midseason shoulder injury, he has done a little bit of everything else for Cheshire. Next up for the Rams are... the Rams, New Canaan, whose only loss was to... St. Joseph. New Canaan's defense has held everyone but St. Joe's to 20 points or fewer, averaging nine points allowed with four shutouts. Of four games against playoff teams, only once did New Canaan score more than 17 (45 against Wilton). New Canaan, fourth in the poll, has not been to a final since 2018, and since that capped 11 final appearances in 13 years, this is a drought.
SPB’s Pick: Cheshire; Pete’s Pick: Cheshire; Forno’s Pick: New Canaan
Where: Falcon Field, Meriden
Records: Shelton 7-4, Maloney 10-1
On the Air/Web: NFHS NETWORK
Playoff History/Last Appearance — Shelton (14-8): beat Newtown 21-20. Maloney (8-6): beat New Milford 27-7.
Players to Watch — Shelton: David Dojlidko, Jr., RB/DB, Ricky Feola, Sr., WR/DB, Ryan Heinz, Jr., LB, Ayden Sepkaski, Sr., RB/LB, Kayne Tinney, Jr., DB/WR. Maloney: Joziah Gonzalez, Sr., DB/WR, Josh Boganski, Sr., RB, Donte Kelly, Jr., DB/WR, Kyle Valentine, Sr., QB.
What’s What: It's wild that Shelton and Cheshire, two teams that were counting points on Thanksgiving morning, are still around a week later. The Gaels have won three out of four to get here, seeking their first appearance in a final since 2015 and their first title in 19 years. QB Michael Kinik has thrown for over 2,000 yards, and Dojlidko is 61 away from 1,000 rushing yards. They'll meet a Maloney team that has eight defensive or special-teams touchdowns this season. The defending Class L champions didn't take the lead in their quarterfinal game until the fourth quarter — not helped by Valentine's halftime departure into concussion protocol, as the Record-Journal reported — but sophomore Ethan Nedinsky threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
SPB’s Pick: Shelton; Pete’s Pick: Shelton; Forno’s Pick: Shelton