The CIAC football playoffs will begin Tuesday with quarterfinal games in six divisions.
Bloomfield, which will play East Catholic, is the defending Class S champion, and Hand, which will host New London, is the defending Class M champion.
Windsor, top ranked in the Courant state coaches’ poll, was awarded a quarterfinal win by forfeit after NW United told the CIAC it didn’t have enough healthy players to field a team for Tuesday’s game.
Here’s a quick look at the local high school football teams playing in the CIAC state quarterfinals Tuesday:
Class LL
No. 5 West Haven (8-2) at No. 4 Glastonbury (8-2), 6:30 p.m.: Glastonbury is on a four-game win streak and quarterback Connor Finnerty has passed for over 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns while sophomore RB Dante Casdia has 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns. West Haven, ranked 10th in the Courant’s coaches’ poll, lost the Class LL championship 21-20 to Staples last year.
No. 7 Manchester (6-4) at No. 2 Staples (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: Manchester had a rough outing in its last game Nov. 22, losing to East Hartford 46-0, a week after beating fellow Class LL quarterfinalist New Britain 28-27. Staples is the defending LL champion and ranked fourth in the Courant’s coaches’ poll.
No. 6 New Britain (8-2) at No. 3 Greenwich (8-2), 6:30 p.m.: New Britain is in the quarterfinals for the second straight year, led by senior QB Donovan Campbell (1,466 yards, 16 TDs) and junior RB Jayden Allen (1,483 yards, 23 TDs). Greenwich, which was knocked out of the semifinal round last year by West Haven, is ranked fifth in the Courant state coaches’ poll and lost to Staples 27-0 on Thanksgiving.
CT High School Football Coaches’ Poll: Windsor, Hand top rankings as state playoffs begin
Class L
No. 7 Maloney (6-4) at No. 2 New Canaan (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: New Canaan is the defending two-time Class L champion and ranked No. 3 in the latest Courant coaches’ poll. Maloney is very familiar with New Canaan, which beat the Spartans 42-13 to open the season, after beating them 11-8 in Maloney’s last game last year, the Class L semifinals. New Canaan also beat Maloney in the finals the year before that, 16-13.
Class MM
No. 8 NW United (9-1) at No. 1 Windsor (10-0): NW United announced Monday that it would be forfeiting this game due to a shortage of healthy players. Windsor will play the winner of Wethersfield and Newington Saturday in a semifinal game.
No. 5 Wethersfield (9-1) at No. 4 Newington (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: At least the teams don’t have to do a lot of scouting for this one – it’s a rematch of the Thanksgiving Eve game, which Wethersfield won, 22-14 in overtime. Wethersfield scored the most points of any opponent against Newington this season.
No. 7 Bunnell (8-2) at No. 2 Bristol Central (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: Bristol Central’s only loss came to Newington, 14-7, on Oct. 25 and the Rams won their last four games. Quarterback Donnie Rodriguez has rushed for over 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns. Bunnell’s two losses came to Newtown and Brookfield, both ranked in the Courant’s coaches’ poll.
Class M
No. 8 New London (6-4) at No. 1 Hand (10-0) at Madison Surf Club, 6:30 p.m.: Hand is the Class M champion and No. 2 in the Courant state coaches’ poll. New London opened the season with a 36-14 loss to the Tigers.
No. 6 Berlin (7-3) at No. 3 Rockville (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: Rockville and Berlin are familiar playoff opponents. Last year, Rockville, the Class M runner-up, defeated Berlin 14-13 in the quarterfinals. In 2022, Berlin defeated Rockville in the semifinals 42-7. Both teams have had solid seasons – Rockville lost only to Cromwell/Portland, a Class S playoff team and last year’s state runner-up, and Berlin took a while to get going due to injuries, losing two of its first three, but finally got back on track, with only a late loss to No. 1 Windsor marring the end of the season.
Class SS
No. 8 Ellington (6-4) at No. 1 Killingly (10-0), 6:30 p.m.: Ellington faces a tough quarterfinal opponent in Killingly, which drops down from Class L last year after finishing 2022 as the Class MM runner-up. Killingly is ranked ninth in the Courant’s coaches’ poll. Killingly’s closest game was an eight-point win over Sheehan Sept. 27. Ellington lost three of its last four games, all to playoff teams (Granby/Canton, Capital Prep/Achievement First and Rockville).
No. 7 Ledyard (7-3) at No. 2 Windham (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: These two ECC teams will face off again after Windham beat Ledyard 13-6 on Oct. 25. Windham has had a standout year with its only loss coming to Fitch, 22-21. Ledyard beat Fitch 20-14 on Thanksgiving.
No. 6 Granby/Canton (8-2) at No. 3 Sheehan (8-2), 6:30 p.m.: Granby/Canton lost two close games to two other playoff teams, Rockville and Capital Prep/Achievement First. Both teams made it to the playoffs last year, with Granby/Canton losing in the first round and Sheehan falling in the semifinals to Joel Barlow, 17-16. Junior quarterback Jake O’Brien leads the Titans with 24 touchdowns and 1,476 passing yards and Jayden Dougherty is the leading receiver with 713 yards and 13 TDs. Quarterback Vincent Forte has 14 rushing touchdowns and nine passing TDs for Granby/Canton.
Class S
No. 8 WCA (7-3) at No. 1 Capital Prep/Achievement First (10-0) at Weaver High, 6:30 p.m.: Capital Prep senior Hashim Jones, who has played almost every position on the field in his four years, has rushed for 1,913 yards and 24 touchdowns for the unbeaten Trailblazers. Capital Prep beat three playoff teams during the regular season – Cromwell/Portland (the Panthers’ only loss), Granby/Canton and Ellington.
No. 5 Bloomfield (7-3) at No. 4 East Catholic (9-1) at East Hartford High, 6:30 p.m.: Bloomfield, the defending Class S champion, handed East Catholic its only loss 46-18 on Oct. 18. The Warhawks had a rough start to the season, losing two of their first three but got back on track. East Catholic closed out its season with five straight wins. Junior Joey Montalvo has 1,387 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns and senior quarterback Christian Morales has 2,026 passing yards and 27 TDs. Bloomfield’s junior quarterback Cameron White has 1.073 passing yards and 13 touchdowns and senior running backs Marlon Britton (eight TDs, 809 yards) and Zakyi Kimber (nine TDs, 655 yards) help lead the Warhawks.
No. 7 Valley Regional/Old Lyme (7-3) at No. 2 Ansonia (9-1) (Nolan Field), 6:30 p.m.: Valley Regional/Old Lyme won its last four games after a close loss to Cromwell/Portland. Ansonia had its only loss of the season to Naugatuck 33-28 on Thanksgiving.
No. 6 Woodland (7-3) at No. 3 Cromwell/Portland (9-1), 6:30 p.m.: Cromwell/Portland, the Class S runner-up to Bloomfield, are back again in the playoffs with new (former) coach Sal Morello back at the helm. The Panthers’ only loss came to Capital Prep, and Cromwell/Portland handed Rockville its only loss of the regular season.