Football championships previews: Bloomfield will battle Cromwell/Portland for Class S title; Rockville and Hand meet in Class M
The CIAC football state championships will take place Saturday, with three title games played at Rentschler Field in East Hartford and three at Arute Field at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
Here’s a quick look at the six state championship games:
Class LL
No. 3 West Haven (10-2) at No. 1 Staples (11-1), 5 p.m., CCSU: The only blemish on Staples’ record is a 33-23 loss to West Haven in the season opener Sept. 9. Staples, which shut out Southington 41-0 in the semifinal, is in its first championship game since 2011 when the Wreckers lost to Xavier, 42-7. West Haven is reeling from the death of one of its players, sophomore Christopher Fidalgo-Pugh, who passed away unexpectedly this week. There will be a moment of silence before the game to honor Fidalgo-Pugh.
Class L
No. 8 Darien (9-3) vs. No. 2 New Canaan (11-1), 1:30 p.m., Rentschler Field: A battle of FCIAC rivals who played each other only a few weeks ago, with defending Class L champion New Canaan winning the Thanksgiving Day game for the sixth straight year, 31-17. Darien last won a state title in Class LL in 2021.
Class MM
No. 5 North Haven (10-2) vs. No. 3 Wilton (10-2), 10:30 a.m., CCSU: Defending Class MM champion North Haven shut out top-seeded Windsor 21-0 to advance to the final. Wilton’s two losses came to Staples, a Class LL finalist, and New Canaan, a Class L finalist but the Warriors beat Darien, the other Class L finalist. Wilton lost to North Haven in the Class MM semifinals, 14-7 last year.
Class M
No. 2 Rockville (11-1) vs. No. 1 Hand (11-1), 1:45 p.m., CCSU: Rockville is back in the final after a one-year absence, losing to Killingly in the Class M championship game in 2021. The Rams are led by junior Amir Knighton, who returned from an ACL tear and surgery which caused him to miss last season, and scored a school-record 33 touchdowns this season. Hand, which has won 13 state championships, last won a title in 2018.
Class SS
No. 8 Watertown (7-5) vs. No. 7 Joel Barlow (8-4), 4:30 p.m., Rentschler Field: Defending champion Barlow lost four straight midseason but bounced back to win its last five games, including a 17-16 victory over Sheehan in the semifinal. Watertown started off 1-3 but won its last three regular season games to advance to the playoffs.
Class S
No. 4 Cromwell/Portland (10-2) vs. No. 2 Bloomfield, 10:30 a.m., Rentschler Field: A rematch of the 2021 Class S championship game, which Cromwell/Portland won 21-6. Bloomfield last won a title in 2018 and has been to the finals every year since then (except 2020 when there was no football). Last year, the Warhawks lost to Ansonia, 28-21.
