H.S. football notes: Four local schools in contention for playoff berths
Oct. 25—And now for another rendition of "where does the time go?"
Thanksgiving is less than a month away. Which means so is Thanksgiving football — and games that may well decide how many high school football teams from the region make the playoffs.
The three likeliest candidates: Fitch (Class MM), East Lyme (Class M), Stonington (Class S) and Griswold/Wheeler (Class S).
Here is a breakdown (a reminder that the top eight teams qualify):
Fitch (5-1) sits No. 7 in Class MM. The Falcons have Hillhouse (2-4), Woodstock (2-4), East Lyme (4-2) and Ledyard (2-4) remaining. The competitive nature of Class MM compels Fitch to finish 9-1. It's unclear whether that would be enough to get Fitch a home game in the quarterfinals, but it would get the Falcons into the playoffs.
East Lyme (4-2) sits No. 10 in Class M. The Vikings, however, have a difficult schedule remaining that includes Killingly (3-3), Guilford (5-1), Fitch (5-1) and Waterford (1-5).
Every team in the division has at least one loss and seven have at least two. If the Vikings finish 8-2, they would likely qualify, given the quality of opponents remaining.
Stonington (6-0) sits fifth in Class S. The Bears have Windham (4-1), Griswold (5-1), Ledyard (2-4) and Westerly (4-1) remaining.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Friday's game at Windham for the Bears to help solidify their position. A two-loss team is ninth in the division and a three-loss team is 10th, meaning that the Bears would very likely qualify with one loss. But they have a difficult schedule remaining.
Griswold/Wheeler (5-1) sits eighth in Class S. The Wolverines have Waterford (1-5), Stonington (6-0), Montville (2-4) and Plainfield (3-3) remaining. The same applies to Griswold/Wheeler. One loss probably won't hurt the Wolverines' chances.
Ellis: 'The choice is yours'
Fitch coach Mike Ellis watched his team have a subpar practice the day before the Falcons' showdown with Killingly last week. That's when Ellis took a swing at bluntness with his team.
"We told them 'the choice is yours,'" Ellis said. "You've still got a chance to make the playoffs. It's in your hands. We've missed by a game the past few years. Here is your opportunity."
Fitch won the game 37-29.
Notable visitor
Professional sports statistician Jim Stamos (of Wethersfield) attended the Montville at Bacon game last week. Stamos is the statistician for several broadcast teams, including Bob Papa and Carl Banks on the Giants Radio Network and the Ian Eagle-Charles Davis team on CBS.
Stamos also does work for the NBA on TNT and for the Celtics.
Stamos said he was "looking for a game to watch" before driving to the Meadowlands for Sunday's Giants/Commanders game.
Stamos noted that he had never seen a football game — until Montville vs. Bacon — during which not one snap occurred in one team's territory. Bacon's every snap came in Montville territory during a 61-0 win.
This and that
Fitch's triple option offense is always more effective with a solid fullback. The Falcons have all that and more in freshman Devin Cook, who had 122 rushing yards at Killingly last week. ... New London got back to .500 with a 24-7 win at Woodstock. Senior running back Kyntrel Dessources ran 21 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns. ... Windham used a freshman quarterback, Francisco Alvarado, who keyed a 27-point night as the Whips beat Waterford 27-7. Windham was held to 10 the week before against Bacon. ... GameDay will stream Griswold/Wheeler at Waterford on Friday at 6. Video interviews with Griswold's KinKade Rubino and Waterford's Quinn Speller are available on theday.com.
H.S. Football Schedule
Friday's Games
Thames River at Cheney Tech, 6 p.m.
Weaver at Montville, 6 p.m.
Griswold/Wheeler at Waterford, 6 p.m.
Hillhouse at Fitch, 6 p.m.
New London at Bassick, 6 p.m.
Killingly at East Lyme, 6:30 p.m.
Valley/Old Lyme at North Branford, 6:30 p.m.
Stonington at Windham, 7 p.m.
NFA at Harding, 7 p.m.
Saturday's Game
Ledyard at Bacon Academy, noon
