Week 9 is here. Is this the week Seymour wins its first game? Will Torrington be able to stop St. Paul's aerial attack? Will Woodland drop one against the Hearts after such a big win at Naugy? Does Naugy get upset by a Holy Cross team playing good football lately?
Kyle will run his playoff scenarios later in the week. As it stands, Ansonia looks like it'll be hosting a playoff game with a win over Seymour. Naugy cannot afford to lose another game, as it will be fighting for a seed and likely miss the cut, while the Hawks have set themselves up nicely at shot to play in the postseason. Hosting a playoff game is asking for a bit too much from the Hawks, but it is still possible. It's better than a trip up to Montville in the first round. Woodland must beat Sacred Heart to ensure themselves a playoff game.
By the way, no Game of the Week this week as we have several important ones, most notably Woodland-Sacred Heart and Holy Cross-Naugatuck.
Seymour (0-8) at Ansonia (8-0): No doubt that this one will be ugly for the Wildcats. A blowout is in order but Ansonia needs to ensure it is healthy enough for the NVL title game, so it may need to accumulate a big enough lead and pull its starters while not overlooking this hungry Wildcat team.
Picks: Kyle- Ansonia, 42-7. Remmy- Ansonia, 38-12.
Woodland (6-2) at Sacred Heart (5-3): This is the quintessential trap game for Woodland. The Hawks got the biggest win of the NVL season Friday night at Naugatuck and already have the NVL title game berth clinched. Winning this game will all but assure the Hawks of a Class S playoff berth, but let's remember that Sacred Heart is 8th in Class S and hasn't been relevant this late in the season in many years. Woodland's pass defense did an incredible job against Erich Broadrick and the Hounds last week. Can it do the same against Rohan Ifill and the Hearts?
Picks: Kyle- Woodland, 36-20. Remmy- Sacred Heart, 34-20.
Holy Cross (5-3) at Naugatuck (7-1): Here's another game that is absolutely huge toward both teams' playoff hopes. Naugatuck is hanging onto 6th place in Class L but will likely drop out of qualifying position with a loss and might not be able to regain it, even with a win against Ansonia. Holy Cross has steadily been climbing the rankings during its three-game winning streak and may be able to sneak in with wins over the Hounds and Wolcott on Thanksgiving. It will be interesting to see how Naugy responds to last week's loss.
Picks: Kyle- Naugatuck, 40-20. Remmy- Naugatuck, 34-21.
Picks: Kyle- Watertown, 34-6. Remmy- Watertown, 38-13.
Torrington (5-3) at St. Paul (2-6): Logan Marchi is a stud with this being his freshman season. The kid can flat-out throw the football around the field. Travis Thomas is another stud for the Falcons. Torrington has been riding the Brenden Lytton train all season. While St. Paul's run defense isn't very strong, its passing game may keep them in this game.
Picks: Kyle- Torrington, 39-28. Remmy- Torrington, 34-29.
Crosby (2-6) at Derby (4-4): The Raiders have been on a roll lately. Don't expect the Raiders to slip up this week against a Crosby team that has been struggling all season long. Derby has a formidable passing attack and Crosby's athletes won't be able to stop it.
Picks: Kyle- Derby, 35-14. Remmy- Derby, 40-22.
Wolcott (5-3) at Kennedy (2-6): Kennedy showed some signs of life earlier in the year with a win over Sacred Heart. Since then, it has been a very unpredictable team, much like the other Eagles from Wolcott. We really don't know what's going to happen here. Wolcott supposedly had the strength to upend teams and looked unstoppable early, but look at what's happened to it over the last month. Seymour played Wolcott tough. Wolcott seems decimated after its loss to Ansonia. An upset may be in order at the Stadium.
Picks: Kyle- Wolcott, 21-13. Remmy- Kennedy, 24-18.
