With the crazy schedule we had last week, Kyle and Remmy have no videos for you again this week. Don't worry, we'll have our best videos for you in previewing the NVL Championship next week. But we do have our usual CSWA Top 15 Polls and NVL Power Rankings for you.
Kyle's CSWA Top 15: 1) Masuk, 2) Xavier, 3) Ansonia, 4) Daniel Hand, 5) Staples, 6) Windsor, 7) Conard, 8) Notre Dame-West Haven, 9) Valley Regional/Old Lyme, 10) North Haven, 11) New Canaan, 12) New London, 13) Glastonbury, 14) Bunnell, 15) West Haven
Remmy's CSWA Top 15: 1) Masuk, 2) Xavier, 3) Ansonia, 4) Daniel Hand, 5) Windsor, 6) Staples, 7) Valley Regional/Old Lyme, 8) Conard, 9) Notre Dame-West Haven, 10) North Haven, 11) Northwest Catholic, 12) Newtown, 13) New Canaan, 14) Berlin, 15) Greenwich
Kyle's and Remmy's NVL Power Rankings: 1) Ansonia, 2) Holy Cross, 3) Torrington, 4) Woodland, 5) Wolcott
Now, we move on to our Week 9 picks. A number of these games have been rescheduled to Saturday due to last week's funky, electricity-influenced schedule. We have no Game of the Week this week since both divisions have been wrapped up, but Wolcott-Woodland might be the single most important game in terms of state playoff ramifications. (Speaking of those implications, we'll have a look at the state playoff picture and where the NVL teams stand on Thursday.)
Wilby (4-4) at Ansonia (8-0): Once again, probably not much to see here. Despite Wilby's athleticism and good one-two rushing attack, this will likely be the first game of the season that the Wildcats aren't within striking distance of winning. This is Ansonia's last tune-up before next week's NVL Championship against Holy Cross, so the starters won't be playing much longer than necessary with a short turnaround week.
Picks: Remmy- Ansonia, 47-18. Kyle- Ansonia, 48-12.
Derby (3-5) at Crosby (1-7): Derby played its best game of the season last week in a fairly unexpected rout of Seymour, which derailed the Wildcats' playoff hopes for now. Ray Kreiger has just two games left in his career, so we expect him to get the very most out of them. Don't be surprised at another 300-yard-passing, 100-yard-rushing performance by the best quarterback in the league.
Picks: Remmy- Derby, 52-12. Kyle- Derby, 49-13.
Kennedy (1-7) at Naugatuck (5-3): This very well could be the upset of the week. Kennedy is coming off its best offensive effort of the season and very nearly pulled a huge upset over Torrington last week. The Eagles had tremendous success on the ground but couldn't make enough stops, although they did force a few turnovers and recover an onside kick. Naugatuck floundered for the first three quarters against Watertown before pulling through. We think Naugy's defense will be just enough in this game, but a Kennedy win is very much in the question
Picks: Remmy- Naugatuck, 28-20. Kyle- Naugatuck, 34-22.
Wolcott (6-2) at Woodland (5-3): Neither one of these teams have won a big game this season, so something has to give in this one. Both teams have their playoff hopes riding almost completely on this game; the loser will be very likely out (especially if the Hawks lose) and the winner will be within striking distance for its Thanksgiving game. Woodland's line play has been disappointing in its three losses while Wolcott's athletes had nowhere to go last week against Ansonia. Can the Eagles' speed pose problems this week for Woodland, or can the Hawks' line finally get back in gear?
Picks: Remmy- Woodland, 36-18. Kyle- Wolcott, 30-27.
Sacred Heart (3-4) at Torrington (6-2): Both offenses in this game are quite capable while the defenses have been hot and cold this season. We would assume that Brenden Lytton will return full-time this week for the Red Raiders, who nearly lost without his services last week. Sacred Heart has injury issues of its own with Jaquan Overbey being sidelined recently. Both teams have good backup runners, though, so the offensive fireworks should be there. A few turnovers here or there may determine this game. The Raiders' slim Class L playoff hopes depend on this win.
Picks: Remmy- Sacred Heart, 62-59. Kyle- Torrington, 59-40.
Holy Cross (7-1) at St. Paul (0-8): The Crusaders played their best game of the season last week in a beatdown of Woodland, and now they get Dave DiGiorgi back for the Saturday game at St. Paul. This is Holy Cross' last chance to figure everything out before next week's NVL Championship against Ansonia. Everything is coming around on all sides of the ball for Cross. The Crusaders have scored a defensive touchdown in almost every game, so you can probably count on another here.
Picks: Remmy- Holy Cross, 34-28. Kyle- Holy Cross, 41-14.
Watertown (2-6) at Seymour (5-3): Seymour suffered its most disappointing loss of the season to Derby in Week 8, a loss that severely damaged the Wildcats' Class S playoff hopes. Seymour needs to win its last two games against Watertown and Woodland in order to have a chance. The Wildcats' defense has been questionable this season, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem against a non-explosive Watertown team.
Picks: Remmy- Seymour, 30-22. Kyle- Seymour, 34-21.
As always, we invite you to make your picks along with us. We'll be updating the Predictions Tracker soon as we close in on the end of the regular season. Can CaptainObvious hang on to the lead? We'll see.
And here are some stats through Week 8. We will have a complete list of stats once the regular season ends including multiple categories not listed below.
Stats are all taken from teams’ MaxPreps unless noted otherwise. Rep-Am stats do not seem to be the most current.
Top Five Passers:
1) Ray Kreiger – Derby: 129-213, 1,979 yards, 18 TD, 5 INT
2) Logan Marchi – St. Paul: 114-253, 1,844 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT
3) Tanner Kingsley – Woodland: 86-144, 1,146 yards, 13 TD, 7 INT
4) Luke Grabowski – Seymour: 58-128, 880 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT
5) Mike Nicol – Wolcott: 48-94, 826 yards, 6 TD (Rep-Am)
Top Five Rushers:
1) Arkeel Newsome – Ansonia: 156 carries, 2,094 yards, 33 TD
2) Brenden Lytton – Torrington: 200 carries, 2,069 yards, 25 TD
3) Jake Yourison – Naugatuck: 167 carries, 1,027 yards, 15 TD
4) Jacob Thomas – Wilby: 94 carries, 936 yards, 10 TD (Rep-Am)
5) Matt Zaccagnini – Woodland: 166 carries, 849 yards, 9 TD
Top Five Receivers:
1) Justin Gonzalez – St. Paul: 54 rec., 1,026 yards, 11 TD
2) Dillon McMahon – Derby: 42 rec., 812 yards, 7 TD
3) Anthony Scirpo – Woodland: 28 rec., 400 yards, 6 TD
4) Brian Dobek – Derby: 33 rec., 519 yards, 5 TD
5) Tim Adanti – Derby: 31 rec., 409 yards, 5 TD
Also, the Woodland-Wolcott game will serve as a fundraiser for the Fisher House, which is an organization that helps with housing for military families and veterans in military hospitals. The Hawks will be selling T-shirts with proceeds going toward the Fisher House. Also, all veterans and current servicemen and servicewomen will have free admission to the game with identification. It's a great cause, so try to get out there on Saturday if you can.
