After Ansonia's domination of Bethel and Holy Cross' blowout of Haddam-Killingworth, Wolcott rallied to beat Ellington/Somers in overtime for the Eagles' first playoff win in school history. All three play Saturday at neutral sites in the semifinals.
Wins by Holy Cross and either Ansonia or Wolcott would give the NVL teams in multiple finals for the first time since 2008 (Ansonia and Seymour). These three teams are trying to bring home multiple state titles for the league, something that hasn't been done since 2007 (Ansonia and Seymour).
No. 1 Ansonia (12-0) vs. No. 4 Berlin (10-1), 2 p.m. at Sheehan High: Berlin was sort of a boring a team this season. The Redcoats' only semi-impressive wins were one-score victories over Bloomfield and New Britain late in the regular season. They weren't fantastic in their 28-14 quarterfinal win over Cheney Tech. Both Scott McLeod (14 rush, 111 yds, TD) and Tom Undercuffler (19 rush, 104 yds, 3 TD) while the team forced three turnovers. Based on some film against New Britain and East Catholic, it looks like Berlin runs out of a few formations but has a lot of spread sets from which the team runs a lot. Still, the offense isn't especially dynamic and will probably struggle against an excellent Ansonia defense. While Berlin has played some good defense at times, it hasn't faced anyone like Arkeel Newsome and his offensive line. The question in this game is really if Ansonia can close out a shutout this time around.
Picks: Remmy- Ansonia, 41-14. Kyle- Ansonia, 35-0.
No. 7 Wolcott (8-3) vs. No. 3 Ledyard (10-1), 2 p.m. at Middletown High: Ledyard is another team that hasn't particularly wowed anybody this season, but the Colonels have gotten the job done almost every time, except a loss to New London. Ledyard has pitched three shutouts and held opponents to three scores or fewer in every win. In the Colonels' 26-0 win over Waterford in the quarterfinal (video here), star running back Alex Manwaring rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries to continue his fantastic season (2,174 yards, 18 rush TD). If Wolcott can slow down the 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior, the Eagles will be looking good. Of course, that will be much easier said than done for a defense that allowed 266 rushing yards to Ellington/Somers in the quarterfinals. But if Wolcott's offense can have the variety it featured with Mike Nicol adding DeVante Bonvillian and Chad Acevedo into the mix, it always seems to work out better for the Eagles. (For you film addicts, here's more video from a few of Ledyard's other games this season.)
Picks: Remmy- Wolcott, 22-14. Kyle- Ledyard, 20-13.
No. 2 Holy Cross (10-2) vs. No. 3 Valley Regional/Old Lyme (10-1), 2 p.m. at Falcon Field: For most of the regular season, Valley Regional looked like it was going to be the team to beat in the Class S playoffs. That distinction may now belong to Holy Cross as the Warriors have slipped a little in recent weeks. Valley started the season 9-0 with eight 40-point offensive efforts and four shutouts. But the Warriors had a close call in a 24-21 win over Cromwell (video here) in early November before suffering a loss to Haddam-Killingworth (which Holy Cross beat in the quarterfinals) on Thanksgiving eve. In Valley's 14-12 quarterfinal win over Rocky Hill, the offense struggled again as quarterback Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn rushed for only 97 yards on 16 carries, but he accounted for both scores on a run and a short pass. Fairfield-Sonn accounted for over 2,500 yards and 35 touchdowns during the regular season, so he will certainly be the focal point of Holy Cross' defense. The Crusaders seem to be getting better and more offensively diverse every week, so everything points in favor of Cross right now.
Picks: Remmy- Holy Cross, 35-12. Kyle- Holy Cross, 28-14.
Class LL
No. 1 Xavier (11-0) vs. No. 5 Norwalk (9-1), 2 p.m. at West Haven High: Remmy- Xavier, 28-14. Kyle- Xavier, 27-7.
No. 2 Staples (10-0) vs. No. 6 Newtown (9-2), 2 p.m. at Bunnell High: Remmy- Staples, 32-23. Kyle- Staples, 42-35.
Class L
No. 1 Windsor (11-0) vs. No. 5 New Canaan (10-1), 2 p.m. at East Haven High: Remmy- New Canaan, 35-28. Kyle- Windsor, 41-28.
No. 2 Daniel Hand (11-0) vs. No. 3 Masuk (11-0), 7 p.m. at West Haven High: Remmy- Masuk, 35-21. Kyle- Masuk, 35-14.
Class S
No. 5 Northwest Catholic (9-2) vs. No. 8 Cromwell (9-2), 2 p.m. at Cheshire High: Remmy- Northwest Catholic, 27-20. Kyle- Cromwell, 21-20.
