It looks like Class S will go back to its former state as the Naugatuck Valley League Invitational in 2012.
Ansonia, the defending Class M state champion, is back down to the lowest class after its one-year stint away from its usual home in Class S (the Chargers were bumped up last year with its male enrollment exactly on the lower cutoff). They'll join defending Class S state champion Holy Cross and five other NVL teams in the smallest division.
The only other changes affecting NVL teams came in a three-team jump from Class L to Class LL. Kennedy, Naugatuck, and Wilby are all in the largest division in 2012, leaving Torrington as the lone NVL representative in Class L (last year's most competitive class). Wilby made the Class LL cut by a single male student while Naugy slipped in by six.
To see the composite schedules for each class, click the respective header below. NVL enrollments are listed in parentheses (if you want to see the enrollments for non-NVL schools,
refer to pages 9-10 of the 2012-13 CIAC Football tournament packet). 2011 playoff teams are denoted with asterisks (single asterisk for same class, double asterisks for class change).
Class LL (682 and over; 37 teams)NVL Teams: Crosby (723), Kennedy (745), Naugatuck (688), Wilby (682)
Others: Amity, Bridgeport Central, Brien McMahon, Bristol Central, Conard*, Danbury, East Hartford, Fairfield Ludlowe, Fairfield Prep, Glastonbury*, Greenwich, Hall*, Hamden, Hartford Public, Manchester, New Britain, New Milford, Newington, Newtown*, Norwalk*, Norwich Free Academy, Ridgefield*, Shelton, Simsbury, South Windsor, Southington, Stamford, Staples*, Trumbull, West Haven, Westhill, Xavier*
Class L (526-681; 35 teams)NVL Teams: Torrington (587)
Others: Avon, Bassick, Branford, Bristol Eastern, Bulkeley, Bunnell, Cheshire, Daniel Hand*, Darien, East Lyme, EO Smith, Fairfield Warde, Farmington, Fermi, Fitch, Guilford, Harding, Maloney, Masuk*, Middletown, New Canaan, North Haven*, Notre Dame-West Haven*, Platt, Platt Tech, Pomperaug, RHAM, Rockville, Stratford, Wethersfield, Wilbur Cross, Wilton, Windsor*, Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby, Woodstock Academy
Class M (391-525; 36 teams)NVL Teams: Watertown (481), Wolcott* (426)
Others: Abbott Tech, Bacon Academy, Berlin*, Bethel*, Bullard Havens Tech, Brookfield, Cheney Tech*, Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton**, East Hampton/Vinal Tech, East Haven, Ellington/Somers*, Enfield, Foran, Gilbert/Northwestern, Hillhouse, Joel Barlow, Jonathan Law, Ledyard*, Lewis Mills, Lyman Hall, Montville, New Fairfield, New London**, O'Brien Tech, Putnam/Tourtellotte/Ellis Tech, Sheehan, St. Bernard/Norwich Tech, St. Joseph, Tolland, Waterford*, Weston, Wilcox Tech, Windham, Wolcott Tech
Class S (390 and under; 37 teams)NVL Teams: Ansonia** (359), Derby (195), Holy Cross* (375), Sacred Heart (184), Seymour (300), St. Paul (172), Woodland (369)
Others: Bloomfield, Canton, Capital Prep/Classical Magnet*, Coginchaug, Cromwell*, East Catholic, Granby Memorial, Griswold, Haddam-Killingworth*, Housatonic/Wamogo, Hyde Leadership, Immaculate, Killingly, Morgan, Nonnewaug, North Branford*, Northwest Catholic*, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Old Saybrook/Westbrook, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Prince Tech, Rocky Hill*, SMSA/University, Stafford/East Windsor, Stamford Academy, Stonington, Trinity Catholic, Valley Regional/Old Lyme*, Weaver
 |
Arkeel Newsome (center) and Ansonia are headed back to Class S. How will that affect
Mike Nicol (left) and Wolcott in Class M, and Isaiah Wright (right) and Holy Cross in Class S? |
Ansonia's move certainly frees up some room in Class M for Wolcott, which could very well make some noise in the postseason again this fall with most of its team returning. But it obviously pits a pair of defending state champions against each other in Class S (could we see an Ansonia-Holy Cross state title game?). Here's perhaps the best question to come out of all this: Is Ansonia's drop back down to Class S good or bad for the NVL?
