Wrapping Friday (it's a madhouse — or so they claim)
Ah, sweet football. What magical surprises you have gifted us with as the regular season grows to a close.
Pick an adjective, any adjective, that properly describes Friday's Week 7.
Try "insane". Or "nuts". Or "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs."
Oh, my stars and garters, was Friday whacked out.
The first sign that Friday was going to go insane in the membrane came in the late afternoon — Xavier, the two-time defending Class LL champion, trailed Hillhouse by 28 points just seconds into the fourth quarter.
Final score — Xavier 50, Hillhouse 49.
Yep. Xavier scored TWENTY NINE UNANSWERED POINTS in the final 11 minutes.
Oh, but Friday, and football, were just warming up.
Ledyard was down two points to Montville with over nine minutes to go. It also had the ball at the latter's 22 yard line.
Colonels quarterback John Rainey had his back turned as Montville's Peter Utz came storming in on his blindside.
Rainey turned around just in time to eat a spear.
Good grief, it was the mother of all spears. Seriously, Goldberg would've winced at how hard Utz delivered the move.
Ledyard's Joe Carter just happened to be in the area, picked up the fumble, and ran for what would be a go-head touchdown in a 26-21 win.
(You MUST watch Peter Huoppi's video for Utz's hit, the fumble return, and the block that offensive lineman Benjamin Morales threw on the return.)
Rainey survived the Spear. Thankfully, he wasn't hit with the Lariat.
(LARIATO-OOOO.)
Okay, what else happened. Oh, yeah — Fitch led Windham after three quarters, 42-0.
Fitch won, 56-46.
The Whippets scored FORTY SIX fourth-quarter points.
Twelve minutes. Eight touchdowns scored between the two teams.
Windham's 46 fourth-quarter points would rank second for most points scored in one quarter, according to the Connecticut High School Football Record Book. New London set the record with 51 points in its 77-6 piledriving of Plainfield in 2005.
Fitch's Saffwan Davis ran for four touchdowns in the first quarter, too.
(Did we mention that Xavier rallied from a 28-point deficit?)
Moving down to The Valley, Woodland's Tanner Kingsley went all Slingin' Sammy Baugh against Naugatuck in a 56-30 win.
Kingsley completed 27 of 40 passes for 502 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kingsley's 502 yards ranks seventh all-time according to the Record Book. His eight touchdowns ranks second.
What else, what else.
Oh, yes — it's staggeringly dumb to try to forecast the playoffs with over a month left to play. Yet that hasn't stopped some of the dingbats here Polecat HQ. They've wasted their time, energy, and gray matter the last two weeks trying to figure out the state's four CIAC playoff races.
The following was written about Ridgefield's chances of qualifying in Class LL, "Outlook: Excellent. The Tigers should benefit from a favorable schedule."
Final score Friday — McMahon 22, Ridgefield 14.
"Favorable schedule."
Dang idjits, making fool proclamations like that.
There were more stunners. Fairfield Prep looked to be in the clear before traveling to West Haven on Thanksgrabbing. It was looking like a Class LL eliminator, too.
The Jesuits led Amity late by 14 points late in the first half.
The Spartans improved to 3-4. Prep's playoff hopes are in serious jeopardy.
The news surfaced Friday that Fairfield Ludlowe coach Matt McCloskey would retire at the end of the season.
Ludlowe later beat Stamford, 7-6, for its second win of the season.
There's other wacky that we're surely missing, but this should tide you over for now.
So, Saturday — what do you got for us?
A quick rundown of how the teams in The Day's Top 10 state coaches' poll fared:
No. 1 Hand beat North Haven, 24-7. The New Haven Register provides you with a few words.
No. 2 Ansonia beat Crosby, 61-20. Again, go visit the Register.
No. 3 Staples plays today at Darien, 1:30 p.m. ROAD TRIP.
No. 4 Windsor beat Farmington, 34-14. Tom Yantz of the Hartford Courant reporting.
No. 5 Masuk plays at Notre Dame-Fairfield today, 1 p.m.
No. 6 Xavier went gonzo in the fourth quarter, beating Hillhouse, 50-49. Pooch Diggity Dog reporting for the New Haven Register.
No. 7 Greenwich plays at Westhill today, 1:30 p.m.
No. 8 West Haven beat Cheshire, 43-20. The suave Mike Madera of the Milford-Orange Bulletin (also serving Bethany, Stratford, West Haven and Woodbridge) reporting.
No. 9 Southington plays Hall tonight at Meriden's Falcon Field, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Berlin beat Plainville, 34-14. Chris McLaughlin of the New Britain Herald reporting.
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