New Britain — It took just four plays into Saturday’s CIAC Class LL championship game for Darien to end it.

Christian Trifone scored on a 20-yard interception return on the first play and three plays later Mark Evanchick sacked Shelton quarterback Zach Tuskowski, ending his day with a separated shoulder.

Bobby Trifone returned an interception for a 48-yard touchdown and Evanchick added seven tackles and two sacks as the second-seeded Blue Wave thrashed the top-seeded Gaels 39-7 at Willow Brook Park.

It was the fifth state title for Darien (12-0) and its first since 1996.

The Gaels (12-1) finished with 124 yards on 53 plays.

Darien was ranked first in The Day's Top 10 state coaches’ poll prior to the playoffs. The Blue Wave solidified that with back-to-back wins over No. 2 Southington (49-7) and No. 3 Shelton.

Mark Schmidt had a game-high 13 tackles and an interception for Darien. Timmy Graham completed 19 of 29 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Hudson Hamill added eight catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns and an interception and Shelby Grant ran for two touchdowns.

Shelton’s David Wells threw a 24-yard touchdown to Kevin Robinson with 5:06 remaining in the game.

Class L

Ryan O’Connell scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 3:34 remaining as sixth-seeded New Canaan held off top-seeded North Haven 42-35 for its third straight championship.

Matt Cognetta ran 27 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams (11-1). It was their 11th CIAC title, tying Hand for the third-most in state history behind Ansonia (19) and St. Joseph (10).

Michael Collins completed 22 of 28 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown for New Canaan, while O’Connell ran for two touchdowns.

Kyle Smith added nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown and Mike Cognetta scored on a 3-yard run.

Mike Montano ran 24 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns and threw a 23-yard touchdown for North Haven (12-1). Nick Ponzio had six catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns and Jake Steinman completed 10 of 21 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.

Class M

Bobby Drysdale ran 17 times for 92 yards and a touchdown and added a game-high nine tackles as fifth-seeded Brookfield beat second-seeded New Fairfield for the second time this season, 21-14, to repeat as a Class M champion.

It was the fourth state title for the Bobcats (11-2), who won Class M-Large last year. They opened this season with a 27-13 win over the Rebels.

Harrison Manesis ran 11 times for 44 yards and a score for Brookfield. John Roscigno also threw a 26-yard touchdown to Nick Seis.

Brookfield’s defense held the Rebels’ Zach Tripodi to 86 yards on 33 carries. He averaged 175.6 yards per game for second-seeded New Fairfield (11-2).

Mike Zanca completed 9 of 16 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns for the Rebels. Rudy Sarro (three catches, 60 yards) scored both touchdowns.

Class S

Rayshawn Phillips completed 14 of 26 passes for 252 yards with four touchdowns and an interception as second-seeded Bloomfield knocked off top-seeded Ansonia 31-20 for its eighth state title.

The Warhawks finished 13-0. They lost their season-opener to Berlin, but were later awarded a forfeit win due to Berlin's use of ineligible players.

Russell Thompson-Bishop had three catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns for Bloomfield. Jose Crespo (3-42) and Dexter Lawson (5-50) also caught a touchdown.

Tyler Bailey ran for touchdowns of 7 and 3 yards and had five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown for the top-seeded Chargers (12-1), while Tajik Bagley added 39 carries for 167 yards.