A few unsolicited comments from voters in the Hartford Courant Top 10 state coaches’ poll following Week 6:
“Crazy.”
“They don’t make this easy.”
“Logic is officially out of the window.”
The easy part first — Windsor is the new number one following a Week 6 in which four ranked teams lost, including former No. 1 Greenwich.
The Warriors (5-0) are the fourth team to be No. 1 this season. Darien and New Canaan were tied for No. 1 for the first two weeks of the season, followed by Greenwich.
Windsor received nine of 13 first-place votes after it thumped Maloney last Friday, 40-14.
No. 2 Hand (5-0) received the other four first-place votes. It and Windsor were ranked either first or second on every ballot.
And now, the madness.
The biggest shocker was last Friday when Greenwich lost at home to Wilton, 20-17. Wilton (3-2) started the season 0-2, its second loss which was to one-win Norwalk (21-19, Sept. 21).
Greenwich (4-1), by comparison, beat No. 7 West Haven in its season opener (24-6, Sept. 13) and Rhode Island power Bishop Hendricken (21-20, Sept. 27).
The Cardinals dropped to No. 5 after the Wilton loss.
Brookfield (5-0) makes it season debut at No. 8 after it snuffed out then No. 7 Bunnell, 21-0, last Friday.
There were also two games involving ranked teams — Darien blanked St. Joseph last Friday, 14-0, while New Canaan beat Staples on Saturday, 23-10.
Darien is ranked third, New Canaan fourth, Staples sixth and St. Joseph dropped out. All four teams are 4-1.
New Britain (5-0), Glastonbury (4-1), Maloney (2-3), Capital Prep/Achievement First (5-0) and Bristol Central (5-0) are the other Hartford County teams receiving votes.
Some of you might wonder why Maloney has received votes with a losing record and we were compelled to tell you why — because its schedule has been hellacious. One of its two wins was at Glastonbury (4-1), 41-27. Two of its losses were to New Canaan (42-13, Sept. 13), the two-time defending CIAC Class L champion, and Staples (28-21, Sept. 27), the defending Class LL champion.
The good news for Maloney — none of its remaining five games involve a road trip to play the Oregon Ducks.
Hartford Courant Top 10 State Football Coaches’ Poll
First place points in parentheses, record through Saturday, points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis, last week’s ranking and CIAC classification:
1. Windsor (9) 5-0 382 2 MM
KNOW THIS: John Manning continues to be a dog for the Warriors. They ran 53 offensive plays against Maloney last Friday and Manning ran on 38 of them for 229 yards and two touchdowns.
NEXT: vs. Enfield, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
2. Hand (4) 5-0 350 4 M
KNOW THIS: First-year starting quarterback Paul Calandrelli has completed 60.8-percent of his passes for 727 yards with 12 TDs and no picks and rushed for 234 yards and two TDs.
NEXT: at Cheshire, Friday, 7 p.m.
3. Darien 4-1 322 5 L
KNOW THIS: The Blue Wave held St. Joseph to 72 yards. Up next is a Fairfield Ludlowe team averaging 41.8 points.
NEXT: at Fairfield Ludlowe, Saturday, 1 p.m.
4. New Canaan 4-1 308 8 L
KNOW THIS: Rams receiver Andrew Esposito, a.k.a. The Dude Who Caught Five Touchdown Passes Against Maloney, had to fill in at defensive back against Staples due to injuries. He had two interceptions, the last which he picked off at the Rams’ 6 with over 3 minutes left.
NEXT: at Wilton, Friday, 7 p.m.
5. Greenwich 4-1 270 1 LL
KNOW THIS: MJ D’Angelo completed 9 of 15 passes for 137 yards with a touchdown and interception and ran 14 times for 110 yards and a score in the Wilton loss.
NEXT: at Trumbull, Friday, 7 p.m.
6. Staples 4-1 239 3 LL
KNOW THIS: Hey — this makes it four Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference teams in a row!
NEXT: at Stamford, Saturday, 1 p.m.
7. West Haven 5-1 184 9 LL
KNOW THIS: Nick Conlan completed 11 of 18 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown and ran for 116 yards and a score as the Blue Devils thumped Guilford last Friday, 39-0.
NEXT: at North Haven, Nov. 1, 7 p.m.
8. Brookfield 5-0 168 NR M
KNOW THIS: The Bobcats defense was sensational against Bunnell in their 21-0 win. They allowed just four first downs (including one via penalty) and 67 total yards. They also had seven sacks, including three in a row that put Bunnell in a fourth-and-40 hole.
NEXT: vs. Pomperaug, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
9. Newtown 6-0 167 NR L
KNOW THIS: Nighthawks’ senior Ryan Schoffstall did unkind things to Shelton’s pass defense in last Friday’s 42-28 win — he completed 29 of 47 passes for 417 yards with five touchdowns. Yikes.
NEXT: vs. Stratford, Friday, 7 p.m.
10. Masuk 4-1 166 10 MM
KNOW THIS: Hey — this makes it three South-West Conference teams in a row!
NEXT: vs. Bethel, Friday, 7 p.m.
Dropped out: St. Joseph (6), Bunnell (7).
Also receiving votes: St. Joseph (4-1), 156 points; Bunnell (4-1), 109; Tie, Fairfield Prep (4-1) and New Britain (5-0), 82; Ansonia (5-0), 81; Killingly (5-0), 77; Naugatuck (5-0), 49; Wilton (3-2), 30; Glastonbury (4-1), 23; Notre Dame-W.H. (3-2), 22; Maloney (2-3), 15; Tie, North Haven (4-2) and Windham (5-0), 9; Capital Prep/Achievement First (5-0), 8; Bristol Central (5-0), 7.
Voters: Erik Becker, Hand; Tom Brockett; Ansonia; Joe Della Vecchia; St. Joseph; Mike Ellis; Fitch; Rob Fleeting; Windsor; Kevin Frederick, Maloney; Tanner Grove; Montville; Andy Guyon; Xavier; Joe Lato; Woodland; Brian Mazzone; Stafford/East Windsor/Somers; Bryan Muller; Brookfield; Marce Petroccio; Trumbull; Nathan Tyler, Stratford.
Ned Griffen has obsessively covered state high school football since the mid-nineties, back when Dan Orlovsky was just a wiry teenager at Shelton High School. He was born in Texas thus he was genetically hardwired to love the sport. He enjoys heavy metal, pro wrestling, Jennifer Walters and being adored by cats and dogs everywhere.
