We are in Week 7 of Connecticut high school football season, grinding our way toward the end. Bye weeks are over and now perhaps the toughest part of the schedule looms, as teams jockey for playoff positions in the next few weeks.
There are still some undefeated local teams left, such as Bristol Central and Newington, both 5-0, who will face each other Friday night. New Britain is also unbeaten but Maloney, at 2-3, will be fired up after falling below .500 last week. Undefeated Windsor, who beat Maloney, will be looking to keep its win streak intact in a game against Enfield Friday at Windsor.
Another undefeated team, Rockville (5-0), will face the Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby co-op on Saturday. And Cheney Tech, also 5-0, had a bye week last week and will face Platt Tech at Foran High in Milford Friday.
Here are some games to watch this weekend:
Maloney (2-3) at New Britain (5-0), Friday, 6 p.m., Veterans Memorial Stadium, New Britain: New Britain had some close victories over Hamden (36-33) and Southington (28-25) and its upcoming game against Maloney will be a formidable test. Currently, the Hurricanes are ranked No. 1 in Class LL. Maloney lost to Windsor 40-14 in Meriden last week and star receiver Jesus Martell only had one reception and that overall performance did not likely sit well with the Spartans, especially since they dipped below .500.
Newington (5-0) at Bristol Central (5-0), Friday, 6 p.m.: Newington is ranked second in Class MM and Bristol Central third. The Nor’easters pride themselves on defense and indeed, have shut out every opponent this season except one (a 12-10 win over Danbury on Sept. 28, and their defense has not given up a touchdown all season. Bristol Central had to go to overtime to beat Wethersfield a few weeks ago so this game will be a good test for the Rams.
Bloomfield (3-2) at Northwest Catholic (4-1), Saturday, 10:30 a.m.: Bloomfield demolished previously undefeated East Catholic last week, 46-18, and the Warhawks have a two-game win streak going after dropping two of the first three games of the season. Up next is Northwest Catholic, whose only loss is to Foran, 21-14, on Sept. 27.
Hand (5-0) at Cheshire (3-2), Friday, 7 p.m.: Hand, last year’s Class M champion, has been dominant so far in its wins but Cheshire could produce a challenge, as the Rams’ two losses came to Class L runner-up Darien and Class MM champion North Haven.
Windham (5-0) at Ledyard (4-1), Friday, 6 p.m.: Windham looks to keep its win streak going in this ECC Division II game, but Ledyard, which started off the season 4-0, is coming off a 26-6 loss to Waterford on Oct. 11 and a bye week and will be looking to turn that around.
