Notre Dame-West Haven finishes No. 1 in The Day's final football poll

Class L champion Notre Dame of West Haven has finished No. 1 in The Day's final Top 10 high school state coaches' poll, beating out conference rival Cheshire.

The Green Knights (11-1) received 10 of 13 first-place votes while the Rams (11-1), who upset previously unbeaten Staples of Westport for the Class LL title, received the other three firsts.

The deciding factor for the majority of voters was Notre Dame's victory over Cheshire during the regular season. The Green Knights scored with 13.7 seconds remaining to beat the Rams back on Oct. 9, 40-36, in a Southern Connecticut Conference Division I East game.

Notre Dame also beat two unbeaten teams during the playoffs — Conard of West Hartford and South-West Conference champion Pomperaug of Southbury.

Staples (12-1) was third, followed by four-time Class MM champion New Canaan (11-1) and Pomperaug (12-1).

Bridgeport Central (9-2), Xavier of Middletown (9-2), Class SS champion St. Joseph of Trumbull (10-2), Class S champion Hyde of New Haven (11-1) and Class MM champion Berlin (10-2) round out the Top 10.

New London (10-1), which was tied for fourth with Notre Dame last week, dropped out of the Top 10 after its 34-12 Class M semifinal loss to Bethel. The Whalers finished 14th.

Class SS runner-up Montville (10-2) was 16th and Class MM runner-up East Lyme (10-2) was 17th.