Let's be honest here. Our local Thanksgiving football week is going to be blander than tofu.

Oh, sure, Stonington-Westerly always packs them in and East Lyme-Waterford should be competitive, but neither has much sizzle.

Odds are that Montville vs. St. Bernard/Norwich Tech, Ledyard vs. Fitch, and Valley Regional/Old Lyme vs. Haddam-Killingworth will be one-sided.

Lombardi be praised that one area game has a few compelling storylines. Better yet, it's the nation's oldest rivalry - New London vs. Norwich Free Academy.

The 153rd version of Whalers vs. Wildcats almost qualifies as a CIAC playoff qualifier. New London (7-2) can earn a Class M berth with a win, while NFA (6-2) will be close to clinching a spot in Class LL with a win.

Five teams have unofficially qualified in Class M — Berlin (10-0), Ledyard (10-0), Brookfield (9-1), defending champion St. Joseph (8-2) and Ellington/Somers (8-2). Ledyard has also clinched a home semifinal on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 6.

New London (7-2), meanwhile, is rated seventh behind Wolcott (7-2) and is one of six teams scrapping for the division's last three berths. The other contenders are Bethel (7-3), Cheney Tech (7-3), Abbott Tech/Immaculate (6-3), and Avon (6-4).

The Whalers odds to qualify got better on Saturday when Avon lost in overtime to Canton, 27-21. That means that New London can't be passed by Avon for a playoff berth, meaning it has only five other teams to worry about.

New London earns a spot in Class M with a win and will most likely play a road semifinal. It can earn a home game with a win and a Wolcott loss at either winless Sacred Heart/Kaynor Tech on Friday, or at Holy Cross (7-3) on Thanksgiving.

The odds are against New London qualifying if it loses, but it's not staked, either. It's lowest average will be 94. It can max out at 104 if it earns all 100 of its bonus points.

Bethel will be an underdog when it plays at Brookfield on Thanksgiving. It will struggle to catch New London with a loss.

A New London loss and a Wolcott loss to Holy Cross favors Wolcott. It will have a minimum of 102.73 points.

Cheney Tech and Abbott/Immaculate should both win out. Cheney plays host to St. Bernard/Norwich on, while A/I plays host to winless O'Brien Tech on Saturday and visits Wolcott Tech (1-9) on Thanksgiving.

Cheney and A/I's minimum average if both win out will be 97.27 points. Cheney's maximum if it earns all 60 of its bonuses is 102.73. A/I's maximum is 100. The Whalers, then, can catch both Cheney and A/I even with a loss.

The bad news for New London is that it will be lucky to get even a third of its bonus points. Its bonuses are Killingly (1-9) over Quinebaug Valley (5-5), East Lyme (3-6) over Waterford (4-6), East Lyme over Law (5-4), winless Fitch over Montville (5-4), Griswold (5-4) over Plainfield (8-1), Fitch over Ledyard, Hartford Capital/Achievement First (9-1) over Prince Tech (7-2), Stonington (5-5) over Westerly (2-8), Woodstock (1-8) over Windham (8-1) and Woodstock over Plainfield.

Newtown (10-0), Shelton (10-0) and Southington (9-0) have qualfied for Class LL. There are 11 teams for the other five spots, and NFA is rated 11th. It will be finished with a loss to New London.

The Wildcats need two of three things to happen on Thanksgiving in order to qualify, and they aren't impossible:

• Southington to win at home against Cheshire (8-2).

• Staples (6-3) to win at Greenwich (7-2).

• Bristol Eastern (6-4) over Bristol Central (7-2).

Class S: Valley Regional/Old Lyme (10-0) is the top-rated team in the division, the only unbeaten team and, most importantly, the only team to unofficially qualify. A Nov. 26 win at home over Haddam-Killingworth (4-6) earns it a home semifinal. It could still earn a home semi even with a loss.

Two ECC schools - Windham and Plainfield - also have an excellent chance to qualify. Windham (currently sixth) needs only to beat Woodstock on Thanksgiving to earn a bid while Plainfield (currently eighth) will earn a bid by defeating Woodstock on Thursday night and Griswold on Thanksgiving.

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter: @MetalNED