First-place votes in parentheses, record, points tabulated on a 30-28- 26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis, and last week's ranking:

1. Southington (12) 12-0 388 1

KNOW THIS: Ansonia, Darien, Fairfield Prep and New Canaan also received at least one first-place vote during the regular season. Southington left no doubt in the end who was No. 1 after it mauled Norwich Free Academy in the CIAC Class LL-Large final (49-0) and won its second straight state title and third overall.

2. New Canaan 11-1 356 3

KNOW THIS: The Rams may have not have gotten what they wanted (the FCIAC championship), but they got what they need (the CIAC Class L-Large title).

3. Windsor (1) 12-0 320 7

KNOW THIS: The Warriors finished as one of just three unbeaten teams and had one of the state's stingiest defenses. Want to argue that it should be ranked higher? Go ahead. Windsor and Southington shared two common opponents - Glastonbury and Manchester. Southington beat Manchester in Week 2 (56-15), and Glastonbury in both Week 1 (41-38) and the Class LL-Large semifinals (42-14). Windsor beat Manchester in Week 1 (13-6) and Glastonbury in Week 10 (28-14).

4. Darien 12-1 300 2

KNOW THIS: The Blue Wave were seven points better than New Canaan in the FCIAC championship game (a 28-21 overtime win). The Rams were one point better than Darien in the L-Large final (21-20) as the Blue Wave had a bad snap derail the conversion after its last touchdown.

5. Xavier 9-3 282 NR

KNOW THIS: The Falcons' playoff hopes unraveled late in the regular season when they lost three straight. They beat Fairfield Prep in their regular season finale (35-28, Nov. 14), got the help they needed when a number of teams lost on Thanksgiving to get them into the playoffs, and then went on the road and beat unbeaten South-West Conference champion Newtown in the LL-Small semifinals (13-7). In the final, Shelton fumbled the ball away at the Xavier 1 in the final minute of a 21-all game. But wait: Kaleb Lutton blocked the extra point after the Gaels' scored first in overtime. The Falcons' Mike Scherer ran 5 yards and dove into the end zone to tie the game, and Andrew Verre made the extra point to give Xavier an improbable 28-27 win and its fifth state title.

6. St. Joseph 11-2 280 9

KNOW THIS: There were some who questioned why the Cadets were still in the Top 10 after losses to Darien (21-17) and New Canaan (41-14) during the regular season. St. Joseph ended all doubts with a suffocating defensive effort in Saturday's 37-7 win over then-unbeaten Ledyard, its fourth title in six years and 12th overall.

7. Shelton 12-1 244 4

KNOW THIS: The Gaels were one-yard away from possibly winning a state championship. There are no words.

8. Valley Regional/Old Lyme 13-0 178 NR

KNOW THIS: The Warriors couldn't have written a better script in winning their first state title, and they gave the most successful senior class in program history and longtime assistants Paul Ginter and Bob Narducci the perfect ending to their respective careers.

9. Brookfield 12-2 159 NR

KNOW THIS: The Bobcats won the program's third state title and, with so many juniors starting, have a strong chance to win a fourth next season.

10. Newtown 11-1 153 10

KNOW THIS: The Nighthawks beat Brookfield during both the regular season (21-14) and the SWC Championship (42-0), but finished behind the Bobcats in the final Top 10 voting. Some coaches have a deep appreciation and respect for winning a state title and put an emphasis on it when voting.

Dropped out: Ledyard (6), Ansonia (8), and Wethersfield (10).

Also receiving votes: Ledyard (12-1), 126 points; Ansonia (11-2), 102; Notre Dame-West Haven (9-4), 91; Capital Prep/Achievement First (12-1), 84; Wethersfield (11-1), 65; Norwich Free Academy (8-3), 30; North Haven (9-3), 28; Glastonbury (8-4), 22; Berlin (11-2), 20; Middletown (8-3), 16; Cheshire (8-3), 12; Greenwich (7-4), 11; McMahon (7-3), 10; North Branford (11-2), 9; Northwest Catholic (10-2), 8; Tie, Hall (8-3), Fairfield Prep (7-4), and West Haven (6-5), 7.

The following coaches voted: Rich Angarano, Brookfield; Tom Brockett, Ansonia; Jim Buonocore, Ledyard; Craig Bruno, Naugatuck; Scott Daniels, Glastonbury; Joe DellaVecchia, St. Joseph; Steve Filippone, Hand; Rob Fleeting, Windsor; Steve George, Newtown; Tanner Grove, Montville; Tim King, Valley Regional/Old Lyme; Sean Marinan, Xavier; Marce Petroccio, Staples.

Note: Go to www.theday.com to read The Lonesome Polecat, Ned Griffen's state high school football blog.