Howdy,

TRUTH TIME — we don't have anything interesting to write as a lead-in to YOUR championship previews.

Saturday is the last day of the season. You're going to have to wait nine months for it to return. You're going to miss it when it's gone, so get your butt out to New Britain or West Haven and take in a doubleheader. And wear layers as it's going to be frigid. Wear lots and lots of layers if you go to West Haven with the Sound being an Aaron Rodgers' throw away.

That's really all we need to say.

YOU can, and are, encouraged to follow the games by listening to the Mayor of New Haven County, George DeMaio, on WELI-960 as well as at IHeartRadio.com, watching on the Innernets at NFHSNetwork.com (subscription required), or living vicariously through all us dingbats who will Twit at #cthsfb.

And, for one last time this season, HEY! HO! LET'S GO!

• • • •

CLASS LL

No. 1 DARIEN vs. No. 7 RIDGEFIELD

WHERE: West Haven High, 2:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Darien 12-0; Ridgefield 10-2.

SEE/HEAR: WELI-960; NFHSNetwork.com; CBSSPorts.com GameTracker.

CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: Darien (5) — 1979 (Class L), 1991 (Class M), 1992 (Class SS), 1996 (Class S), 2015 (Class LL); Ridgefield (2) — 1983 (Class L), 2002 (Class L).

DARIEN’S BEST: Sr. RB-OLB Finlay Collins (786 yards rushing, 12 TDs; 29 catches, 411 yards, 2 TDs; 85 tackles, 5 sacks); Sr. TE-DE Quinn Fay (69 tackles 12 sacks); Sr. G-DE Cord Fox (73 tackles, 10 sacks); Jr. RB Max Grant (26 catches, 632 yards, 8 TDs; 5 rushing TDs); Jr. RB-OLB Nick Green (32 catches, 527 yards, 6 TDs; 3 rushing TDs; 73 tackles, 3 INTs); Sr. WR-CB Tim Hergert (35 catches, 640 yards, 6 TDs; 4 INTs); Sr. T-DT Andrew Stueber (59 tackles); Sr. QB Brian Peters (3,040 yards passing, 31 TDs, 8 INT); Jr. RB-SS Mitchell Pryor (735 yards rushing, 13 TDs; 42 tackles).

RIDGEFIELD’S BEST: Jr. MLB-OLB Alex Cali (72 tackles, 4 sacks); Sr. QB Drew Fowler (1,738 yards passing, 22 TDs, 5 INT; 3 rushing TDs); Jr. MLB Noah Isaacson (76 sacks, 6 sacks); Sr. WR-CB Chris Longo (73 catches, 1,047 yards, 7 TDs); Sr. RB-OLB Pat Lang (3 rushing TDs; 71 tackles, 3.5 sacks); Sr. WR-K-P Collin Lowe (43 catches, 719 yards, 11 TDs); Sr. Shane Palmer (969 yards rushing, 9 TDs; 43 catches, 731 yards, 12 TDs); Sr. FS-SS Aidan Spearman (53 tackles, 4 INTs).

WHEN DARIEN HAS THE BALL: Collins has become the Blue Wave’s offensive linchpin the last four games. He’s averaged 17 carries for 436 yards (6.5 average) and seven touchdowns while also catching 16 passes for 183 yards and a score. Peters has been efficient in his first year starting at QB. He’s averaging 10.2 yards a completion (that’s pretty good) and passed the ball around almost equally between his top five receivers (Herget leads with 35 catches, while Grant is fifth at 26). Stueber (6-foot-6, 299 pounds) has committed to Michigan, so you should be able to figure out that the offensive line is pretty good. Darien is one of four finalists that use that confounded Air Raid Tony Franklin System. Head coach Rob Trifone would rather grind out yards on the ground, but he put his beliefs aside for the good of the team. His ability to adapt, and his love for the Manly Discipline of the Running Arts, make him aces in our book. Ridgefield’s defense has been, ah. … lacking, at times. It began the season with a 46-33, come-from-behind win over Trumbull (the Tigers trailed at halftime, 21-10, and 33-17 late in the third quarter). New Canaan had its way with the Tigers in the second half of a 41-21 rout in Week 2. The Rams threw 35 times for 281 yards and two touchdowns and ran 36 times for 268 yards (a 7.4-yard average) and four touchdowns (Ridgefield QB Drew Fowler did get knocked out with a shoulder injury, and it trailed 17-14 at halftime before New Canaan went berzerk, so Fowler's injury caused isses). Ridgefield trailed Trinity Catholic by as much as 19 points in the fourth quarter and lost, 38-33. It got past Shelton in a shootout, 44-41, in Monday’s quarterfinal win. ALL THAT WRITTEN, the Tigers were the only team to hold West Haven speedster Anthony Godfrey under a 100 yards rushing (63 yards) in a 28-21 quarterfinal win on Nov. 29. That was also a season-low number of points for the Westies.

(Sufferin' Schottenheimers, we wrote a lot of words here. We need to pace ourselves better)

WHEN RIDGEFIELD HAS THE BALL: Yet another team that uses that dastardly Tony Franklin System. One could make a valid case for the Tigers having the best offensive foursome of all the finaslists in Fowler, Palmer, Longo and Lowe. Fowler has thrown 16 touchdown passes and completed 63.2 percent of his passes in five games since his return. He's also averaged 241 yards passing a game (extrapolate that and he’d could’ve thrown for 2,892 yards in 12 games). Palmer has the luxury of throwing to what might be the state's tallest receiving duo in Longo (6-3) and Lowe (6-5). Chuck it up high to them and watch the magic happen. Palmer is the team's joker as they can move him all over the formation. This could be the toughest offense Darien has faced yet. "Of everyone I’ve seen, they have the best four-or-five receivers collectively of anyone," Trifone said. "And then you put (Palmer) in the backfield, oh my God.” The Blue Wave have held seven opponents to 14-points or less, which includes a quarterfinal win over Greenwich (29-3) and a 38-7 mashing of then-unbeaten Southington in the semifinals. The battle up front should be interesting because Darien’s foursome of Fay and Fox on the outside and Justin Plank (6-1, 290) and Stueber is not fun to block. “Their front line on defense is extremely big and physical,” Tigers head coach Kevin Callahan said. “We’re not a big and physical team. We’re more finesse. We’re definitely going to have our hands full matching up with the physicality of that team. Hopefully we play fast enough to get the ball out and keep it moving.”

CALPREPS SEZ: Darien, 35-28.

WE SEZ: Darien.

• • • •

(Alright, let's strive to be a little more concise and a little less jibber-jabber, okay?)

• • • •

CLASS L

No. 1 WINDSOR vs. No. 2 NEW CANAAN

WHERE: Willow Brook Park, New Britain, 2:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Shelton 11-0; Newtown 10-1.

SEE/HEAR: NFHSNetwork.com; CBSSPorts.com GameTracker.

CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: Windsor (1) — 2014 (Class L-Small), New Canaan (11) — 1982 (Class L), 1993 (Class M), 2001-2002 (Class M), 2006-08 (Class MM), 2009 (Class MM), 2013 (Class L), 2014 (Class L-Large), 2015 (Class L).

WINDSOR’S BEST: Sr. C-DT De'Andre Cassanova (61 tackles, 5sacks); Sr. WR-DB Timothy Gardner-Russaw (1,037 yards rushing, 16 TDs; 29 catches, 419 yards, 3 TDs; 60 tackles, 6.5 sacks); Sr. QB-DB Jakhari Grant (2,927 yards, 31 TDs, 5 INTs); Sr. WR-DB Jason Pinnock (52 catches, 1,099 yards, 12 TDs; 40 tackles, 7 INTs); Jr. QB-LB Shayne Manson (57 tackles, 6.5 sacks); Sr. WR-LB Jomal Mills (90 tackles); Jr. RB-LB Joe Russell (87 tackles); Jr. WR-DB Marquis Wilson (34 catches, 712 yards, 6 TDs; 49 tackles, 4 INTs).

NEW CANAAN’S BEST: Sr. RB-MLB Graham Braden (1,053 yards rushing, 8 TDs; 70 tackles, 7 sacks); Sr. WR-MLB James Freyre (90 tackles, 3 sacks); Sr. WR-T-DT Jack Kircher (43 tackles, 5 sacks); Jr. WR-MLB-K Grant Morse (85 tackles); So. WR Quintin O’Connell (45 catches, 695 yards, 7 TDs); Sr. WR-CB Ryan O’Connell (554 yards rushing, 11 TDs; 23 catches, 461 yards receiving, 6 TDs; 36 tackles, 7 INTs); Fr. QB Drew Pyne (2,206 yards, 24 TDs, 11 INTs; 418 yards rushing, 3 TDs); Sr. WR-DB Tom Root (32 tackles, 5 INTs).

WHEN WINDSOR HAS THE BALL: Here’s something you don’t see every day — a team that passes more than New Canaan. Grant has completed 69.3 percent of his passes and averaged 243.9 yards a game. The Warriors so do love to spread you out and get Wilson, Boston College-bound Pinnock, and Gardner-Russaw (who has been offered by BC) in space. They’re willing to run, too. Gardner-Russaw set season highs for carries (23), yards (203) and touchdowns (5) in Monday’s 40-14 mashing of Middletown. How the Rams are going to try to defend all of that, we do not know. They did manage to hold Notre Dame of West Haven to 258 yards in Tuesday’s 20-17 win.

WHEN NEW CANAAN HAS THE BALL: No one has enjoyed more success passing, or run the Tony Franklin System better, than New Canaan since it adopted it in 2006. Pyne has completed 63.3 percent of his passes and received offers from Alabama and Florida State before he played a down for the Rams. Quintin O’Connell has emerged as his favorite target (a freshman QB and a sophomore WR — sorry, FCIAC). Ryan O’Connell has been the Rams' most invaluable scorer as he’s a movable chess piece who’s averaged 20 yards a catch and 5.6 yards a run. New Canaan has run more this season (418 rushing attempts to 283 pass attempts), a wise move given its size up front and Braden’s efficiency. He’s taken on a larger role of late and rushed 72 times for 626 yards (an 8.7 average) and four touchdowns the last four games. No one has choked out more offenses than Windsor. It’s allowed a state-low 76 points with six shutouts. Casanova, Mills, Russell and company did a sensational job against the Blue Dragons’ run game in the semifinals. The latter averaged 293.8 yards and 7.4 yards a carry through 11 games. The Warriors limited them to 125 yards on 37 carries (3.4 yard average). That’s good work there.

CALPREPS SEZ: New Canaan 24-20.

WE SEZ: New Canaan.

• • • •

CLASS M

No. 2 HILLHOUSE vs. No. 5 ST. JOSEPH

WHERE: West Haven High, 10:30 a.m.

RECORDS: Hillhouse 11-1; St. Joseph 10-2.

SEE/HEAR: WELI-960; NFHSNetwork.com; CBSSPorts.com GameTracker.

CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: Hillhouse (5) — 1985 (Class MM), 2002 (Class SS), 2006 (Class M), 2010 (Class M), 2012 (Class M); St. Joseph (12) — 1980 (Class S) and 1981-84 (Class SS), 1988-90 (Class M), 2009 (Class SS), 2010 (Class S), 2013 (Class M), 2014 (Class M-Small).

HILLHOUSE’S BEST: Jr. RB-DL Prince Boyd (106 tackles, 13 sacks); Jr. OL-DL Jaaven Brown (6-2, 300); Sr. RB-LB Matt Brehon (1,531 yards rushing, 16 TDs; 75 tackles, 7.5 sacks); Sr. OL-LB Moise Cisse; Sr. RB-DB David Harris (863 yards rushing, 7 TDs); Jr. WR-DB Chase Kinzly (24 catches, 530 yards, 9 TDs; 3 INTs); Sr. RB-LB Shawn Ogarro (648 yards rushing, 7 TDs; 79 tackles); Sr. OL-DL Billy Oliver (5-11, 275 pounds); Sr. TE-DL Derrick Sims (63 tackles, 9 sacks).

ST. JOSEPH'S BEST: Sr. QB Cory Babineau (2,693 yards passing, 31 TDs, 4 INTs; 293 yards rushing, 4 TDs); Sr. LB Adam Derbyshire (90 tackles, 3 sacks); Sr. DE Brian Harner (79 tackles, 11.5 sacks); So. OLB Jesse Lawson (100 tackles, 3.5 sacks); Jr. WR Jared Mallozzi (93 catches, 1,414 yards, 20 TDs); Sr. DB Nick Osborne (60 tackles, 6 INTs); Sr. Alec Pelleiter (25 tackles, 4.5 sacks); So. WR Paul Pesmeg (48 catches, 719 yards, 8 TDs); Fr. RB Jaden Shirden (934 yards rushing, 12 TDs).

WHEN HILLHOUSE HAS THE BALL: This is the Odd Couple final becuase Hillhouse loves to run, run, run, while the Cadets like to fling it. The Academics have rushed 425 times (to 165 pass attempts) and averaged 332.9 a game (at 9.4 yards a carry). Yep, that’s a lot, but it would all make sense to you had you watched Brehon, Harris and Ogarro at all this season. And then there’s the offensive line of All-Southern Connecticut Conference Division II/III selections Brown, Cisse and Oliver. Harner and the Cadets’ defense are going to be giving up some serious size up front.

WHEN ST. JOSEPH HAS THE BALL: Here's where the Cadets have a big advantage. They play two-platoon football, a real luxury in the smaller divisions, thus they don't have to worry about their players getting tired. That gives them the freedom to play real fast and gas the opposing D. Babineau is a three-year starter who's already played in one state final (a 37-7 win over Ledyard in the 2014 Class M-Small final). Mallozzi is a nightmare matchup as he's got a gift for getting open. He and Pasmeg are the perfect couple as he'll get downfield, while Pasmeg, who’s built like a high school tight end (6-0, 206), runs the underneath routes. St. Joseph uses that blasted Tony Franklin System, but it has run more (370) than its passed (312). Foran is the only team Hillhouse played that comes close to replicating the Cadets like to do, but the Cadets are much, much more dangerous.

CALPREPS SEZ: St. Joseph, 28-27.

WINNER: Hillhouse (we're the most shaky with this pick, but we took it to win before the playoffs and must stick with the Acs.

• • • •

CLASS S

No. 2 ANSONIA vs. No. 4 ROCKY HILL (i.e. "The NEANDERBALL Bowl")

WHERE: Willow Brook Park, New Britain, 10:30 a.m.

RECORDS: Ansonia 12-0; Rocky Hill 11-1.

SEE/HEAR: NFHSNetwork.com; CBSSPorts.com GameTracker.

CHAMPIONSHIPS WON: Ansonia 19 — 1976-77 (Class S), 1979 (Class M), 1981-84 (Class S), 1987-89 (Class S), 1994 (Class SS), 1995 (Class S), 2002-03 (Class S) and 2006-07 (Class S), 2011 (Class M), 2012-13 (Class S); Rocky Hill none.

ANSONIA’S BEST: Sr. QB-DB-K Bryson Cafaro (716 yards passing, 13 TDs, 0 INT; 41-54 XP); Jr. RB-DB Markell Dobbs (2,213 yards rushing, 30 TDs; 10 catches, 297 yards, 5 TDs); Jr. WR-DB Justin Lopez (15 catches, 330 yards, 6 TDs); Sr. FB-LB Malcolm Martin (402 yards rushing, 7 TDs).

ROCKY HILL’S BEST: Jr. RB-DB Joe Catania; Jr. QB Daniel Cavallaro; Sr. G Damon Lonero; Sr. RB-LB Rocky Montalvo; Sr. RB-DB Grant Nieves; Sr. C Krist Veli (sorry about the lack of stats, but the Terriers don't post them at MaxPreps.com).

WHEN ANSONIA HAS THE BALL: Here is the official state final of The Lonesome Polecat because both teams are disciples of The Manly Discipline of the Running Arts. And no one has been better at running the ball the last 10 seasons than Ansonia. Dobbs is blazing a path towards joining the likes of older brother Montrell, Bubby Natowich, Arkeel Newsome and Alex Thomas as the greatest running backs the Chargers have ever had. Ansonia doesn’t throw it much (bless you, Tom Brockett) as Cafaro has attempted just 58 passes. But when he does get to throw, he’s been money. He’s completed 63.8 percent of his passes at 12.3 yards an attempt. And check out his touchdown to interception split. Minutia — Ansonia leads the state in scoring (531 points).

WHEN ROCKY HILL HAS THE BALL: The Terriers, bless their hearts, have been devotees of GOD’S OFFENSE for several years. That brings us joy. They ran down Seymour in Monday’s semifinal win — 425 yards and five touchdowns on 40 carries. Nieves ran 14 times for 184 yards and three touchdowns, and Catania added 16 carries for 216 yards and two scores. Rocky Hill has been more willing to throw this season with Cavallaro is pretty good at it. It’s still going to run a lot today, though. So is Ansonia. Why are we foaming at the mouth? COMPARITIVE SCORE TIME — Ansonia beat Seymour, 41-20 (Oct. 28). Rocky Hill beat Seymour, 42-7.

CALPREPS SEZ: Ansonia, 34-28.

WINNER: Rocky Hill.

• • • •

Thanks for reading. More. .... probably after the finals. Maybe? Who knows. We'll find out when we get there.

Vaya con dios....