THURSDAY'S GAME

New London at Capital/Achievement First, 7 p.m.

Records: New London (3-3); Capital/AF (1-5)

Outlook: The Whalers came painfully close to defeating East Lyme last week, ultimately derailed by what coach Johnny Burns called "too many mistakes." But a hard-hitting defense and Jaylen Callender's 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown leaves plenty of hope for the rest of the year. Capital/AF, a cooperative between Capital Prep and Achievement First, plays an independent schedule that has included Westerly, Stamford and Boston College High School. The co-op, which will join the ECC as a football-only member in 2020, lost to Westerly 50-8 last week.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Fitch at East Lyme, 6:30 p.m.

Records: Fitch (3-4, 0-2 ECC Div. I); East Lyme (5-2, 1-1)

Outlook: If there were ever a week for Fitch to be ornery, this is it. The Falcons blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter last week in a 33-29 loss to NFA, mostly due to self-inflicted issues. They have a chance to all but extinguish East Lyme's playoff chances, which were buoyed last week with a 26-19 win at New London. The Vikes still have a chance to win the ECC Division I title or at least earn a share.

Killingly at NFA, 6:30 p.m.

Records: Killingly (7-0, 3-0 ECC Div. I); NFA (4-3, 2-0)

Outlook: This is very likely the game of the year in the ECC. The winner stays unbeaten in the division. Questions: Can Killingly's secondary stay with NFA's fleet of fleet receivers? Can its front seven disrupt NFA's passing game? Can Killingly's offense continue to perfect its "RPO" preference of "run people over?" Should be fun to watch. The teams played a 12-6 overtime game in the rain last year on Killingly's muddy field. This will be a cold Friday night on NFA's turf. The game will be livestreamed on theday.com.

Ledyard at Waterford, 6 p.m.

Records: Ledyard (1-6, 0-3 ECC Div. II); Waterford (6-1, 2-0)

Outlook: The Lancers forge on without receiving threat Payton Sutman, who broke his leg last week in a 14-7 win over Griswold/Wheeler. Still, they are tied for the division lead with Woodstock and currently occupy third place in the Class M state playoff rankings. Translation: plenty left to play for. Ledyard, meanwhile, hasn't scored since Oct. 19 against Killingly.

Plainfield at Stonington, 6:30 p.m.

Records: Plainfield (6-1); Stonington (0-7)

Outlook: Few other schools do creative scheduling better than Plainfield. Two of its six wins have come against outlying Rhode Island schools Smithfield and Central Falls (by a combined score of 74-0). It has nonetheless delivered the Panthers into the middle of the Class S playoff race. Plainfield is No. 6 and would likely play host to a quarterfinal game if the Panthers win out.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Montville at CREC, 11 a.m.

Records: Montville (2-5, 0-1 ECC Div. III); CREC (5-2, 1-1)

Outlook: Montville has an opportunity to earn its first win within ECC Division III. CREC, a new member of the ECC for football only, is an Enfield-based co-op of schools specializing in Civic Leadership and the Academy of Aerospace and Engineering. Its five wins have come against schools with five combined wins. The Colts are coached by former UConn linebacking great (and ex-New London assistant) Maurice "Mo" Lloyd.