It’s Week 8 and Connecticut high school football diehards are getting the regular-season game they’ve all been waiting for on Saturday — No. 2 Darien at No. 1 St. Joseph.

The game between the top two teams in The Day's state coaches’ poll is one of three big games that day involving teams from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

St. Joseph (6-0) received 10 first-place votes this week. It has a 29-game winning streak and has beaten the then-No. 4 team in consecutive weeks — Greenwich (24-20, Oct. 16) and Ridgefield (17-14, last Friday).

The Blue Wave (6-0) earned the other three first-place votes.

Third-ranked Greenwich (4-2) hosts No. 7 New Canaan (5-1) in Saturday’s second game involving Top 10 teams. The Cardinals walloped Trumbull last Friday, 44-12. The result was the perfect example of how wildly unpredictable this season has been because Trumbull thumped Shelton (41-7, Oct. 1), one week after Shelton routed Greenwich (35-14, Sept. 24).

New Canaan dropped four spots after it was beaten at home by Wilton last Saturday, 20-17. Michael Cooper kicked a go-ahead 33-yard field goal with 8.9 seconds left to give the Warriors their first win over the Rams since 1995.

Wilton (4-2) hosts No. 5 Ridgefield (4-2) in the third and final important game of the day. It marks the third straight week Wilton will play a Top 10 team. The Warriors led Darien early in the fourth quarter of an Oct. 16 game before the Blue Wave scored 21 unanswered points and won, 56-36.

Shelton (5-1) made an unexpected jump into the Top 10 at No. 9, pushing Southington (5-1) down one spot and knocking Ansonia (6-0) out of the poll despite earning more points from voters than last week. Perhaps voters, after moving Greenwich three spots to third, decided to reward Shelton for thrashing the Cardinals in September.

The rest of the Top 10 — Hall (fourth), Fairfield Prep (sixth) and Norwalk (eighth).

Killingly (6-0) is the only Eastern Connecticut Conference team that received votes.

n.griffen@theday.com