Howdy,

Three-and-out. Three-and-out. Over-and-over in the third quarter of last Friday’s Darien vs. Southington game, it was three-and-out for both offenses.

It got increasingly tedious as the quarter slogged on. It got increasingly frustrating for both offenses.

It was also a testament to just how dang good both Darien and the Blue Knights are defensively, too.

It was fitting, then, when Blue Wave junior Connor O’Malley returned his second interception for a 21-yard touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game. It gave Darien a 24-8 win in a Connecticut High School Football Alliance matchup between two CIAC Class LL behemoths.

“They’ve got eight (defensive starters) back, and they’re a top 10 team, I don’t care what anyone says,” Darien head coach Rob Trifone said. “We’ve got eight back. So it was a defensive struggle. We were fortunate to hit those quick strikes to (Michael) Minicus early.”

Junior outside linebacker Charlie Silsby had a team-high nine tackles with an interception and half-a-sack for the Blue Wave (2-0), ranked fourth in The Day's Top 10 state coaches’ poll. Senior outside linebacker Sam Wilson had seven tackles, sophomore end David Evanchick had five tackles and a sack, senior Will Bothwell had three tackles and two sacks, and classmate Austin Dehmel added an interception.

“We’ve been hanging our hats on defense for many years now,” Trifone said, who has coached Darien to three LL titles (2015-17). “As good as our offenses were, we always take lot of pride in our defense. My defensive coordinator, Mike Forget, week-in and week-out comes up with a great game plan. Not only does he come up with a great game plan, he teaches it all week. He’s a great teacher."

Southington (1-1) was ranked sixth in the coaches’ poll prior to Friday’s game.

It looked as if Darien could pull away for good by halftime as seniors Peter Graham (quarterback) and Michael Minicus (receiver) hooked up for three first-half touchdowns.

The game was scoreless when Graham threw into double coverage on fourth-and-5 from the Blue Knights’ 34. Minicus went up between his defenders and snared Graham’s pass for a touchdown and 6-0 lead with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

The two hooked up on a 28-yard touchdown pass play to make it 12-0 Darien with 34 seconds left in the quarter.

The Blue Wave’s offense, featuring multiple new starters such as Graham, began to get bogged down in the second quarter. They needed O’Malley to help jumpstart them by intercepting a pass at their own 21-yard line and returning it to the Southington 45.

Graham threw a pretty pass to Minicus on the next play to push Darien’s lead to 18-0 with 10 seconds left in the half.

Graham completed 15 of 32 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Minicus had four catches for 115 yards.

Both teams went three-and-out on their first five drives of the second half. Both defenses, in particular, ruined one another’s running game.

Southington had 26 carries for 18 yards. The Blue Wave had 26 carries for minus-1 yard.

Graham hooked up with senior Ryan Mulliken for 29-yard pass play with under 40 seconds left in the third quarter. It was the first first down of the second half.

Offense wasn’t an issue for either team in Week 1. Darien won 42-0 against Fairfield Ludlowe, which was coming off its best season in 47 years (7-3).

Southington thumped Conard, 54-21. That’s the same Conard that went to West Haven last Friday and gave the latter a shocking 33-8 beating.

“(The Blue Knights) were blitzing two or three gaps, sending what we call five and six-man pressure,” Trifone said. “It’s hard to run against five-and-six-man pressure in the spread (offense). The spread, you’ve got to throw the ball. That said, we tried to throw the ball from time-to-time, and they had great coverage.

“I’ve got to watch the tape before I really criticize anything. I know that we were running against a very tough front. They returned three linebackers from last year, two of their defensive linemen, and most of their secondary. So we knew it was going to be a close game.”

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Behold, The Day's Top 10 state coaches’ poll: 1. Hand (2-0, 12 first-place votes); 2. Greenwich (2-0, one first-place vote); 3. St. Joseph (2-0); 4. Darien (1-0); 5. Newtown (2-0); 6. Shelton (2-0); 6. Bloomfield (2-0); 8. Ridgefield (2-0); 9. Ansonia (2-0); and, 10. New Canaan (1-1).

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The GameTimeCT/New Haven Register/Hearst Inc. Monolith Top 10 media poll: 1. Hand (23 first-place votes); 2. St. Joseph (one first-place vote); 3. Greenwich; 4. Darien; 5. Shelton; 6. Newtown; 7. Bloomfield; 8. Ridgefield; 9. New Canaan; and, 10. Ansonia.

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Ned Freeman’s cold, calculating computer rankings for CalPreps: 1. Greenwich; 2. Hand; 3. Newtown; 4. St. Joseph; 5. Ridgefield; 6. New Canaan; 7. Fairfield Prep (1-1); 8. Darien; 9. Bloomfield; and, 10. Maloney (2-0).

Ansonia is 11th and Shelton 14th.

Note that it takes a few weeks before the computer model has enough data to assemble rankings that are scary accurate.

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Dig the ballot Polecat HQ filed for the aforementioned media poll:

1. Hand

2. St. Joseph

3. Darien

4. Greenwich

5. Shelton

6. Newtown

7. Ridgefield

8. New Canaan: Not going to drop it too far for losing on game-ending field goal.

9. Fairfield Prep: Not going to drop it too far for losing by a touchdown to our No. 6 team.

10. Southington: It lost to Darien. It happens. Its defense looked good, especially in the second half.

11. Bloomfield

12. Newington

13. Ansonia

14. NFA: Looking forward to seeing how the Wildcats' pass-til-they-puke offense matches up against Shelton.

15. North Haven: Not going to drop it too far for losing by a touchdown to our No. 9 team in Week 1 (14-7). Feel free to call it a “homer pick” because it runs GOD’S FATHER’S OFFENSE.

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NOTABLES~! (it’s back~!)

PHOENIX Billings set a school record for most passing touchdowns in a career (51) during Hand’s 55-6 squishing of Middletown last Friday. Billings completed 11 of 17 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns and ran six times for 86 yards, including a 43-yard TD. Colin McCabe added 11 carries for 172 yards and four touchdowns for the Tigers, which scored the game’s first 55 points. … Hunter Clark ran 16 times for 117 yards and three touchdowns for Greenwich as it rolled Trumbull last Friday, 42-7. James Rinello completed 13 of 21 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, Vincent Ceci had 11 tackles and Stephen Dergio added two sacks for the Cardinals.

Will Diamantis caught seven passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns and threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Austin Jose as St. Joseph smote Notre Dame of West Haven last Saturday, 42-7. Jack Wallace completed 16 of 21 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, Jaden Shirden ran 20 times for 118 yards and two scores, and Mike Morrissey had seven tackles and two sacks for the Cadets. Also, Maxwell Warren had two INTs. Let’s see, Hand beat ND by 35 points in Week 1 (49-14). St. Joseph beat ND by 35 in Week 2. Hm-mmmm. And both are in Class L. Hm-mmmm.

Miles Ricks ran 17 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 57 yards in Newtown’s 21-14 win over Fairfield Prep last Friday. Jared Dunn had 11 tackles and a sack for the Nighthawks. ... Shelton’s Michael Lockavitch tore through East Hartford’s offense for five sacks in last Friday’s 29-7 win. Tyler Pjatak needed nine carries to gain 82 yards and two touchdowns for Shelton. The Gaels opted to run (33 times) more than they threw (13) and rushed for 192 yards and fur scores. ... Daron Bryden completed 14 of 21 passes for 302 yards with four touchdowns and an interception as Bloomfield laid waste to East Catholic last Saturday, 47-6. Shakur Hill ran eight times for 165 yards and two touchdowns, Anthony Simpson had six catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns, and William Moore had 10 tackles and two sacks for the WARHAWKS. 

Adam Biernat kicked a game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Ridgefield a 17-14 win over New Canaan. Owen Matthews completed 26 of 41 passes for 399 yards and two touchdowns for Ridgefield, which started its final drive at its own 12-yard line with 1:33 left in the game. Notre Dame-bound Drew Pyne completed 17 of 28 passes for 208 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Rams. ... Sheldon Schuler was an efficient 6 of 9 passing for 119 yards and two touchdowns and scored on an 18-yard run as Ansonia mulched Holy Cross last Saturday, 46-6. Shykeem Harmon ran four times for 58 yards and a touchdown and scored on a 50-yard punt return for the Chargers and Tyler Cafaro ran for a 65-yard touchdown.

Jack Cox threw touchdowns passes of 17 and 30 yards to James Marsden as Valley Regional/Old Lyme blanked Cromwell/Portland last Friday, 21-0. Freshman DiAngelo Jean-Pierre had two of the WARRIORCATS' five interceptions. ... Ryan Bakken was 11 of 17 for 216 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another as Waterford strafed Montville last Friday, 62-20. Payton Sutman caught touchdown passes of 13, 35 and 77 yards for Waterford. ... Andrew Koziol completed 16 of 23 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns in Griswold/Wheeler's 35-12 win over Ledyard last Friday.

Sheehan’s Terrance Bogan and Jordan Davis were ridiculous in last Friday’s 56-32 win over New Fairfield. Bogan had 28 carries for 353 yards and four touchdowns for the Titans (2-0) while Davis ran six times for 63 yards and three touchdowns, scored another on a 58-yard punt return, and had eight tackles. The Titans ran 41 times for 419 yards and attempted just six passes. HOORAY. Matthew Constantinides completed 18 of 37 passes for 245 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Rebels. ... James Tarver ran 31 times for 160 yards and five TDs as Maloney bashed Bristol Central last Friday, 41-14. Angel Arce also completed 13 of 19 passes for 189 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown to Kam Moreno, for Maloney. Moreno had nine catches for 165 yards. Victor Rosa ran 18 times for 154 yards and two scores for the Rams.

Nick Pestrichello completed 15 of 17 passes for 224 yards with three touchdowns as Newington bopped Bristol Eastern last Friday, 42-7. Keenan Esau had four catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns for the Indians and John Amaning had 11 carries for 123 yards and a score. ... Windsor’s Tishay Johnson deflected a two-point conversion attempt by Masuk with 2:18 remaining in the game to help the Warriors hold on for a 28-27 win. Jayden Murphy had 11 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns for Windsor and Amir Spears caught two touchdowns. Nick Saccu threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Panthers.

Eleven players combined to rush 34 times for 366 yards and six touchdowns as North Haven trucked Bunnell last Friday, 56-16. Corey Hooks led the way with seven carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns for North Haven and Max Augustine added seven carries for 117 yards and a score. The Indians attempted just two passes, one of which was a 22-yard touchdown from Justin White to Jaden Watson. GOD’S FATHER’S OFFENSE.

Jacob Nurse completed 8 of 11 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns as Killingly took what it wanted from Capital Prep/Achievement First last Friday, 51-12. Don’t start getting cute with this forward pass thing, Team RPO (RUN PEOPLE OVER). ... Sophomore Adrian Parker completed 22 of 25 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns as Manchester crushed Wilbur Cross last Friday, 51-0. Jayden Colon had seven catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns for the Red Hawks (1-1), who held the Governors to 76 yards.

Matt Silver scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:47 left as Wethersfield outlasted Platt last Friday, 21-14. Marcus Nieves recovered a Platt fumble near midfield with 4:58 remaining in the game to set up the game-winning drive for the Eagles (2-0). He recovered another fumble on the ensuing kickoff after Silver's touchdown. Roberto Salas ran 28 times for 196 yards and a TD for the Panthers (1-1). ... Matt Keller scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 3:41 left as Hall beat Cheshire last Friday, 35-28. IZZO LIZARDI (what a name) scored on runs of 43 and 4 yards and a 95-yard kickoff return for Hall. Jason Shumilla threw touchdown passes of 25, 65 and 75 yards to Alex Frione for Cheshire.

Cheney Tech’s Thopil Uznanski did something you don’t see at any level of football — he scored twice on interceptions in one quarter in last Friday’s 45-0 win over MCW United. Uznanski scored on returns of 15 and 32 yards for the Beavers. Ben Gendreau also threw for 82 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns. … Auden Boeshans completed 11 of 16 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns and ran 15 times for 58 yards and three scores as Simsbury walloped Amity last Friday, 49-13. The Trojans defense allowed just 163 yards and had three interceptions, including two by Tommy Guilfoyle.

SP Pragano completed 17 of 27 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns and scored on an 8-yard run as Lyman Hall blitzed Bethel last Friday, 40-14. SHAKESPEARE Rodriguez had eight catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns, scored on a 5-yard run, and added 11 tackles and a fumble recovery for the Trojans (1-1). ... Berlin forced three fumbles and two interceptions in the first half of last Friday’s 41-0 thumping of the Bulkeley/HTCMA/Weaver co-op. Adam Liberda scored on a 4-yard run and a 25-yard interception return for the Redcoats. … Cody Stager threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 112 yards as Enfield edged New Milford last Friday, 29-25. Wyatt Raymond caught all of Stager’s touchdown passes and accounted for almost all the receiving yardage (145).

Joe Fontano ran 19 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns as Wolcott beat Oxford last Friday, 34-16. … Jacob Conrad completed 15 of 30 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions as Farmington traveled to yon Southbury last Friday and prevailed over Pomperaug, 28-21. Michael Gregory had seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns for Farmington. Jake Oldham ran for 102 yards on 12 touchdowns, including an 80-yard score, for Pomperaug.

Samuel Attianese had five catches for 165 yards and a touchdowns, ran seven times for 54 yards and two touchdowns, and made five of six extra points in Granby/Canton’s 41-14 win over Ellington last Friday. Jackson Rome completed 10 of 14 passes for 208 yards with one touchdown and ran nine times for 54 yards and two scores. … Defense made Watertown’s 14-6 win over St. Paul possible last Friday. The D allowed just 110 yards and six first downs.

Camryn Edwards had nine carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns and four catches for 134 yards and a TD as Norwalk downed Bridgeport Central last Friday, 40-12. Kyle Gordon completed 13 of 23 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown and ran 12 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (2-0). Also, Sam Papp had five tackles and two sacks. ... Here’s an odd stat line via Tyler Ouellette from for Stafford/Somers/East Windsor — he completed 8 of 16 passes for just 41 yards, but with three touchdowns, in a 28-21 win over Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton/Lyman Memorial last Friday. … Colby Nordstrom scored on runs of 2, 2 and 27 yards as Lewis Mills beat Rocky Hill last Friday, 29-6.

Austin Richards threw for 482 yards and five touchdowns and scored on a 54-yard run as NFA downed Glastonbury last Saturday, 41-30. Andrew Cote had six catches for 225 yards, including touchdowns of 80 and 70 yards, for the Wildcats. We’re sure looking forward to its game at Shelton this Friday. ... FULLBACK James Deichler had 15 carries for 132 yards and four touchdowns as Fitch ran past Xavier last Saturday, 49-20. Fitch ran 42 times for 371 yards and seven touchdowns. TRIPLE OPTION. ... East Lyme allowed just 15 yards — FIFTEEN — as it choked out RHAM last Saturday, 17-0. Will Anglin had two interceptions for East Lyme (2-0).

Start keeping an eye on the SMSA/University/Classical co-op, kids. Devin Hill ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 71 yards and two touchdowns as the TIGERHAWKS lit up Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton last Saturday, 47-7. Mark Boyer added six tackles and an interception for SMSA. … Jonathan O’Coin completed 5 of 12 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns and ran six times for 75 yards and two scores to lead Rockville past Old Saybrook/Westbrook last Saturday, 34-3. ... Ryan Carlson ran 17 times for 104 yards and four touchdowns as Tolland ruined the grand opening of Avon’s new turf field last Saturday, 36-0. ... Dorrian Chaney threw three touchdowns and ran for another to pace CREC past Commerce (Mass.) last Saturday, 38-8.

Nate Raymond had four catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns and added two interceptions as North Branford blanked Haddam-Killingworth last Saturday, 19-0. Brandon Fratta completed 8 of 16 passes for 176 yards and two scores for the Thunderbirds (1-1). The 2019 season is rapidly unraveling for H-K, last season’s Class S runner-up and picked to be one of the Pequot’s favorites. It’s been shut out twice and, even worse, lead running back Dalton Modehn was knocked out of the game early in the second quarter. HC Mike Baklik told Dan Nowak of GameTimeCT that they believed the injury was a broken collarbone. Eep.

• • • •

We’re not sure if they’ll be a Polecat or not next week because America’s Team, the Connecticut Sun, swept the Los Angeles Sparks in their WNBA semifinal series and are headed to the Finals against either the Las Vegas Aces or Washington Mystics. Polecat staffers cover El Sol as well as football, so we’re all going to be extra busy until the Finals are over. Please stand by.

• • • •

Thanks for reading. More whenever.

Adios.