Howdy,

We’re not wasting any time here with a wordy opening.

YOU are encouraged to follow all the championship action either for free via radio (hi, George) and/or the Twitters at #cthsfb, or pay a nominal fee to watch at the nfhsnetwork.com and listen to the smooth tones of The Green Knight himself, Steve "Captain" Kirck.

Lastly, you’ll notice that we listed full stats for some teams and not for others. That’s because not everyone updated their stats at MaxPreps.com.

We don’t write that to shame the teams that didn’t because, let’s face it, they’ve had a busy week with just four days to prep for the finals. We just don’t want you thinking we didn’t list their stats out of carelessness or malice.

We will give this advice to coaches, though — it is to your players' benefit that you post updated stats at MaxPreps, Hudl, Digital Scout, etc. When there are difficult decisions to be made picking all-state teams, it is super-helpful to have stats available, and we say that as someone who has been in rooms when those teams are picked.

The more information, the better.

It also helps out us muckrakers, too, when writing our previews ; ).

Let's do this:

• • • •

CLASS LL

No. 1 NEWTOWN vs. No. 3 DARIEN

WHERE/WHEN: McDougall Stadium, Trumbull High, 3 p.m.

RECORDS: Newtown 12-0; Darien 11-1.

LOOK: NHFS Network (you still have to pay to watch, you tax cheats).

NEWTOWN DUDES: Sr. LB-RB Jared Dunn (6-foot-3, 220 pounds; 10 sacks); Sr. DL James Knox (6-4, 245 pounds; 8.5 sacks); Sr. OL-DL Zach Loomis (6.5 sacks); Sr. QB Brandon Lombardo (80-of-125 passing, 1,062 yards, 14 TD; 51 carries, 229 yards, 2 TDs); Sr. RB-DB Miles Ricks (90 carries, 612 yards, 9 TDs); Jr. QB Jack Street (57-of-109, 774 yards passing, 8 TD); Sr. Will Swierbut (42 tackles, 5 INTs); Sr. WR-DB Riley Ward (42 catches, 509 yards, 7 TDs); Sr. WR-DB Jack Zingaro (27 catches, 376 yards, 2 TDs; 3 INTs).

NOTE: If you click on NEWTOWN DUDES, see that it only updated its stats through the quarters at MaxPreps.com, but there are full offensive stats listed here for some dudes, and are thus wondering how that's possible, we added in stats from Monday's 17-0 semifinal win via the gamer written by Gerry deSimas of the Collinsville Press. He worked closely with Bob Barton, thus his statkeeping can be trusted. So, HATS OFF, Gerry.

DARIEN DUDES: Sr. DE Will Bothwell (84 tackles, 15 sacks); Sr. WR-S Austin Dehmel (46 tackles, 2 INTs); So. DE David Evanchick (55 tackles, 15 sacks); Sr. QB Peter Graham (193 of 338 passing, 3,022 yards, 27 TDs); Sr. RB Will Kirby (118 carries, 621 yards, 12 TDs); Sr. WR-FS Mike Minicus (21 catches, 505 yards, 6 TDs); Sr. LB James Morrissey (62 tackles, 5 sacks); Sr. WR-CB Jackson Peters (35 catches, 667 yards, 7 TDs; 3 INTs); Sr. OLB John Henry Slonieski (57 tackles, 3 sacks); Sr. OLB Sam Wilson (84 tackles, 5 INTs).

WORDS: The LL teams with the gnarliest defenses are the last two standing in the division where great defenses have ruled.

The lowest scoring final in state history has been 3-0, and it has happened three times — Wilbur Cross over Holy Cross (1984 Class L), East Hartford over Hamden (1987 Class LL), and Morgan over Berlin (1987 Class S). Yes, there were two 3-0 finals in the same year as you were allowed to play defense back in those days.

We bring up that trivia because both teams have reached the finals in the division where defense has ruled this tournament.

Newtown has shut out half of its opponents, including two in the postseason. It allowed just five first downs and 87 yards and had 10 sacks as it thumped Norwich Free Academy 35-0 in the quarterfinals. It held Simsbury to 156 yards in Monday’s 17-0 semifinal win.

The Nighthawks’ front seven is vicious, led by Knox, who received a well-earned spot on the coaches’ all-state overall team this week as one of the state’s 26 best players. Whenever Knox finishes school and goes into the work-world, he could earn himself a well-paying job as a bodyguard. Or bear-wrangler. Or using his hands to rip out the walls, floors and ceilings of houses that are being remodeled. Dunn is nasty, too, lurking at linebacker.

The Blue Wave’s defensive end combo of Bothwell and Evanchick are as good a pass rushing duo in the state, and all that needs to be said about Wilson is that he was an all-state overall pick, too. They are also very tough to throw against with Dehmel, Minicus and Peters roaming around.

Neither team is as efficient offensively as past seasons (and both defenses are better than the offenses). Newtown is unique in that it scores using a cast of characters, including a QB platoon in Lombardo and Street.

Perhaps the Nighthawks can beat Darien with the run, as they did in last year’s 26-16 Class L quarterfinal win (they don’t have a bully back like it had last season in Dan Mason, though.)

We didn’t think it was possible for anyone to run on the Blue Wave until New Canaan did it 52 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns in its Thanksgrabbings Day 20-0 win.

Southington’s Dillon Kohl had 24 carries for 138 yards and a score in Darien’s 21-12 semifinal win on Monday (Darien allowed just 18 yards on 26 carries in its 24-8 win over Southington on Sept. 20).

Something that can’t be stressed enough about the Blue Wave, though, is that they've beaten two of the state’s top ranked teams in The Day's coaches’ poll in No. 4 Greenwich and No. 7 Southington twice this season, including back-to-back in the playoffs. No one else beat that duo this year.

A common theme in this here blog is that these are not easy finals to pick, especially when compared to last year when everyone knew that Greenwich (Class LL), Hand (Class L) and St. Joseph (Class M) would maul their way to a state title (and did).

We wouldn’t be shocked if Newtown won its fourth state title (and first since 1992) because it’s that good. We’ve leaned ever so slightly towards Darien, though, and will stick to our original pick.

It’s safe to predict a low-scoring game, though.

CALPREPS SEZ: Darien 19-17.

POLECAT SEZ: Darien.

• • • •

CLASS L

No. 1 ST. JOSEPH vs. No. 2 HAND

WHERE/WHEN: Veterans Stadium, Willow Brook Park, New Britain, 3 p.m.

RECORDS: St. Joseph 12-0; Hand 12-0.

LOOK/LISTEN: NHFS Network, WELI (960-AM), 960WELI.com, iheartradio.com.

ST. JOSEPH DUDES: Sr. LB Cole daSilva; Sr. WR Will Diamantis (12 receiving TDs); Jr. WR Brady Hutchinson (14 receiving TDs); Sr. DL Michael Morrissey; Sr. LB Alex Pagliarini; Sr. RB Jaden Shirden (33 rushing TDs; 3 receiving TDs); Jr. QB Jack Wallace (36 passing TDs; 5 rushing TDs); Sr. Jermaine Williams (5-11, 320).

HAND DUDES: Jr. OL-DL Tom Bambrick (6-4, 285); Sr. QB Phoenix Billings (100 of 167 passing, 1,650 yards, 27 TDs; 71 caries, 497 yards, 9 TDs); Sr. Ben Corniello (6-2, 245 pounds; 54 tackles, 5 sacks); Sr. WR-OLB Ethan Haberman (6-4, 225; 42 catches, 832 yards, 13 TDs); Sr. RB-WR Jesse Lutz (81 carries, 628 yards, 10 TD); Sr. RB Colin McCabe (121 carries, 1,407 yards, 20 TDs); Sr. WR-DB-K Isaiah McNeilly (19 catches, 259 yards, 6 TDs); So. DL Kevin Nizolek (53 tackles, 9.5 sacks); Sr. ILB Shane Reiner (71 tackles).

WORDS: THIS IS YOUR MAIN EVENT.

It's the game that every coach, player, fan and xenomorph has wanted to see. Two-time defending champion Hand, which has been ranked No. 1 all season, vs. No. 2 St. Joseph, which was bumped up a division after winning Class M last year (and Class S the year before that).

It’s just the third No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in the history of the GameTimeCT/New Haven Register poll, too. We’re not sure about the coaches’ poll because it was compiled by the Hartford Courant from 1985-2000 before being discontinued in 2001, and we don't have their records (The Day revived the poll in 2003).

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY.

We can’t comprehend, then, that this is the game we’re most comfortable picking.

Hand is legit and has been a worth numero uno all season. It has clobbered everyone it’s played other than Shelton, which it rallied to beat with 18 seconds left in a 21-14 win on Nov. 15.

The Tigers have had a few games in which they started slow, however. They had the aforementioned scare against Shelton. We’re also not sure of McCabe’s status after he had to be helped off the field with an undisclosed leg injury during Monday's 42-0 mashing (the Tigers scored THREE defensive touchdowns, BTW).

The Cadets, on the other hand, have savaged everyone fast and thoroughly this season. That includes No. 8 New Canaan (twice) and Ridgefield, which gave Southington hell in a losing effort, 13-9, in the LL quarters. Their closest game was 42-7 over Notre Dame of West Haven in Week 2 (Hand opened its season with a 49-14 win over ND).

Hand also hasn’t faced such a complete spread team like St. Joseph, either. Yes, the same could certainly be said for the Cadets, although they’ve spread it out a little more in the passing game with Hutchinson and Diamantis.

St. Joseph, again, has been relentless this season and against a better schedule.

CALPREPS SEZ: St. Joseph 38-22.

POLECAT SEZ: St. Joseph.

• • • •

CLASS M

No. 3 KILLINGLY vs. No. 5 WESTON

WHERE/WHEN: Veterans Stadium, Willow Brook Park, New Britain, 11 a.m.

RECORDS: Killingly 11-1; Weston 11-1.

LOOK/LISTEN: NFHS Network, WELI (960-AM), 960WELI.com, iheartradio.com, WINY (1350-AM).

KILLINGLY DUDES: Sr. FB-LB John Creswell; Sr. WR-LB Kameron Crowe (4 receiving TDs; 3 INTs); Jr. T-DE Jacob Galarza (6-4, 260); Sr. WR-CB Josh Heaney (7 receiving TDs, 4 INTs); Jr. FB-LB-K-P Chris Jax (6.5 sacks; 45-of-51 PATs); So. T-NG Connor Leduc (5-11, 265); Sr. RB-S Jackson Lopes (132 carries, 702 yards, 15 TDs; 5 INTs); Sr. QB Jacob Nurse (56 of 96 passing, 1,028 yards, 14 TDs; 6 rushing TDs); So. RB-LB Jack Sharpe (256 carries, 1,974 yards, 16 TDs).

NOTE: If you click on KILLINGLY DUDES, see that it hadn't updated its stats through the semis at MaxPreps.com, but see full stats here for Lopes and Sharpe and think to yourself "WHA-AAAAT," we sprinkled in our stats from Monday's quarters. 

WESTON DUDES: Sr. RB-LB Tyler Bower (11 rushing TDs); Sr. James Goetz (16 passing TDs; 6 rushing TDs); Sr. T-DE Francis Okine; Sr. Brendan Sawyer (11 rushing TDs; 3 receiving TDs); Sr. WR-LB Jack Sawyer (11 receiving TDs); So. WR-DB Dominic Tarantino.

WORDS: It’s the state final with the Polecat seal of approval because both teams want to run. YAY.

Everyone should know by now that Killingly’s offensive ethos is RPO — RUN PEOPLE OVER. It has more run attempts any other team that has inputted stats into MaxPreps.com’s data base (502) for 3,230 yards and 39 touchdowns (it has thrown just 97 times which is low, yet still too much for our tastes).

Killingly will line up in the I-formation and put additional blockers up front at times and repeatedly hammer away with the run and batter a defense.

The Trojans want to run, too, although they’re going spread teams out doing it. They’ll run jet to get the corners or get a man in motion to mesh at the point of attack with Goetz and a running back to confuse defense as to who has the ball.

Killingly has the edge in brawn with the likes of Galarza and Leduc. The Trojans don’t have a player listed over 220 pounds. That could be an edge for Killingly because it wants to bully opposing defenses (we write “could” because defensive speed can compensate for size) and control the clock. It’s a fine tactic because so many non-Class LL schools must have players go both ways, now more than ever.

Weston arguably has the best offensive weapon in Goetz, one of the state’s top QBs. As mentioned before, it likes to get to the corners with the likes of the jet sweeps, which Waterford used against Killingly in Monday’s semifinals. It took a bit before Killingly finally began containing the Lancers’ outside runs in its 35-7 win.

Pay no attention to the fact that New Fairfield clocked Weston, 29-6, on Nov. 1 (whereas Killingly ran down New Fairfield, 28-0, in the quarterfinals). Weston was missing some dudes, namely Goetz. It did allow the Rebels to rush for 166 yards on 27 carries, though.

It’s size vs. speed. We’ll go with size and RPO.

CALPREPS SEZ: Killingly 28-26 (one rarely hits with the "6" on their CIAC finals squares).

POLECAT SEZ: Killingly.

• • • •

CLASS S

No. 3 BLOOMFIELD vs. No. 4 SHEEHAN

WHERE/WHEN: McDougall Stadium, Trumbull High, 11 a.m.

RECORDS: Bloomfield 12-0; Sheehan 10-2.

LOOK/LISTEN: NHFS Network.

BLOOMFIELD DUDES: Jr. RB-DL Brandon Bish (83 tackles, 4 sacks; 51 carries, 469 yards, 9 TDs); Jr. QB Daron Bryden (163 of 234 passing, 3,031 yards, 38 TDs); Sr. OL-DL Kyle Davis (6-4, 230; 85 tackles, 14.5 sacks); So. WR Jayvon Massey (6-2, 210; 47 catches, 1,140 yards, 14 TDs); Sr. WR-RB-DB Anthony Simpson (95 carries, 1,179 yards, 24 TDs; 65 catches, 1,075 yards, 16 TDs; 10 INTs).

SHEEHAN DUDES: Sr. RB-DB Terrance Bogan (27 TDs); Sr. WR-RB-DB Jordan Davis (17 rushing TDs; 10 receiving TDs); Sr. OL-DL Mickey Deming (6-0, 245); Sr. OL-LB TJ DiPasquale; Sr. TE-LB Braedon McCarthy (6-2, 250); Sr. RB-LB Russell Rutkowski; Sr. QB-OLB Kyle Simmons (16 passing TDs).

WORDS: Here’s the one matchup we didn’t expect (we picked Bloomfield over Ansonia before the playoffs), and it has caused us to rethink things (and re-rethink).

No one other than St. Joseph has consistently crushed teams than the WARHAWKS, but they’ve done it far more astonishing manner. The Cadets have a slight edge in points scored (598-583). Bloomfield, however, has allowed a state low (and ridiculously low at that) 29 points.

DO THE MATH — the Warhawks have beaten teams by an average margin of 46.2 points.

LUDICROUS.

Here’s where it gets tough for us. Bloomfield has primarily feasted on CCC D-III opponents. That division was more MEH than usual this season with the likes of Berlin playing through 162 injuries and once-challenging Rocky Hill having another losing season.

Hillhouse was one of just two non-division games for the Warhawks. They shut them out (48-0, Sept. 27).

The Titans have played a tougher schedule. The SCC Tier 2 ain’t the SEC West, but they have banged heads with No. 9 Ansonia, No. 10 Cheshire and always physical North Haven. They lost to the latter two, but held off the Chargers in the semifinals, 30-22, another team that likes to rough up opponents.

Note that Hillhouse is the only common opponent. Bloomfield shut it out, 48-0, on Set. 27. Sheehan beat it, 48-6, on Nov. 1.

Bloomfield also hasn’t faced a team with talent who could start for it such Bogan and Davis. That duo joined Simpson on the coaches’ all-state overall team.

The Warhawks do have a big edge in the passing game with Bryden, Simpson and Massey. How Sheehan will defend Simpson and Massey, and with who, we do not know.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Simpson is having one of the most uniquely extraordinary single-season performances we’ve ever heard of in Connecticut high school football because he has over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving and has 10 interceptions. That’s like merging Marshall Faulk with Darrell Green.

We’re also not certain of McCarthy’s status after he left Monday’s game with an injury. He’s a Class S all-state defensive lineman and would obviously be a huge loss if he can’t go.

This is the hardest final for us to choose a winner. We said Bloomfield from the jump, though, and will honor that pick.

CALPREPS SEZ: Bloomfield 38-31.

POLECAT SEZ: Bloomfield.

• • • •

In the interest of transparency, we went 7-1 picking the semifinals. We also beat CalPreps (6-2).

We're 22-2 through two rounds. CalPreps is 20-4. We're going to beat the machine, BAY BAY.

• • • •

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

The other finalists: 15. Killingly; 17. Sheehan (it won and dropped two spots — go figure); and 18. Weston.

• • • •

Thanks for reading. We're always humbled by your patronage.

Enjoy the finals.

Adios.