FRIDAY’S GAMES

Branford at Waterford, 6 p.m. (streamed live on theday.com)

Outlook: The Lancers, who won three of their last four games to end 2021, take a dive into the deep end here. Branford narrowly missed making last season’s Class M title game, losing at Killingly 13-12 in the semifinals. The Hornets, 9-3 last year, return the quarterback (Zack Turburt), leading rusher (Nate Chieffo) and sack leader (Drew Schwartz). Waterford has an experienced quarterback in senior Nate Hynes, whose protection up front may determine the overall success of the team.

Montville at Killingly, 6:30 p.m.

Outlook: Not an easy opener for Montville, which allowed the most points in the ECC last season. Killingly returns quarterback Thomas Dreibholz and ECC Player of the Year candidate Soren Rief, a junior running back who ran for 173 yards in last season’s 28-14 win over Rockville in the Class M championship game.

Valley/Old Lyme at North Branford 6:30 p.m.

Outlook: Some openers bear greater significance than others. Like this one. The Warriors jump right into divisional play in the Pequot Sassacus Division and get a 3-6 team from a year ago that returns most of its starters including running back Tommy Hansen, who ran for nearly 600 yards last year. North Branford coach Mark Basil said of his team: “I expect to be very good,” he told GameTimeCT.

Notre Dame-Fairfield at Stonington, 6:30 p.m.

Outlook: Notre Dame (7-3) was a playoff team a year ago, losing to eventual Class S champion Cromwell/Portland. Numbers are up in the program, but much of the offensive production was lost to graduation or transfer. The Bears had their best season in years last season, but also must replace a number of graduates.

East Lyme at Hand, 7 p.m.

Outlook: The Surf Club is not the most auspicious place to begin a season. But the Vikings get a Hand team that lost virtually all of its offense to graduation from last season, when the Tigers made the state playoffs and came within a point of upsetting St. Joseph. East Lyme returns its starting offensive line, which is not a bad place to begin.

Fitch at Guilford, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Among Fitch’s primary objectives: Figure out a way to stop 210-pound running back Mike O’Brien, who ran for 259 yards and two scores against East Lyme last year. The Grizzlies went 6-4 a year ago and return O’Brien and all five offensive linemen. Fitch was a solid 8-2 a year ago and returns a promising quarterback in Ben Perry.

Ledyard at East Haven 7 p.m.

Outlook: The new-look Colonels lost three key players (Ryan Outlow, Justin Outlow and Jonah Eddy) to transfer. But there’s plenty back, including quarterback Jackson Poulton and running back James Green. East Haven was 1-8 a year ago, enduring a disjointed season in which COVID protocols left the Yellowjackets off the field in the early part of the season.

Wilton at NFA, 7 p.m.

Outlook: The Erik Larka era begins against a program that has won a combined 14 games the last two years. Wilton reported having more than 100 players in the program, but few have varsity experience. Larka led Bacon Academy to a division title and to the playoffs in 2015.

New London at Joel Barlow, 7 p.m.

Outlook: New London may win the award the first week for most remote road game, a 76-mile trek to Redding. Barlow, which lost to Killingly in the 2017 state championship game, runs the triple option. Danny Shaban, who ran for 1,300 yards last year, transitions to quarterback this year. New London coach Johnny Burns believes the returnees on both line will keep the Whalers very competitive.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Griswold/Wheeler at Northwest Catholic, 11 a.m.

Outlook: Northwest was 2-7 a year ago and returns four starters. Griswold/Wheeler must contend with 6-foot-4 quarterback Boomer Staunton who also starts at cornerback, punter and kicker.

East Catholic at Bacon Academy, noon

Outlook: A new era of Bacon Academy football has arrived under new coach Bill Chaffin, a former assistant at Xavier. This is an interesting opener for the Bobcats, who welcome back Jack Holmes at quarterback. East, which won two of three to end last season, finished 3-7 and hasn’t had a winning season in seven years.

— Mike DiMauro