Believe it or not, the 2018 FCIAC football season is more than halfway home and there’s still plenty of drama stirring in the state playoff race.
In Class LL, three conference teams are inside the playoff bubble with Darien (6-0) at No. 1, Greenwich (5-0) at No. 4, and Staples (5-1) at No. 8. Ludlowe (5-1) at No. 10 and New Canaan (4-2) at No. 11 aren’t far off the mark.
The St. Joseph Cadets (5-1) are ranked second in Class M, fewer than four points behind unbeaten Berlin (6-0).
Here’s a look at a few of the numbers from the past week of action in the FCIAC.
2
Unbeaten teams remaining: The Darien Blue Wave (6-0) and Greenwich Cardinals (5-0). Both teams took care of business this weekend, with No. 1 Darien beating Warde 42-7, and No. 2 Greenwich shutting out Westhill 53-0. Up next: The Wave hosts Trumbull at 7 p.m., Fri., Oct. 26, and the Cards host Ludlowe at 5 p.m., Sat., Oct. 27.
5-1
Record of the Ludlowe Falcons after they demolished Montville 47-12 in a road game last Friday. Ludlowe, which had just one win over the past two seasons combined, has a huge test this weekend when it plays at Greenwich.
21
Consecutive victories for the Ridgefield Tigers against the rival Wilton Warriors. Ridgefield won the latest meeting 21-6 on Saturday in Wilton, outscoring the Warriors 14-0 in the fourth quarter to nail down the hard-fought win. The score was 7-6 when Tigers QB Owen Matthews hit Gianni Gorham with a 26-yard TD pass — the second TD connection for those two in the game. Jack Englert’s 7-yard run for a touchdown accounted for the final points.
468
Yards of total offense for Greenwich in its shutout of Westhill on Saturday. The Cardinals scored early and often, leading 15-0 after one quarter and 39-0 at halftime en route to the victory.
2
Points on a safety by the Cardinals’ Mozi Bici, who tackled Westhill RB Richard Fellius in the end zone two minutes into the game, starting the scoring for Greenwich.
27
Points allowed by the Darien Blue Wave defense through six games this season. That’s an average of 4.5 per game. Teams have reached the end zone against Darien just four times this year, and the Wave’s smallest margin of victory was 15 in a 22-7 win over St. Joseph on Sept. 22.
4
Touchdown passes for Darien quarterback Cooper Hancock during the Wave’s 42-7 win at Warde on Friday. The senior, who had 320 yards passing, connected with Peter Bredahl on two TDs, and with Andrew Lucas and Will Rolapp for one each. Lucas also ran for two scores.
5
Touchdown passes for St. Joseph QB David Summers in the Cadets’ 42-0 shutout of Stamford Saturday in Trumbull. Summers and receiver Jesse Bike hooked up for three of those scores (6, 45 and 25 yards), and Will Diamantis caught two TD passes (6 and 32 yards). The Cadets are 5-1.
245
Offensive yards for Staples’ quarterback Jake Thaw in the Wreckers’ 40-20 win over Norwalk on Friday night in Westport. Thaw rushed for 139 yards and four TDs, and passed for 106 yards and another TD. Staples improved to 5-1.
244
Passing yards for Trumbull QB Colton Nicholas, who threw for three TDs in the Eagles’ 37-26 win over Danbury Saturday at McDougall Stadium. Nicholas also ran for two TDs, including a 59-yard jaunt which iced the game in the fourth quarter.
49-7
Score of the New Canaan Rams’ win over Trinity Catholic at Gaglio Field on Friday. The victory was a nice rebound for the Rams, who were reeling after a 42-14 loss to Greenwich before the bye week. New Canaan is now 4-2.
35-0
Score of Brien McMahon’s victory over the Bridgeport Central Hilltoppers on Friday. After opening the season with four straight losses, the Senators have now won two straight by a combined score of 62-12. They’ll host Ridgefield at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 26.
Here’s the schedule for Week Eight:
Friday, Oct. 26
Trumbull at Darien, 7 p.m.
Brien McMahon at Ridgefield, 7 p.m.
Wilton at Stamford, 7 p.m.
Danbury at Norwalk, 7 p.m.
St. Joseph at Bridgeport Central, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27
Trinity Catholic at Westhill, 1 p.m.
Staples at Warde, 1 p.m.
New Canaan at Pascack Valley, N.J., 2 p.m.
Ludlowe at Greenwich, 5 p.m.