FCIAC Football Week Seven Outlook: Ridgefield and Wilton restart rivalry

Three huge games led to some separation in the league’s football standings last week, as Darien topped Staples, St. Joseph rallied past Ridgefield, and Greenwich defeated New Canaan.

The week seven match-ups aren’t nearly as intriguing, but the schedule does include four games between teams with winning records.

The featured contest is a renewal of the rivalry between the Wilton Warriors and Ridgefield Tigers at Tiger Hollow in a game which will be carried live by the HAN Network at 1:30 p.m., Saturday.

Click here for a story on the rivalry game from Tim Murphy of the Ridgefield Press.

And now here’s a look at this week’s schedule…

Friday, Oct. 20

St. Joseph (4-1) at Stamford (2-3), 7 p.m.

The Cadets were on their way to a second straight loss when they suddenly caught fire in the fourth quarter, rallying from a 35-10 deficit to shock Ridgefield, 38-35, last week. Now, they visit Boyle Stadium to take on a Stamford team coming off its second win of the season.

Staples (3-2) at Norwalk (3-2), 7 p.m.

The Staples Wreckers have lost two straight at home and now take to the road to face a Norwalk squad which has legitimate talent. The Bears bounced back from a shutout loss to Greenwich and edged Trumbull, 18-17, last weekend.

Trinity Catholic (2-3) at New Canaan (3-2), 7 p.m.

New Canaan, which has lost just one game in each of the past four seasons, already has two in its first five games this year. The Rams are in an unfamiliar position after their loss to Greenwich and might need to run the table in order to qualify for the state tournament. The Trinity Catholic Crusaders are coming off a 40-19 romp over Ludlowe, but this could be a wrong-time, wrong-place situation.

Saturday, Oct. 21

Brien McMahon (1-4) at Bridgeport Central (0-4), Noon

The McMahon Senators followed their first victory in two seasons with a strong game against Stamford, although the Knights came up with the 30-21 decision. Central is winless, so one of the two struggling teams will go home happy this week.

Wilton (3-2) at Ridgefield (3-2), 1:30

HAN Network game

The rivalry is renewed. The Wilton Warriors will visit Tiger Hollow to take on the Ridgefield Tigers for the first time in three years. Both teams were aiming at the state tournament when the season began, but carry 3-2 records into this contest.

Ridgefield has had the better of the rivalry for more than two decades. The Tigers have won 18 of the past 19 meetings — one game ended in a tie — and the Warriors’ last victory was in 1993.

The Tigers are coming off a brutal, 38-35 loss to St. Joseph, a game which they led 35-10 in the fourth quarter before the Cadets scored the final 28 points. Ridgefield will be looking to recover, but the Warriors and their pounding running attack will be a tough beat.

Warde (3-2) at Darien (5-0), 1:30

The Warde Mustangs shut out Danbury 27-0 last week and edged above the .500 mark at 3-2. This week they face a tall order — the tallest in the FCIAC, in fact — as they take on the unbeaten Darien Blue Wave at DHS. The Wave kept rolling last week, handling Staples 32-6 as its winning streak hit 30.

Trumbull (2-3) at Danbury (0-5), 1:30

Both teams have struggled this year. Trumbull was blown out by both Greenwich and New Canaan and lost 18-17 to Trinity Catholic last week, while Danbury is still hunting for its first victory.

Westhill (4-1) at Greenwich (4-0), 3

Coming off their impressive 36-21 victory over New Canaan, the unbeaten Greenwich Cardinals will try to avoid a letdown against a Westhill Vikings squad which has just one loss. The Vikings handled Capital Prep, 42-27, in their last game and have had two weeks to prepare for the Cards. This game was a barn-burner last fall, as Westhill nearly knocked off the Cards before falling 22-16.

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