Junior running back Joel Youd rushed 27 times for 90 yards and scored three times for the host Gaels in a 40-18 Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision win over the Westies.

Youd scored on runs of 1, 1 and 4 yards, all in the second half.

Senior defensive back Matt Stevko blocked a punt, intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble and scored a rushing touchdown on a 40-yard reverse play for Shelton (2-0), which is ranked ninth in the Register Top 10 Poll.

West Haven (0-1) turned the ball over seven times.

Read the full article in Friday's Register.

Week 2 begins tonight with one game, followed by a full slate on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Here are my picks (in bold) of area games. Feel free to add yours.

Thursday
Seymour at Sacred Heart

Friday
Platt Tech at Wright Tech/Stamford Academy
Kennedy at Ansonia
Wolcott at Naugatuck
Woodland at Watertown
Cromwell at Morgan
Valley Regional/Old Lyme at North Branford
Xavier at Wilbur Cross
Amity at Cheshire
Branford at North Haven
Hand at Hamden
East Haven at Law
Fairfield Prep at Notre Dame-West Haven
Foran at Lyman Hall
Hillhouse at Derby/O'Brien Tech
Sheehan at Guilford
West Haven at Shelton
Bunnell at Pomperaug
Stratford at New Fairfield

Saturday
Vinal Tech/Coginchaug at Haddam-Killingworth
Hyde at Old Saybrook/Westbrook
Brookfield at Oxford
Hamden Hall at KLHT
Hopkins at Brunswick

Shelton offensive lineman Jonathon Begley may not be as prolific as a recruit as some others in the area but the 6-foot-4, 315-pound senior is still garnering Division I attention.

Begley is currently being recruited by several D-I schools, including UConn and Boston College. But others, such as Delaware, Brown, Cornell, Leigh and UPenn, are also interested.

Begley admits the recruiting process is exciting but he's taking it in stride.

"It’s going pretty good," Begley said. "It’s exciting but I don’t let it affect me during school or on the field. They call and I talk. I’m excited about all the teams who call me."

Right now, Begley is leaning towards UConn and Boston College.

"I want to be able to be closer to home and they’ve been playing really good ball in both those programs," Begley said.


Read more about Begley and the Shelton football team in Friday's Register when I preview the Gaels' Southern Connecticut Conference clash against West Haven, set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Finn Stadium in Shelton.

The latest Register Top 10 poll, the first of the regular season, will appear in Tuesday's paper.

There was some shake up in the Top 10, including in the Top 5. Two teams that won last week swapped places this week.

Hand, which was ranked fifth, and Southington (10) fell out of the Top 10 after losing last week.

There are two new additions to the Top 10? Is it Hamden, which earned a 27-20 win over highly touted Cheshire? Or is it New Britain, which beat Conard 24-19? Or could it be Hillhouse, which went on the road and beat Hoboken, which was ranked No. 15 in New Jersey? The Academics won 24-6.

Find out Tuesday.

Conference breakdown:

32 teams received votes this week.

Of them, a leading 10 were from the Southern Connecticut Conference.

The other teams came from the following conferences:

FCIAC-5
CCC-5
ECC-4
NVL-3
Pequot-2
SWC-2
Nutmeg-1