Top-seeded Xavier (12-0), the No. 1 team in the Register Top 10 Poll, will seek its second straight Class LL state title when it faces No. 2 Staples (11-0) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Rentschler Field.

The Falcons have won 25 straight games since losing to the Wreckers in the 2009 semifinals.

"We had no idea we would make the playoffs (in 2009)," Xavier senior Ryan Jacobucci said. "We ended up losing, which was the worst feeling ever."

Last year, the Falcons defeated Trumbull in the state title game.

"Winning it was just amazing," Jacobucci said. "A high school kid could never ask for anything more than that."

In the regular season, Xavier defeated Notre Dame-West Haven, a Class L quarterfinalist, Shelton (8-2), West Haven (7-3), Hillhouse (7-3) and Cheshire, a team much better than its 5-5 record indicated.

The Falcons then knocked off Glastonbury in the quarterfinals and Norwalk in the semifinals.

"To make it back again, we knew we had the potential to make it back here again especially with the seniors we have this year," Jacobucci said. "Our coaches pushed us. All of the seniors, even the juniors and the sophomores, we've been feeding off each other's energy and realized we can do it again.
"So far this season we've been proving not only to those that watch the games, but to ourselves, that we have the potential of winning a second straight championship."