Xavier remain No. 1 in Register Top 10 Poll

HIGHLIGHTS

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Berlin Jr. QB Mitch Williams: Completed 16-of-18 passes for 320 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-6 win over East Catholic on Saturday.

♦Bunnell Sr. QB Bryan Castelot: Completed 22-of-42 passes for 380 yards and three scores in a 44-35 win over Bethel on Friday.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Derby Sr. DB Dillon McMahon: Scored on an 96-yard interception return in a 55-26 win over St. Paul. McMahon also had two rushing touchdowns and scored on a 70-yard punt return.

♦North Haven Jr. DB Carlos Martinez: Made two interceptions in a 28-0 win over Guilford on Friday.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

♦Amity Jr. David Buono: Returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown in a 35-13 loss to Hand on Friday.

♦Bacon Academy Sr. Trey Geisman: Kicked two field goals and two extra points in a 28-20 loss to Plainfield on Friday.

TEAMS OF WEEK

♦Cheshire: Defeated Shelton 30-23 in the head coaching debut for Don Drust.

♦East Haven: Defeated Lyman Hall 28-27 to win its season opener for the first time since 2006.

MORE HIGHLIGHTS

NOTEBOOK: East Haven starts strong

Here is the ballot I submitted for the New Haven Register Top 10 football poll after Week 1. Voters are asked to vote for 15 teams. Points on tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.

The poll should be up later tonight on the Register's website and will appear in Tuesday's print editions.


Since none of the teams from my preseason ballot lost, I will go with the same 15 teams.

1. Xavier
2. Staples
3. Hand
4. Windsor
5. Ansonia
6. Hillhouse
7. Greenwich
8. Newtown
9. Darien
10. West Haven
11. Ledyard
12. Masuk
13. Berlin
14. New Canaan
15. Southington

Here's what happened in Week 1 on Friday:

 

 No. 1 Xavier blanks Notre Dame-West Haven

Fairfield Prep shuts out Wilbur Cross

 

 

North Branford rolls past Valley Regional/Old Lyme

 

Philips, Williams lead West Haven past Hamden in season opener

 

ROUNDUP: Cheshire slips past Shelton

 

Follow the action on our Week 1 Scoreboard

Below are my Week 1 pics for games being played on Thursday and Friday.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Woodland (6-4 in 2011) at Sacred Heart (4-5), 6 p.m.: Woodland has the talent to ascend back into the upper echelon in the Naugatuck Valley League. Register’s pick: Woodland.

No. 7 Hillhouse (7-3) at Foran (3-7), 7 p.m.: Hillhouse, led by junior running back Harold Cooper, is a legitimate Class M contender. Register’s pick: Hillhouse.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Fairfield Prep (5-5) at Wilbur Cross (1-9), 4 p.m.: Fairfield Prep is expected to be one of the most improved teams in the Southern Connecticut Conference. Register’s pick: Fairfield Prep.

Platt Tech (4-6) at Cheney Tech (9-2), 6 p.m.: Platt Tech should be improved, but Cheney Tech appears poised to contend for the Constitution State Conference title. Register’s pick: Cheney Tech.

Hyde (4-6) at Haddam-Killingworth (8-3), 6:30 p.m.: H-K suffered a huge blow when senior quarterback Alex DiMauro-D’Amico suffered a season-ending leg injury. Register’s pick: Hyde.

Lewis Mills (2-8) at Morgan (1-9), 6:30 p.m.: Can Lewis Mills make it two straight season-opening wins over the Huskies? Register’s pick: Morgan.

Valley Regional/Old Lyme (10-2) at North Branford (9-2), 6:30 p.m.: Last year Valley Regional/Old Lyme won 48-47. It could be just as high scoring this season. Register’s pick: North Branford.

Amity (4-6) at No. 3 Hand (13-0), 7 p.m.: Hand has the talent to repeat in Class L. Register’s pick: Hand

No. 4 Ansonia (14-0) at Torrington (7-3), 7 p.m.: Ansonia won last season’s meeting convincingly in a game billed as one of the marquee match ups in the NVL. This year’s contest may truly be worthy of the hype. Register’s pick: Ansonia.

Bethel (7-4) at Bunnell (8-2), 7 p.m.: Bunnell and senior quarterback Bryan Castelot might have the most explosive offense in the South-West Conference. Register’s pick: Bunnell.

Guilford (4-6) at North Haven (9-2), 7 p.m.: North Haven senior running back Jalon White is one of the top backs in the SCC. Register’s pick: North Haven.

Hamden (1-9) at West Haven (7-3), 7 p.m.: Speaking of good running backs in the SCC, the Westies have a special one in junior Ervin Philips. Register’s pick: West Haven.

Law (0-10) at Sheehan (5-5), 7 p.m.: If there’s a sleeper team in the SCC, it could very well be Sheehan. The Titans’ offense could be as potent as any team in the league. Register’s pick: Sheehan.

Lyman Hall (4-6) at East Haven (2-8), 7 p.m.: New Lyman Hall coach Rob Marone will seek his first victory against a school where his father, Mike, is the athletic director. Register’s pick: Lyman Hall.

Shelton (8-2) at Cheshire (5-5), 7 p.m.: Shelton just missed qualifying for the state playoffs last season. With many starters back, expect the Gaels to make another push for the postseason. Register’s pick: Shelton.

Trumbull (2-7) at Branford (4-6), 7 p.m.: Tough to peg what kind of year either team will have. Trumbull, though, has been stronger overall in recent years so they get the edge here. Register’s pick: Trumbull.

Whitney Tech (first year as varsity team) at Seymour (5-5), 7 p.m.: Welcome to the big leagues, Whitney Tech. Register’s pick: Seymour.

The CIAC released schedules for the 2012 season on Thursday.

View the schedules here.

The season opens on Sept. 12 with an NVL interdivision game featuring Naugatuck at Wilby.

Three games are scheduled for Sept. 13:

ECC MEDIUM
Waterford at Ledyard, 6:30 p.m.
NVL COPPER
Woodland at Sacred Heart, 6:00 p.m.
SCC INTER
Hillhouse at Foran, 7:00 p.m. 


Here are some other top games to watch in Week 1:

FRIDAY Sept. 14

NVL INTER
Ansonia at Torrington, 7 p.m.: Ansonia, the defending Class M champion, opens on the road.

The SCC schedule:

 SCC INTER
Fairfield Prep at Wilbur Cross, 4:00 p.m.
Amity at Hand, 7:00 p.m.
Guilford at North Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Hamden at West Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Law at Sheehan, 7:00 p.m.
Lyman Hall at East Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Shelton at Cheshire, 7:00 p.m.
Xavier at Notre Dame-West Haven, 7:00 p.m.

 Non-league
Montville at Watertown, 7:00 p.m.
Trumbull at Branford, 7:00 p.m.
Whitney Tech at Seymour, 7:00 p.m. 

We'll have more on the schedules later today.