Connecticut High School Football Week 3: Unbeatens Collide as Nor'easter Looms
The short version
- Week 3 marks a return to league play after Alliance Week in Connecticut high school football
- Unbeatens Staples and No. 9 Ridgefield meet in an FCIAC showdown at Tiger Hollow
- No. 1 New Canaan, No. 3 St. Joseph, No. 6 Berlin and No. 8 Notre Dame Prep are all in Friday action
- A Nor'easter threatens New England this weekend and some schools have already adjusted plans
- Plainville QB AJ Abarno has 653 passing yards and 10 TDs through two games
Week 3 of the Connecticut high school football season features several matchups between 2-0 teams, with a potential Nor'easter threatening to disrupt Friday night's slate.
Connecticut high school football returns to league play in Week 3 following the conclusion of Alliance Week, with teams settling back into their local schedules. A major storm system bearing down on New England could disrupt the weekend slate, and some schools have already begun adjusting plans in response.
Several matchups between unbeaten teams headline the Friday schedule. In a key FCIAC contest, Staples (2-0) travels to newly ranked No. 9 Ridgefield (2-0) at Tiger Hollow. The NVL rivalry between Naugatuck (2-0) and Woodland (2-0) in Beacon Falls is another clash of 2-0 squads.
Top-ranked New Canaan (2-0) visits McMahon (0-2), while No. 3 St. Joseph (2-0) goes to Danbury (1-0), which has had two weeks to prepare. No. 6 Berlin (2-0), still unbeaten under its returning head coach, hosts South Windsor (0-2), and No. 8 Notre Dame Prep (2-0) faces Brookfield (0-2), with Notre Dame's Ja'cari Harris the primary threat after Brookfield dealt with multiple Pomperaug ballcarriers a week ago.
Other games of interest include West Haven (1-1) at Jonathan Law (2-0), where Law's Witteman comes off a game against Northwest Catholic with 278 yards and six touchdowns of total offense. Newtown (1-1) visits Pomperaug (2-0), which hasn't beaten Newtown in 15 years and has been outscored 424-52 over that span. Norwalk travels to Trumbull, Xavier (2-0) plays at Guilford (2-0), and Fairfield Ludlowe (2-0) meets Darien (1-0 league record listed as 1-1), a team Ludlowe has not beaten in 10 tries since the Fairfield High split in 2004.
Historical notes dot the schedule elsewhere. Sheehan (2-0), a Class S program, is 0-4 all-time against Class LL Fairfield Prep (0-2) and has been outscored by an average of 35-10 in four meetings since 2017. Hamden has won four straight over Hillhouse since 2018, with both teams entering Friday's game at 0-2.
Individual storylines include Plainville quarterback AJ Abarno, who has opened the season with 653 passing yards and 10 touchdowns ahead of a trip to Newington (1-1). Cheney Tech/Windham Tech (1-1) is flagged as a possible team to beat in the CTC early on, hosting Thames River Co-op (1-0). Montville/St. Bernard (2-0) is off to a strong start in its first season as a co-op but faces a step up against Ledyard (1-1).
Friday's full slate includes numerous other games across the state, from Hamden at Hillhouse and East Hartford at Conard — a rematch of last year's 80-74 shootout — to Tolland at Bloomfield in a matchup of 2-0 teams. Schedule changes remain possible depending on the weather, with updates expected as the storm's path becomes clearer.
Games to watch
