DING DING DING... Round Three Is Here...

Welcome to the biggest day of the high school football season. Can I have a, "No, duh?"

Six games will be played, six state titles will be awarded (in a state with less than 130 teams). You'll be able to see and hear every game, whether it's on TV, the Internet, or your old-fashioned transistor radio.

Start your day here with a cup of coffee at 10 a.m. and listen to Live From the FC. Our guests — Rob Adams of WGCH AM 1490, The One and Only Phil Soto-Ortiz of SportingNewsCT.com, and Mark Dwyer of New Canaan News-Review — will break down the Class LL, L, and MM games for you.

And if you can't make it to West Haven for Round Three of the Masuk-Bunnell series will be broadcast LIVE on CPTV, for those of you with cable television or rabbit ears, starting with pregame at 6:30. SportingNewsCT.com will also pick up the feed from CPTV.

Meanwhile, here's some press clippings to enjoy:

• (New Haven Register) Masuk-Bunnell to face off for a third time
• (New Haven Register) Bulldogs feature one of most versatile attacks in state
• (Connecticut Post) Bruno's creativity attracts opponents attention
• (Connecticut Post) Murphy, Masuk look to end title drought
  

Sites and times for Saturday's CIAC Football Championship Games

Driving directions to all sites can be found at
<http://www.casciac.org/scripts/fb_playoffs07.cgi>

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CLASS LL
#1 Greenwich (10-1) vs. #2 Shelton (10-1)
7:00 p.m. at Jess Dow Field, SCSU, New Haven

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CLASS L
#1 Bunnell (12-0) vs. #3 Masuk (10-2)
7:00 p.m. at Ken Strong Stadium, West Haven

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CLASS MM
#1 Daniel Hand (11-0) vs. #2 New Canaan (9-2)
2:00 p.m. at McDougall Stadium, Trumbull

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CLASS M
#4 Berlin (10-1) vs. #2 Ledyard (10-1)
2:00 p.m. at Arute Field, CCSU, New Britain

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CLASS SS
#1 Seymour (10-1) vs. #2 Tolland (9-2)
7:00 p.m. at McDougall Stadium, Trumbull

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CLASS S
#1 Ansonia (12-0) vs. #3 New London (11-0)
2:00 p.m. at Ken Strong Stadium, West Haven

Masuk-Bunnell to be Played at a Dump

The CIAC's favorite venue, Ken Strong Stadium at West Haven High School, will host Round Three of the Masuk-Bunnell series.

The game will be held at the dump.... I mean Ken Strong Stadium... at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Both teams get a chance to play on the worst AstroTurf on the planet, but the game will be televised LIVE on CPTV.

Hello, Round Three...

Masuk vs. Bunnell, again, this time for the Class L title. Where and when? Who knows. Hopefully the CIAC will be smart enough to play this one at Trumbull, maybe as the day game...

The CIAC will determine sites and times tomorrow, at about 12:30 p.m. on CPTV.com.

Does Anyone Care About Masuk vs. Conard?

Of course. It's just that down here, that big Staples-Bunnell match-up happened. The Panthers should be happy that little attention is being paid to their game in West Hartford tonight.

What's there to know about Conard? Sean Patrick Bowley today considered them to be Pomperaugish, a team that pounds the ball from the I formation. Its quarterback, Nigel Gaynor, has run for about twice as many yards as it has passed for. Its leading rusher, Matt Markese, gained 310 of his team-high 1,205 yards (on 178 carries) in its win two weeks ago against Hall.

And the Chieftains have been burying opponents of late, having given up just 21 points while scoring 114 in November. They also do not take part in Thanksgiving Day football, so they are well-rested coming off that win over its crosstown rival.

From what I'm gathering though, they haven't faced a passing attack this season. So how Conard reacts to the Masuk spread offense should be interesting to say the least.

By the way, can't get to the game? You can listen live at 6:30 at 1290 AM WCCC in Hartford, either on the radio or via live stream.

Bunnell Should Beat Staples

Staples loses 37-0 to Greenwich on Thanksgiving, and suddenly the whole Bunnell-Wreckers rematch seems to be tainted. It's no longer a battle of undefeateds, and even more so, it's not for the Class L championship.

But it's still an intriguing battle. If Staples wins, then it gets its revenge on the Bulldogs, and has a shot at bringing back the Class L title to Westport. But if Bunnell wins, it has a shot at a three-peat over SWC arch-rival Masuk on its way to the crown.

The question is, how can Staples bounce back from an awful showing on national television against Greenwich? It won't be easy for the solid Wreckers defense to forget giving up 523 yards against the new-born Cardinals. Especially when they look at film on Bunnell, a team that runs the spread better than anyone else (other than Greenwich) in Fairfield County.

Chris Sloat has thrown the ball for almost 2,400 this season, and has added 520 on the ground. The two-headed running back combo of Mario Guerrero and Oliver Aurelia has picked up 1,000 on the ground, and runs behind a huge and underrated offensive line.

And Bunnell's defense is stifling, too. The Bulldogs have picked off 22 passes, which should have the emerging Wreckers passing attack concerned. Staples quarterbacks have thrown for 11 touchdowns this season, and the only interception came on a halfback option by Colin O'Shea..

If the Staples offense can handle the ball the way it did against New Canaan, it should be able to hold its own against Bunnell. The Wreckers carried the ball 44 times for 222 yards, led by Hampus Hellermark and his 113 yards on 23 carries.

This game is Bunnell's to lose, but I don't see that happening. The Bulldogs have been playing perfect ball this seasons, and seem to be on a mission to repeat as Class L champions.

My prediction:
Bunnell 26, Staples 21

The Day of New London Top 10 State Coaches Football Poll

First-place votes in parentheses, record, points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis and last week’s ranking:

1. Ansonia (8) 11-0 378 1
2. Greenwich (5) 9-1 372 2
3. Hand-Madison 10-0 314 5
4. Bunnell-Stratford 11-0 308 6
5. New London 10-0 270 7
6. Bristol Eastern 10-0 218 8
7. Shelton 9-1 203 9
8. Staples-Westport 8-1 183 4
9. Southington 9-1 171 3
10. Seymour 9-1 156 NR

Dropped out: Bridgeport Central (10)

Also receiving votes: Bridgeport Central (8-1), 148; Weaver-Hartford (9-1), 103; Conard-West Hartford (9-1), 101; Masuk-Monroe (9-2), 92; New Canaan (8-2), 91; Cromwell (10-0), 86; Ledyard (8-1), 38; Berlin (9-1), 32; Stratford (8-2), 17; Woodland-Beacon Falls (8-3), 14; Tie, Fairfield Prep (8-2) and Northwest Catholic-West Hartford (8-2), 10.

The following coaches voted: Chris Anderson, Woodland-Beacon Falls; Jim Buonocore, Fitch; Dave Cadelina, Bridgeport Central; John DeCaprio, Notre Dame-West Haven; Chuck Drury, Pomperaug-Southbury; Steve Filippone, Hand-Madison; Tanner Grove, Montville; Jude Kelly, St. Paul-Bristol; Tim King, Valley Regional-Deep River; Bill Mella, Southington; John Murphy, Masuk-Monroe; Marce Petroccio, Staples-Westport; Bob Zito, Maloney-Meriden.

Just In: Staples-Bunnell Moved to Trumbull

Tuesday's CIAC Class L playoff game between No. 4 Staples and No. 1 Bunnell has been moved to Trumbull High School, due to poor field conditions at Bunnell, the Connecticut Post reports. The start time is still 6:30 p.m.