Darien’s football team ended the season where they started: No.1.
Despite a new coach and the uncertainty of missing the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Wave started the season 9-0, avenged their only loss of the year in the state playoffs and handily defeated Fairfield Prep, 42-7, for their fourth LL Class Championship in six years and finished season # 1 in the final GameTimeCT / New Haven Register Top 10 poll, also for the fourth time in six years .
“It’s a great feeling to be recognized as the No.1 team,†said Darien head coach Mike Forget, who won his first state championship in his first official season as a team member. head coach of the team. “They worked diligently to prepare for the playoffs following the loss to Turkey. They would not be denied.
Darien ends the season 12-1. His only loss was to rival New Canaan, 12-7, at Thanksgiving. But the Blue Wave practically removed the flaw by convincingly avenging the loss, 24-10, in the semi-finals.
Darien’s landslide victory over Fairfield Prep in the Championship game, in which the defense allowed only a first down in the first half, 52 yards total in three quarters and allowed no runs until at a minute, seemed to cement the status of the team.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,†said Darien senior Tighe Cummiskey, who ran for 188 yards in the championship. “Obviously this is the last time we put the pads on, and that was the only way we were going to get out. Coming into this game, we refused to do anything other than win. We went out, we played hard and we won what we got.
Although it was not unanimous, voters overwhelmingly agreed that all but one of the 22 voters gave Darien their first place votes.
Maloney, who won the Class L 35-21 title over Windsor for his first football championship, finished second – the best result in school history. His previous record was a fifth place in 1961.
Fairfield Prep, runner-up in the LL class, finished No. 3, earning a spot. The Jesuit CSC champions finished 11-2, their best ranking since finishing No.2 in 1988. Prep avenged his only loss in the regular season by beating Greenwich
LL Class semi-finalist New Canaan, the only team to beat Darien this year, finished the season 10-2 and placed No. 4. Class L finalist Windsor (11-2) finished No.5 and St. Joseph, who lost to Windsor in the L semi-final, came in 6th after being ranked 3rd at the start of the playoffs and 2nd for most of the year.
Class M champion Killingly – who at 12-0 was one of two undefeated teams this season – finished No.7, his best ranking since finishing No.5 after his undefeated Class M title in 2017.
Shelton (9-3), LL class semifinalist, finished 8th. Class S champion Cromwell / Portland, who scripted the program’s first unbeaten season and was the only team to win 13 games this season, makes his poll debut and finishes ranked No. 9. This is the second time around. that Cromwell finished in the standings, after an appearance at No.7 after his 12-1 Class S championship in 2008.
Greenwich, an LL 7-4 class quarter-finalist, finished at No. 10. The Cardinals’ four losses were playoff teams and finished in the Top 10 – Fairfied Prep, New Canaan, St. Joseph and Shelton.
1. DARIEN (21)
12-1
656
2
LL
Final result: Won the LL Class Championship, def. Fairfield 42-7 preparation
The bottom line:Darien reclaims the top spot as LL Class Champion, having beaten Hamden, New Canaan and Prep in the tournament.
2. MALONEY
12-1
596
5
L
Final result: Won the L class championship, def. Windsor 35-21.
Maloney climbs to second place after winning his first state title in school history, beating Bristol Central, Masuk and Windsor.
3. PREPARATION OF THE FAIRFIELD
11-2
536
4
LL
Final result: Lost to Darien 42-7.
The bottom line: Prep earned a spot, beating Greenwich and Shelton to make an appearance at the LL Class Championship.
4. NEW CANAAN
10-2
498
1
LL
Final result: Lost to Darien 24-10 in the LL class semifinals.
The bottom line: New Canaan lost their No.1 ranking with an LL Class semi-final loss to Darien. The Rams beat Southington in the quarterfinals and were the only team to defeat Darien this season (at Thanksgiving).
5. WINDSOR
11-2
462
ten
L
Final result: Lost to Maloney 35-21 in the L-class championship.
The bottom line: Windsor moved up five spots to finish the season fifth after a huge Class L semifinal victory over St. Joseph, 35-31.
6. ST. JOSEPH
10-2
434
3
L
Final result: Lost to Windsor 35-31 in the L-class semifinals.
The bottom line: St. Joseph was upset by Windsor in the semifinals and finished the season in 6th place. The Hogs beat Hand 21-20 in overtime in the quarterfinals.
7. MURDERER (1)
12-0
400
seven
M
Final result: Won the M class championship, def. Rockville 28-14.
The bottom line: Killingly was one of two undefeated teams this season and swept the M-Class tournament by knocking out Gilbert / NW / Housy, Branford and Rockville.
8. SHELTON
9-3
323
8
LL
Final result: Lost to Fairfield Prep 24-3 in the LL class semifinals.
The bottom line: Shelton beat Hall 42-28 in the quarterfinal, but was again beaten by Prep. Shelton’s three losses this season have been against Trumbull and Prep twice.
9. CROMWELL / PORTLAND
13-0
299
NR
S
Final result: Won the Class S State Championship, def. Bloomfield 21-6.
The bottom line: One of only two undefeated teams in the state, Cromwell / Portland made their Top 10 debut in the final poll after defeating Bloomfield, Ansonia and Notre Dame-Fairfield in the S-Class tournament.
10. GREENWICH
7-4
279
6
LL
Final result: Lost to Fairfield Prep 21-14 in the LL class quarterfinals.
Greenwich lost four places but remained in the Top 10 after a quarter-final loss to Fairfield Prep. Greenwich have suffered losses to Shelton, St. Joseph, New Canaan and Prep this season (all of which are in the Top 10).
