The high school football playoff brackets have been released and the quarterfinals for six divisions ranging from Class LL to S will take place Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at the site of the higher seed.
Two Hartford-area schools – Windsor (Class MM) and New Britain (Class LL) – are No. 1 seeds. The Weaver/Hartford Public/Classical co-op, in its first season as a co-operative program, is the No. 4 seed in Class L.
The semifinals are scheduled to take place Dec. 7 and the finals will be Dec. 12-13.
Here’s a quick look at the quarterfinal matchups in each class:
Class LL
New Britain (8-1) will host NFA (6-4), which won five of its last six games (its only loss came to Killingly, the top seed in Class SS and the defending champion). New Britain’s only loss (24-21) came in Week 3 to Class LL second seed, Fairfield Prep, so the two could meet again. The Hurricanes, led by junior quarterback Billy Seymour (1,121 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 773 rushing yards and 11 TDs) and senior Jayden Allen (1,423 rushing yards, 25 TDs) lost in the first round to Greenwich last season.
Southington beat Cheshire, ranked eighth in last week’s Courant state coaches poll, on Thanksgiving Day, 31-0, to give the fourth-seeded Knights (7-3) momentum heading into their playoff game against No. 5 Glastonbury (7-3). Glastonbury defeated Southington 41-35 in overtime in Week 2.
Class L
Weaver/Hartford Public/Classical will host a playoff game at Weaver Tuesday night against No. 5 seed Abbott Tech/Immaculate. Last year, Weaver won two games and Hartford Public three and the combo of the two plus Classical (where freshman QB Kadain Claflin-Coy is from) has an 8-2 record this season. Claflin-Coy has thrown for 2,010 yards and 24 touchdowns and senior WR Jaiden Booth has 770 receiving yards and 11 TDs.
No. 3 Cheshire, which will host No. 6 Fairfield Ludlowe, had won five straight (including a 28-27 win over Hand, the No. 2 seed in Class SS) before losing to Southington on Thanksgiving.
Class MM
Windsor (9-1) hosts eighth-seeded Valley Regional (7-3) Tuesday. Last year, Windsor was also the top seed and won by forfeit over Northwest United in the quarterfinal then beat Newington 50-0 in the semifinal but lost a heartbreaker in the championship game to Masuk, 24-21, on a last-second field goal.
Fourth-seeded Newington (8-2), which won two games two years ago, made it to the playoffs last year and beat Wethersfield in the first round, a few days after losing to the Eagles on Thanksgiving. The Nor’easters lost a good chunk of seniors from that team, including quarterback Enzo Corvino, but they are back in the playoffs and will host fifth-seeded Middletown, which beat Newington 20-12 on Oct. 3.
Class M
No. 2 Berlin finished the regular season 10-0 and will host No. 7 Platt Tech in a quarterfinal game. Berlin beat Rockville in the first round last year but lost to eventual Class M runner-up Brookfield in the semifinal.
Third-seeded Rockville (9-1) will host No. 6 Holy Cross. The Rams’ only loss was to the CREC Colts, 22-21 on Nov. 1 but two weeks later, they knocked Cromwell/Portland out of the unbeaten ranks, 33-29.
Class SS
Ellington (7-2) drew the eighth seed and will travel to top-seeded Killingly, last year’s Class SS champion. Killingly (10-0) has scored 60-plus points in its last four games and beat Fitch, 57-16 in the game before that. Ellington lost its last two games to the Hartford co-op and Rockville on Thanksgiving Eve.
Hand, which lost to eventual champion St. Joseph 17-10 last year in the Class M semifinal and won the Class M championship two years ago, is the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 Waterford. Hand is 9-1, with its only loss to Cheshire, while Waterford won four of its first five games, then lost three of its final five in the regular season.
Class S
Bloomfield, last year’s Class S runner-up and the champion two years ago, is the No. 8 seed and will open at No. 1 Woodland (10-0), a Class S semifinalist last year who lost to Ansonia. Bloomfield opened its season with two losses then went on a seven-game win streak before losing to Windsor, the top seed in Class MM.
No. 6 Northwest Catholic (9-1) will travel to Pierson Park to play third-seeded Cromwell/Portland (9-1) in a quarterfinal game. Northwest Catholic’s only loss came to Bloomfield, 16-14, on Oct. 24.
Fifth-seeded Sheehan (8-2) won its last two games, including a Thanksgiving Day shutout of Lyman Hall, after losing 14-7 to Cheshire. The Titans, last year’s Class SS runner-up, will travel to No. 4 North Branford (9-1).
Quarterfinals
All games Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the higher seed
Class LL
No. 8 NFA at No. 1 New Britain; No. 5 Glastonbury at No. 4 Southington; No. 7 Danbury at No. 2 Fairfield Prep; No. 6 Staples at No. 3 Greenwich.
Class L
No. 8 Darien at No. 1 New Canaan; No. 5 ATI at No. 4 Weaver/Hartford Public/Classical at Weaver High; No. 7 Ridgefield at No. 2 Newtown; No. 6 Fairfield Ludlowe at No. 3 Cheshire
Class MM
No. 8 Valley Panthers at No. 1 Windsor; No. 5 Middletown at No. 4 Newington; No. 7 Torrington at No. 2 Wilton; No. 6 Fitch at No. 3 Bunnell.
Class M
No. 8 WCA at No. 1 St. Joseph; No. 5 Brookfield at No. 4 Guilford; No. 7 Platt Tech at No. 2 Berlin; No. 6 Holy Cross at No. 3 Rockville.
Class SS
No. 8 Ellington at No. 1 Killingly; No. 5 Ledyard at No. 4 Law; No. 7 Waterford at No. 2 Hand; No. 6 New Fairfield at No. 3 Nonnewaug Chiefs.
Class S
No. 8 Bloomfield at No. 1 Woodland; No. 5 Sheehan at No. 4 North Branford; No. 7 Ansonia at No. 2 Seymour; No. 6 Northwest Catholic at No. 3 Cromwell, at Pierson Park, Cromwell.