After the halfway point of the high school football season, Avon, Farmington and Simsbury remain in contention for league championships. Avon is 5-0 in the Pequot Uncas Division and has looked sharp. Farmington (5-0, 2-0 CCC West Div. II) begins a three-game run within its division when they host Bristol Eastern on Friday. Simsbury (3-2, 1-0 CCC West Div. I) has its first big test in the league when they host a solid Hall-West Hartford squad Friday at the high school.

On Saturday, Avon (5-0) hosts a young Granby squad (2-2) while Canton (3-2) looks for its fourth win in the last five games but it will be challenging against Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton. Winless Lewis Mills had a tough task at hand hosting Hyde-New Haven at Muzzy Field on Saturday afternoon.

Friday, Oct. 19

Bristol Eastern (3-2, 0-2 CCC West Div. II) at Farmington (5-0, 2-0), 7 p.m.: Undefeated Farmington is looking for its 17th win in the last 18 games dating back to 2010 and begins a three-week stretch in the CCC Division II Western Division when they host the Lancers. QB Kenny Jones is doing a great job keeping the Indian offense on the move along with RB Ivan Guadalupe and WR Anthony Carpenter. Jones had a pair of TD runs (75, 6 yards) in a 42-28 win over Fermi last week along with throwing  a TD pass. Eastern running back Nick Crowley had 3 TDs in a 35-6 win over Bulkeley (1-4) but the Lancers have struggled against strong, quick teams such as Windsor (lost 41-0) and Middletown (lost 43-0). And Farmington has players with some outstanding quickness. A year ago, the Indians won the first-ever game in this series, 41-0. Series: Began 2011. Farmington leads, 1-0.
UPDATE: The game was played on Thursday night to avoid the forecast of heavy rain on Friday. Farmington prevailed 42-3.

Hall (3-2, 1-0 CCC West Div. I) at Simsbury (3-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.: Simsbury gets another tough contest. A week ago, the Trojans fell to No. 5 Windsor which built a 19-7 lead after two quarters and was able to grab control of the game. Windsor QB Quinn Fleeting completed 5-of-10 passes for 115 yards and 2 TDs while back Devonte Dillon hurt the Trojans with 140 yards on kickoff returns. Hall averages 29.4 points a game behind QB Zach Dobbins (51-111-5, 9 TDs, 723 yards). RB Jordan Bell (57-463, 3 TDs) and receivers L.T. Nembad (20-352, 4 TDs) and Andrew Manos (8-124, 3 TDs) are the main threats. Simsbury will need to control the game with its triple option veer offense led by QB Steven Steijn and backs Brad Helmkamp, Christian Martinez, Cormack Mulshine and Blair Zentek. This is the first of three straight league contests for Simsbury with New Britain and Southington in the next two weeks. Hall has won four of the last five against Simsbury. Series: Began 1974. Simsbury leads, 19-16

Saturday, Oct. 20

Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton (3-1, 3-1 Pequot Uncas) at Canton (3-2, 3-2), 1 p.m.: Canton has won three of its last four games and hopes to knock off another winning team when they host the Patriots and UConn-bound Tommy Myers, a 6-foot-4 tight end. Myers had a game-winning 16-yard interception return last week in a 21-20 win over SMSA/University. Cam Daley stepped in at QB last week in place of the injured Eric Scott and performed well, giving the Warriors multiple options offensively. The Canton defense will be tested again by the hard-hitting Patriots. Led by the running game of Kyle Mullins, Jesse LaChance and Dan Delos, the Warriors won’t be able to afford many mistakes and remain in the game. Series: Began 2008. Coventry/WT/Bolton leads 4-0

Avon (5-0, 5-0 Pequot Uncas) at Granby (2-2, 2-2), 2 p.m. (Aherns Park): The Falcons got more balance offensively with QB Noah Hahn completing 4-of-6 passes for 54 yards and 2 TDs in last week’s 41-10 win over Gilbert. Back Colin Moore continues to be among the top rushers in the state with 1,089 yards and 14 TDs after five games. Only New Milford’s Joe Pacheco (1230) has rushed for more. Avon’s defense continues to be solid, forcing eight turnovers against Gilbert (4 interceptions, 4 fumbles). Granby is a young team led by QB Curtis Fields, who has completed 51-of-103 passes for 3 TDs and 6 interceptions. Ian Downey (15-186, 1 TD) and Ben Marlor (12-144) are the top receivers while Steve Blake leads on the ground (51-233, 1 TD). The Bears beat perhaps the worst team in the Uncas Division last week in a 36-6 win over Housatonic/Wamogo. They have a much more significant challenge this week. Series: Began 2010. Avon leads, 2-0

Hyde (5-0, 5-0 Pequot Sassacus) at Lewis Mills (0-4, 0-4), 2 p.m. (Muzzy Field): This will be a tough test for a young Mills team. The Howling Wolves are quick and talented, sparked by four tough running backs Marcus Rogers (61-383 yards, 2 TDs), Kevin Jones (50-349, 4 TDs), Ezekiel Nixon (28-331, 4 TDs) and Akeem Berry (47-278, 1 TD). Mills QB Collin Thorn completed 8-of 22 passes for 140 yards and a TD in last week’s loss to H-K as the Spartans look to continuing growing as a team. Series: Began 2010. Hyde leads, 2-0