Farmington Valley football previews: Week 5

Canton looks to get back on the winning track when they play in their first night game of the year at Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton on Friday at 7 p.m. Simsbury hosts Conard on Friday night. On Saturday, Avon faces another challenging contest when they host undefeated North Branford (4-0) at 1 p.m. Farmington (4-0) looks to win their fifth in a row before they face No. 9 Windsor next Friday night in Farmington. 

Friday, Oct. 11
Conard (1-2, 0-1 CCC Div. I West) at Simsbury (1-3, 0-2), 7 p.m.
Outlook: Conard can score as they showed in a 52-42 loss to East Hartford. The lone win came with a 20-13 decision over Newington. Simsbury needs to reduce turnovers and get its triple option veer offense going to take command of the contest. The Trojans will be at a disadvantage if this becomes a scoring festival. Brad Helmkamp leads the team in tackles (56) and interceptions (2). On the other side of the ball, Helmkamp leads the team in rushing (59-415, 1 TD).
Series: Began 1974: Conard leads 22-14-2 

Canton (2-1) at Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton (2-2), 7 p.m.
Outlook: One of the signature wins a year ago was Canton’s 28-26 decision over the Patriots last year when the Warriors stopped a two-point conversion on the final play to earn the win. This looms as a battle of will. Both teams prefer to run the ball. Coventry averages 244 yards a game rushing led by Vincenzo Marciano (50-504, 6 TDs) and Daniel Gebhart (54-323, 4 TDs). QB Dan Lawrence has completed 24-of-50 passes or 307 yards and 2 TDs. Canton hopes to run the ball better than they did last week in Saturday’s 21-18 loss to Hyde. The Patriots can score points, too. They had 33 points in a 34-33 loss to Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby and had 42 points in a 42-16 rout of Haddam-Killingworth.
Series: Began 2008. Coventry leads 4-1 

Saturday, Oct. 12
North Branford (4-0) at Avon (2-2), 1 p.m.
Outlook: The schedule gets no easier this weekend. Avon hosts undefeated North Branford (4-0), a team that won 12 games and went to the Class S finals a year ago. Since the Thunderbirds were part of the Pequot’s old Sassacus Division, Avon hasn’t faced North Branford since 2006. The Thunderbirds were impressive in a 42-25 win over a quick Gilbert/Northwestern squad two weeks ago. They lost many of the skill players from last year’s team but still have a big offensive line. QB Eddie Miller has already thrown for 612 yards and five TD passes in just four games. …  Avon QB Noah Hahn tied a single-game record with 280 yards passing in last week’s 21-18 loss to Valley Regional/Old Lyme. Hahn also threw 3 TD passes, only the eighth time that has been done in school history. … Avon has lost five straight to the Thunderbirds, last winning in 1973.
Series: Began 1969. North Branford leads, 7-3 

Farmington (4-0) at E.O. Smith (2-2), 1 p.m.
Outlook: The Indians have another game to fine tune its offensive and defensive efforts before they host No. 9 Windsor (4-0) in a key CCC Division II West game next Friday night in Farmington. The Indians are led by QB Jeremy Buck (41-66-2, 491 yards, 7 TDs) and running back Ivan Guadalupe (55-537, 3 TDs). Receivers Kenny Jones (14-164) and Anthony Carpenter (14-167) have been strong for the Indians.
Series: Began 1998. Farmington leads, 5-0 

Coginchaug (1-2) at Lewis Mills (0-3), 2 p.m.
Outlook: This is another challenging assignment for Lewis Mills. Coginchaug’s two losses have come to two of the better teams in the Pequot Conference this year – Morgan (62-35) and Valley Regional/Old Lyme (61-14). Mills has been hit hard by injuries to their most experienced players, including a broken thumb suffered by starting QB Colin Thorn.
Series: Began 2010. Coginchaug leads, 3-0 

New Haven Register top 10 sportswriters poll
First-place votes in parentheses, record through Saturday, Oct. 5 with points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7, and last week’s ranking:
                                   Record    Pts.    LW
1. Ansonia (23)              4-0      858      1
2. New Canaan (6)         4-0      820      2
3. Middletown                 4-0      688      4
4. St. Joseph                  4-0      682      6
5. Southington               3-0       677      5
6. Newtown                    4-0       529      7
7. Shelton                      4-0      486     10
8. Masuk                        4-0      443      9
9. Windsor                     4-0       333    NR
10. Glastonbury             3-1       322    NR
Others receiving votes: 11. Xavier (3-1), 304; 12. NFA (2-1), 244; 13. West Haven (3-1), 174; 14. North Haven (3-1), 173; 15. Hand (3-1), 164; 16. Fairfield Prep (3-1), 90; 17. Darien (3-1), 83; 18. Capital Prep/Classical Magnet/Achievement First (4-0), 71; 19. Farmington (4-0), 62; 20. Ledyard (4-0), 57; 21. Valley Regional/Old Lyme (3-0), 36; 22. Rocky Hill (4-0), 32; 23. Woodland (4-0), 28; 24. Platt (4-0), 19; 25. Derby (4-0), 12; 26. Staples (3-1), 8.
The following voted: Mary Albl, Fairfield Minuteman; Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Bob Barton, New Haven Register; Bill Bloxsom, Hersam-Acorn; Doug Bonjour, Connecticut Post; Sean Patrick Bowley, New Haven Register; Jim Bransfield, Middletown Press; Kyle Brennan, Waterbury Republican-American; Chris Brodeur, Danbury News-Times; George DeMaio, WELI; Gerry deSimas, The Collinsville Press; Mike DiMauro, The Day of New London; Scott Ericson, Stamford Advocate; Tom Evans, Norwalk Hour; Francesco Graziano, CPTV Sports; Ned Griffen, The Day of New London; John Holt, WFSB-3; Mark Jaffee, Waterbury Republican-American; Ken Lipshez, Meriden-Record Journal; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Joe Morelli, New Haven Register; Kevin Nathan, WVIT-30; Pete Paguaga, Torrington Register Citizen; Dave Phillips, Shore Line Newspapers; Mike Pucci, New Haven Register; Kevin Roberts, Bristol Press; Dave Ruden, The Ruden Report; Tom Yantz, Hartford Courant; Jimmy Zanor, Middletown Press 

The Day of New London Top 10 state coaches’ poll
First-place votes in parentheses, record through Saturday, Oct. 5 with points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7, and last week’s ranking:
Team                                   Rec        Pts.         LW
 1. Ansonia (7)                    4-0         370           1
 2. New Canaan (5)             4-0         364           2
 3. St. Joseph-Trumbull (1)  4-0        340            3
 4. Southington                    3-0        259            6
 5. Middletown                     4-0        198            8
 6. Newtown                         4-0        189           T9
 7. Shelton                           4-0        182          NR
 8. Windsor                          4-0        176          T9
 9. Masuk-Monroe               4-0        148           NR
10. Glastonbury                  3-1         131          NR
Also receiving votes: Xavier-Middletown (3-1), 120 points; West Haven (3-1), 106; Norwich Free Academy (2-1), 96; Ledyard (4-0), 92; Fairfield Prep (3-1), 86; Darien (3-1); 61; North Haven (3-1), 58; Farmington (4-0), 56; Staples-Westport (3-1), 53; Hand-Madison (3-1), 49; Woodland-Beacon Falls (4-0), 44; Tie, Capital/Classical/Achievement-Hartford (4-0) and Platt-Meriden (4-0), 38; Rocky Hill (4-0), 26; Valley Regional/Old Lyme (3-0), 18; Barlow-Redding (3-1), 17.
The following coaches voted: Tom Brockett, Ansonia; Jim Buonocore, Ledyard; Craig Bruno, Naugatuck; Scott Daniels, Glastonbury; Joe DellaVecchia, St. Joseph-Trumbull; Steve Filippone, Hand-Madison; Rob Fleeting, Windsor; Steve George, Newtown; Tanner Grove, Montville; Tim King, Valley Regional/Old Lyme; Sean Marinan, Xavier-Middletown; John Murphy, New Milford; Marce Petroccio, Staples-Westport.