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Has Mark Ecke's tenure as Cheshire High School's varsity football coach come to an end?

Right now that's a question Ecke can't answer.

Ecke was suspended following an incident during a junior varsity lacrosse game between Cheshire and Glastonbury on May 3. According to published reports, Ecke berated officials after his son Tucker, a freshman who plays for Cheshire, was hit by a Glastonbury player. Ecke apparently felt the hit was illegal and was upset that no penalty was called.

“Whatever happen with my future as a coach at Cheshire High, it doesn't matter,” Ecke told the Connecticut Post. “For me, my family is first priority. This was about my son and I'm very protective of him. That's what this was about.”

Ecke was reportedly escorted from the field by three police officers. According to the incident report, police were summoned to deal with “unruly behavior.”

Ecke, who is employed as a Cheshire police officer, is awaiting a personnel hearing with the Cheshire Board of Education. He was reportedly asked to resign, but refused.

“It was among one of the worst hits I've ever seen in lacrosse,” Ecke told the Post. “I've been involved in lacrosse for 15 years. I've been a player. I've been a coach. I've taken officiating courses. The official didn't call a blatant illegal hit.

“That's what got me. That's what brought this all about. And as a father, watching this happen, I got upset. I probably yelled more than I should have and I regret that it went down the way it did.”

Ecke has guided Cheshire to four state titles in his 17 years as the program's head coach. He coached under current Temple coach Steve Addazio on the Cheshire staff, and was promoted to head coach after the 1994 season.

Cheshire had a 49-game winning streak, which ended in 1996.

Ecke's overall record is 118-64-3.

SOFTBALL STREAK ENDS
When the St. Joseph softball team defeated Westhill 10-6 on May 7 it ended the Vikings' 54-game winning streak in FCIAC games.

Westhill grabbed a two-run lead by scoring three runs in the sixth, but the Cadets responded with a six-run seventh. Taryn Figmic collected the game's big hit, a three-run double with two outs in the seventh and the score tied, 6-6. Figmic had two hits and five RBIs in the victory.

It was Westhill's first regular-season FCIAC loss since a 3-2 setback against Darien in 2009. The program's only other conference loss since then came against Fairfield Ludlowe in the opening round of last year's playoffs.

RALLY KILLER
The Simsbury baseball team was in position to hand Northwest Catholic-West Hartford its first loss of the season. Trailing 7-5, Simsbury loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Northwest Catholic-West Hartford erased the threat by turning a game-ending triple play.

Second baseman Ryan Coursey fielded a soft liner for the first out. The runners were moving on the pitch, so Coursey stepped on second for the second out and then threw to to first for the game's final out.

KINGS OF THE HILL
The first victory of Noah Hahn's varsity pitching career was a memorable one. Hahn, a sophomore, pitched a no-hitter to lead the Avon baseball team to a 12-0 victory over Windsor on April 30.

Hahn, who plays shortstop when he's not pitching, struck out 12 and walked three.

Three other no-hitters have been thrown since that contest. Bristol Central's Matt Blandino didn't allow a hit during a 7-0 triumph over Maloney on May 7, Hamden Hall's T.J. Linta tossed a no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over Greens Farms Academy on May 8 and John Amoroso tossed a no-hitter to help St. Joseph defeat McMahon on May 12.

Blandino struck out 16 and walked one. Linta, a sophomore, struck out six. Amoroso struck out seven and walked two, but wasn't in position to collect the win until Mark Hirschbeck singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh.

LAX POWERS
Henry West and Peter Lindley each scored four goals and Case Matheis collected five assists as the Darien boys lacrosse team defeated Ridgefield 14-11 on May 8 in a matchup between teams that entered the contest undefeated in the FCIAC.

Roger Brown is a freelance writer who has been reporting on high school sports in New England since 1992.

There are perfect games, and then there are games like the one Stonington's Andrea Chiaradio pitched against Norwich Free Academy on April 21.

Chiaradio faced 21 batters in Stonington's 3-0 triumph, and struck out all 21.

"We threw a lot of drop curves and rise balls," Chiaradio told TheDay.com. "I was trying not to think about [a perfect game]. I was just focused on getting the outs."

Chiaradio, a junior, is pitching at the varsity level for the first time this season. She was the starting center fielder for the Bears last season.

The victory improved Chiaradio's record to 3-1 this season. Julie Royer caught the perfect game.

“She seemed like she just had confidence,” Stonington coach Ann-Marie Houle told TheDay.com. “I don't know what the heck was going on in her mind. I'm superstitious, so people were sitting on the same buckets for seven innings.

“She played center field all last year and she never complained. When the coach gives you that moment and you take it … good for her.”

Former Masuk standout Rachele Fico also struck out 21 batters in a game. Fico, a junior on the LSU softball team, set the national record for perfect games during her high school career with 26.

ESPNHS HONORS MONTELLI
ESPNHS selected St. Joseph's Vito Montelli as its National Coach of the Year for the 2011-12 season.

Montelli, 79, has been St. Joseph's head coach for 50 seasons, and is the only coach in the program's history. He led the Cadets to a 25-1 record and the Class LL state championship last season.

Montelli has guided St. Joseph's to 11 state titles and six runner-up finishes. He has an 878-328 career record. No New England high school basketball coach has won more games.

“It's really a humbling honor and I'm thrilled to be selected because [there are] so many deserving coaches out there,” Montelli said. “This is special for our school, our players and our coaching staff.”

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Paula Hagopian's talent on the soccer field is so obvious she was named Connecticut's Gatorade Player of the Year even though her Kingswood Oxford team finished with a record below .500 last season.

Hagopian, a senior forward, collected 13 goals and 10 assists as a senior, when Kingswood Oxford went 5-7-2. She was also the 2011 Connecticut Soccer Coaches' Association Player of the Year, and has twice been selected as an All-American by the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America.

“Paula is so strong that defenders bounce off her,” said Matt Micros, a club coach with Connecticut FC. “She can hold the ball up well and also spin defenders with ease. What she lacks in technique she more than makes up for with power and pace.”

Hagopian led Kingswood Oxford to the 2010 New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class B championship and completed her career with 56 goals and 35 assists. She will continue her soccer career at Yale next fall.

Past winners of the award include Riley Houle (2010–11, Windham), Kate McCarthy, (2009-10, Loomis Chaffee), Jessica Schloth (2008–09, St. Joseph), Alex Uscilla (2007-08, St. Joseph), and Bianca D’Agostino (2006-07, Loomis Chaffee).

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Temple coach Steve Addazio's familiarity with the football landscape in Connecticut has paid off this month, when Temple received verbal commitments from two former Connecticut high school standouts: running back Montrell Dobbs (Ansonia) and 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker Tyler Matakevich (St. Joseph).

Both Dobbs and Matakevich graduated from high school in 2011, and played prep school football at Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y., last season.

Addazio is a Connecticut native who played at Central Connecticut State (1978-81) and coached at Cheshire High School (1988-94).

Dobbs originally committed to Connecticut, but could not gain admission because of an academic issue. He said he thought about playing for Marshall, until Temple entered the picture. He met with Addazio and Temple assistant coach Sean McGowan last Friday. Temple extended a scholarship offer Tuesday.

“I really didn't have to think about it much, especially since Tyler and I have become good friends and he's going there,” Dobbs said. “I wanted to stay closer to home anyway. I was a good fit for me.”

Dobbs rushed for 3,445 yards and scored 45 touchdowns during his senior season at Ansonia. He was Milford Academy's offensive MVP last season.

Dobbs said he may be a partial qualifier and not allowed to play next season.

“I don't know if I'm going to be playing this year,” he said. “I'm gonna find that out. All I know is I'm definitely going to school at Temple.”

An injury forced Matakevich to miss the first five games of his senior season, when he helped St. Joseph win the second of back-to-back Class S championships. St. Joseph beat a Dobbs-led Ansonia team 49-28 to win the 2010 championship. Matakevich scored four touchdowns in that victory.

Matakevich was a two-time all-state selection who caught Temple's eye at a postseason college combine.

“I love everything about Temple,” Matakevich told the Connecticut Post. “I'm so happy to finally get this done after all that hard work. It's finally paid off.”

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One interesting subplot that's developed during the Connecticut high school football season is the competition for the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.

Through eight weeks the prime contenders are a pair of senior quarterbacks: Masuk's Casey Cochran and Cromwell's Anthony Morales.

Cochran, who won the award last year, has directed Masuk to 21 consecutive victories and may play for the best team in the state. He's completed 88 of 111 passes for 2,123 yards this season. Cochran has thrown 27 touchdown passes and has been intercepted three times.

Despite Cochran's gaudy numbers, it's Morales who leads the state in touchdown passes (30) and passing yardage (2,376). Morales, who is playing for his third coach in as many years, has completed 105 of 147 passes and has been intercepted four times. He has thrown for at least four touchdowns in five of Cromwell's eight games.

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We're starting off this week with five games to watch during Week 7 of the Connecticut high school football season:

DARIEN (6-0) at STAPLES (5-0), Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
This may be the most important game during the FCIAC regular season, since the winner will have an excellent chance to reach the FCIAC championship game Nov. 18 at Trumbull.

Darien overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute and remained unbeaten by defeating Wilton 35-34 in double overtime last weekend. The Blue Wave has outscored its opponents 178-94 this season.

Staples has given up more than 16 points once in its five games and has allowed 64 points this season.

HILLOUSE (4-2) at XAVIER (6-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Xavier quarterback Tim Boyle is expected to return from a shoulder injury suffered in Week 1. Boyle, junior, has scholarship offers from Boston College and Syracuse.

The Xavier defense has allowed 34 points (three shutouts) this season. Cheshire is the only team that has scored more than seven points against Xavier.

Hillhouse has won four in a row and nearly knocked off an unbeaten Xavier team last year (9-6). Hillhouse has scored 182 points during its four-game winning streak.

WEST HAVEN (5-1) at HAND (6-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Intriguing matchup between a team from Class LL (West Haven) and a team from Class L (Hand). Both teams have scored 214 points through six games.

West Haven has won two in a row since suffering its only loss against Notre Dame-West Haven (28-15). The Blue Devils have scored at least 28 points in each of their five victories, but will be facing a defense that has surrendered 55 points all season.

MASUK (6-0) at NEW MILFORD (3-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Masuk, the No. 2 team in ESPN Boston's New England Top 10, has been an offensive machine, scoring at least 49 points in each of its six victories, but has done so against opponents that are a combined 6-30. Masuk quarterback Casey Cochran, who has committed to the University of Connecticut, needs three touchdown passes to reach 100 for his career.

Things figure to get a little tougher for Masuk this weekend. New Milford has won three of its last four and has scored 106 points in those three victories.

COGINCHAUG (5-0) at VALLEY REGIONAL/OLD LYME (5-0), Friday, 6:30 p.m.
A matchup between unbeaten Class S teams that have each been playing excellent defense.

Coginchaug has won three games by shutout, and Valley Regional/Old Lyme has outscored four opponents 172-14 since opening the season with a 48-47 triumph over North Branford.

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Things couldn't be going any better for senior quarterback Casey Cochran and his Masuk High School football team.

Masuk is 4-0 and considered by many to be the best team in the state. Cochran, meanwhile, has been busy breaking records in the process.

Two weeks ago Cochran set the state record for career touchdown passes (86) in a 56-0 victory over Stratford. St. Joseph's Joe Della Vecchia set the previous record of 85 career touchdown passes last season.

Cochran extended that record when he completed 13 of 17 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-12 triumph over Barlow last Friday. The four TD passes gave him 15 this season and 90 in his career.

Cochran, who has committed to play at the University of Connecticut, has completed 50 of 63 passes for 1,221 yards this season. He's been intercepted twice.

Earlier this year he became Connecticut's all-time leader in career passing yardage when he completed 15 passes for 327 yards in a 49-14 victory over Oxford. That total gave him 8,027 career passing yards and allowed him to surpass Della Vecchia (7,710). Cochran has passed for 8,337 yards in his career.

“It's a great honor, but it's something I'd rather acknowledge after the season,” Cochran said following the Oxford game. “i want to keep my head clear.”

When the season began Cochran already held the state record for career completions (485).

It's unlikely Masuk will meet any serious resistance anytime soon since its next two opponents – Notre Dame-Fairfield and Immaculate – are 0-8 and have been outscored 112-349 this season.

Cochran is scheduled to graduate in December and enroll in college in January.

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The most controversial rule in high school sports may be the “Score Management policy” Connecticut instituted for high school football in 2006.

Also known as the “50-point rule,” the Score Management policy can result in a one-game suspension for any coach whose team wins a game by more than 50 points. Bridgeport Central's Dave Cadelina became the first coach penalized when he was suspended after his team beat Bassick 56-0 in the first week of the 2006 season. Central topped 50 points when a reserve running back scored in the second half.

The suspension was later lifted, but Cadelina – and the rule – made plenty of headlines.

The rule received even more publicity last season, when Cadelina's team had a 49-0 lead at halftime and punted on first down throughout the second half.

Connecticut had gone three seasons without a team violating the rule, but that ended Saturday, when Northwest Catholic defeated Weaver 52-0. The rule was modified before the 2011 season, however, and that modification allowed Northwest Catholic coach Mike Tyler to appeal the penalty and avoid a suspension.

Now when a team wins by more than 50 points the game is reviewed to determine if the winning coach used proper sportsmanship.

Here is the press released issued by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Association regarding the Northwest Catholic/Weaver game:

“After a review of reports received from both schools involved and the game officials in regards to Northwest Catholic High School's 52-0 varsity football victory over Weaver High School on Saturday, it has been determined that the proper sportsmanship protocols were followed, and that there was no violation of the CIAC Score Management policy by the winning school's head coach.”

Tyler will be able to coach this weekend's game against Bloomfield.

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Xavier High School proved to be the wrecking ball in Connecticut high school football last season, when the Falcons went 13-0 en route to the Class LL championship.

Xavier may have an even better team this season.

The Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance picked the Falcons as the state's No. 1 team in its preseason poll. Xavier edged Masuk by one point.

“You have to worry about complacency,” Xavier coach Sean Marinan said. “We haven't played a game yet. Pretty much everything they say at this point in the season is based on last year.”

It's based on returning talent as well, and the Falcons have plenty of it. On offense Xavier has two Division I quarterbacks in junior Tim Boyle and senior Pat D'Amato. Boyle has scholarship offers from Boston College and Syracuse, and D'Amato recently committed to Stony Brook.

The QBs split time last season. D'Amato will play wide receiver when Boyle is the team's quarterback.

“Tim's got a very strong arm and he's 6-4,” Marinan said. “He chose not to do too much this summer. If he had I'm sure he'd have more offers. He's what everybody's looking for in a quarterback.

“Pat's a faster kid, and a little more elusive. Basically we have two No. 1 quarterbacks.”

The offense also returns senior running back Mike Mastroianni, who rushed for 1,889 yards last season. In addition, wide receiver Ryan Murphy is drawing interest from several FBS schools.

The defense must replace linebacker Graham Stewart, who was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year and is now playing for the University of Florida, but returns seven starters. Linebacker Jovan Santos is among the returnees. Santos has committed to the University of Massachusetts.

The Falcons also have three linemen – Ryan Jacobucci, Austin Wezenski and Sean Marinan Jr. (coach's son) – who are being recruited by FBS programs.

“I think our defense will be strong again,” Marinan said. “I don't know if it will be as strong as it was the year before. Replacing Graham Stewart is virtually impossible. We do have some holes to fill and he's obviously one of them.”

Xavier, which beat Trumbull to win last year's LL title, will open its season Friday against Notre Dame-West Haven.

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At halftime of Saturday’s Governor’s Cup All-Star football game there were those who probably thought Connecticut’s eight-game winning streak against Rhode Island was in jeopardy. If so, those thoughts disappeared early in the second half.

Connecticut, which led by four points at halftime, scored three touchdowns in the first 7:18 of the third quarter and cruised to a 37-6 triumph over Rhode Island at Southington High School.

It was Connecticut’s 10th victory in the 13-year history of the event.

Things began to turn sour for Rhode Island when Montrell Dobbs (Ansonia) scored on a 77-yard run to help Connecticut increase its lead to 17-6.

Dobbs, who was held to two yards on five carries in the first half, finished the game with 96 yards on 10 carries. He was selected as Connecticut’s offensive MVP.

“At halftime we talked about taking care of business in our house, and that’s what we did in the second half,” Dobbs said.

Rhode Island fumbled the ball away on the next play from scrimmage. Two plays later Connecticut’s Max Delorenzo scored on a 15-yard run to help made it a 24-6 contest.

Jack DeBiase intercepted a pass on Rhode Island’s next possession, and Connecticut cashed in when Joe DellaVecchia tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Brian Kelly.

Kelly also caught a 13-yard TD pass from Kyle Nolan. He had three receptions for 69 yards in the victory.

“We just had to fix some problems,” Kelly said. “Our coach [Masuk’s John Murphy] told us that if we fix our mistakes we’d win.”

Connecticut’s only TD in the first half came on a 59-yard TD catch by Temple-bound wide receiver Nainy Bah.

Matt Cassidy’s fourth point-after kick followed Kelly’s second TD reception and capped the scoring. Cassidy also made a 33-yard field goal in the first half.

The Connecticut defense set a Governor’s Cup record by holding Rhode Island to six points. It was also the first time a team didn’t score a touchdown in the contest. Rhode Island scored on two Chad Bacon field goals.

Defensive lineman Wille Maxen (Pomperaug) was named Connecticut’s defensive MVP. Maxen, who will play at Central Connecticut State next season, made three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Murphy said although his team had a slim lead at halftime, he had plenty of confidence entering the third quarter.

“I watched this defense for two weeks so I knew how good we were,” he said. “I knew they weren’t going to score a lot of points on that defense.”

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Losses don’t come much tougher than the one the Southington High School baseball team suffered against Newington in the Class LL championship game.

Southington thought it had won the title when Matt Spruill scored on Sal Romano’s double in the eighth inning Monday, but the teams played on after home plate umpire Dave Bindas ruled that Spruill never touched home plate and Spruill was called out on an appeal play.

Newington went on to claim the championship by posting a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.

“I heard the crowd and it was their side cheering,” Southington coach Charlie Lembo told WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford. “Then I found out the umpire ruled that he missed home plate. I didn’t see it, but Dave’s a good umpire so I’ll have to go with that call.”

Pat Meucci reached on a single in the 10th and scored the game-winning run from second base on an infield throwing error.

That gave 17th-seeded Newington (17-8) the program’s first state championship.

Newington’s Cole Bryant pitched all 10 innings to earn the win. He threw 176 pitches, struck out 16 and held Southington to six hits.

Romano also pitched a complete game (146 pitches). All three Newington runs were unearned.

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Although the school has not extended a verbal scholarship offer, it appears that the University of Connecticut may be a likely landing spot for Masuk quarterback Casey Cochran.

Cochran, a 6-foot, 210-pound junior, took his second unofficial visit to Connecticut on Saturday, when he attended spring practice. He also attended a junior day in February.

"I wanted to get a look at the new offense," Cochran said. "It was up-tempo, and a lot of pro-style, which fits me.

"I don't think I'll get an offer until they see me in person at one of their summer camps. It would be an honor to play for my home state."

Cochran, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year last season, has an offer from Boston College and said he will attend BC practice this weekend. He made an unofficial visit to Vanderbilt in March, and is scheduled to visit Rutgers, Harvard, Virginia, Duke, Penn State and Notre Dame this month.

Cochran is on pace to graduate in January. He led Masuk to a 13-0 record and the Class L state championship last season, when he completed 200 of 295 pass attempts for 3,345 yards and 40 touchdowns. He led New London to the Class SS championship during his freshman season, and then transferred to Masuk.

Cochran said Vanderbilt, Connecticut, Rutgers and Boston College are the schools he hears from most frequently.

"Hopefully I'll get more offers in the spring,” Cochran said. “I'm in no rush, but I'd like to have it done before my senior season to get the distractions out of the way. If it takes longer, it takes longer."

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Masuk High School coach Dave Strong has won more games than any other girls high school coach in Connecticut, but he may not win any more.

Strong, 66, announced his resignation Monday after winning 704 games in 35 seasons as a head coach. Strong told the New Haven Register that the move was made for health reasons.

“I’m not in danger of dying, but there are some health things I’ve ignored over the years through coaching,” Strong said.

Strong guided Masuk to the state tournament every season since the tournament was formed in 1974. The Panthers reached the state final seven times and won three state titles during that span. Masuk also won 19 league championships.

His daughter, Julia, was part of his first state championship team in 1990.

Strong was inducted into the National High School Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame in 2009.

Strong was also an assistant coach with the Masuk boys basketball program for seven seasons. In addition, he served as the school’s athletic director for 10 years before he retired in 2005.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of coaching at Masuk,” Strong told the Courant. “I’m certainly going to miss it.”

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St. Joseph may have resuscitated its season.

Written off and out of the state’s top 10 following two losses and the temporary loss of its best player, St. Joseph returned its name to the statewide mix Saturday with a thrilling 28-27 victory over New Canaan.

Drama defined this one. After New Canaan — ranked No. 2 in the state and seventh in the latest ESPNBoston.com New England poll — tied the game at 21-all in the fourth quarter, Pat Mulligan returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to put St. Joseph back up a score. But New Canaan clawed back again with a 10-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left to make it 28-27. But they too were dashed when St. Joseph’s Jerry Kramer broke up the potential game-winning two-point conversion pass attempt.

When the dust settled, St. Joseph pumped new life into its playoff hopes following early-season losses to Wilton and Darien.

Tyler Matakevich, who missed the first five games with a broken bone in his right foot, rushed seven times for 26 yards and a touchdown. But the emotional lift of his return and defensive play couldn’t be measured.

New Canaan (5-1) had outscored its previous opponents, 237-21. Those five foes also had combined for just three wins before the weekend.

In other games:

• Top-ranked Xavier, the No. 3 team in the ESPNBoston.com New England poll, held off Shelton, 14-7, Friday thanks to Jovan Santos’ strip of Shelton quarterback Jonathan Groth with 30 seconds to play inside Xavier’s 10-yard line. It was just another drag-it-out victory for Xavier (6-0) in the Southern Connecticut Conference, which is proving itself again as the best league in the state.
• Another day, another blowout: Masuk-Monroe, ranked sixth by ESPNBoston.com in New England, routed Weston, 56-7, on Friday. Masuk (6-0) has now outscored its six opponents, 288-21, though Friday marked its first 50-point game of the year after five 40-point efforts. If Xavier wasn’t so good at winning the close ones, it’d be difficult to find a team more deserving of the state’s top ranking than Masuk.
• No. 7 West Haven (6-0) continued defending Class LL champion Cheshire’s hard-luck fall from grace this season with a 34-29 victory on Friday. Cheshire has now lost four straight, but every loss came to a team that is or has been ranked in the New Haven Register’s state top 10 this season. And they’ve come by a combined 13 points. Ouch.
• If it wasn’t for St. Joseph’s thriller, Stamford’s 27-19 victory over No. 6 Trumbull would have been the state’s most notable upset. Bryant Boderick completed 14-of-26 passes for 280 yards, rushed for a touchdown and threw the game-sealing score 54 yards to Chandler Foster. After starting the season with losses to Ridgefield and Greenwich, Stamford (4-2) has now won four straight. Bridgeport Central (4-2) — which fell to Trumbull, 34-12, on Oct. 8 — visits Friday.
• An unusual scheduling choice didn’t keep Darien from staying perfect. Chris Allam rushed for a touchdown and threw a 50-yard score to Clay Barker to help rally Darien (6-0) past visiting Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.), 21-20, on Saturday. Graham Maybell’s six-yard run was the game-winner. Red Lion quarterback David Sills, an eighth-grader, has already verbally committed to USC.
• Wethersfield joined the ranks of 6-0 teams with a 55-21 victory over Fermi. Steve Vasques threw for 90 yards and rushed for another 100.
• Josh Clements threw for three touchdowns and New London — forgotten by some following a Week 1 loss to Montville — won its fifth straight, a 47-21 rout of previously unbeaten Fitch at the Coast Guard Academy on Saturday. New London hasn’t played a true home game yet his year as its field is being replaced, and yet, has beaten Waterford (in Waterford) in a game that was counted as a Whalers home game and now Fitch, which knocked Montville from the state rankings.
• And finally, East Haven ended the fourth-longest losing streak in state history on Friday with a 42-14 win over Platt Tech. The Easties hadn’t won since Thanksgiving Day 2006, a span of 36 games and three winless seasons.

CIAC PLAYOFF POINTS STANDINGS:
(Top eight teams in each division make playoffs)
Class LL
1. Norwich Free Academy (6-0) 128.33
2. Xavier (6-0) 126.67
3. Hall (6-0) 126.67
4. Staples (6-0) 121.67
5. West Haven (6-0) 110.00
6. Glastonbury (5-1) 110.00
7. Trumbull (5-1) 106.67
8. Southington (5-1) 106.67.

Class L
1. Masuk (6-0) 131.67
2. Darien (6-0) 126.67
3. Wethersfield (6-0) 121.67
4. Naugatuck (6-0) 120.00
5. Bristol Eastern (6-0) 120.00
6. Hand-Madison (110.00)
7. Windsor (5-1) 98.33
8. Fitch (4-1) 98.00.

Class M
1. Berlin (6-0) 116.67
2. New London (5-1) 113.33
3. Plainville (5-1) 108.33
4. Enfield (5-1) 101.67
5. Cheney Tech (5-1) 101.67
6. Platt (5-1) 98.33
7. Lyman Hall (5-1) 96.67
8. Coventry/Windham Tech (4-1) 94.00.

Class S
1. Ansonia (6-0) 136.67
2. Valley Regional/Old Lyme (6-0) 128.33
3. Hyde Leadership (6-0) 126.67
4. Montville (5-1) 116.67
5. Coginchaug (5-0) 116.00
6. Woodland (4-2) 95.00
7. Sacred Heart (4-2) 91.67
8. St. Joseph (4-2) 88.33.

Connecticut’s best high school football teams cruised in Week 4, with the top four teams in the New Haven Register top 10 poll outscoring their opponents, 162-27, over the weekend.

Some of their counterparts could have used the extra points.

Five of the state’s ranked teams fell over the weekend, likely making for a revamped look of the polls when they are released Monday.

Notre Dame-West Haven (28-27 to West Haven), Cheshire (14-13 to Hand-Madison) and Windsor (20-17) — three teams ranked in at least one statewide poll since the start of the season — are in danger of falling out, with Notre Dame and Cheshire each suffering their second loss.

The Green Knights — ranked No. 6 in the state and seventh in the ESPNBoston.com New England top 10 — have to endure losing city bragging rights to the Westies (4-0). Notre Dame hosts Hand this weekend, just another possible knockout blow in the uber-competitive Southern Connecticut Conference.

Cheshire, meanwhile, has a matchup with Wilbur Cross — ranked No. 10 but likely not after a 21-12 loss to Ridgefield — awaiting it on Friday.

Windsor threw three interceptions in a 20-17 CCC loss to Glastonbury, and No. 5 Bridgeport Central fell, 34-12, to Trumbull.

In other games:

• Pat D’Amato got the passing games going for top-ranked Xavier — ranked No. 3 in the ESPNBoston.com New England poll — tossing two touchdown passes to Ryan Murphy in a 41-7 victory over Amity on Friday.
• Masuk-Monroe’s offense continued rolling in a 49-7 rout of Brookfield on Friday, with Casey Cochran throwing four touchdown passes. But its defense is starting to get noticed, too. The Panthers (4-0 and No. 7 in the ESPNBoston.com New England rankings) have outscored opponents, 187-14, and haven’t allowed more than a single score in any game.
  “In all honesty, I’ve seen a lot of good defenses and I’ve had a lot of good defenses,” Brookfield coach Rich Angarano told the Connecticut Post. “That Masuk defense is one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen around here.”
• Joe Della Vecchia ignited the St. Joseph offense and the once-ranked team finally got another win in a 55-50 shootout victory over Trinity Catholic. Della Vecchia had a hand in six touchdowns, throwing four and running two in, to stop a two-game slide.
• And he wasn’t the only one. Ansonia’s (4-0) Arkeel Newsome scored six times on his own and rushed for 268 yards in a 46-6 blowout of Wilby.