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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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Marty Roos has won more hockey games than any other high school coach in Connecticut history, but it doesn't look like Roos will win anymore.

Roos, 76, retired from coaching Wednesday after guiding Notre Dame-Fairfield for the first nine games of the current season. The Lancers were 3-6 when he announced his decision.

"I always felt that when it came time to step down from coaching, I would know that it was time," Roos said. "Even though Notre Dame is mid-season, I believe that now is the right time."

Roos, who was born in Switzerland, was in his 21st season with Notre Dame-Fairfield. The Lancers won the Division I championship in 1999 and 2006, and finished as the Division I runner-up in 2007 and 2008.

Assistant coach Steve Hetherman was named Notre Dame-Fairfield's interim coach.

"His passion, dedication, loyalty, commitment and hard work are second to none,” Notre Dame-Fairfield athletic director Rob Bleggi said. “He is the ultimate professional and class act.”

Bleggi, who also served as an assistant coach under Roos, said Roos told him about his intention to step down on Monday. He said he was also told health was not the reason for Roos' decision.

Roos began coaching at Fairfield Prep in 1972 and moved to Notre Dame-Fairfield in 1991. He won four championships at Fairfield Prep.

Roos retired with a career record of 536-301-19.

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How good was Arkeel Newsome's sophomore season?

So good that you could argue it's the best season ever turned in by a Connecticut high school running back.

Newsome, a sophomore at Ansonia High School, capped the season by running for 364 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries during a 38-0 triumph over Ledyard in Saturday's Class M championship game at Rentschler Field.

That performance gave Newsome the state record for yards rushing in a season (3,763). Former Ansonia running back Alex Thomas set the previous record (3,596) in 2007.

Newsome also completed the season as the leading rusher in the nation. Johnathan Gray of Aledo, Texas is second with 3,447 rushing yards. Gray has one game to play.

“We had high expectations, but it's kind of hard to expect a sophomore to lead the country in rushing,” Ansonia head coach Tom Brockett said. “He's such a dynamic player. Obviously college football is all about speed, and in terms of high school his speed is on another level.

“He's also dangerous in the kick-return game. I think he has a chance to be a big-time [college] running back.”

Newsome also set the state record for touchdowns scored in a season with 62 (58 rushing). He scored on runs of 13, 50 and 95 yards in the victory over Ledyard, which handed the Ansonia program its state-best 17th state championship.

Ansonia became the first team to complete a season with a 14-0 record. The Chargers outscored teams 624-154 this season.

Ledyard completed its season with an 11-2 record.

“We've already heard from BC, Connecticut, Miami and Iowa,” Brockett said. “People are just trying to get in on the process. I think college coaches will come after him as a running back, but he could definitely play on the other side of the ball. He'll have [scholarship] offers by the time he takes the field for his junior year.”

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Until this year, the Glastonbury High School girls' soccer program had always lacked a finishing kick.

Glastonbury had reached the Class LL championship game six times since 1983, and came away second best each time. That all changed when top-seeded Glastonbury defeated 18th-seeded Trumbull 2-1 Friday to win this year's Class LL title.

“I was doing this for all the [Glastonbury] girls who have been here before us,” Glastonbury senior midfielder Liz Otto said. “I'm just so excited we finally got it done.”

Otto gave Glastonbury a 1-0 lead when she headed Kayla Orozco's corner kick into the Trumbull goal with 19:45 to play. The Tomahawks doubled their lead when junior Kristen Dragotta scored with 2:41 left.

Trumbull made things interesting by scoring with 2:23 to play, but the Tomahawks hung on to finish the season with a 17-0-2 record.

In last weekend's other girls soccer championship games No. 2 Avon defeated No. 8 Farmington 2-1 to win the Class L title; No. 1 Northwest Catholic beat No. 2 Granby Memorial 4-0 in the Class M championship game; and No. 5 Immaculate defeated No. 7 Litchfield 3-0 to win the Class S title.

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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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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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The Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference has crowned a different boys lacrosse champion in each of the last four years, but that streak appears to be in jeopardy.

Darien, which is 15th in the latest Under Armour/Inside Lacrosse national power rankings, has established itself as the clear favorite this spring. Darien is seeking its first tournament title since the 2008 season.

Top-seeded Darien opened this year’s tournament by posting a 17-1 victory over Fairfield Ludlowe 17-1 in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Ben Preston collected five goals and three assists in the victory.

The Blue Wave has 10 players who have committed to play Division I college lacrosse on its roster.

“They’re a machine,” Fairfield Ludlowe coach Chris Parisi said. “Jokingly, I told my kids this was their chance to play Division I lacrosse.”

The victory raised Darien’s record to 15-2. Darien has not lost to an in-state opponent since it was upset by Greenwich in last year’s FCIC semifinals.

Darien has been dominant on defense for most of the season. The Blue Wave has held FCIAC opponents to an average of 4.5 goals per game. Two of the teams that scored in double digits against Darien this spring are ranked nationally: Manhasset (N.Y.) and The Haverford School (Pa.).

Darien will face fifth-seeded Wilton in Tuesday’s semifinals at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk. Wilton advance by beating fourth-seeded New Canaan 12-5 in the quarterifnals.

Second-seeded Greenwich will meet third-seeded Ridgefield in Tuesday’s other semifinal. Greenwich, which won last year’s tournament, beat seventh-seeded Staples 14-7 in the quarterfinals. Ridgefield, the 2009 tournament champion, posted a 17-4 quarterfinal-round triumph over Brien McMahon.

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A year when the Danbury High School wrestling team fails to win the Class LL title is nearly as rare as a winter without snow.

Danbury entered this year’s tournament having won the last 14 Class LL state championships, but the program’s stranglehold on the title ended last weekend. Xavier won three matches in the championship round and claimed this year’s LL title by earning 200 points during the state meet at Trumbull High School. Danbury finished second with 181 points.

It was Xavier’s first Class LL championship.

“It was quite enjoyable,” Xavier coach Mike Cunningham told the Danbury News-Times. “When we got the trophy, it kind of hit me. It’s something you’ve been striving for your whole career – to beat Danbury – and then it happened.”

Cunningham’s son, Tyler, won the 145-pound title; Will Chowanek earned the 103-pound title; and Elliot Antler prevailed in the 160-pound weight class.

All but two players on Danbury’s roster are eligible to return next season.

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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.

John Acquavita called it The Scholarship Run.

“It was absolutely …” the Wilbur Cross football coach started before trailing off about James Ward’s 33-yard misdirection-, broken tackle-filled touchdown run against Shelton on Sept. 17. “The film won’t do it justice.”

Perhaps it’s already growing in lore. Ward may not be too far behind.

In the midst of Ward’s 245-all-purpose-yard performance in Cross’s 32-21 season-opening victory was one of the best plays Acquavita’s ever seen.

Taking a handoff from quarterback Dontay Long, Ward stiff-armed a defender behind the line of scrimmage. Over the course of the next few moments, the running back broke three tackles, Acquavita said (one newspaper account put it at five total) and made “six or seven different directional cuts,” with said newspaper totaling three cutbacks. He finished it with a 20-yard sprint to the end zone that left everyone, Acquavita included, wondering if Ward just did what he or she thought he did.

“I don’t even know how I did it, to be honest with you,” Ward said. “If you see it, it looks impossible.”

It’s been that kind of start to the season for Ward.

Through his first two games, he has done everything but wash the Governors’ (2-0) uniforms. He’s scored nine touchdowns: Four on the ground, three through the air and two on kick returns. Among his accomplishments is an 85-yard scoring run and a 71-yard touchdown return. In a 49-27 victory over Law last weekend, he had more receiving yards (150) than rushing (140). If it wasn’t enough against Shelton, he also made an interception. This week, he’ll lift a car over his head.

With apologies to Ansonia running back Montrell Dobbs (594 rushing yards, eight touchdowns), no player in Connecticut may be playing better than Ward, who at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds is out to prove he belongs with a Division I football team next fall.

“Last year, my mindset was different,” Ward said. “I would basically take what I could get and go down. But as far as this year, I have a lot to prove to myself and coaches, so I’m trying to be the best I can and help my team get to the state championship and play on Rentschler Field (the site of this year’s title games).”

Acquavita doesn’t want to say he’s a genius for seeing this coming — “because I’m not,” he said — but following last season, coach and player formed a plan to put Ward in this position.

Among the steps was keeping on track academically. Ward is taking Advanced Placement and honors classes for the second straight year and has already qualified under NCAA standards, Acquavita said.

The next included getting noticed. Ward attended more than a dozen camps and combines this past year, enough to draw interest, he said, from Villanova, Akron and Temple, among many others.

He also joined an offseason passing league with Team Connecticut, which played teams around the state and region, and featured other state stars such as Masuk quarterback Casey Cochran, Shelton wide receiver Mike Georgalas and Southington wide out Tyler Dube.

“The guy who was running it called me and said, ‘Do you have anyone?’” Acquavita said. “I said, ‘I have a kid who’s a running back. I know it’s a passing league but I’m trying to turn him into an inside receiver. He’s a talented kid.’ ‘We’ll take him.’

“I didn’t really know if the kid could catch the ball. Two or three games into it, the coach who was running it called and said, ‘Not only can he catch, he’s one of the best receivers on the team.’ I went, ‘Huh?’”

Ward also needed to add size. He now squats 455 pounds, benches 235 and, Acquavita believes, has the capability to pack on weight beyond the 10 pounds he’s added since January.

Ward’s goals remain clear: He wants to lead Cross to a state title, which would be first in more than two decades, and reach 2,000 all-purpose yards. A few more Scholarship Runs should help. Acquavita called it the second best play he’s ever seen, trailing only a kick-off return in the 2000 state championship one of his players executed while he coached Hyde Leadership.

“It was just mind-boggling,” Acquavita said of Ward’s run. “And to hear other people on our sideline, administrators and things, talking about it Monday in school, it was good because I needed to have it said to me that it actually happened like that. It was just unbelievable.”

GROVE BACK IN SADDLE
While Montville stamped its place as a state title contender with a 21-19 season-opening win over New London, its coach, Tanner Grove, was alone, devoid of any type of coverage of the game outside of a few texts or phone calls with updates.

If the previous four weeks weren’t difficult enough, this was almost unbearable.

“I spent some time by myself,” Grove said, declining to say where or how he spent those two hours. “Maybe when I retire I’ll tell everyone where I was.”

Grove then flashed a smile, a rarity over the last month he spent exiled from coaches he considers his best friends and the players that are the closest things he has to kids of his own.

Charged Aug. 13 with driving under the influence, Grove spent the days following his arrest in limbo while Montville superintendent Pam Aubin decided his fate. Ultimately suspended through the Indians’ first game, or essentially the first four weeks of the season, Grove spent “the most difficult time of (his) life” reflecting, changing and appreciating what he has. He was back at practice Sept. 20 and was victorious in his return to the sidelines, a 48-14 rout of Killingly on Sept. 24 that vaulted the Indians to No. 9 in the New Haven Register state top 10 poll.

Getting to that point took what probably felt like years.

“For so many years, football has made all the decisions in my private life, in my personal life, so I took the time to really reflect on what is I do every day and the decisions I make off the field,” said Grove, who added that several of the charges stemming from his arrest have been dropped, though he was scheduled to attend an alcohol education course.

“That’s really what it was most days. Toward the end of the suspension, I got a little itchy to get back in the mix.”

Grove, who teaches freshman social studies at Montville, did everything to avoid football during his suspension. He’d see players in the hallways and exchange pleasantries. But, every day, he’d teach his classes and head home, leaving no temptation of lingering and perhaps violating his school-imposed suspension.

When the team returned from its game against New London that Saturday morning, Grove was there, awaiting them at Montville High. On his first day back to work, he finished practice by sprinting against one of his captains, Tyler Girard-Floyd, while the senior finished a drill.

Finally, Grove said, he felt “normal.”

“It’s like everything coming together,” said senior Skyler McNair, who was part of Montville teams that lost to New London four times in the previous three years. “We finally beat New London, we get our head coach back. I think our whole season got a jump start with a win and coach coming back at the same time.”

Now Montville (2-0), a Class SS finalist in 2009, can turn its focus back to pursuing the elusive state title. It plays at Fitch-Groton (2-0) on Friday, expected to be its biggest test before facing Ledyard on Nov. 5.

“My expectations haven’t changed since the day I was hired,” said Grove, who's in his fifth season. “What I want to do here is be a state championship or state playoff perennial power. When people talk about being in the state playoffs every year, I want Montville in that sentence.”

REST FOR THE BETTER?
It’s not as if Chad Johnson has never held members of the Norwich Free Academy boys' cross country team out of races for the purpose of resting them.

“This year,” he said, “I’m just taking it a little more to the extreme.”

In an uncommon but not altogether novel move, Johnson chose to hold his top five runners out of the first two weeks of competition. It left the Wildcats thin at the Windham Invitational and cost them a divisional win against rival East Lyme. But, Johnson hopes, it will keep the likes of Dan Cardin, Vos Hunter and NFA’s other pacesetters fresh for when they run for a state title.

The catch: In the process, it may cost the defending Eastern Connecticut Conference champs a chance to defend that title.

“Last year, we petered out at the end, but our primary goal was to win ECCs,” said Johnson, whose team later finished 14th in Class LL. “I knew I had a team that they were going to be lucky even if they made it to the State Open, and they didn’t make it. And now we got everybody back, and it’s not that we don’t wanna win ECCs but it’s not our primary goal.

“Our primary goal is to finish it the top six in the State Open and make that trip to New Englands. We haven’t been here since the time I started coaching, and we want to get back.”

Johnson has created a buzz in some circles with his decision. The Day of New London ran a column discussing his move, and East Lyme head coach Sam Harfenist told the Norwich Bulletin the move indicated a lack of respect for the Vikings in their dual meet.

“Conversations were had,” he said of his team.

While a risk in some sense, Johnson seems confident it will pay off. His full team ran for the first time Saturday at the Ocean State Invitational, where the Wildcats’ finished 10th as a team in the championship race and fourth among Connecticut schools. Among those was Xavier-Middletown, ranked No. 1 in the state and Amity, ranked No. 4.

“It’s no new big thing,” Johnson said. “Danbury is probably going to be the No. 1 team in the state when the coaches poll comes out (it was No. 2), and they lost on (Sept. 14), too, a one-point loss to Fairfield-Warde. Why? Because they didn’t run their top six.”

HIGH-FIVES:
1. Football Game to Watch: Xavier-Middletown at Cheshire, Friday, 7 p.m.
Need to know: Xavier, the consensus No. 1 team in the state, boasts a defense that’s been scary good. In its 37-0 whipping of Foran last weekend, it held the Lions to 13 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, the punishing hits it left on Notre Dame-West Haven the week prior may still be ringing out in southern Connecticut.

“We take a lot of pride in being a very physical football team,” coach Sean Marinan said Wednesday. “We’ve got pretty good speed on the defensive side of the football … but it’s more about being in the right place. If you do that, you can contain the other team.”

Cheshire, No. 5 in all three major state polls, is the defending Class LL champion and is led by athletic quarterback Max Slade, who’s also a dangerous punt returner.

2. Football Game to Watch No. 2: Windsor at Southington, Friday, 7 p.m.
Need to know: Windsor is hoping to cement itself as the team to beat in the CCC, evidenced by its No. 9 ranking in The Day state coaches poll. Southington, under new coach D.J. Hernandez, is 2-0 as well and would love to boast the same claim.

Both teams love to throw the ball, Windsor behind Alton Smith and Southington behind Connor Butkiewicz.

3. Football Game to Watch No. 3: Staples-Wesport at Ridgefield, Friday, 7 p.m.
Need to know: Meanwhile in the FCIAC, Staples gets it first test of the season against Ridgefield, another team that hasn’t been tested in a dominant 2-0 start. Staples has won this regular-season meeting in four of the last five years, twice giving Ridgefield its only loss of the year (2009, ’05).

4. Old news for New Canaan
Need to know: A year after posting 18 shutouts and outscoring its postseason opponents, 19-1, en route to a state title, the New Canaan girls soccer team has outscored CIAC teams, 14-0, in compiling a 4-0 record entering Wednesday’s game against Fairfield-Warde. The Rams are ranked No. 1 in the Hartford Courant state coaches poll.

5. The high road
Need to know: The E.O. Smith boys soccer team played just one of its first five games at home this season, but it hardly seems bothered. The Panthers are 5-0 and went from being unranked to No. 3 in the state coaches poll this past week. The reward: They play their next four at home in Storrs.

Kevin Callahan is entering his 11th year as head football coach at Ridgefield High School this fall. Since 2001, his Tigers have never endured a losing season. They’ve won nine games four times, and six or more every year but one.

And yet, they’ve been to the CIAC playoffs twice, playing for -- and winning -- their only state championship in 2002.

Callahan thought something was wrong with that.

“It’s nice when kids understand how to win,” he said, “but you have to reward winning.”

Others thought so, too.

In a change met with sweeping applause from the Connecticut high school football community, the CIAC is implementing a new playoff system this fall that features fewer divisions, more teams and a venue that many feel finally fits the bill.

In recent years, the football playoffs featured four teams earning postseason berths in six divisions. This season, there are only four divisions (LL, L, M, S) but with eight teams qualifying in each, the number of playoff competitors jumps from 24 to 32. The hope is to reward the larger schools who play in more difficult divisions. Last season, three 9-1 teams (two in Class LL, one in L) didn’t make the playoffs, and the seasons of four 8-2 teams ended on or around Thanksgiving. In 2008, 14 teams with eight or more wins didn’t qualify.

“All other CIAC sports, you win 40 percent of your games, you’re in the playoffs,” said Berlin coach John Capodice, a member of the CIAC football committee. “I felt the football kids were shortchanged.”

It’s difficult to find any detractors of the decision, aside from those who would have welcomed further expansion to include as many as 48 teams. Some, such as St. Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia, believe the system will still keep some deserving schools out only because they’re playing tougher schedules.

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