10 Connecticut high school football teams to watch in the 2015 playoffs

Video: Tajik Bagley's highlights vs. Seymour High School

Connecticut both starts and ends its high school season football later than just about any state in the union, but this year's playoffs should be worth the wait. There's more intrigue than in some past seasons as there hasn't been one team that's far ahead of the rest of the state.

The CIAC playoffs start with the quarterfinal round tonight as 32 teams attempt to win one of the four class championships. Here are 10 teams that may have the best chance at bringing a title home with them.

2015 Connecticut Football Playoff Brackets and Recent Tournament History

Ansonia, 10-0
It's December, thus the Chargers are still playing. They're the top seed in Class S and chasing a state-record 20th CIAC title. This Ansonia team is different than some of the past ones because it doesn't have behemoths up front that scare opponents before the kickoff. Where this Chargers team is similar to past ones is that it has two all-state talents in Tajik Bagley (RB-DB) and Tyler Bailey (WR-DB).



They also have one of the state's most cohesive and veteran coaching staffs and have made the playoffs in all 10 seasons under head coach Tom Brockett.

Darien, 9-0
A state championship coach had this to say after playing the Blue Wave this season, "They're impossible to run against."

Darien is impossible to pass and score against, too. It gave high-scoring New Canaan its first defeat, 28-21, at the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship on Thanksgiving Day. The Rams averaged 49 points and 439 yards through eight games, but only managed 271 yards against the Blue Wave. Opponents must assign multiple blockers to defensive end Mark Evanchick, as he has a state-record 63.5 career sacks, passing former Bloomfield star Dwight Freeney for the lead.

Darien presents as many challenges on offense, too, as second-year starter Timothy Graham has completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 2,526 yards and 30 touchdowns. The Blue Wave should be the top challenger to two-time Class LL champion Southington.

New Canaan, 8-1
The two-time Class L champions just lost their first game and are playing in the toughest division of them all. They're also opening on the road against unbeaten Windsor, last year's Class L-Small champion, in the marquee game of the night.

The Rams have consistently operated a passing game better than any team in the state the last several years, and Michael Collins could be their best in a long line of top quarterbacks. He's completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,600 yards and 47 touchdowns, including a state-record nine in one game. Kyle Smith, a 6-foot-3, 222-pound receiver, has been Collins' favorite target (647 yards, 11 TDs). New Canaan also has one of the state's premier head coaches in Lou Marinelli, who's won 305 games and a CIAC-record 10 state titles.



New Fairfield, 9-1
The Rebels started the season with a 27-13 loss to defending Class M-Large champion Brookfield. They've been on a tear ever since and have blown out eight opponents. They also beat three-time defending South-West Conference champion Newtown, 13-7, snapping the latter's 40-game league winning streak that dated back to November of 2011.

New Fairfield is a veteran team that had Zach Tripodi carry the offense (253 carries, 1,763 yards, 24 TDs). Mike Zanca has thrown for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 79 attempts. Middle linebacker Brian Mcgonnigle has a team-high 81 tackles. New Fairfield is seeded second in Class M but drew the hardest quarterfinal opponent in two-time division champion St. Joseph. The winner is the odds-on favorite to win it all.

North Haven, 10-0
The Indians are as no-frills as it gets — they line up in their single-wing set, they batter opponents with one run after another, and, as one coach put it, "test your manhood." North Haven just completed its first unbeaten regular season by overwhelming Amity of Woodbridge on Thanksgiving, 62-30, to clinch the top seed in Class L. It scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and needed just 24 plays to do it.

The Indians have averaged a state-best 50.8 points with quarterback Mike Montano being the lead hammer in the team's rushing attack (96 carries, 1,332 yards, 23 touchdowns). They've also opted to pass a little more this season with Jeremy Imperati catching a team-high seven touchdowns. Linebackers David Mikos and Conner Suraci have been the top tacklers.

St. Joseph (Trumbull), 7-2
No defending state champion was ravaged harder by graduation than the Cadets. They began the season with new starters everywhere and don't have the size or sensational athletes they've had in the past. Not that it's mattered — St. Joseph has made it back to states and is arguably the favorite to win Class M.

Cory Babineau quarterbacks an offense that keeps defenses off guard with the pass and sneaky draw plays. Cameron Ryan is the program's best linebacker since Tyler Matakevich graduated and headed to Temple. And the coaching staff has gotten everything it can out of the players. St. Joseph has played better competition than anyone in Class M. It slugged it out with Class LL quarterfinalist Staples in a 28-20 loss, and no one in the division is scarier than Darien (which battered the Cadets, 49-7).



Southington, 10-0
The two-time Class LL champions have dominated nearly everyone during their 30-game winning streak. The last of the Blue Knights' wins had football fans scratching their heads, though. They wasted a late fourth quarter lead against four-win Cheshire during their annual Thanksgiving Day game and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 79 seconds left in a 36-29 win.

Southington's offense ranks among the state's best and it operates at a ludicrous speed (its game-winning drive against Cheshire went 79 yards on three plays in 29 seconds). Second-year quarterback Jasen Rose (2,362 yards, 61.7 percent completion percentage, 38 TDs) will play at UConn next season. Alessio Diana (1,020 yards, 10 TDs) and Vance Upham (881 yards, 7 TDs) are an electric duo at running back, and Austin Morin has 54 catches for 1,188 yards and 17 TDs.

Trinity Catholic (Stamford), 8-1
What a difference two years make, as the Crusaders were 0-11 in 2011 and among the favorites in Class S this season. They've won eight straight since a wild 42-38 loss to Greenwich on opening day (Sept. 11), including wins over Trumbull (32-20) and Ridgefield (26-21), both of which just missed the LL playoffs. Anthony Lombardi has thrown for 15 touchdowns, and the offense got a boost from transfers Jonmichael Bivona (1,218 yards rushing, 13 TDs) and Izaiah Sanders (nine TD catches).

Here's hoping for an Ansonia-Trinity Catholic Class S semifinal.

Wethersfield, 9-1
It's the third Class L team on this list and every bit as deserving as the other two. Wethersfield took Windsor to the limit in a 21-14 loss with the latter stopping them four straight times at the goal line in the final minute. Senior Richard Williams is one of the team's catalysts, a running back-middle linebacker who runs like a linebacker.

He always falls forward after smashing for an average of 9.7 yards a carry with eight touchdowns, and he has 35 catches for 492 yards and five TDs. Devon Smith is a dangerous athlete at quarterback. He's completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,911 yards and 24 touchdowns and run for 648 yards and six TDs.



His top target has been Kyle Klavins (41 catches, 774 yards 14 TDs). Williams leads a bruising defense with 151 tackles (that's 67 more than anyone on the team). The fifth-seeded Eagles open the playoffs at Torrington. The Red Raiders better be ready to be hit and hit a lot.

Windsor, 10-0
The Warriors finished the regular season by routing Middletown with ease last Wednesday, 48-7. Note that Middletown is the eighth seed in Class L. Windsor has been terrifying at times this season. It also proved against Wethersfield that it can win the tough ones, as it rallied late to take the lead and kept making defensive stops to preserve it.

Running back Bennie Fulse (5-10, 196) is a freakish combination of speed and power that can carry the offense when needed. Receiver-defensive back Tyler Coyle can high-point the football with the best of them. Linebacker Malik Ellis and cornerback Gabriel Elliott star on a defense that's allowed a state-low 57 points.

Windsor will be the place to be during Tuesday's quarterfinals, as it plays host to New Canaan in battle of last season's Class L champs (Windsor won Class L-Small, New Canaan Class L-Large, as there were eight state divisions).