Cadets debut at No. 1 in the Connecticut high school preseason football rankings.
The 2021 high school
football season in Connecticut kicks off next week and MaxPreps has
your look at the state's top teams.
Last year the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference to cancel its fall season and annual state championships.
This year, it's no surprise that 15-time state champion St. Joseph opens at No. 1 in the Connecticut Preseason MaxPreps Top 25. The Cadets have won three straight state titles in three different classifications and are 37-2 over that span. St. Joseph won the state's small school division (Class S) in 2017 before moving up the next two seasons due to the state's tournament success factor. The Cadets won Class M in 2018 and Class L in 2019. St. Joseph, riding a 23-game win streak, will compete in Class L again this season.
Hand, ranked No. 3, had its 36-game win streak snapped by St. Joseph in the 2019 state final. The Tigers own 13 state titles and were Class L state champs in 2017 and 2018.
Other 2019 state champions were Newton (Class LL), Weston (M) and Sheehan (S).
Newton's victory, 13-7 over Darien, garnered national attention as the Nighthawks won their first state title since 1992 and completed a perfect 13-0 season when Riley Ward caught a 36-yard touchdown from Jack Street as time expired. The
win came seven years to the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that left 26 children and educators dead. Some of the members of the team had attended Sandy Hook.
The 2021 state championships will be held Dec. 11 at sites yet to be determined.
See the complete Top 25 list below.
St. Joseph opens the 2021 season riding a 23-game win streak.
Photo by Kevin Pataky
