By Hal Levy, Shore Line Newspapers
Special to MaxPreps.com
The Pequot Football Conference will expand by two teams next fall.
The league, mainly made up of co-operative programs and some of the state’s smallest football-playing schools, will expand to 19 teams for 2008.
The league’s principals voted to accept Wolcott Tech and Nonnewaug-Woodbury into the conference but left it to the athletic directors to work out the particulars.
The Sassacus Division, made up almost entirely of Shoreline Conference schools, will take on Wolcott Tech while the Uncas Division, comprised of the northern tier of programs, will add Nonnewaug.
The Sassacus Divison will have nine teams and the Uncas will have 10. Canton, which was a provisional league member last year, will become a full-fledged part of the Uncas Division as well.
Scheduling proved to be easier than expected. Since Connecticut will have an 11-game regular season in 2008 (because of the number of weeks between the opener and Thanksgiving), the Pequot ADs thought they would have an impossible task of scheduling 11 games for everyone. Not so, said Coginchaug-Durham athletic director Ted Lombardo.
“We told the two new schools we would schedule them for only 10 games and there were several other schools which did not want the extra game,” Lombardo said. “When we left the table, everyone was happy.”
The other thing the league did was schedule its cross-over games based on a two-year cycle of won-lost records.
“Teams are playing the teams they should,” said Joe Canzanella, director of athletics for the city of New Haven, which includes Pequot member Hyde Leadership School. “No one is feasting on the poorer teams.”
Things will probably change again in another year. Lewis Mills-Burlington already has indicated it plans to step up from a junior varsity program to a varsity one and will apply to the Pequot. Rumors have surfaced that Granby Memorial might also apply although that could not be pinned down.
At any rate, Lombardo said any expansion would force the league to consider three divisions with crossover games again based on a two-year comparison of won-lost records. He does not think the league will come apart because of its size.
“Everyone agrees there is strength in numbers,” Lombardo said. “It gives you more flexibility.”
Wrestling: Danbury’s Run at No. 1 at 96 Weeks
Danbury remains atop the Norwich Bulletin’s weekly wrestling poll, as it has for 96 weeks. The Hatters (13-0) drew all 15 first-place votes. Ledyard (14-0) moved from third to second and Bacon Academy-Colchester (25-1) dropped from second to fourth this week. Middletown (17-1) went from fourth to third.
New Milford (19-1) is fifth with Windham (15-9) sixth. Berlin (19-4) is seventh with Jonathan Law (18-5) eighth. Bristol Central (13-0) and Southington (12-3) rounding out the top 10.
The regular season runs through the beginning of February with conference tournaments scheduled Feb. 8-9, followed by state meets the following weekend. Then come the state open and the New Englands.
Ice Hockey: Hamden Holds Top Spot
Hamden (7-1) holds the top spot in the New Haven Register boys’ ice hockey poll. The Green Dragons are ahead of South Windsor (9-0) and East Haven (9-0). East Haven later lost to Fairfield Prep, which is now on a three-game win streak against Southern Connecticut Conference Division I opposition after losing a number of games at the beginning of the season.
Notre Dame-West Haven is fourth with Notre Dame-Fairfield fifth. Conard-West Hartford is sixth with Ridgefield seventh. Rounding out the top 10 are North Haven, Glastonbury and Trinity Catholic-Stamford.
Plainville has been selected as the Connecticut Sun high school girls’ basketball team of the week after defeating Northwest Catholic on Jan. 18. With that victory, Plainville improved to 11-1. The Blue Devils added a win on Monday night over St. Paul (30-23), and are now ranked ninth in both the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register girls basketball polls.
Plainville’s Desiree Pina scored 26 points while teammate Alyssa Martino added 19 during the 45-37 win over Northwest Catholic, which was ranked in both polls.
