10 Points to Ponder: Connecticut opens with a wild football weekend

Connecticut begins its football season later than the rest of the country but, man, was it ever worth the wait! Week 1 was one of the wildest in recent memory, highlighted by two upsets and two near ones.

To wit:

• Ansonia is still Ansonia. The defending CIAC Class S champions graduated record-setting running back Arkeel Newsome and four of their five offensive linemen. No matter. Tajik Bagley ran 11 times for 111 yards and three TDs as the Chargers welcomed Oxford to the Naugatuck Valley League with a 45-0 beating last Thursday. Ansonia ran just 18 first-half plays, yet still gained 157 yards and scored four touchdowns.

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• New Canaan doesn't do rebuilding. The Rams shredded nearly everyone they played last season en route to the Class L crown. They graduated 28 seniors, half of which started. New-look New Canaan traveled to fellow power Hand of Madison last Friday and won, 21-14. The Tigers were second in the preseason New Haven Register Top 10 media poll, but the Rams held them to 264 yards. The win earned New Canaan the top ranking in the season debut of The Day of New London Top 10 coaches' poll.

• Joey Salemme will be one busy dude. The Seymour senior ran 37 times for 361 yards and four touchdowns in last Thursday's 33-27 win over Amity of Woodbridge. The rest of the Wildcats accounted for 73 yards. Salemme, 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, ran 305 times in 11 games last year.

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• Everyone always wants to knock off the champ. Southington wants to defend its Class LL title, and it began the season ranked first in the media poll. It opened its season last Friday against one of its biggest rivals, Glastonbury, and trailed by 10 points after a quarter. The Blue Knights rallied to win, 41-38. Note that Southington had a 428-129 edge in yardage, but two turnovers resulted in Glastonbury touchdowns.

• Fairfield Prep will score a lot of points this season. Quarterback Colton Smith is back for the Class LL runner-up Jesuits. So are receiver John Dellisanti, running back Joseph Ganim and linemen Anthony Palazollo (6-6, 318), Arthur Mansolillo (6-0, 278) and Connor Roche (6-3, 265). Smith ran 11 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns and completed 11 of 18 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in last Thursday's 59-40 win over Stamford.

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• Darien has a quarterback. Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference coaches agreed that the Blue Wave were the team to beat as it returned eight defenders and a large offensive line. The biggest question was who would be the new QB. Junior Tim Graham completed 17 of his 28 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns as Darien rallied to beat Hillhouse of New Haven, 47-25. The Blue Wave outscored the Academics in the second half, 33-7, with Graham throwing for two scores.

• St. Joseph will still run for a lot of yardage. The reigning Class M champions returned just two offensive linemen: tackle Chris Taylor and guard Troy Vazzano. Taylor was hurt early in Thursday's game at Notre Dame-West Haven, so Vazzano slid over to tackle and junior Tim Beyer replaced him at guard. Newbies Jack Ganser (center), Konrad Piszczatowski (guard), and Marc Bernatchez (tackle), along with Beyer and Vazzano, allowed all-state tailback Mufasha Abdul Basir to run 29 times for 204 yards and a touchdown in a 17-7 win.

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• Middletown wants to diversify this season. The Blue Dragons rode quarterback Dario Highsmith to last year's Class L semifinals as he ran for 2,768 yards and 35 touchdowns and threw for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns. Middletown wants to be spread the offensive wealth this year and get Highsmith into space, so they moved him to running back. Highsmith ran just seven times but scored twice in last Friday's 37-12 win over East Lyme. Teammate Tre'Quan Weston also scored on a 61-yard run, and Calvin Mackey Jr. added a 29-yard touchdown run.

• Naugatuck senior Jason Bradley will be one of the state's top QBs. The senior starts his third season for the Greyhounds and led them to a 47-30 win over Torrington last Friday in a game that wasn't as close as the score shows. Bradley completed 12 of 17 passes for 261 yards and six touchdowns and ran for another 72 yards.

• Derby and St. Paul produce another daffy game. The two teams opened against one another last season, with Derby erasing an 18-point deficit with over eight minutes left and winning, 49-45. St. Paul led by 19 points early in the second quarter of last Friday's opener, but the Red Raiders scored 38 straight points to win, 46-39. Mike Krieger threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 yards and a TD for Derby. The Falcons' Pat Etter threw for 359 yards and two scores.

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Ned Griffen has covered high school, college and professional sports in the Northeast since 1992. A 2003 New England Associated Press News Executives award winner, he may be reached at nedgriffen@gmail.com or follow him @MetalNED.