Top 20 most dominant Connecticut high school football programs of last decade

New Canaan, Darien lead the way over past 10 years.

By
Apr 17, 2020, 9:50am
Video: New Canaan vs. Darien 2019
Nearby rivals met in late November.

Aided by three consecutive state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016, New Canaan is the most dominant high school football team from Connecticut in the last decade.

Based on MaxPreps methodology, the Rams amassed 276 points from play over 2010 to 2019, barely edging Darien, which finished second with 271 points.

New Canaan not only won three state crowns over the decade, but also placed second in 2010 and 2018, and finished No. 1 in the state in 2013. Darien won three straight state championships starting in 2015 and went undefeated in 2015 and 2016.

More on the methodology:

• Top 25 finishes in the MaxPreps state computer rankings (25 points awarded to the No. 1 team, 24 for No. 2 and so on).
• Top 25 finishes in the MaxPreps national computer rankings (50 points for No. 1, 49 for No. 2 and so on).
• State championships (20 points).
• State championship game appearances (10 points).
Graphic by Ryan Escobar
1. New Canaan (276)
State championships: 2014 (Class L), 2015 (Class L), 2016 (Class L)
State runner-up: 2011 (Class L), 2018 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2010 (4), 2011 (7), 2012 (25), 2013 (1), 2014 (2), 2015 (2), 2016 (2), 2017 (9), 2018 (4), 2019 (8)
Nationally ranked: N/A

2. Darien (271)
State championships: 2015 (Class LL), 2016 (Class LL), 2017 (Class LL)
State runner-up: 2013 (Class L), 2014 (Class L), 2019 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2010 (5), 2011 (25), 2013 (5), 2014 (4), 2015 (1), 2016 (1), 2017 (1), 2018 (6), 2019 (5)
Nationally ranked: N/A

3. St. Joseph (Trumbull) (254)
State championships: 2011 (Class S), 2014 (Class M), 2017 (Class S), 2018 (Class M), 2019 (Class L)
State runner-up: 2016 (Class M)
State Top 25: 2010 (6), 2012 (22), 2013 (3), 2014 (6), 2015 (25), 2016 (20), 2017 (5), 2018 (2), 2019 (1)
Nationally ranked: N/A

4. Hand (Madison) (241)
State championships: 2012 (Class L), 2013 (Class L), 2017 (Class L), 2018 (Class L)
State runner-up: 2019 (Class L)
State Top 25: 2010 (8), 2011 (3), 2012 (1), 2013 (12), 2017(2), 2018 (3), 2019 (2)
Nationally ranked: N/A

5. Ansonia (208)
State championships: 2012 (Class M), 2013 (Class S), 2014 (Class S), 2016 (Class S)
State runner-up: 2015 (Class S), 2017 (Class S)
State Top 25: 2010 (22), 2011 (2), 2012 (3), 2013 (6), 2014 (24), 2015 (16), 2016 (13), 2017 (17), 2018 (23)
Nationally ranked: N/A

6. Xavier (Middletown) (192)
State championships: 2011 (Class LL), 2012 (Class LL), 2013 (Class LL)
State runner-up: N/A
State Top 25: 2010 (2), 2011 (1), 2012 (2), 2013 (9), 2014 (5), 2015 (22), 2016 (9)
Nationally ranked: N/A

7. Southington (165)
State championships: 2014 (Class LL)
State runner-up: 2010 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2012 (10), 2013 (2), 2014 (3), 2015 (10), 2016 (12), 2017 (16), 2018 (14), 2019 (6)
Nationally ranked: N/A

8. Choate Rosemary Hall School (Wallingford) (157)
State championships: 2016 (BG Bowl)
State runner-up: N/A
State Top 25: 2010 (13). 2012 (17), 2014 (1), 2015 (3), 2016 (3), 2017 (4), 2018 (8), 2019 (22)
Nationally ranked: N/A

9. Greenwich (148)
State championships: 2018 (Class LL)
State runner-up: 2017 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2011 (17), 2012 (15), 2013 (15), 2014 (18), 2016 (10), 2017 (3), 2018 (1), 2019 (11)
Nationally ranked: N/A

10. Shelton (140)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: 2015 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2011 (21), 2012 (19), 3013 (14), 2014 (7), 2015 (4), 2016 (7), 2017 (15), 2018 (7), 2019 (10)
Nationally ranked: N/A

11. Windsor (130)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: 2012 (Class L), 2016 (Class L)
State Top 25: 2010 (25), 2011 (11), 2012 (7), 2014 (8), 2015 (11), 2016 (8), 2017 (13), 2018 (15)
Nationally ranked:  N/A

12. Newtown (126)
State championships: 2019 (Class LL)
State runner-up: N/A
State Top 25: 2011 (20), 2012 (18), 2013 (16), 2014 (9), 2015 (9), 2016 (21), 2018 (5), 2019 (4)
Nationally ranked: N/A

13. West Haven (118)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: N/A
State Top 25: 2010 (12), 2011 (12), 2012 (11), 2013 (7), 2014 (19), 2015 (17), 2016 (5), 2017 (7)
Nationally ranked:  N/A

14. Hillhouse (New Haven) (117)
State championships: 2011 (Class M), 2013 (Class M), 2016 (Class M)
State runner-up: 2010 (Class M)
State Top 25: 2010 (10), 2012 (6), 2016 (15)
Nationally ranked: N/A

15. Masuk (Monroe) (109)
State championships: 2011 (Class L)
State runner-up: 2017 (Class L)
State Top 25: 2010 (1), 2011 (6), 2012 (12), 2017 (6)
Nationally ranked: N/A

16. Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) (107)
State championships: 2010 (Class L)
State runner-up: N/A
State Top 25: 2010 (9), 2011 (8), 2013 (24), 1014 (15), 2015 (7), 2016 (6)
Nationally ranked: N/A

17. North Haven (100)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: 2015 (Class L)
State Top 25: 2010 (21), 2011 (16), 2012 (8), 2013 (10), 2014 (22), 2015 (5), 2016 (25), 2017 (18), 2018 (22), 2019 (23)
Nationally ranked: N/A

18. Ridgefield (99)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: 2016 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2010 (24), 2011 (23), 2013 (13), 2015 (13), 2016 (4), 2017 (8), 2018 (19), 2019 (15)
Nationally ranked: N/A

19. Staples (Westport) (98)
State championships: N/A
State runner-up: 2011 (Class LL)
State Top 25: 2011 (5), 2012 (5), 2013 (23), 2014 (23), 2015 (15), 2017 (12), 2018 (11)
Nationally ranked: N/A

20.Bloomfield (83)
State championships: 2015 (Class S), 2018 (Class S)
State runner-up: 2019 (Class S)
State Top 25: 2015 (12), 2018 (13), 2019 (20)
Nationally ranked: N/A

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