Sports
New Canaan Heads FCIAC Football Playoff Race At Midpoint Of Season
Four teams are still unbeaten in conference play: New Canaan (5-0), Greenwich (4-0), Staples (4-0) and Darien (5-0)
Midway through the season, there are still four undefeated football teams in the FCIAC: New Canaan (5-0), Greenwich (4-0), Staples (4-0) and Darien (5-0).
Greenwich suffered a 51-33 loss to New London, but that doesn't count in the FCIAC race, and Staples has played one less game because it was unable to fill its bye week.
The FCIAC uses a system similiar to the CIAC to determine the rankings of the teams. Clubs are awarded 100 points for each victory and 10 bonus points for each win achieved by an opponent it has defeated.
New Canaan heads the standings with 600 points (120.0 average), followed by Greenwich and Staples, who are tied at 115.0, and Darien with an average of 112.0.
Staples hosts Darien on Oct. 29, so obviously one of those teams will have a loss, but there are no other head-to-head matchups of the unbeatens (until Thanksgiving).
Here's a look at the upcoming schedules for the four teams:
New Canaan: St. Joseph, at Wilton, at Stamford, Trumbull
Greenwich: at Bridgeport Central, Westhill, McMahon, at Danbury
Staples: at Trumbull, Darien, Fairfield Warde, at Westhill
Darien: Wilton, at Staples, Trinity Catholic, Bassick.
One of two Thanksgiving Day games -- New Canaan vs. Darien (if Darien beats Staples) or Staples vs. Greenwich (if Staples beats Darien) -- could be matchups of undefeated teams. However, the Thanksgiving Day games don't count in the FCIAC race, which is an oddity some observers have questioned.
The FCIAC championship game matchup will be determined after the games on the weekend of Nov. 11-12 (the contest is set for Nov. 18 at Trumbull's McDougall Stadium).
While things often take care of themselves, the schedule suggests there is a good chance three teams still will be undefeated after the games on Nov 12: New Canaan, Greenwich and the Darien/Staples winner.
Such a scenario would create an awkward situation because obviously only two teams can play in the FCIAC championship. Of course, there is a long way until then and upsets do happen.
In last year's FCIAC championship game, Darien defeated Trumbull, 17-7
