My crystal ball says:

#4-Masuk (tough 1st game vs Fitch)
#3-Trumbull(back to the good 'ol McDougall days)
#2-Bunnell (weak schedule, time will tell)
#1-Ansonia (the King 'till beaten)

awfull lotta stock put in that trumbull team if in fact thats their anking,i wouldnt sleep on ridgefield in the fciac personally,

trumbull at three? no way no how. They have done very little except play well in two scrimmages.

I think Ridgefield is outside CT Post/SPB's coverage. They will be good, White and McKinight are solid, too bad for them they moved up to LL.

trumbull could beat n canaan week one,loose to greenwich and finish 10-1 and the verdict could still be out on them,only cuz their schedule is kinda week this year.no norwalk,staples or ridgefield, and central looks like theyll take a step back this season.i guess anything is possible though.

How does Bunnell have a weak schedule?

Ridgefield is in our coverage area and returns a lot of talent this year.

But have you seen their schedule recently? Brutal doesn't begin to cover it.

your right,ncanaan,greenwich,and staples,also norwalk,which makes me ask,does any 1 know if tht norwalk team is a legit contender this year? what did tht newtown scrimmage tell?

Why is nobody mentioning West Haven. They held Ansonia 13-6 at the half. Ansonia bogged down twice and had to kick field goals. In the second half West Haven played backups and Tristan Roberts stayed in the game thus the final of 26-6. West Haven trounced B. Central 48-17.Ansonia is probably the best team in the state but West Haven would beat some of the teams in your elite 8. They would hammer Seymour. They are way to fast for Prep who they beat more times than not.

Why is nobody mentioning West Haven. They held Ansonia 13-6 at the half. Ansonia bogged down twice and had to kick field goals. In the second half West Haven played backups and Tristan Roberts stayed in the game thus the final of 26-6. West Haven trounced B. Central 48-17.Ansonia is probably the best team in the state but West Haven would beat some of the teams in your elite 8. They would hammer Seymour. They are way to fast for Prep who they beat more times than not.

Please,Bunnell has two competitive games on their schedule: Masuk and Pomperaug

Unfortunately for Masuk they have a tougher schedule: Fitch, Pomperaug, Bunnell & Newtown plus teams who despise them whose season is a success if the the beat them: ND-Ffld, Barlow, New Milford, Brookfield

T.J...
Bunnell opens with Middletown and ends with in- town rival Stratford, both playoff teams last year. Pomperaug, Masuk, Newtown, ND-Ffld, Barlow, New Milford and Brookfield as well, who all feel the same about beating the Bulldogs as they do the Panthers. How is Masuk's schedule any tougher than Bunnell's. It's all your perception, which is wrong and off base when speaking off teams like Ansonia and Bunnell.

i saw west haven vs bpt central,i give them alot of credit,they look well rounded this year,even though central is probbaly a notch down from last season.they have good size on the line,and real good backs.im not really a scc guy,but they can cause some waves this year,dont count them out.

bunnell does not play newtown but they do play oxford and weston. also I believe masuk does play stratford. Strength of schedule has to go to the panthers.

Bunnell does not have the legacy and the proximity with the most of the SWC teams which naturally makes the rivalries less intense. They didn't grow up playing against each other in football/baseball/basketball. They don't bump into each other at parties, mall, movies. They are really an old MBIAC team. Sort of the same thing with Shelton.

I just want to comment on the article about Richie Edwards. Not on any day of the year, would I even consider this kid to be what Coach Bob Maffei says "THE BEST PLAYER IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY", when I think best player, I think someone who has been actively recruited, and I have not heard anywhere about this kid. I wont lie, I dont think he is the best player, considering he didnt even play last year. I hope Trumbull is ready to kick things off against, oh yeah, the Class MM champs friday and Maffei can back up his words. New Cannan in an easy rout 32-14

SWC-----LEGACY?---------I MUST HAVE MISSED THOSE EPIC NEW FAIRFIELD ------ BARLOW MATCHUPS

id like to think khari fhort of stamford is a better player than richie edwards,even only as a junior this yearalso,berisha has been a 3 year starter as well for westhill,and he"ll rush for a 1000 yards again,and this is only the fciac im talking .maybe without edwards trumbull wins mabee 1 more game last year,this year without him they are a .500 team at best,which says more about their team than him being the best player.coach ruffled feathers w tht statement,so the boy better stay healthy this year.trumbull 21-14 in a close game friday,while im at it greenwich 31 central 07

Norwalk looked excellent in their scrimmage against Newtown. Their line has got to be one of the states best. All huge and quick off the ball. HInes looks great at running back, and Krasnavage and the receivers looked good. This team is certainly a force to be reckoned with, I can realistically see them going 9-1 or 10-0, they're that good.

I actually agree with you (now) CJ. Their schedule is one of the FCIAC's easiest, too. Staples will tell all.

man the fciac is looking loaded this year,mite make a stake for toughest conference in 08,just look
(in no order)
(favorites)
greenwich
ncanaan
ridgefield
trumbull
staples
norwalk
(jurys still out)
central
darien
westhill
st joes
wilton
mcmahon
thats 12 schools.more than half the league thathas potential to have winning records,i dont remeber the last time a conference could boast like that,correct me if im wrong...

west haven should be in the mix somewhere in there. they looked impressive against ansonia the final score did show how competitive that game was

also keep an eye on hamden as the season rolls on. not saying they are going to win it all. but they have a whole new coaching staff a few former west haven assistants and some others who have been involved in winning programs. they could def be a sleeper this season. there is a ton of talent walking the halls at hamden high. it wont be a 1 year turn around but that football program is going to be relevant again very very soon

Not Sure why Norwalk doesn't play Greenwich. I know Greenwich would rather play them then have to play DArien or Wilton who are smaller in size and will not get them extra bonus points for opponets wins. It seems every 8-10 years Norwalk has a powerhouse team and in between they win 3-5 games.

I think people sleep on westhaven coming off their 2-8 or 3-7 record last year,whatver it was,they got blown out of a lot of those games with the exception of the hand matchup.usually their program reloads each season,this year they should be back.any predictions on hand vs new london 2morr nite? Not in the area coverage,but a huge game.

How could anyone really think west haven is a team to mention right now. This ansonia west haven scrimmage has always been a more positive thing for them than ansonia ever. One year an sonia lost and the response was West Haven beats Ansonia they must be good. Or now its west haven kept it close so they must be good. That scrimmage that i have seen over the years comes down not to the score but other things you notice. About 7-8 years ago you would see big hits in this scrimmage and blazing speed from west haven but not lately. Their fullback was a load and ran hard but other than that nothing to wrote home about. Also Ron Leaneu i believe is running their defense and i don't know too many tougher guys than him so they may be better than before but they gotta get thru the year without that bad loss and we will see. Also i am giving Hand 21 points anyone want action?

New London is going to smack Hand.

21 does not seem unreasonable to me.

new london 49-21,new london vs ansonia this year in the finals should be a real good matchup.

New London is Class SS this year .They cant play Ansonia.

my mistake,maybee seymour or holy cross stand in their way then,n london seymour would be a nice game.

Ray Brown-If that's even your name?
I would suggest you back off the Richie Edwards attacks. I'm guessing you're nothing more than a jilted parent who is just upset that your son was not showcased, or, a player who feels you deserved that spot. So I'll go easy on you. Richie Edwards has every right to be on that list. And Tj, just because 'YOU' have not heard that he has been "actively recruited", doesn't mean he hasn't, he has been. Just because he didn't boast about it in his interview doesn't mean it isn't happening. There are at least 3 big schools on the list right now aggressively interested in him, a reliable source has told me. Yes, he did have a limited season last year, but for what he played, he must have played extremely well for some big colleges to be looking at him. It always cracks me up to read these 'know nothing' comments from people like yourselves who know nothing about what they speak of. Do your homework first before you judge or comment. Oh, and as for this past week's loss to New Caanan. New Caanan had the better team that night, so they won fair & square. No complaints there. However, Right off the bat at the beginning of the Trumbull-New Caanan game, on the opening drive, Edwards' had 44-yard's on the first kickoff return. Mouths fell to the ground. It looked like a gate had opened and the kid came out like a BULL. After that point, Edwards maybe touched the ball only seven times during the course of the whole game. He's one of their top players. I'm still shakin my head in disbelief as to why they didn't give him the ball more? What are they saving him for? Maybe they anticipated a loss, but Trumbull could have had a much better chance at winning the game had they given Edwards the ball to run, instead of trying to pass, which failed miserably. I'm sure Trumbull will host a comeback this week. Don't look at one game as a 'whole picture'. Every team has it's good & bad days. To wrap it up, SPB was right on the money with his posts/comments. He was at the Trumbull scrimmages, and he knows what he saw. You two are just talking with nothing to support what you are saying. Furthermore, in the future, try refraining from leaving personal attacks on 17 year old kids. Comment on the teams as a whole if you must do so, but leave the kids out of it. Good Luck to ALL teams playing, and hope everyone has an enjoyable season.

I'm more of a reader than I poster on these blogs/sites and I just realized that the names of posters read 'below' the comments (under the blue line). So, with that said, I would like to direct the above post/comment to Peter & bigmikect. My
appologies to Ray Brown & tj.

J.Thomas

j,i never said anything bad about him,i was at the stratford scrimmage,the kid is a problem(meaning he is good),i just commented that i dont think hes the best player in fairfield county,and more people will agree with me on here than disagree.as for the facts,yes he did have a 44 yard kick return to start the game,and although trumbull scored twice,he didnt score at all.also i believe he is part of a trumbull secondary that gave up 6 t.d.s thru the air on saturday.im not on here to bash kids,im on here for fun and to give my opinions and points of views w the rest of the fans.im also not sure that stamford game 2morr is a gimme,as u are predicting.be well

bigmikect- I'm not saying that you actually said anything bad about the kid, but you were insinuating & making put down statements whether you realize it or not. To be honest, the poster: Peter is the one I have the big problem with. He's clearly a 'jilted parent' as is clear by his posts, and that's no reason to attack another kid. One thing I wanna add is that if someone say's a kid/individual is good at something, 'so be it'. It's not up to me, you or him to challenge them especially if we don't have the knowledge to support what we say/post. I, on the other hand, do have first hand knowledge of what I speak of or wouldn't be posting here. If you were following the football career of the kid maybe you'd be qualified to make a statement, but I'm guessing you & Peter haven't or you/he would know better. If Maffei wants to make those kind of statements he's entitled. Coaches are entitiled to say whatever they want about their players. Maffei is his coach and that's how he personally feels about the kid, then it is what it is. But enough of that, we discussed that already. We're past that now. You have your opinion, and others have theirs. That's why we have debates. As for last weeks game against NC, apparently, you were not at that game and have not read the news articles or you would not have made the remarks/statements you did regarding the scoring. The player that made the two scores had 'short runs'. Edwards was the one who ran the first ball down to 'about' the 15 yard line and lost his balance and fell out of bounds. While out of bounds, his leg cramped up and he then sat out for a long period. In fact, there were lots of kids with cramps on that team. Not hydrated enough it seems. After Edwards was out, the ball was then picked up by the carrier who made that short run done in two attempts. As for being part of the secondary that gave up 6 touchdowns, no, as far as I could see, I'd say he gave up 2 personally. Regardless, who scored is not important, the team works as a 'whole' and as a whole, they were not working together, thus, they lost. As for the Stamford game, 'no where in my post' does it say it's a 'gimme'. Anyone can read my post and see I never wrote that. Please don't put words in my mouth, or, in this case, post words I never wrote. Hopefully, Trumbull will have made some corrections to the errors that were made this past week and hopefully, have a better game. If they win,...great for them. Period. Some folks seem to forget, this is high school football, these are kids, not NFL players, this is only a game. Kick back and relax and just watch your kids play. There's no money on the line here. J.Thomas