QuickStick CT High School Poll Week 6

This issue came up a couple times during our MCLA coverage and thus it returned again in the middle of the CT High School Lacrosse Season. We apologize for not producing a weekly poll last week. For our new readers and followers who may not know, QuickStick is a side operation of a group of recent college graduates who are looking to stay involved with the sport they love through the power of their keyboards. This past week was busy for all of us and the amount of content we could create was short to nothing

Nonetheless, we’re back this week to our regularly scheduled programming and are kicking things off with this week’s QuickStick CT High School Poll. Over the past two weeks, a lot has happened. We thought Darien might lose to St. Anthony’s, and then we learned even a biblical reconning can’t stop the Wave. We thought Wilton was getting back on track, and then they lost by double digits to Yorktown (NY). And lastly, Fairfield Prep proved to the state they could run with the big boys in knocking off New Canaan, but then fell to a group of pesky Eagles from Boston College High School (MA).

Aight, enough recap. Here’s the good stuff. As the great Mike Quick would say, “Let’s get it on!”

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1. Darien – Congratulations to the 2018 Darien Blue Wave on completing an undefeated regular season (I know they play Trinity Catholic this week) and also kudos on their 69th win in a row, nice. The last regular season test was held this past Saturday as the Wave traveled up to Tiger Hollow to take on Ridgefield and after losing through one-quarter of play, Darien reminded themselves who they were, and Jack Joyce and co took over. It’s been said already this year but you need to tip your cap to Sean Collins who has come out of nowhere to anchor a defense. The senior goaltender had some of the biggest shoes in the history of Darien Lacrosse to fill and the kid has done so in flying colors. The Wave will host their FCIAC Quarterfinal game against an opponent TBD this weekend.
2. Ridgefield – Let’s be real here. Does anyone know who the second-best team in the state is? I coulda put Prep here just to really stir the pot. In a close one, I had to pick Ridgefield despite the loss to Darien. Their play through the first half was impressive and proved they can hang if they play a full 48 minutes and execute to perfection. Noah Isaacson was once again relentless in his coverage of Brian Minicus and with Greg Gatto coming back this week, the Tigers could be gearing up for a playoff run. You just have to hope the return of such a prominent figure doesn’t mess with the chemistry of a team that has played together for 6+ weeks. Tigers take of Fairfield Ludlowe, a team they can’t sleep on (right Staples?) before they’ll host an FCIAC Quarterfinal game on Saturday.
3. New Canaan – Could they be #2, yes. Does their loss to Prep at home hurt, also yes. Buzzeo was tryna break out the injury excuse in this one, but last Saturday, the Rams were simply outplayed. New Canaan took out their frustration on Westhill and St. Joe’s this past week and will wrap up their season with a home game against Trumbull. Don’t sleep on Trumbull, remember that in their HAN Network preview this was the game the Eagles had circled on their calendar. Following their game against the Eagles, NC will also host an FCIAC Quarter Final game against an opponent TBD.
4. Fairfield Prep – The Jesuits junior class stepped up big time in their win over New Canaan, former QuickStick HROTD Connor Boyle and Ethan Grandolfo led the way for Prep as they rolled into Dunning Field and took down the Rams of New Canaan. They followed up their win against NC with easy W’s against East Lyme and Notre Dame-West Haven, before falling at home to Boston College High School. BC High is no slouch of a program, the Eagles have made it to the big boy state title game in back 2 back years up in Mass, but IMHO this is still a bad loss to Prep who has to travel down to play Delaware’s best in Salesianum, a team who just knocked off The Hill Academy (Canada).
5. Wilton – Goodness, right when you think this team is getting hot and filling into form, they get their teeth kicked in against Yorktown. No shame to the Huskers, they’re a Top 25 team in the country, but if you ask the boys on Route 7, they want to be one too. They bounced back nicely with a dominating win over Fairfield Ludlowe and were able to get their starters some rest in the second half too. Wilton takes on Norwalk this week before they, like the others mentioned above, will host an FCIAC Quarterfinal game against someone TBD. Which seed Wilton will be, that we’ll have to wait and see.
6. New Fairfield – The Rebels played their one of their closest games of the season in which they knocked off Newtown 14-7 this past Saturday. They clinched the #1 seed in the SWC Tournament and likely will not lose a game this season. I don’t really know what else to say about these kids except for the fact that it’s a shame their game against Fordham Prep was canceled. That would have been a great game for both squads and a true test to see what NF is made of. We all know Fordham Prep took Wilton to 2OT but they most recently made some noise in knocking off John Jay.
7. Greenwich – “How do you rank a team that’s 6-9 the #7 team in the state?” – I expect to see this on LaxPower this week. Well future forum troll, that’s because they beat the 8th beat team in the state and that same 8th team is trying to tread water in the shallow end. Greenwich will end their regular season with Danbury (who is better this year than most) and head into the FCIAC Tournament as likely the #6 seed. Since they only will have 7 regular season wins, they’ll get a low seed in the Class L Tournament and likely cause a fit in the first round following a play-in game where they’ll likely shellack some team from upstate.
8. Staples – Coach Mac’s boys are trying desperately to stay afloat but with a strong Mamaroneck team waiting for them this week, things don’t look good for the Wreckers. If Staples can travel down to Westchester and get a marquee win, that would be a huge confidence boost for the team that is likely headed into the FCIAC Tourney as the #5 seed. If they lose, I still think they’ll be the 5 seed, but they will just have a lot less faith and momentum. Zinn, Garber, Cooper, and co need to rally their troops. Depth and inconsistency have been an issue for this team all season long. Hopefully, they can pull things together when the moment matters most.
9. Newtown – Newtown was extremely close to being ranked on our most recent poll but Weston got the nod. Then the Nighthawks smoked the Trojans and have established themselves as the 2nd best team in the SWC. Coach by Scott Bulkley, wait, remember him? The old Greenwich coach and longtime Darien coordinator? Year 2 of the Scott Bulkley era has been great for this kids and families of Newtown. He’s got something brewing and you know more than anything he’ll have his team ready if they can get another crack at New Fairfield in the conference tournament.
10. Trumbull/Glastonbury – “Boo! A Tie! Cmon!” – Also something to be said on the LaxPower forums. But it’s true, there isn’t really much that separates these squads. Trumbull is having arguably their best season in program history and Glastonbury, on the other hand, is admittedly in a rebuilding year after graduating a great 2017 class. I’d love if these two teams could face off in the Class L Tournament, who knows where they’ll be seeded. For Trumbull, they face New Canaan this week in a game that they’ve had circled on their calendar for months. Can Kammerman’s crew roll into Dunning and catch the Rams off guard? We’ll have to see. As for Glasto, they’re coming off a brutal defeat at the hands of New Fairfield but look to bounce back with wins over northern CT rivals Conard and Simsbury.

Also Considered: Weston, Fairfield Ludlowe, Daniel Hand