State Championship Saturday delivered with some thrilling finishes as the CIAC handed out six trophies to the 2023 state football champions.
Staples beat West Haven 21-20 in Class LL.
"I wouldn't be anywhere without my whole team," said Staples senior Caleb Smith. "It's nothing - that it's just me. It's our whole team representing our town the right way."
New Canaan defeated Darien 28-21 in a rematch of their Thanksgiving game. It's the Rams' 14th state football title.
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"It's just such a great legacy here, such a great community," said New Canaan senior Alex Benevento. "Just to be able to leave our own little unique etch, I mean it's such an honor and something that's going to be with me for the rest of my life."
"Something special about this senior class man," added New Canaan head coach Lou Marinelli. "They just hung in and hung in and hung in. When things weren't looking good, they just kept fighting back. I'm really proud of them. I'm going to miss them."
In Class MM, North Haven shut out Wilton to win its second straight state championship.
"Being at the low, our lowest low and being able to build up to the point that we are now, you know, it just feels amazing," said North Haven senior Camren Thompson.
"There was a lot of pressure on them to do this," said North Haven head coach Anthony Sagnella. "Everyone knew we had kids coming back, that's hard. You guys got to go win it again, but they did it and despite all the distractions, they did it."
"Yes, I'm going to miss this," said North Haven senior Adam Pandolfi. "I'm going to go to Yale next year but it's not going to be like this. I know it's not. Going back to back is something we dreamed about since we were in fourth grade."
Daniel Hand knocked off Rockville 57-20 to win the Tigers' 14th state football championship.
"It's awesome to know that those are living numbers," said Hand head coach Erik Becker. "That those numbers are changing and that those numbers are predictive of what we will do in the future."
"Growing up in Madison and watching team after team put up another flag and win championships and now adding that -- and being able to come back for years to come and be like yeah that's my flag, that's what my team did. Being able to be part of that is really special and something I'll remember forever," said Hand senior Jack Shay.
Joel Barlow edged Watertown 21-0 to win the Class SS state title for the second year in a row.
"I've got a lot more gray hair this year than I did last year," said Barlow head coach TJ Cavaliere. "These guys played hard. We were losing last week at halftime, we were losing this week at halftime. It's a testament to how hard they played and how hard they worked all year."
I'm just lost for words right now. I'm just so happy, so proud of these guys," said Barlow junior Jack Gilbert. "This is just awesome, it's something you dream about and it's just amazing."
Bloomfield beat Cromwell/Portland 42-20 for its first state football title since 2018. It's the Warhawks' 10 state title in program history. They finished as state runners up in each of the last three seasons.
"Oh man, it's been a long time coming," said Bloomfield head coach Ty Outlaw. "It feels awesome. The greatest feeling in the world. We wanted it more than anything in the world today."
"We finally got one," said Bloomfield senior Davion Kerr. "It means the world to me."
"It's crazy man, all I got to say is we did it for Coach Mo," said Bloomfield senior Davien Kerr. "We got him his 10th ring and we are about to go celebrate."
