With the 2024 Connecticut high school football season now in full swing, there are still some questions that remain unanswered. One that looms large is the question of why are teams in the CCC playing teams in the FCIAC?
It is a fair thing to wonder. There’s been complaints about the long distance between the schools when teams have to meet, for example the South Windsor versus Stamford game, which saw the Black Knights make the 93 minute drive for their bout with the Bobcats.
Well, the answer towards these games comes from a seven year old agreement. The Prowl spoke to CCC WebMaster/Scheduler David Greenleaf, who broke down what’s called the Connecticut Football Alliance.
“It’s not just the CCC and FCIAC. It also includes the ECC, SWC, and tech schools,” Greenleaf said. The alliance was made to connect teams who may never normally meet.
While the Connecticut Football Alliance was formed seven years ago, the CCC joined a year after inception. For the Bobcats, they’ve found success in their last two games of the alliance, defeating Bridgeport Central in 2023 and Stamford this season.
Each year, the CCC is committed to one game for every team. According to Greenleaf, those games are in week three; however, some teams have opted for a second game in week one.
While the ‘Cats only played one of these games, their rival, the Enfield Eagles, have had two.
Their first was a tough defeat to the Masuk Panthers, while the second contest was much more kind resulting in a victory over Wilbur Cross.
These matches are made by a committee that meets together every January. The idea is to get teams in their division with similar records from the previous two seasons to faceoff with one another.
During week three of this year’s season, there were several electric games that were brought to life by the alliance, such as Windsor versus Darien, which went into double overtime before the Warriors pulled out victorious, or Staples taking down Maloney by just one score.
Leaving no doubt to its success, the Connecticut Football Alliance has expanded the playing field for teams all across the state of Connecticut for the past seven years, and looks forward to continuing to do so in the future.
