Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Football state championship weekend results

Football state championship weekend results

RB Quintez Whittle scored four touchdowns in Ansonia’s 58-12 win over Bloomfield Dec. 13 for the 2024 CIAC Class S state title.

Photo by Riley Klein

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference football championship games were held Dec. 13 and 14, crowning new state champs in the six class divisions.

Teams are matched into classes based on school enrollment size from the previous academic year, as well as co-op status and past performance. The eight teams with the best record in each class qualify for postseason tournaments (48 qualifying teams in total).

In the title game for Class LL, Greenwich High School blanked West Haven High School 14-0. Greenwich won its second state title in the past three years and its 10th in school history.

In a repeat of last year’s Class L championship, New Canaan High School defeated Darien High School for the second year in a row. New Canaan’s 35-21 victory marked the school’s third straight Class L crown.

In the title game for Class MM, Masuk High School stunned top seeded Windsor High School 24-21. It was Masuk’s first state championship since 2010 and third in school history. Windsor was previously undefeated this year and had won the semifinal game 50-0.

In the Class M championship game, St. Joseph High School won a 21-20 nailbiter against Brookfield High School. St. Joseph was up 21-0 in the third quarter, but undefeated Brookfield responded with three consecutive touchdowns. Brookfield was unsuccessful on a two-point conversion attempt with one minute to play and the game ended. St. Joseph took home a state trophy for the 16th time in school history, most recently in 2019.

In the title game for Class SS, Killingly High School won 48-33 over Sheehan High School. Killingly has appeared in five championship games in the last seven years and has won three of them.

In the championship for Class S, Ansonia High School defeated reigning champions Bloomfield High School 58-12. The win marked Ansonia’s 22nd all-time state championship with 33 total title appearances, the most in state history.

Ansonia defeated Woodland Regional High School 30-23 in the Class S semifinals. Woodland and Ansonia were the only two Naugatuck Valley League teams to advance beyond the quarterfinal round in any class this year. JFK High School (LL), Naugatuck (L), Torrington (MM) and Watertown (M) each lost in the first round.

Latest News

Lelah M. Somers

Lelah M. Somers

DOVER PLAINS — Lelah M. Somers, 97, a longtime Dover Plains, New York, resident, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, New York. Lelah was born on July 3, 1929, in Pawling, New York, to the late Byron and Lelah (Watts) Brill. Lelah grew up in Pawling and on Nov. 22, 1946, in Pleasant Valley, New York, she married James F. Somers, Sr. Mr. Somers passed away on Sept. 3, 1970. Lelah worked for New York State as a therapy aide for thirty-years and as a senior companion for New York State for thirty-two-years, with specific care provided to the mentally disabled.

She enjoyed taking care of the mentally disabled, was a wonderful mother to her four children, always putting her family first. She is survived by her son, James F. Somers, Jr. and his wife Donna of Dover Plains; two daughters, Doreen Monica of Wingdale, and Frances “Fran” Horton of Dover Plains, who was also her caregiver for many years; seven grandchildren, Debbie, Margie, Leah, Stephanie, Deirdra, Benji and Jimmy and several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews, and her step-son, Kenny Elliott. In addition to her parents and husband, Lelah was predeceased by her daughter and son-in-law, Carol “DeeDee” Maile and Gil Maile, her son-in-law, Stephen Monica, and her son-in-law, Benny Horton as well as her companion of over forty-years, Andrew “Mac” McAlravey and her siblings, Ferris Brill, Eleanor Barryann, Richard Brill, William Brill and Barney Brill.

Keep ReadingShow less

The art of getting into art school

The art of getting into art school

Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day returns to Poughkeepsie.

Provided

For a young artist considering college, the question isn’t simply whether the work is good enough. It’s which work to show, which school might be the right fit and even whether a creative life can lead to a sustainable career.

On Friday, Oct. 16, hundreds of aspiring artists will have the opportunity to explore those questions at Hudson Valley Regional Portfolio Day, presented by The Art Effect at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie.

Keep ReadingShow less
A colorful life together at Atelier Valla

Textile designer Justine Valla sits in her father’s chair, which she painted, alongside her husband, illustrator and muralist Victor Valla, in their Atelier Valla studio.

L. Tomaino
I lost the ability to paint after the accident. I struggled to paint again.
— Justine Valla

Husband and wife Victor and Justine Valla share a lavender and pink studio, Atelier Valla, across the driveway from their pink house, nestled into a hillside in Salisbury. The colors, said Justine, “were inspired by Monet’s house at Giverny.”

Creating art has been a lifelong pursuit for both.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

David Ruchman’s “Acquired Taste”

Filmmaker David Ruchman

Bleacher and Everard Photography

In a region known for its vibrant but geographically scattered arts community, discovering something new can require a little effort. The same might be said for finding a new place for an extraordinary meal. While the Northwest Corner, Berkshires and Hudson Valley have no shortage of creative talent, opportunities to experience it — whether on a stage, in a gallery or on a plate — aren’t always just around the corner.

In David Ruchman’s short film “Acquired Taste,” that challenge becomes the premise for an unlikely friendship between Nick, an aspiring young food critic living in an area with limited dining options, and a gruff New York City master chef.

Keep ReadingShow less
Follow the Clay Way for ceramic delights

Jane Herold’s beautifully simple dinnerware.

Provided

As the leaves across Litchfield and Dutchess counties rush to make it to the ground, your last chance to peep autumn is fast approaching. On Oct.17 and 18, the 10th annual Clay Way offers peepers a route to follow lined with unique art that rivals the area’s natural beauty.

The two-day event is a ceramics-focused open studio tour through northwestern Connecticut, with a few studios peppered in just over the border in Dutchess County. Featuring nine open studios and 25 participating artists, the tour promises a wide variety of work, from decorative objects to grand vessels and a whole world in between.

Keep ReadingShow less
A new home for the unexpected at Kent Fine Art

CAMERON (1922-1995) is on view at Kent Fine Art in Pine Plains through Nov. 14.

Provided

Where can one find the work of an artist associated with occult rituals, surrealist visions and the underground California art scene? In a beautifully renovated former carriage house in Pine Plains, of course.

Unexpected discoveries are, after all, part of what Doug Walla has spent his career making possible. The longtime New York City art dealer and founder of Kent Fine Art, has brought the work of Marjorie Cameron Parsons Kimmel, known simply as Cameron, to his new gallery space. The exhibition, on view through Nov. 14, introduces visitors to an artist whose life and work moved between mysticism, poetry, film and the avant-garde.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.