Football fans love numbers. Whether it’s passing yards, a career milestone or something out of the ordinary, numbers can tell stories, recognize accomplishments and even add to the enjoyment of the games. Each week during the 2026 high school football season, GametimeCT takes you inside the numbers surrounding the teams, players and coaches across the state. The numbers are informative, may open your eyes and, on occasion, may even make you laugh. So get ready for Week 9 with GametimeCT’s By the Numbers:
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Clash of 7-0 teams in Week 8 when Hand hosts Lyman Hall at the Surf Club at 7 p.m., Friday.
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Overtime game in Week 7, with Prince Tech defeating ATI 36-35. There have been just three overtime games this fall, with the other two coming on opening day, when Conard defeated South Windsor 47-46 in OT and Newington defeated E.O. Smith 12-9 in 2 OTs.
1 Ranking for Ludlowe in the GametimeCT Top 10 Poll. The Falcons leapt from the sixth spot after defeating previous No. 1 New Canaan 34-31, their first win over the Rams after 12 straight losses. New Canaan dropped to No. 3. Ludlowe took 11 of the 21 first-place votes, No. 2 St. Joseph received nine, and No. 6 Southington received one.
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2 Rushers over 900 yards for Naugatuck with running back Brandon Andoh at 1,080 yards and quarterback Qwentarvus Lee at 908. They’ve combined for 27 touchdowns during the Greyhounds’ 7-0 start. Naugatuck hosts Seymour at 7 p.m., Friday.
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Teams earning their first victories of the season in Week 8: Bristol Eastern, which defeated Farmington 20-17; and Weston, which defeated Bassick 48-8. Bristol Eastern and Weston are both 1-6.
3 Straight wins, after three straight losses, for Newtown, which defeated Bunnell 39-28 in Week 8 to improve to 4-3. The Nighthawks have climbed back into the Class MM playoff race in ninth place and host eighth-place New Milford (5-2) at 6:30 p.m., Friday.
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4 Wins for New Britain in its last 20 meetings with Southington. However, that overall history hasn’t held up in recent years, with the Golden Hurricanes beating the Blue Knights 28-25 and 42-14 the last two seasons. Southington hosts New Britain at 6:30 p.m., Thursday.
5 Teams dropping at least one spot in this week’s GametimeCT Top 10 Poll. Much of that had to do with No. 1 Ludlowe’s win over New Canaan, which fell two spots to No. 3. The only other team to move up in the poll was No. 9 Pomperaug which traded places with No. 10 New London.
6 Consecutive wins for Holy Cross since its opening-week loss to Naugatuck. The Crusaders have scored 268 points during the streak, an average of nearly 45 points per game. Holy Cross (6-1) plays at Woodland (5-2) at 6:30 p.m., Friday.
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Combined points in New Canaan’s 7-3 win over St. Joseph in Trumbull last season. The game featured no offensive touchdowns, with the Rams’ points coming on a 62-yard pick-six by Andrew Esposito. No. 3-ranked New Canaan (6-1) hosts No. 2 St. Joseph at 7 p.m., Friday.
10 Undefeated teams remaining in the CIAC: Hand, Ludlowe, Lyman Hall, Masuk, Naugatuck, New London, North Branford, Plainville, Southington, and St. Joseph.
15 Consecutive wins for Hand, which now owns the longest winning streak in the state following New Canaan’s loss to Ludlowe. The Tigers dropped a 28-27 OT game against Cheshire on Oct, 10, 2025, but closed out the year with eight straight wins before starting this year 7-0.
15 Years since Lyman Hall has squared off with Hand. That was in 2011, when the Tigers won 41-20, and they also won a year prior 41-7. The two SCC teams are both 7-0 and square off at 7 p.m., Friday.
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20 Consecutive road wins for Hand, which won in West Haven 48-28 in Week 8. The Tigers last road loss was 35-14 at North Haven on Nov. 4, 2022.
21 Years since New Canaan has lost two straight games in the same season. That was in November 2005 when the Rams fell to Staples 28-24 and Trumbull 17-13 with future Major League Baseball player Curt Casali at QB. New Canaan lost back-to-back over two seasons, when it fell to Masuk 28-14 in the 2017 Class L semis, and then to St. Joseph 28-0 in the 2018 opener. The Rams will look to avoid a second straight loss when they take on St. Joseph at 7 p.m., Friday.
24 GametimeCT Top 10 Polls since there had been a change in the No. 1 spot before Ludlowe took over this week. New Canaan became the No. 1 team in the final poll for 2024 and had held the spot ever since. Ludlowe was unranked in the preseason.
24 Yards on a field goal by Sheehan freshman kicker Ryan Tansley, who accounted for the only points in the Titans’ 3-0 win over Amity.
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27 Unanswered points for Ludlowe, which erased a 17-0 deficit, took a 27-17 lead, and eventually won 34-31 against New Canaan. Quarterback Ryan Love passed for 382 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.
51 Wins against 18 losses for teams that were ranked in the GametimeCT Preseason Top 10 Poll. Of that original Top 10, just five teams remain in the current rankings.
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Combined wins with 31 losses for last year’s 12 CIAC finalists. The six defending champions are 32-10, and the runners-up are 21-21.
56 Yards of offense allowed by the Cheshire defense in a 20-0 shutout of Fairfield Prep. The Rams had three interceptions, including a pick-six by Evan Gonzalez, and recovered a pair of fumbles, one on defense and another on a muffed punt.
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65 Travel miles for the Thames River co-op for its game against Platt Tech at Law, the longest trip in the state for Week 9.
121 Rushing yards for Billy Criscuolo on the first two touchdowns of North Branford’s 42-0 win over Granby/Canton. Criscuolo covered 60 and 61 yards on the two carries, and later added a 30-yard score.
276 Rushing yards on 30 carries for Zhi’Mir Maddox-Moore, who scored on 65, 37 and 1 yards in the Whalers’ 27-16 win over Ledyard.
382 Passing yards for Ludlowe quarterback Ryan Love in the Falcons’ 34-31 victory over New Canaan. Love threw three touchdown passes, including a 76-yarder to Jackson Danylko, and also ran for an 18-yard score. He surpassed 4,000 career passing yards in the win.
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485 Combined yards passing and rushing for Law quarterback Matthew Witteman in a 41-35 victory at Shelton. Witteman was 21-for-31 with 361 yards and five touchdowns passing, and rushed 16 times for 124 yards and one touchdown.
763 Days since New Canaan had lost a game before it was defeated by Ludlowe 34-31 in Week 8. The Rams had dropped a 14-0 decision to Masuk on Sept. 27, 2024 for their last loss.
This article originally published at CIAC football Week 9 by the numbers: Fun facts, figures from CT’s high school football scene.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
