The Connecticut boys high school season is set to conclude on Saturday after one of the most exciting and unexpected groups of tournaments in recent memory.
The Class L tournament has been particularly spicy, as No. 1 seed and traditional state power Darien was eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Fairfield Prep, 14-10. It was one of the most shocking results in years.
“We played (Darien) a couple of weeks earlier and I would just say we got overpowered a little at the beginning of that game,” said Fairfield Prep coach Graham Niemi. “I think we settled in and played a little bit better than we did in that first game against them.
“The second time around it felt like we got off to a little bit of a better start and we played with a lot of confidence. Some of the main things that I felt were important in that game were just being really tough with the ball and being mentally tough. You have to be when you play against them because they're so, so dangerous. You just have to be engaged every moment that you're on the field.”