The football season opens Thursday in Connecticut and here are 10 area football players to watch:
Jayden Allen, New Britain, Sr., RB/DB: Rushed for 1,527 yards and 23 touchdowns as New Britain advanced to the Class LL playoffs for the second straight year.
Jaiden Booth, Weaver/Hartford Public/Classical, Sr., WR/DB: One of the top players on the new co-op team, is headed to play at Central Connecticut next year.
Dante Casdia, Glastonbury, Jr., RB/LB: Rushed for 1,504 yards and 18 touchdowns for Glastonbury, which advanced to the Class LL quarterfinals last year.
Kayden Davis, Northwest Catholic, Sr., WR/DB: Racked up 1,401 receiving yards, ranked third in the state, and had 17 touchdowns and 92 tackles on defense.
Joey Montalvo, East Catholic, Sr., WR/RB/S: His coach calls him “the best player in the state,” he had 28 touchdowns, third in Connecticut last year, and led the state in receiving yards (1,548).
Jake O’Brien, Sheehan, Sr., QB: Passed for 2,227 yards and 30 touchdowns and completed 123 of 194 attempts en route to guiding his team to the Class SS state championship game, where the Titans lost to Killingly.
AJ Robinson, Windsor, Sr., QB: Had 19 touchdown passes for 1,690 yards for Windsor, the Class MM runner-up and is heading to play at CCSU.
Josiah Sims, Newington, Sr., RB/LB: Had three receiving touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns and is the only returning starter on offense for Newington. Sims was part of the defense that led Newington to five shutouts last year, with 64 tackles (30 solo, 34 assists) and 7.5 sacks.
Jesus Vasquez, Platt, Sr., WR/K: Had 44 catches for 800 yards and seven touchdowns last season and he is also the kicker and punter for the team.
Kadyn Thomas, Bloomfield, Sr., OL/DL: Thomas was an All-Stater last year on a team that has been to the state championship game every year since 2018.
