Vote: Who should be High School on SI's Connecticut Football Player of the Week? (10/14/2024)

We’ve selected eight candidates to choose from this past week’s games

Sheehan quarterback Jake O'Brien passed for 199 yards a two touchdowns, while rushing for 118 yards and four more TDs this week. / Jake O'Brien Instagram

Connecticut high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for the state. Teams showcased more of what they’ve got heading into Week 5 of the regular season.

As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Connecticut Football Player of the Week award from October 10-12, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected. 

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Congratulations to last week’s winner: Dante Casdia, Glastonbury 

Casdia was the offensive workhorse in Glastonbury's 35-25 win over Manchester, rushing for 142 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns.

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SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. - SBLive Sports

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Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20th. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees: 

Stephen Bailey, Kingswood Oxford 

The senior quarterback was stellar in a 45-8 win over Capital Prep Harbor, completing 8-of-13 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. 

Jake O’Brien, Sheehan 

O’Brien was on fire in the team’s 47-20 victory over Hamden, finishing completing 9-of-13 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and rush for 118 and four scores. 

Jax Higgins, Waterford 

Waterford cruised to a 26-6 victory over Ledyard last week behind the play of Higgins, who accounted 178 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns. 

Paul Calandrelli, Hand 

The Tigers’ signal caller had the steady hand in the team’s 26-0 victory over Hillhouse, throwing for 138 yards and three touchdowns. 

Hayden Allard, Killingly 

Allard, a junior running back, had a huge night in Killingly’s 48-13 victory over Guilford, rushing for 104 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns. 

Ethan Jones, Naugatuck 

In Naugatuck’s 49-7 victory over Gilbert/Northwestern/Housatonic last week, Jones completed all eight of his pass attempts for 200 yards and three touchdowns. 

Noah Prodan, Seymour 

Prodan led the way on the ground in Seymour’s 21-18 victory over Derby, rushing for 109 yards on 24 attempts. 

Robert Manning, Fairfield Prep 

The Jesuits ran away with a 41-15 win over Shelton behind the stellar play of Manning, who completed 23-of-29 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns.