This Saturday, Middletown (6-2) hosts Berlin (6-2) at Miller-Fillback Field. This is a desperation game for both teams as they attempt to stay in the race for a Class M playoff berth.

Berlin is ranked sixth and MHS is seventh. The winner will move up, the loser is likely finished. Class M is, however, up for grabs as after No. 1 ranked and unbeaten Hillhouse of New Haven and second ranked Ledyard (with one loss) there are five teams at 6-2.

One thing is certain, it will be a noisy place on Saturday. Not only is a big crowd expected, both the Berlin and Middletown band will be performing. Both bands are huge, and both are very good. Yup, there’s a band rivalry between the two schools that is right up there with the football rivalry.

A MINOR IRRITANT: It turned out that Notre Dame of West Haven was no match for the Xavier juggernaut which dusted off the Green Knights, 41-7, Friday night. The Falcons, ranked No. 2 in the state in most polls, should have no trouble Friday night at Shelton (2-6).

If undefeated West Haven (7-0) gets past Wilbur Cross (Game time is Friday at 2 p.m. at Wilbur Cross; it’s Veterans Day), that sets up the mega-showdown at Palmer Field on Nov. 18 between Xavier and West Haven.

But Cross will be no walk in the park for the Westies. The Governors are 6-2 and are in the thick of the race for a Class L playoff berth. West Haven remained unbeaten by edging Hand of Madison, 21-19. Hand scored late, but missed a two-point conversion try.

Xavier is still ranked No. 2 in Class LL with 140 playoff points. Southington leads with 142.50 points. Class LL is up for grabs, too. There are the three unbeaten teams -- Southington, Xavier and West Haven -- and then there are three teams with one loss, New Britain, Trumbull and Greenwich. Of those six, two won’t make the playoffs.

That’s why another loss by any of those teams, even the unbeaten ones, could be deadly. And there will be losses. New Britain plays at Southington this Friday, Trumbull has St. Joseph and New Canaan and Greenwich has No. 1 Staples of Westport. The only sure way to make it in this heavyweight division is simple: don’t lose.

V/C HOME AGAIN: Vinal/Coginchaug isn’t worried about a playoff berth. It would just like to win a game. And Friday, the Hawks have a legitimate chance against RHAM of Hebron at 7 p.m.

V/C put up a ton of points against Middletown and had over 300 yards offense -- and still lost by three touchdowns. A bright spot for the Hawks was the running of tailback Manny Allen who had 138 yards in 21 carries.

CROMWELL ALIVE: The Panthers moved back into the top four in the Class S playoff hunt thanks not only to its win over Valley Regional, but also Windham’s upset win over Jack Cochran’s New London team that dropped it to fifth.

But Cromwell’s fate still hangs on its game this Saturday at Bowen Field in New Haven at 1 p.m. against undefeated Hyde Leadership. With a win, the Panthers are a lock. If they lose, they will need help.

DOC GILHULY: Followers of American Legion Baseball know the name Doc Gilhuly. The longtime manager of the Bristol Legion team died last week at age 85. His wife, Joan, predeceased him by a year.

The World War II veteran ran the Bristol program for 44 years and during his brilliant tenure, his teams won nine state titles. Gilhuly didn’t run the team on the field, coaches were for that. But he was always in the dugout, wearing his red Bristol AL cap.

I remember when Middletown would play exhibition games at Muzzy Field. Gilhuly would always greet the team as it got off the bus, escort the team to the dressing room under the stands and point out which dugout was Middletown’s.

He would make sure that at game’s end, the team would have soft drinks and sandwiches. He was a master of detail and ran the program in as professional and classy a way as any program was ever run.

"Bristol is known around the nation as one of the premier Legion franchises. Gilhuly made it so. "Everything I know about this job I learned from Doc," said current manager Paul LaFleur.

If there is a hereafter, betcha there’s a perfect ballpark. Betcha Doc has a few tips on how to make ‘perfect’ even better. Rest in peace, Baseball Man.

CLASSES/ENROLLMENTS: Mercy is Class L in volleyball and Class LL in soccer. Go figure. Middletown is Class L in boys soccer, but Class M in football. Go figure again.

Want some interesting enrollment figures? Middletown High is larger than Mercy. Middletown has 510 girls in grades 10-12 while Mercy has 500. But the most remarkable thing is that there is no public high school in the state with a larger disparity in girl-boy enrollment than Middletown High.

While there are 510 girls, there are only 358 boys in the top three grades. In most schools it’s right around 50-50, as one would expect. But at MHS, more than 58% of the enrollment is female. Go figure that, too. Must be something in the water.

NO MHS vs. V/C POWDER PUFF: Dan Sullivan, a Vice-Principal at Middletown High, reported that the scheduled Powder Puff football game between the girls of Middletown and the girls from Vinal Tech/Coginchaug fell through. "They couldn’t get a coach," said Sullivan. So the MHS juniors will play the MHS seniors, as usual, on Nov. 21.

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