334 episodes

Connecticut's premier high school football podcast hosted by Sean Patrick Bowley and Pete Paguaga for GameTimeCT.

The Meat Grinder GameTimeCT

    • Sports
    • 4.7 • 67 Ratings

Connecticut's premier high school football podcast hosted by Sean Patrick Bowley and Pete Paguaga for GameTimeCT.

    2023 CIAC championship recap and season finale show

    2023 CIAC championship recap and season finale show

    Welcome to 16th and final Season 6 episode of The Meat Grinder, your weekly dose of high school football in Connecticut, brought to you by GameTimeCT and CT Insider.
    After six great championship bouts ad CCSU and UConn’s Rentschler Field, we’ve crowned our 2023 champions and voted in the final GameTimeCT Top 10 poll and the STAPLES WRECKERS are No. 1 following their thrilling, 21-20 Class LL championship victory over West Haven.
    Join hosts Sean Patrick Bowley and Pete Paguaga as they run through everything that happened during championship weekend, including recaps of all six state championship games and how they voted in the final top 10 poll.
    This week’s special guest star, our first in over a month, is none other than newly crowned No. 1-ranked Staples coach ADAM BEHRENDS. 
    The Iowa native arrived in Westport from IMG Academy in Florida just four years ago and, after a near-disastrous 2-8 season in 2019, Behrends quickly molded Staples in to a contender.
    But after a 1-point loss to Fairfield Prep in the 2022 quarterfinals, the Wreckers developed a 2023 Mantra: Find the Point. And they did just that, avenging their playoff loss to Prep by a point and then avenging their Week 1 loss to West Haven by a single yard and one point: 21-20.
    We also run down some of the candidates of the upcoming 91st New Haven Register All-State football Team.
    So — for the final time in 2023 — join us, won’t you?
    RUNDOWN
    0:00 — 2023 CIAC Championship Montage
    4:23 — Staples finishes No. 1 
    10:42 — The Final 2023 GameTimeCT Top 10
    13:11 — Poll Comparisons: Pete, Sean, Coaches
    16:43 — Class LL Championship recap
    20:46 — Class S championship recap
    23:15 — Class MM Championship recap
    24:29 — Class M Championship recap
    25:59 — Class L Championship recap
    28:40 — Class SS Championship recap
    30:47 — Championship weekend takeaways (crowd comparisions)
    36:37 — Interview with Staples coach ADAM BEHRENDS
    1:06:46 — Final championship thoughts, 2024 look ahead
    1:15:17 — 2023 Players and Coaches of the Year?
    1:23:58 — Will Aldam wins the picks and Season 6 wrap
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    • 1 hr 25 min
    Thanksgiving wrap and quarterfinal pick'ems show

    Thanksgiving wrap and quarterfinal pick'ems show

    Welcome to another thrilling edition of The Meat Grinder, your weekly dose of high school football in Connecticut with GameTimeCT's Sean Patrick Bowley and Pete Paguaga, and the weekly GameTimeCT Pick'ems Podcas: CIAC quarterfinal edition.
    And what a Thanksgiving week it was as we completed the CIAC state playoff field. There were upsets galore in the final Class S standings; a stunning revival for Fairfield Prep, which toppled West Haven to become the first losing team to qualify; Jett Hall's legendary Valley performances as Naugatuck toppled Ansonia in a battle of unbeatens.
    But the best game of Thanksgiving belonged to the Apple Valley Classic, where — at long last — Notre Dame recruit Matt Jeffery, injured for the better part of the last seven weeks, made his triumphant return to the gridiron and led Cheshire past rival Southington in a ride-or-die scenario in a game it hadn't won since 2011.
    SPB takes you through that thriller at Fontana Field and all the rest as we put a bow on the 2023 regular season. 
    And now we're onto the playoffs.
    First 45 is your annual Thanksgiving recap with highlights of impactful games from last week. The second 45 is the pick'ems, where Pete and Sean predict all 24 quarterfinal games, not to mention take a few stabs at predicting the state champions.
    You won't want to miss a minute. So join us, won't you?
    RUNDOWN 
    0:00 — Opening Montage: Matt Jeffery, the return
    1:55 — Introduction: CIAC playoff (and website) probs
    10:15 —Thanksgiving week wrap: Tuesday night
    11:59 — Thanksgiving week wrap: Wednesday night (Masuk, Hand, Fairfield Prep)
    20:47 —Thanksgiving Day wrap: Smith, Staples knock off No. 1 Greenwich
    27:56 — Thanksgiving Day wrap: Jeffery goes off as Cheshire topples Southington
    39:29 — Jett Hall. Naugatuck run past Ansonia, to 10-0 record
    43:55 — Wrapping up Thanksgiving.
    45:12 — Flip over your record, it's the pick section.
    49:20 — CLASS S bracket and picks
    55:06 — CLASS SS bracket and picks
    1:04:08 — CLASS M bracket and picks
    1:15:01 — CLASS MM bracket and picks
    1:20:58 — CLASS L bracket and picks
    1:28:15 — Class LL bracket and picks
    #cthsfb #highschoolfootball #connecticut #football #notredamefightingirish #ctfootball

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    • 1 hr 43 min
    The 2023 Thanksgiving week playoff update & pick'em podcast show

    The 2023 Thanksgiving week playoff update & pick'em podcast show

    Welcome back to another thrilling episode of The Meat Grinder, your weekly dose of High School Football in Connecticut and because we live in Connecticut, and we're fast approaching the last Thursday in November, everybody should know what that means.
    Yes, turkeys, it's Thanksgiving Football Week in Connecticut, the final regular season game of the year. It's a time to come home home, get the fam or the gang together and head out to your favorite high school football game, whatever it might be called — The Route 83 Bowl, the Turkey Bowl, the Green Bowl, the Elm City Bowl, The Battle for the Bell or the Battle for the Sword... whatever. There's always something to whet your appetite Thanksgiving morning. 
    And of course Thanksgiving week means copious amount of playoff math, which begets playoff scenarios. Many, many playoff scenarios.
    Because time is precious and short, Thanksgiving Week also means our annual hybrid episode, combining the Meat Grinder with the weekly Pick'ems Podcast!
    So if you're not one of the lucky contestants to be playing this week, pull up a chair, kick back and relax. We've got everything you need to know, and then some. 
    We start off with the usual, a breakdown of the latest GameTimeCT 10 poll, followed by a complete run down of all the teams vying for playoff spots. There are only 16 of 48 spots remaining and we'll tell you who needs what to keep playing next week. 
    We also recap some of last week's big games with playoff implications, including Hand-Sheehan and South Windsor-Enfield. SPB also recaps two of last week's WILD NEPSAC Bowl games — Cheshire Academy's late rally past Avon Old Farms and Hamden Hall's thrilling conclusion to its Bowl game vs. Dexter Southfield-Mass.
    And, finally, treat yourself to a full hour of Thanksgiving high school football picks. We're picking 20 games, including some of the week's biggest. 
    So, Happy Thanksgiving to all. We do hope you will join us.
    RUNDOWN
    0:00 — Introduction
    1:25 — It's Thanksgiving Football Week 2023!
    7:13 — Wilton gets defensive with Shelton
    8:25 — The Latest GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll (Windsor rips Bloomfield)
    11:40 — Class S playoff situation
    13:02 — Class SS playoff situation
    14:23 — Hand tops Sheehan to qualify in Class M
    17:13 — Class M playoff situation
    18:00 — Class MM playoff situation
    19:59 — Class L playoff situation: South Windsor knocks off Enfield to qualify
    23:57 — Class LL playoff situation (Fairfield Prep getting closer)
    25:59 — NEPSAC Bowls: Late TD propels Cheshire Academy over Avon Old Farms.
    32:12 — NEPSAC Bowls: Hamden Hall holds off Dexter Southfield on final play
    37:40 — THE PICKEM PODCAST
    39:56 — Masuk at Newtown
    43:27 — Prep at West Haven
    45:58 — NWU at ATI
    48:07 — Staples at Greenwich
    51:00 — Guilford at Hand
    55:16 — North Branford at Coginchaug
    57:06 — Fitch at Ledyard
    58:36 — NFA at New London
    1:00:41 — Darien at New Canaan
    1:04:24 — Naugatuck at Ansonia
    1:09:04 — Green Bowl: NDWH at Hamden
    1:12:27 — Stratford at Bunnell
    1:14:41 — Central at Harding
    1:16:21 — Cheshire at Southington
    1:21:50 — Hartford Public at Weaver
    1:23:18 — Battle for the Bell: Bristol Eastern v. Bristol Central
    1:25:34 — Stoddard Bowl: Platt vs. Maloney
    1:28:01 — Rumble in Trumbull: St. Joseph at Trumbull
    1:30:15 — Elm City Bowl: Hillhouse at Cross
    1:32:40 — Carini Bowl: Sheehan at Lyman Hall
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    • 1 hr 39 min
    Week 11 selections for 2023 season

    Week 11 selections for 2023 season

    The GameTimeCT Pick'Em podcast and board has returned for Week 11 of the 2023 football season.
    THE RUNDOWN

    0:00 - 2:34 — Opener

    2:35 - 4:15 — Conard (1-8) at Hall (6-3)

    4:16 - 5:20 — ATI (7-1) at Bullard Havens (7-2)

    5:20 - 6:07 — Waterford (2-6) at Weaver (1-7)

    6:08 - 7:19 — Granby/Canton (8-1) at SMSA co-op (8-1)

    7:20 - 8:47 — Fairfield Prep (2-6) at Notre Dame-West Haven (2-6)

    8:48 - 10:08 — Manchester (6-2) at East Hartford (4-5)

    10:09 - 11:47 — New Fairfield (3-5) at Windham (6-2)

    11:48 - 14:04 — Daniel Hand (7-1) at Sheehan (5-3)

    14:05 - 15:29 — Bloomfield (8-0) at Windsor (8-1)

    15:30 - 17:34 — Shelton (7-2) at Wilton (7-2)

    17:35 - 19:06 — Wrap


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    • 20 min
    Setting the Thanksgiving Table with CIAC playoff scenarios (S6 E11)

    Setting the Thanksgiving Table with CIAC playoff scenarios (S6 E11)

    We’ve reached the penultimate week of the 2023 regular season, the week where we set the Thanksgiving table and learn, definitively, who is in and who needs what to qualify for the CIAC playoffs. 
    And, yes, your crack staff at GameTimeCT hunkered down with our slide rules and abacuses this weekend so that we may give you our best estimates on the latest scenarios heading into the final week and a half. 
    We also run down the latest top 10 poll and recap some of last week’s big games, beginning with No. 9 Ansonia’s 35-0 takedown of Oxford in an unbeaten NVL battle at Jarvis Stadium last week in, perhaps, a harbinger of playoff matchups to come. 
    We also recap the return of North Haven coach Tony Sagnella from his weekend suspension and sift through the ongoing soap opera in Monroe, where Masuk’s seniors have risen about the controversy surrounding their coaching staff, to deliver an emphatic, playoff-qualifying victory over New Milford. 
    Don’t miss our weekly shoutouts and a look at the upcoming NEPSAC Bowl championship games. 
    So join us, won’t you?
    RUNDOWN
    0:00 — Introduction
    3:34 — Ansonia knocks off unbeaten Oxford, heads into Thanksgiving 9-0
    9:42 — Week 11 GameTimeCT Top 10 Football Poll (Nos. 10-7)
    11:38 — Sagnella returns from suspension for No. 6 North Haven
    12:49 — Week 11 GameTimeCT Top 10 Football Poll (Nos. 5-1)
    14:53 — 2023 Playoff Scenarios: Explaining CIAC's playoff formula and website issues
    19:45 — Class S Playoff Scenarios (North Branford's huge win) 
    22:38 — Class SS Playoff Scenarios 
    25:16 — Class M Playoff Scenarios
    26:35 — Class MM Playoff Scenarios (Cheshire in trouble)
    32:22 — Class L Playoff Scenarios
    34:22 — Class LL Playoff Scenarios (Can Fairfield Prep pull this off??)
    43:20 — Seniors rise above the mess at Masuk
    54:42 — SHOUTOUTS
    1:03:43 — Suffield Academy upsets Cheshire Academy, NEPSAC Bowl matchups announced
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    • 1 hr 7 min
    Special Episode ! Boston Herald reporter Danny Ventura joins the show

    Special Episode ! Boston Herald reporter Danny Ventura joins the show

    Welcome to back to another episode of the Meat Grinder, your weekly dose of high school football in Connecticut. Do not adjust your YouTube or Spotify. It is Friday and it is a very special episode of the Meat Grinder.
    Last week’s drop of the Alliance playoff proposal got our gears going, we discussed it amongst ourselves, and then had a lengthy discussion about it with Oxford’s Joe Stochmal, a member of the CIAC committee.
    We also thought about how similar the proposal is to one enacted by Massachusetts a few years ago in how the MIAA, the Massachusetts version of the CIAC, virtually eliminated the state’s longstanding Thanksgiving Day football tradition at the expense of expanding the playoffs and starting it in early November.
    To give us a window into how that went down, we reached out to Danny Ventura, the 30-year veteran high school sports reporter from the Boston Herald for his insights and opinions on how Massachusetts’ devaluation of Thanksgiving Day football has gone over.
    Granted, the CT Football Alliance’s proposal suggests moving rivalry games typically held on Thanksgiving to Columbus Day, whereas Massachusetts allows teams to play Thanksgiving Day games in between the MIAA semifinals and championship weekend.
    But it was still an enlightening conversation all the same. We just couldn’t fit it all into this week’s regular Meat Grinder without heavy edits. Since we appreciate Danny’s time and his insight, we present to you the full interview in a special episode.
    ENJOY!
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    • 26 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
67 Ratings

67 Ratings

Jesuit 1977 ,

Very entertaining

Nice show

coachjmenz ,

Worth the listen

Great perspectives on sports stories throughout the state. Glad to see high school sports getting the coverage they deserve !

jubvyudxt ,

Definitely a Must Listen

If you are a High School football junkie these guys a must listen. They pretty much cover the entire state. Great guests too.

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