​(Sean Patrick Bowley)
Welcome back to another edition of AUDIBLES, your weekly, tongue-in-cheek (sometimes), quick-hit, one-stop shop guide to Connecticut’s high school football games.It’s Week 4, and that means another round of Alliance games, albeit a fraction of what we saw in Week 2, when the whole state got involved. There are only 34 Alliance games this time, but more than enough big ones as we head into October of the 2026 football season.The biggest might be No. 6 Cheshire heading to Westport to face No. 7-ranked Staples, which cracked the latest GametimeCT Top 10 poll this week after a reasonably impressive 23-20 victory over Ridgefield last week. No. 9 New Britain (2-1) also plays host to top-ranked New Canaan (3-0), two weeks after the Alliance decided to pair them with No. 2 Greenwich.But who needs the Alliance when there are plenty of league showdowns on tap, as well? In the CCC, we get a huge battle of 3-0 teams when Tolland and Plainville face off at Tinty Field. In the SWC, upstart Pomperaug puts its 3-0 record to the test against rival, 2-1 Bunnell. In the SCC, there’s nothing like a good ol’ fight between Fairfield Prep (1-2) and No. 4 Hand (3-0) at the Surf Club.And there’s so much more. So pull up a chair, kick back and let’s see what’s what for Week 4:SPB’s AUDIBLES: Week 4THURSDAYBRISTOL EASTERN (0-3) at MIDDLETOWN (3-0), 6 p.m. –  Eastern’s lost two games by 3 points combined. Ouch.WETHERSFIELD (1-2) at E.O. SMITH (0-3), 6 p.m. – Wethersfield’s not cooked yet. A win, and they get two weeks to prep for Middletown.THAMES RIVER CO-OP (1-1) at BULLARD-HAVENS (1-2), 6 p.m. – Crusaders only lost to Cheney/Windham Tech co-op by a point, which bodes well for them.BLOOMFIELD (2-1) at SIMSBURY (2-1), 6:30 p.m. – It’s getting late early for suddenly suspect Warhawks after that bludgeoning by Tolland last week.RHAM (1-2) at ROCKY HILL (1-2), 6:30 p.m. – Both teams’ only victories were their Alliance games vs. the CTC.LEDYARD (2-1) at KILLINGLY (1-2), 6:30 p.m. – No Alliance this week for either team. Whew. They’re a combined 0-3 outside the ECC.WINDHAM CO-OP (1-2) at EAST CATHOLIC (3-0), 6:30 p.m. – East Catholic’s unbeaten, but they’ve been living on the edge, winning by an average margin of 5 points. Can’t overlook Windham, or anyone else, for that matter.SMSA CO-OP (2-0) at GRANBY/CANTON CO-OP (2-1), 6:30 p.m. – Granby hung around in its loss to Rockville, but be careful here. SMSA might be on the mend.FRIDAYBRIDGEPORT CENTRAL (1-2) at BASSICK (0-3), 4 p.m. – The Hilltoppers have lost four straight in this series going back to 2019.TOLLAND (3-0) at PLAINVILLE (3-0), 6 p.m. – Plainville’s Anthony Abarno ripped these guys for 322 yards and 4 TDs passing last year. That’s a concern, but so is Tolland’s suddenly potent ground game.O’BRIEN TECH (0-3) at CHENEY TECH/WINDHAM TECH (2-1), 6 p.m. – Cheney coach Tony Bonito earns career victory 150 with a win here.WOLCOTT (3-0) at DERBY (0-2), 6 p.m. – Derby’s been competitive, but