Inside Week 10 of CIAC football: Return tickets, ticking clocks and the unbeatens
· Yahoo Sports
It's almost that time.
Playoff football is brewing, Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and numerous teams are on the edge of either clinching a spot in the tournaments or falling short of the postseason.
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An analysis of the field by GametimeCT had 11 teams unofficially clinching playoff berths heading into Week 10.
That group featured some recent champions, such as Hand (2023 and 2025), Masuk (2024), Ansonia (2024), and Staples (2023).
But there's plenty of room for newcomers.
Of the 48 playoff spots, there are 20 teams that did not play in last year's tournaments that are inside the playoff bubble after Friday's games. Several of those teams have not appeared in the postseason in more than a decade, and one has never gone to the dance: Lewis Mills.
Lewis Mills is in its 16th season as a program and now co-ops with Wolcott Tech, ranking sixth in Class L with a 6-2 record.
Lyman Hall (M) and Plainville (SS) have both unofficially clinched berths in the playoffs. For Lyman Hall (7-2), it's the first bid since 2010, and for Plainville (9-0), it's the first since 2019.
Pomperaug (8-1) is third in Class MM and is closing in on its first playoff berth since 2009, when it was runner-up in Class L.
Xavier's last trip to the playoffs resulted in a Class LL-Small championship in 2014. The Falcons (6-2) are seventh in Class MM.
And one of the brightest stories in CIAC football this season, Simsbury, has gone from four wins in the last three years combined, to eight wins and a possible tournament berth. The Trojans are ranked fourth in Class L and should they qualify, it would be their first playoff appearance since 2019.
The clock's ticking
One of the many teams in need of a big win in Week 10 was defending Class M champion Berlin, which had taken a tough loss against Enfield in its most recent game.
They got that bounce-back win by going back to the "old Berlin way."
Berlin controlled the ball, the clock, and the game while rolling to a 26-0 win over Platt Thursday night in Meriden. Berlin had possession for 38 of 48 minutes and ran 51 plays to Platt's 20.
"We had a horrible night versus Enfield. We didn't compete and we had to go to school the next day and it was a horrible feeling," Berlin coach John Capodice told GametimeCT's Bryant Carpenter. "We said, 'We've got to change this really, really quick. The clock's ticking. If you want to go into the playoffs and you want to be a quality football team, we had to go back to the old Berlin way, and that's competing for four quarters."
By kicking it up a notch, Berlin improved to 6-3 and is in seventh place in the Class SS standings with one game remaining. It hosts Middletown (7-2) at 6:30 p.m., Friday.
Berlin needing to close out the season strong is a trend with last year's finalists. Among those 12 teams, half would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today.
Among those are state runners up Killingly (2-7) and Brookfield (1-7);Class MM champ Windsor (5-4) and runner-up Bunnell (4-4), and Class S champ Sheehan (4-5)and runner-up Northwest Catholic (4-4).
Overall, last year's champions were 37-16 after Friday's games, while the runners-up were 26-26.
Unbeaten update
The undefeated teams have held serve so far in Week 10.
Hand, Ludlowe, Masuk, Naugatuck, New London and Plainville have all won this week and are now 9-0 with one game remaining.
St. Joseph is 8-0 and hosts Greenwich at noon, Saturday, while North Branford is idle this week and remains 8-0.
Bullet points
- Ryan Love passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in No. 2 Ludlowe's 28-7 win over No. 7 Staples.
- Matt Witteman connected with Reid Moulton for a 12-yard touchdown with 56.8 seconds remaining to give Law a 24-21 victory over Lyman Hall. Hunter Kendzierski had six catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.
- Ben Beaulieu scored three touchdowns as No. 10 Southington rebounded from its first loss with a 38-14 win over Maloney. The Blue Knights scored the final 31 points of the game.
- No. 4 New Canaan overcame a huge challenge from Wilton but stopped the Warriors on fourth down at the Rams' 10-yard line for a 16-12 win.
- Naugatuck improved to 9-0 with a 29-14 decision over Torrington. Qwentarvus Lee had 133 rushing yards, and scored on an 80-yard run and a 78-yard fumble return.
- Cheshire had three late interceptions and their defense pitched a second-half shutout in a 31-6 victory over Guilford.
- New Britain followed up its win over Southington with a 27-0 shutout of Manchester.
- Norwich Free Academy picked up a key win with a 35-7 win over Fitch. The Wildcats are 5-4, have won four straight and are sixth in Class L.
- Tyler McMahon had a touchdown run, booted a field goal and was 3-for-3 on PATs to help Farmington defeat Middletown 17-14.
- Hand roared to a 41-0 shutout over Sheehan in a battle of two state championships from last season. Hand won Class SS and Sheehan won Class S.
Up next
There's a (very) slim schedule of 23 games on tap for Week 11 as teams prepare for the traditional games during Thanksgiving week and, for some, a final shot at qualifying for the CIAC playoffs.
The game of the week may be in the SWC, where Notre Dame Prep hosts Pomperaug at Sacred Heart University at 6:30 p.m., Friday. Both teams are 8-1 after Week 10 wins.
Saturday's slate of three games includes Windsor (5-4) at Bloomfield (5-3) at 1 p.m. That matchup is usually a springboard to the playoffs for both teams, but this time it's somewhat of a must win.
Here's a look at some of the games to watch for Week 11:
Thursday, Nov. 19
- Valley Regional/Lyme Old Lyme at North Branford, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 20
- New Britain at West Haven, 6 p.m.
- Glastonbury at Simsbury, 6:30 p.m.
- Middletown at Berlin, 6:30 p.m.
- Pomperaug at New Fairfield, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21
- Windsor at Bloomfield, 1 p.m.
This article originally published at Inside Week 10 of CIAC football: Return tickets, ticking clocks and the unbeatens.