CIAC sets official playoff pairings
The CIAC's football committee approved the expected pairings for the state tournament on Friday, making official the 48 teams who will compete over the next two weeks for six championships.
All 24 quarterfinal games are Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the higher seeds' usual home fields, with two exceptions. St. Joseph, which has no lights, will play its Class L game against Cheshire at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport. In Class SS, Windham, whose home field has been undergoing renovations, will play its game against Gilbert/ Northwestern/Housatonic at E.O. Smith.
The semifinals are Sunday, Dec. 4, again at the higher seeds. The finals are Saturday, Dec. 10, with three games apiece at UConn's Rentschler Field in East Hartford and Central Connecticut's Arute Field in New Britain.
Seven teams secured the
final playoff spots on Thanksgiving, a day that set most of the seeds for the tournaments as well. The No. 1 seeds are Southington in Class LL, St. Joseph in L, SMSA in MM, Berlin in M, Cromwell/Portland in Class SS and Ansonia in Class S.
Cromwell/Portland was last year's Class S champion in a four-division setup. Class L champion Maloney has a chance to defend its title as the third seed, and
Class M champ Killingly is the third seed in Class MM this time around.
Last year's Class LL champion, Darien, was the last team eliminated in Class L on Thursday, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012; it had appeared in a CIAC final every season but one since then.