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Canton to make CIAC football playoff debut at Torrington High against Capital

Torrington's newly-renovated Robert H. Frost Sports Complex. (Photo courtesy Litchfield County Sports.com)

Torrington’s newly-renovated Robert H. Frost Sports Complex. (Photo courtesy Litchfield County Sports.com)

Canton High’s football team will play their first-ever CIAC playoff game Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. on the new synthetic turf surface of the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex at Torrington High against Capital Prep/Achievement First. 

The game will not be held at Trinity College in Hartford as we reported on Tuesday. Both schools have to agree on the time and location and the 1 p.m. starting time was an issue for Canton, which has some players taking the SAT test on Saturday. The CIAC finalized and announced the Torrington location this morning. 

The CIAC football committee ruled earlier this week that Capital Prep/AF’s home field, Dillon Stadium, was unplayable due to the muddy field conditions. 

Capital Prep/AF (10-1) earned the No. 2 seed in Class S Small and the right to host a playoff home game. But most of the field at Dillon Stadium was covered in about a quarter inch of soft mud on Saturday when the Trailblazers beat Prince Tech, 44-0 in the regular season finale for both teams. 

It’s the second year that Capital Prep/AF had to move a game due to the conditions at Dillon Stadium. A year ago, the Trailblazers were the No. 1 seed in Class S and earned the right to host a playoff home game. But when Dillon was ruled unplayable, the game was moved to Bloomfield where the host Warhawks eliminated Capital Prep, 27-7. 

The winner of Canton and Capital Prep/AF contest will face either North Branford or Northwest Catholic in the championship game on Dec. 12 or Dec. 13. 

Canton (10-1) has a brand new synthetic turf field but was out of the running as a potential host. They cannot host a CIAC football player game because the facility doesn’t have permanent lights or a working press box. The CIAC football committee has specific rules for facilities necessary to host a football playoff game. 

Northwest Catholic (10-1) is hosting its Class S Small semifinal game with North Branford (10-1) at Simsbury High. The Indians, who play on a grass field, don’t have lights at their West Hartford campus field. 

Torrington just opened its renovated sports complex this fall by installing new synthetic turf, renovating its track and field facilities and installing new grandstands and a press box. The renovated complex opened in October.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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