Berlin football coach John Capodice directs his team during a summer scrimmage against the Hall Titans.
By Rob Gullo
NEFJ Correspondent
BERLIN — John Capodice’s homecoming back as the Berlin Redcoats football team’s head coach couldn’t have been any better.
After making his return to the high school coaching scene after serving as a Wesleyan football coach for the last decade, Capodice and his Redcoats kicked the season off with a dominant 50-12 win over the visiting New London Whalers.
Capodice coached the Redcoats from 2004-2015, and led them to a state title win in 2009. He left the team after some controversy following the 2015 season, and joined Wesleyan’s coaching staff where he coached up until this season.
Making his return back as the Redcoat’s head football coach and earning a dominant win, Capodice felt great to be part of the Berlin football community, where he and his family played growing up.
“It was exciting seeing all the alumni guys out here, all the parents, the community coming back out,” said Capodice. “Again, it’s a community program, my dad played here, I played here, my cousin, my uncle. I think that’s important to our community and people care about football in Berlin.”
From the opening kickoff, to the last whistle, it was all Berlin. Eli Rice returned the game’s opening kickoff 57 yards that set up a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cody Puzio.
The Redcoats then went up 14-0 when Tommy Motta punched in a two-yard touchdown run. Carmine Rio came up with a few big plays, recording an interception on defense and then hauling in a 21-yard touchdown pass a few plays later from Puzio giving Berlin a 20-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. .
New London responded the following drive with a 65-yard touchdown run from Zhi’Mir Maddox-Moore, but Berlin’s Eli Rice returned the kick the following play 83 yards for a score. A 41-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lavender gave Berlin a 35-6 lead at halftime.
Puzio threw two more second-half touchdowns with Rio and Rice each scoring. Moore scored his second touchdown of the night for New London, but Berlin cruised to a 50-12 dominant win.
Playing with a new head coach in any sport can take some time and adjusting, especially at the high school level. Luckily for the players, Capodice already had familiarity with a lot of his players, serving as a physical education teacher at the high school.
Puzio and Rio each praised Capodice for wanting to lead the team once former coach Joe Aresimowicz stepped down from the position shortly after the 2024 season. Both feel confident in his ability to lead the Redcoats football team to success.
“He picked us off right where we were and he kept the flow going,” said Puzio. “He worked us hard and we really appreciate that. And when you work hard, you get a score like that.”
“Coach Cap’s a great guy, he knows exactly what he’s talking about,” said Rio. “I think everything coach Cap says, he’s preparing us for the right guys, the right team, and he’s got good schemes for us, so, I think we’re good.”
Capodice said the biggest difference between coaching at Wesleyan and back at the high school level was the speed of the game. He’s enjoyed teaching the fundamentals of football to high school players and was proud of his team for its execution on Thursday night.
“The biggest thing I guess is the speed of the game,” said Capodice. “In the NEPSAC, you’re playing with top student-athletes in the nation. It’s a really fast game of football, but to come back here at the high school level, and go back to running, blocking, and tackling and really teaching all the fundamentals and to see the kids tonight execute was really, really great.”
Berlin will face 2024 Class S runner-ups Bloomfield Warhawks next Friday on the road at 6:30 p.m.