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10/04/2015 12:00 AMFootball
Hand hosted Branford on Oct. 2 and grabbed a convincing 33-6 victory to move to 4-0. Nick Van Dell completed 19 passes on 32 attempts for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the squad’s leading rusher on the night, taking it on his own seven times for 35 yards. In the receiving department, Tristan Dowd yielded 72 yards on three catches and a score; Ryan Kaufmann reeled in five balls for 51 yards and two trips to the end zone; and Mark Hill earned 49 yards on six receptions.
Van Dell got the Tigers on the board with a 3-yard rush in the first quarter. The game stood at a 7-0 score until the final play of the half when Dowd caught a screen pass and took it 57 yards to the house in giving Hand a 13-0 halftime edge over the Hornets (0-3).
In the third, Kaufmann caught a tandem of touchdowns as nine and then four minutes remained in the frame to increase the gap to 26-0 before Van Dell, with eight minutes left in the contest, ran it in from eight yards out to cap off the night for the Tigers (who had 293 yards of total offense).
“It was not a good first half on offense; we couldn’t convert great field positioning into touchdowns,” said Head Coach Steve Filippone. “The wind and the rain also hurt us. It was hard to throw the ball effectively, but once the rain stopped, we did better and were able to keep the balls dry enough.”
Hand next hosts Hamden (1-3) on Friday, Oct. 9 at the Surf Club with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
“Hamden is a comparable team to ours; they are exceptionally talented at running back and pose a huge challenge for us,” said Filippone. “They can play with anyone in [SCC] Division I.”
Field Hockey
Hand hosted Lyman Hall and came away with a 3-1 victory to go to 6-1 (3-0 in the SCC). Versus the Trojans, Cameron Ruberti scored first at 23:06 of the first half with assists from Claire Gravina and Kirsten Duncan. Gravina then found the back of the net at 22:17 (from Erin Maxwell). Finally, Jenny Burris used helpers from Sophie Schreck and Duncan with 15:57 before halftime. The Tigers outshot the visitors 19-2 with Kylie Gargiulo making a save.
The Tigers then moved to 7-1 thanks to a 4-1 victory at Hamden on Oct. 2.
“Kirsten Duncan has really stepped up for the Tigers with tremendous effort. Sophie Schreck, Sam Pavano, Alli Buller, and Nora McCarthy are all managing the midfield, along with Duncan,” said Head Coach Sue Leckey. “Sam Pavano is leading the team in points, but many others are contributing goals and assists for the Tigers. Erin Maxwell, Cameron Ruberti, Clare Gravina, Em Banasiak, Erickson Richard, Olivia Fenn, and Cami Hobin are scoring for Hand. The defense is anchored by Kylie Gargiulo and backs of Abi Barry, Hollis Wivell, Emily Cody, and Taylor Leckey.”
Girls’ Cross Country
Hand faced off in a quad-meet against Hillhouse, Lauralton Hall, and host Hamden on Sept. 29 at Brooksvale Park. The Tigers swept the meet with a 15-50 decision over Hillhouse, along with 15-48 and 23-34 triumphs over the Crusdaers and hosting Green Dragons, respectively.
The Tigers were led by top finishers in runner-up Megan Phillips (20:57, missing the top spot by just 4 seconds) and Colleen Caruth for fifth (21:18).