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11/27/2015 11:00 PMIt took the Hand football team a little time to kick things into high gear when it faced Guilford in the teams’ annual Thanksgiving Eve season finale. However, when all was said and done, the Tigers emerged victorious with their star signal caller inscribing his name in program history.
Hand traveled to rival Guilford on Nov. 25 and came away with a convincing 42-7 win to complete the year at 7-3. Although the Indians drove just shy of the Tigers’ red zone on their first offensive possession, Hand came up with a stop and went on to cruise to victory by scoring 42-straight points. As part of the win for Hand, senior quarterback Nick Van Dell became the new school record holder for career touchdown passes with 51, setting the mark in the second quarter with the second of his three TD tosses on the night.
“Being the new career leader is an honor. If you look at the names that have been on that list, it’s unreal, and to have my name next to theirs, it’s truly an honor,” said Van Dell. “My career at Hand has been amazing with the bonds I’ve made with players and coaches. It’s something that will never change or break. It’s been fun every year and I loved coming out and playing with my brothers. I had the best experience possible and I’m so glad that I had the opportunity. Everyone says that it takes a little bit of time for it to hit you that it’s truly over. But for me, I realized it right away and I’m missing it more than anything.”
In the final contest of his three-year tenure as Hand’s starting QB, Van Dell completed 20 of 25 passes for 230 yards. He also had a pair of carries for 20 rushing yards. Elsewhere, senior Reid Sweitzer (7 rushes, 46 yards; 7 receptions, 36 yards) and junior Nick Anderson (5 attempts, 62 yards) each rushed for a score, senior Mark Hill led the aerial attack with four catches for 94 yards and two trips to the end zone, and senior Ryan Kaufmann reeled in five catches for 77 yards for the Tigers, who gained 400 yards of total offense.
“The first thing about Nick—he is a very humble kid that never wants the spotlight on him. He did miraculous things every week,” said Head Coach Steve Filippone. “He was a true difference maker, additionally on the field as a leader and the locker room. He is a tremendous human being and gifted athlete.”
The Indians (2-8) reached the 22-yard line of Hand on their first drive of the night before the Tigers’ defense awoke about seven minutes into the opening quarter and held the home squad off the board. On the ensuing Hand possession, it took only 2:12 for the Tigers to break the scoreless game when Van Dell and Hill hooked up for a 38-yard connection and a 7-0 lead.
“Watching Guilford on film, they always come out very strong and that’s a compliment to their coaches preparing them for a game. They go in with the attitude that they can compete and play with anyone, so we weren’t surprised with that first drive,” said Filippone, who saw the Indians take a swift 7-0 lead during Hand’s 49-14 win in the 2014 meeting. “Yet when you are a team that is ready and fired up, but then the other team stops you on that first drive, it’s kind of a morale breaker.”
Van Dell was then forced to sit out an offensive series due to an upper-shin injury. Junior Brett Bilcheck (3-for-3, 14 yards) stepped on the field in relief behind center and found Hill on a 7-yard strike for a 14-0 Hand command early in the second period.
“He might have had a small crack, but he couldn’t do any of the things he normally does,” said Filippone on Van Dell and the injury. “Yet we were all determined to see him break the all-time career TD passes record, so we wanted to give him the chance to do so.”
From there, Van Dell made his way back onto the gridiron and into the Hand history books when threw a 3-yard TD pass to senior Reid Sweitzer for the record breaker and a 21-0 lead. The Tigers continued to score in goal-to-go territory when junior Nick Anderson scampered in from 1-yard out just 1:04 before intermission.
Up 28-0 to start the third, Hand’s offense persisted as Bilcheck (4 rushes, 22 yards) raced past the goal line from three yards out to cap off the Tigers’ initial drive of the second half. The final points for the Tigers came when Van Dell and Sweitzer again found each other—this time from 10 yards out—with 2:58 left in the third for the 42-0 cushion.
“I think we found [red zone offense] against West Haven a little bit and tonight we had 100-percent production until the middle of the third quarter, when I had our offensive coaching staff take the foot off the gas. Yet until then, we scored with the ball every time we had it,” said Filippone. “Our red zone offense kind of came into its own versus Shelton and our offense as a whole this year came late, but it finished strong.”
Guilford wound up preventing the Tigers’ shutout bid thanks to senior running back Mike Filley scoring on a 13-yard rush with 3:04 remaining in the matchup.
“Even when we were up 28-0, I still felt like [Guilford’s] ability to hold onto the ball and move with it was very competitive,” Filippone said. “But from a defensive standpoint, they couldn’t match up with us.”
Despite missing the playoffs for a second-straight year, the Tigers did post a winning record following a 5-6 mark for 2014. While the Tigers part ways with a tremendous senior class that helped them reach the postseason at 8-3 as sophomores in 2013, Filippone feels confident that Hand can knock on the postseason door in 2016 behind a young cluster of competitive kids.
“We had a great group of seniors that you can’t replace, but they came on board as sophomores after some of the most successful years for this program. They had a legacy to live up to and, in terms of staying competitive with the teams we play yearly, they kept it alive. We could’ve easily lost more games the last three years than we did,” said Filippone, who last piloted Hand to a state title in 2012. “7-3 is a good, but not great year for Hand football. Yet I know there are a lot of teams in the state that wouldn’t want our schedule. We feel like it’s an honor to play the teams we do and it helps prep us for the playoffs. We should be in SCC’s top-tier division when it realigns for next year and we belong there. To win 20 games the last three years, we are most proud of that. We hope to get back next year with a great nucleus coming back.”
From the Sidelines
Hand now leads the all-time series with Guilford 37-5-1 and hasn’t lost to the Indians since 2006.
David Thompson had been the Hand record holder for career touchdown passes for 31 years until Nick Van Dell took ownership of the mark.
For the 2015 season, Hand also defeated Amity (28-16), Cheshire (14-0), Cross (42-16), Branford (33-6), Hamden (34-7), and Class LL State Playoff squad West Haven (35-21). The Tigers lost to Class L Playoff qualifier Notre Dame-West Haven (27-7), Xavier (13-7), and Class LL State Playoff No. 1 seed Shelton (17-13).
The Tigers finished 11th in the Class L State Playoff rankings and were three slots away from a postseason bid.