This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
10/23/2016 12:00 AMFootball
The Branford football team stopped Amity on a 2-point conversion attempt with 56 seconds remaining and held on for a 28-27 home victory versus the Spartans on Oct. 21.
Amity trailed 28-21 when quarterback Colin Beaulieu scored on a 62-yard touchdown run to bring the Spartans within a point. Instead of trying to kick a game-tying extra point, Amity’s coach opted to go for the win, but Hornets’ senior captain James Dering stuffed Beaulieu at the 1-yard line on the 2-point try. Branford improved to 4-2 with the win versus the SCC Tier 2 squad.
“It was a run play to our left and senior captain James Dering just sat in place, let the play develop, and made a nice read on what was happening. He came up and made a tremendous play for us,” Head Coach John Limone said about the 2-point conversion.
Branford and Amity were tied 6-6 after the first quarter. Jackson Seward scored on a 1-yard TD rush, Beaulieu answered for Amity (1-5) on a 5-yard touchdown run just 24 seconds later, and both teams missed their extra point kicks. Dalton Carden’s 1-yard touchdown run put the Hornets ahead and then Griffin Lynch ran in the 2-point conversion for a 14-6 lead at halftime.
Beaulieu ran for a 22-yard touchdown early in the third quarter and the Spartans converted the 2-point conversion pass to knot the game at 14-14. The matchup kept going back and forth as Carden’s 2-yard scoring rush put Branford up 21-14, after which Beaulieu responded with a 50-yard touchdown run to have the game tied at 21 entering the fourth quarter. With 4:02 remaining in the game, Carden broke free for a 32-yard TD run that put the Hornets in the lead and Dering’s extra point made it 28-21. That extra point loomed large after Amity’s final drive yielded a touchdown, only to see the Spartans come up a yard shy and a point short as Branford walked off the field in victory.
“It was a huge win for us. We would have liked to have done it a little cleaner. We made a lot of mistakes. But this group of guys, when they have a shot in the fourth quarter, they’re tough to beat. They have a great competitive spirit and play hard all the way to the final gun,” Coach Limone said. “So for us, it’s a W and we’re always excited to get a win, especially against a bigger school. They beat us in heartbreaking fashion last year, 28-21, so it was a good game to get back on the horse and get a victory.”
Carden rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries to lead the Hornets’ offense. Noah Lordan added 47 yards on eight carries. Lynch completed 12 passes for 106 yards with Daniel Thomas recording nine receptions for 69 yards.
On defense, Seward made 11 tackles that included four for a loss and he also combined with Kordele Brown for a sack. Brown had seven tackles, including three for losses. Brian Nichols and Zach Cash each grabbed an interception for the Hornets. Dering had seven tackles and blocked a 36-yard field goal attempt by Amity in the first quarter.
Up next for Branford is game against fellow SCC Tier 3 squad Creed-Career-Whitney (1-5) at Bowen Field in New Haven at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28. The Hornets finished the week ranked 11th in the Class M State Playoff standings. The top eight teams make it.
Field Hockey
The Hornets now sport an overall record of 12-1 with a mark of 5-2-0-1 in SCC play following a pair of 1-0 victories last week. Branford posted a 1-0 shutout in Mercy on Oct. 17 and prevailed by that same score in overtime versus Guilford at home on Oct. 20.
Kiersten Bjork scored the game’s lone goal on an assist from Karly King with 10:25 to play in the first half of the Mercy victory. Keira Integlia made eight saves in goal for Branford, while Britney Bunbanlu had a few solid clears. Branford outshot Mercy 12-8 and took 15 corners to the Tigers’ six.
The Guilford game remained scoreless through regulation and then Bjork won it for the Hornets by scoring on another assist from King with 3:13 remaining in overtime. The play started when Autumn McHenry got the ball at the 35-yard line and passed up to Bjork, who beat a defender. She then took the ball into the circle and made a solid reverse pass to Molly Zaffino, who shot it at the attacking goalie. King corralled the rebound, stayed low, and got it under the arm of the keeper to an awaiting Bjork, who put it in the goal. Integlia stopped all 13 shots she faced and made three sliding tackles in OT for another shutout. Branford had nine shots on goal and took 10 corners, while the Indians had seven corners.
The Guilford contest also marked the Hornets’ annual Play Pink Game. Donations from the game will be given to the Smilow Cancer Hospital in memory of Gina Warfield, the mother of one of Branford’s team managers, Victoria Warfield.
Volleyball
Branford won two of its three recent matches to stand at 11-6 with one regular season contest remaining. The Hornets recorded a 3-0 victory at Hillhouse on Oct. 17, blanked Cross 3-0 at home on Oct. 19, and dropped a 3-1 home decision versus Foran on Oct. 21. With the victory, Foran finished at 7-1 in the Oronoque Division and one win ahead of Branford for first place this year.
In the Hillhouse win, Branford swept the Academics by scores of 25-5, 25-14, 25-6. Lauren Elmasry had 11 aces with two digs and two kills, Marisa Minore notched three kills and a pair of kills, Tory Rudden had two kills, two aces, and two digs; and Maddie Obrempt added two aces for Branford.
For the Cross sweep, the Hornets took the sets by finals of 25-14, 25-8, and 25-18. Haley Maercklein had a nice match that saw her record seven kills with five aces and three blocks. Adrienne DiGioia had five kills and five digs, Minore and Diana Karosas both posted four kills and had two aces, and Jen Hwang added five aces.
Against Foran, Branford took a close 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24 defeat. DiGioia had 16 kills to go with 13 digs and two blocks. Erin O’Brien had 33 assists with three digs, Maercklein had 11 digs and five blocks, and Hwang recorded 10 digs for Head Coach Eva Esposito’s squad.
“Happy about beating Cross and Hillhouse. Disappointed about losing to Foran. It was a chance to win the division title and we didn’t accomplish that goal,” Coach Esposito said. “We missed 17 serves in that match, which is unacceptable. We had our chances to force game five. We just couldn’t finish them off. We had many unforced errors that gave them multiple opportunities to score. Looking forward to the SCC and state tournaments.”
Boys’ Soccer
The Hornets lost two of their three contests last week to stand at 6-9 and in need of either a win or a tie in their regular season finale to qualify for the State Tournament. Branford took a 2-1 home loss to Shelton on Oct. 17, beat Law 4-1 at home on Oct. 19, and lost a 1-0 game on the road versus Hand three days later. The Hornets hosted Cheshire in their last regular season game on Oct. 24 (after press time).
Girls’ Soccer
Branford dropped a pair of one-goal decisions last week. The Hornets took a 1-0 defeat in Guilford on Oct. 17 and then lost by a 3-2 final in West Haven two days later.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Hornets came in 12th place as a team at the SCC Championship at East Shore Park in New Haven on Oct. 20.
Andrew Byrne posted a time of 18:04 to take 52nd place and lead the Hornets’ pack. Matt Daley ran 18:29 and came in 65th place. Additionally, Spencer Mariotti finished 71st (18:41), Ryan McCarthy was 80th (18:53), Andrew DeBenedictis came in 82nd place (19:00), Harry Troidle took 89th (19:08), and Robbie Lionetti finished 112th (20:12) for Branford.
“Matt Daley, Ryan McCarthy and Andrew DeBenedictis ran very strong races today,” Head Coach Kevin Connell said. “They will be counted on heavily next year. They improved quite a bit as the season, developed, and it showed.”
Girls’ Cross Country
Courtney Cosgrove finished in 44th place with a time of 22 minutes and 23 seconds to pace Branford at last week’s SCC Championship meet. The Hornets finished in 15th place as a team.
Sophie Spencer was next in line for Branford as she came in 73rd place behind a mark of 23:50. Emily Borst was right there in 76th place with her time of 23:59. Molly Klarman took 97th place (24:42), while Omaima Nasry was 113th (27:27) for the Hornets.
“Sophie Spencer and Emily Borst had perhaps their best races of the year,” said Head Coach Kevin Connell. “They had a nice battle going on during the race.”
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
Branford had a meet at North Haven on Oct. 17 and took a 99-85 defeat to the Indians.