This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
10/29/2016 12:00 AMIt was a long-awaited homecoming for the Guilford football team when it hosted Lyman Hall and the Indians send their hometown fans happy by earning their third victory of the season.
Guilford faced fellow SCC Tier 3 squad Lyman Hall on Oct. 28 in what was the Indians’ first home game in 42 days. Coming off a 27-point loss to Hillhouse the previous week, the Indians were looking to bounce back in a big way against the one-win Trojans and they did just that with a 33-0 shutout. It was Guilford’s first blanking of the season and it improved the team to 3-4 overall with a mark of 3-2 against Tier 3 competition.
“A win is a win. We played very well the last couple of weeks against Creed-Career-Whitney Tech [a 31-14 win] and even with Hillhouse. That game was 14-6 going into the half and was probably the closest 33-6 game I’ve seen in my career,” said Head Coach Mike Eagle. “They played big and physical and I think we brought confidence from that game into the week leading up to this one.”
AJ Moscato led the ground game with 150 rushing yards on 17 carries for the Indians. Sophomore Jack Strand added 53 rushing yards with two scoring scampers, while junior wideout Sean Russell caught four passes for 53 yards and a score. Junior quarterback Aaron Korik completed six passes for 76 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, junior defensive back Clay Huffman returned a pick for a score, plus Jack Six led in tackles with eight, including two for lost yardage, to go along with a sack.
“They presented some challenges with their triple-option offense, but our defense shut them down quickly. One of our goals was to keep them out of the end zone. We were able to stop them from really doing anything,” said Eagle. “Our defense has rally stepped up and they are playing really good football. Our defensive coaching staff is really good with what they are doing and in preparing the kids. I think we over-prepared for Lyman Hall. They only did a handful of things of what we expected them to do.”
The Indians started the scoring with a 29-yard TD connection between Korik and Russell to lead 7-0 with 10:43 to play in the opening frame. Senior captain receiver Eryk Derda later ran it into the end zone from four yards away to make it a 14-0 Guilford advantage with 7:40 before intermission. That held up as the halftime score as the Indians earned 161 yards of offense to 60 for Lyman Hall (1-6, 0-4 in SCC Tier 3) through the first two periods.
With 7:30 remaining in the third, Strand raced to paydirt from nine yards out to make it 21-0. The Indians’ defense then struck for points as Huffman returned an interception for a score to give Guilford a 27-0 command with 1:36 left in the third. Strand capped off the night on a 2-yard TD rush with 7:50 remaining.
“We took control of the game from the first drive of the third. We were physical on our second quarter drives. We had good leadership in the locker room at halftime with the kids talking about flow of the game and what we had to do in the second half,” said Eagle. “It was also nice to be home for the first time in 42 days. We had a ‘Green Out’ night with green jerseys in the stands. It was really good to be home again. Everyone was very supportive and we had a great turnout.”
After Korik suffered an injury during a loss to Sheehan, the Indians have turned to a two-quarterback system with fellow signal caller Strand since Korik’s return. With differing styles of play between the two, Coach Eagle relishes the opportunity to see how the Indians can make their opponent’s heads spin during pregame preparations.
“When Aaron got hurt, it was a complete 180 for us. We stayed in the spread offense, but we changed our philosophy,” said Coach Eagle. “They have two different styles. Aaron is a speed, zone-read guy, while Jack can throw the ball, but he’s also a bruiser that also plays outside linebacker. Aaron looked real good in the first quarter and we expect a lot out of him. The offense is really catering to both styles now and they can both lead. It’s also fun for the coaches to now be able to create and build things and we tried plays with both of them on the field against Lyman.”
As the calendar turns to November, the Indians will next travel to Wilton (4-3) for a non-conference duel on Friday, Nov. 4 with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Eagle said that his squad has learned how to rebound and rise up through adversity and now the Indians are aiming to finish out the year on a high note in their final three contests.
“Wilton played very close in the first half with Darien [on Oct. 29] and we scrimmaged them at Yale’s camp over the summer. These guys have had evenly matched games with them in recent years. They are a well-coached, good FCIAC team, but we are up to the challenge,” said Eagle. “We took it on the chin after the Branford game [a 15-14 loss on Sept. 16], but we are still learning how to battle through things and finish. We said before the Lyman game that we created a four-game season and want to give ourselves an opportunity.”
From the Sidelines
The interception returned for a touchdown by Clay Huffman was the first defensive score for the Indians in Head Coach Mike Eagle’s tenure.
Guilford’s other victories have come against SCC Tier 3 rivals Law (41-34) and Creed-Career-Whitney Tech (31-14).
After Wilton, Guilford hosts Tier 3 foe East Haven on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. and then closes the year on the road versus traditional Thanksgiving rival Hand at the Surf Club on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.