This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/06/2016 12:00 AMFootball
The North Branford football team won its third-straight game and improved to 4-3 by prevailing at Pequot Conference opponent Granby Memorial 29-21 on Nov. 3. The T-Birds put up points in every quarter and held Granby (1-7) to just six points in the second half to get the victory.
Jeff Jablonski spurred the offense as he finished 7-of-11 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown and converted a pair of short runs for TDs, as well. Dylan Blake led all receivers with three catches for 46 yards and Matt Sibley caught a 6-yard touchdown pass for North Branford. As a team, the T-Birds ran for 213 yards, led by Nico Sommo with a team-high 92 yards on the ground. Nick Mancini powered for 75 rushing yards and scored a touchdown.
The T-Birds’ defense was on the field a lot in the game and totaled 128 tackles. Mancini had the most with 19, while Sibley and RJ Sobask finished with 18 each, and Justin Augur and Xavior Cognata both had 12. Five different North Branford players had a sack in Sibley, Cognata, Augur, Dylan Nowak, and Jason Ryszczyk. Keane Regan had an interception in his third-straight game, plus Mancini forced a fumble and Cognata recovered it.
North Branford’s next game is at home versus Ellington (6-2) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Field Hockey
North Branford was eliminated from the Shoreline Conference Tournament in the semifinals as the 3rd-seeded T-Birds lost to No. 2 Westbrook 3-2 on Nov. 2.
The two teams traded first-half goals with North Branford’s Danielle Ramada assisting Sydney Hogan to even the score at 1-1 going into the half.
Hogan opened the scoring in the second half by netting an unassisted goal, but Westbrook scored the game’s final two goals to advance to the conference final. Hogan’s two goals came on North Branford’s only two shots of the game. Goalie MacKenzie Kaiser made five saves for North Branford.
At 12-4-1, the T-Birds enter the Class S State Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will host No. 12 Valley Regional (8-8-2) in the opening round at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8. With a win, North Branford would either play at No. 4 Granby or host No. 13 Shepaug in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 10.