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11/06/2016 12:00 AMFootball
Matt Sapere threw three touchdowns and ran for two more as the Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team won its fourth-straight game by shutting out Pequot Conference opponent Lewis Mills 42-0 in Deep River on Nov. 4. The Warriors have posted shutouts in three of their last four games, having previously blanked North Branford (45-0) and Granby (35-0). Valley ended the week tied with St. Joseph for the top spot in the Class M State Playoff standings. Both teams are 7-1 and have an average of 123.75 points in the rankings. Hillhouse, Killingly, and Berlin are also 7-1.
Against Lewis Mills (3-5), Valley-Old Lyme scored one touchdown in the first quarter, four TDs in the second quarter, and another in the third en route to the rout. Sapere threw a 42-yard pass to senior Garrett Burdick on the Warriors’ first play from scrimmage and Sapere then scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. In the second quarter, senior Daniel Stecher had a 19-yard touchdown rush and Sapere scored from two yards out to make it 21-0. Burdick’s interception set up the score by Sapere. Sapere later found Garrett Burdick on a 24-yard scoring pass, after which the senior quarterback tossed an 11-yard TD to Jason O’Brien to give the Warriors a 35-0 command at halftime. Burdick set up his own touchdown when he grabbed his second interception, which was also his ninth of the year, and he totaled 63 yards on his two interception returns on the day. The touchdown to O’Brien was set up by an INT from Ernest Jean-Pierre.
Sapere put the icing on the cake in the third quarter when he threw a 7-yard touchdown to Burdick, who followed with his sixth extra point for the 42-0 final.
Sapere was 9-of-16 for 137 yards and the three TDs to go with 68 yards and the two scores on the ground. Stecher ran 10 times for 111 yards and a touchdown for Valley. Burdick caught five passes for 96 yards and a pair of scores.
Additionally on defense, Jean-Pierre forced a fumble to go with his interception, Cody Stalls had a sack, Stecher made seven tackles, and Roan Sullivan had six tackles that included two for a loss for the Warriors.
Valley-Old Lyme’s second-to-last regular season game will take place at Pequot Conference squad Canton (0-7) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Girls’ Soccer
The Warriors played at Old Lyme in the semifinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament and dropped a 1-0 decision on Nov. 1. Then on Nov. 6, Valley opened play in the Class S State Tournament as the No. 24 seed and took a 4-3 defeat at No. 9 Granby in a first round contest. The Warriors posted a record of 8-7-3 in their first campaign with Head Coach Lloyd Warren.
Boys’ Soccer
Valley enters the Class S State Tournament as the No. 10 seed and will host No. 23 East Hampton (5-6-3) at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in a first round matchup. If the Warriors (9-4-4) win, they’ll either play at No. 7 HMTCA or host No. 26 MLC in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
Volleyball
The Valley Regional volleyball team entered the Shoreline Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed and beat No. 6 East Hampton 3-0 in a quarterfinal contest before taking a 3-2 loss to 2nd-seeded Hale-Ray in the semifinals. The Warriors enter the Class S State Tournament with a record of 14-5.
Valley had taken a five-set defeat to East Hampton two weeks ago, but swept the Bellringers 25-21, 25-20, 25-13 in the Shoreline quarters at home on Oct. 31. Alex Figuenick had a great night at the service line by going 17-for-17 with 12 points and five aces. She also had 12 digs with 18 receptions. Emily Hutchinson served 14-for-14 and had four kills, while Maddie Millard was 6-for-6 on serve and added 28 assists. Also, Emily McLaughlin had nine service points, eight kills, three digs, and two aces; Jessica Paholski recorded seven service points with eight kills and an ace; and Electra Cassells had nine kills, six service points, two aces, and a block. Heidi Clark had 10 receptions with six digs, plus Rhyan Nedobity added two kills for Valley.
“As a team, we were really unhappy about our performance the last time we played East Hampton, so we set out to play them really aggressively from the first serve. We like how we played this evening: supportive, aggressive, with good team chemistry, steady, and focused,” Head Coach Kathy Scott said. “Maddie Millard mixed up and ran the attack well with Electra, Emily, and Jessica...Rhyan Nedobity and Emily Hutchinson, while both middles, vary their attacks well. Rhyan has experience and good timing at the net. Emily is picking up more power as a sophomore middle and, more recently, she is coming up with some key blocks.”
Playing at Hale-Ray in the semifinals, the Warriors took a 21-25, 25-12, 15-25, 25-10, 15-10 loss on the road on Nov. 2. Paholski went 18-for-19 serving with three aces and eight points to go with 10 kills and 10 digs. Nedobity had an outstanding night on serve by going 17-for-18 with four aces, plus three kills. Millard posted 30 assists and added a pair of digs. Additionally, Figuenick had 32 receptions with nine digs, defensive specialist Clark tallied 15 receptions, two digs, and one kill; McLaughlin was 10-for-11 serving to go with 11 kills, four digs, and two aces; and middle hitter Hutchinson served 8-for-8 with two kills and a block.
“This was a really exciting match with some big hits and some great defense and long rallies. At many different points, this was one of our best matches and the momentum swings between sets were pretty dramatic. Overall, our serving was strong and kept us in the game and was key to our wins,” said Coach Scott. “The team really wanted to advance in the Shoreline playoffs, so they played with a lot of heart and hustle. It was one of our better competitions over the years at Hale-Ray, so there was a lot to feel good about performance wise, despite the loss. This team has a lot of chemistry with each other and it’s rewarding to see them continue to grow as individuals and as a team.”
Valley saw four athletes earn All-Shoreline Conference accolades for their performances this season. Junior co-captain Paholski made the First Team as an outside hitter, while fellow junior Figuenick made it as a libero/defensive specialist. Senior outside hitter and co-captain McLaughlin made the Second Team and senior setter Millard was an Honorable Mention.
The Warriors are the No. 11 seed in the Class S State Tournament and will host No. 22 Canton (11-9) in the first round on Monday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. If Valley wins, it will either play at No. 6 University or host No. 27 Bloomfield in the second round at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9.