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11/26/2016 11:00 PMThe Branford football team played at East Haven in the annual Beehive Bowl game on Thanksgiving Day and took a 14-0 loss to the Yellowjackets on Nov. 24. It was 75th meeting between the rivals and Branford now leads the series 38-33-4. The Hornets, who had defeated East Haven last year, finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 4-6, plus a mark of 2-4 in SCC Tier 3. East Haven went 5-5 overall and was 4-2 in Tier 3.
Branford’s offense had two chances inside the Yellowjackets’ red zone during the first quarter, but was unable to put any points on the board. Early in the second quarter, East Haven intercepted Hornets’ quarterback Griffin Lynch and was set up with good field position in Branford territory. Shortly thereafter, Jay Donaldson ran for a 16-yard touchdown to put East Haven on the board with 5:27 remaining in the first half. The extra point made it 7-0.
The Yellowjackets grabbed another interception on Branford’s next series and once again started their drive in Hornets’ territory. With 55 seconds to go before halftime, Donaldson threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Luis Torres and East Haven held a 14-0 advantage at the break.
Branford was unable to muster much offense in the second half and wound up losing to the Yellowjackets for the third time in the last four years.
The Hornets’ offense saw Dalton Carden carry the ball 14 times for 50 yards in the defeat. Lynch completed 18 passes for 244 yards. James Dering had five receptions for 106 yards, Brian Nichols made six catches for 57 yards, and Danny Thomas caught five passes for 51 yards.
Zach Cash had a huge day on defense that saw him make 18 tackles, including 13 of the solo variety, to go with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Spencer Berty had 10 tackles, Noah Lordan made eight tackles, Nichols had seven, and William Ryder, Dering, Neil Clyne, and Kordele Brown all had six tackles for Head Coach John Limone’s squad. Ryder and Clyne each forced one fumble apiece.
It was also recently announced that Branford had three athletes made the All-SCC Division II Team this fall. Lordan made it at linebacker, while Dering and Berty went All-Conference as defensive backs.
—Chris Piccirillo