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12/10/2016 11:00 PMThe North Branford football team entered 2016 with a smaller roster than years past and was expected to go through a rebuilding season. Despite dropping three of their first four games, the Thunderbirds surged down the stretch by taking five of their final six to finish at 6-4 and exceed the expectations of their coaching staff.
“We knew coming into the season that it was going to be a rebuilding year. Our numbers were very tight and we lost key players to a prep school, as well as three season-ending injuries,” said Head Coach Mark Basil. “When you are a small school, you can only take so many hits before things start to go south. Our guys stayed positive and worked hard.”
After winning its first game of a season by a point, North Branford went into a bit of a skid and lost three straight to Griswold, Morgan, and Valley Regional-Old Lyme. However, the T-Birds came back to win their next four matchups by defeating Canton, Lewis Mills, Granby Memorial, and Ellington. The Ellington game was a thriller that saw North Branford prevail 22-21 in overtime.
“Doubt certainly began to creep in when we got off to a 1-3 start. Two of those loses could’ve gone either way, but nonetheless, we were looking up a steep hill,” Basil said. “We had to take it one week at a time and we got ourselves to 4-3 and knew that the Ellington game could send us in one way or another. Our guys played well and executed well that day and came away with a big win.”
Following the Ellington triumph, the Thunderbirds split their final two games of the season by losing to Cromwell-Portland and then rallying for a 28-22 overtime victory against their new Thanksgiving Day rival, Coginchaug.
“We got put back in our place the following week against Cromwell, but then we came back and finished off the year with a big win on Thanksgiving Day versus Coginchaug,” Basil said. “This team showed a lot of growth week to week. They gave us every effort and played hard. The Ellington and Coginchaug overtime wins were the highlighted games of the year.”
North Branford featured four captains this season, three of which were seniors Dillon Blake, Justin Augur, and Matt Sibley, who each earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors. The other captain was sophomore Nick Mancini, who was named Second Team All-Conference. Blake had a big impact on the T-Birds’ success because of his versatility. He was 19-of-31 passing for 348 yards with three touchdowns, ran for 100 yards and five touchdowns, and caught 22 passes for 263 yards. Blake also recorded 24 tackles and a pair of sacks on defense.
Augur, who played offensive tackle and on the defensive line, finished with a team-high five sacks to go with 93 tackles. Sibley was one of the linebackers for the team and led the Pequot Conference with 149 tackles. He also recorded two sacks and caught a touchdown pass as a slot receiver. Mancini ended the season third in the league and second on the team with 134 tackles. He recorded 1.5 sacks and was the T-Birds’ top rusher with 460 yards. He scored five total touchdowns on the campaign.
“All of these guys met my expectations as captains of our program. They led on and off the field and made the players around them better,” Basil said. “Blake played seven positions for us: punter, receiver, h-back/tight end, quarterback, defensive end, defensive tackle, and linebacker. Dillon accounted for over 700 yards of offense and tied for the team lead in touchdowns. He was an impact player and our offense revolved around him.”
North Branford’s other seniors this season were Jason Alaska, John Branfhur, Dylan Nowak, Keane Regan, Nico Sommo, Antonio Sarmento, and Mohammed Younes. Alaska was a starting safety and the team’s top receiver prior to tearing his ACL in the fourth game of the year. Through the first few games, he had 134 receiving yards on seven receptions with a pair of touchdowns. Sommo, who split time as North Branford’s scat back, finished the season with 365 rushing yards, including 130 in the Thunderbirds’ win over Canton, plus two TDs.
Branfhuer, Nowak, and Younes all made contributions along the offensive and defensive lines. Nowak led the trio with three sacks this season. First-year player Keane Regan had a terrific rookie campaign as he finished with a team-high three interceptions, while Sarmento converted 90 percent of his point-after kicks.
Coach Basil is really looking forward to next year as North Branford is slated to return a plethora of skill position players, such as quarterback Jeff Jablonski, who completed 71 passes for 920 yards with six touchdowns to go with 271 rushing yards and three scores; as well was fellow key assets like Mancini, Charles Walcott, and Sydney Franklin. Walcott, a freshman, had 294 rushing yards with four TDs and 180 receiving yards with three touchdowns this year. Franklin finished this season with a team-high 269 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lou Raffone and Bryce Sweetapple are expected to make significant contributions on offense, as well.
“We need to build our offensive line and defensive line in order to be pretty good,” Basil said. “We are looking forward to the North Branford 8th-grade champions to come up to the high school next year and contribute with this group of players that we have coming back.”