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09/11/2017 12:00 AMFootball
The North Haven football team opened up the 2017 campaign by dropping a 33-27 decision against West Haven in a SCC Tier 1 contest at Vanacore Field on Sept. 8. The Indians piled up their fair share of yards and out-gained West Haven in the game, but committed five turnovers in taking the defeat.
North Haven took the early lead by scoring on its first possession when Mark Montano threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior captain Korbin Pecora. However, West Haven came back to score the final 19 points of the first half to take a 19-7 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils got on the board with a 30-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the first quarter to make it a 7-7 game. With the game tied at 7 in the second quarter, the Blue Devils intercepted Montano deep in North Haven territory and followed that up by scoring on a 4-yard run to take a 13-7 lead. A few minutes later, West Haven picked off another pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown and a 19-7 advantage at intermission.
Early in the third quarter, West Haven forced a fumble that set up a short touchdown run to make it 25-7. Senior Zack Orth’s 1-yard TD rush cut the deficit to 25-13, but the Blue Devils countered by causing another fumble and taking it 50 yards for a score for a 33-13 command. North Haven scored the game’s last two touchdowns—the first one a 57-yard run by Montano and the second on a 10-yard strike from junior Shamus Meehan to Montano.
North Haven rushed 42 times for 237 yards in the game, led by Montano with 16 carries for 109 yards. He also caught two passes for 42 yards. Pecora ran nine times for 38 yards and had two receptions for 36 yards. Orth gained 38 yards on eight carries, and Devan Brockamer rushed six times for 30 yards for the Indians.
On defense, Orth led North Haven by making 13 tackles, while Nick Dodge had nine. Junior Vinny DePalma had a sack for the Indians, and sophomore Noah Perillie forced a fumble. Freshman Chase DiCarlo converted all three of his extra point attempts.
The Indians’ next game is against new SCC foe Harding, which plays in Tier 3, at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Field Hockey
North Haven faced Sheehan for a road game to begin its season on Sept. 8 and the two teams played to a 0-0 tie in Wallingford.
Head Coach Kim Bouffard said the Indians received a great effort from their defense, including sophomore goalie Sophie Aquaro, who made seven saves.
Bouffard is back for her third year as the Indians’ head coach. North Haven finished with a record of 3-13 last fall.
Girls’ Soccer
North Haven was on the road to battle rival Branford in its first game of the fall season last week. North Haven and the Hornets played to a 2-2 tie on Sept. 8.
The Indians are in their second year with Head Coach Rocco Christiana. Last fall, the Indians qualified for the Class L State Tournament for the first time in a few years and finished the campaign with an overall record of 6-10-1.
Volleyball
The Indians hosted Sheehan for their season opener on Sept. 9. North Haven took a 3-0 loss against the Titans behind set scores of 25-22, 25-12, and 25-22.
Senior Courtney Babbidge had six blocks with three kills for the Indians, while junior Olivia Peterson dished out 12 assists to go with two aces.
Brianna Kleckner is in her second season as North Haven’s head coach. Last year, the Indians went 5-15 on the campaign.
Girls’ Cross Country
North Haven started its year by running at the Windham Invitational on Sept. 9 and finished in 24th place at the meet.
Sophomore Reagan Forbes led the Indians’ pack by running a time of 22 minutes and 40 seconds to come in 39th place on the three-mile course. Macey DiCarlo finished in 69th place at 24:32, fellow senior Phuong Thai placed 98th with a time of 26:06, senior Danielle Smith finished in 103rd behind a mark of 26:20, junior Shannon Reilly was 107th at 26:29, and junior Madeline Libero finished 117th by posting a time of 27:35.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Indians competed at last week’s Windham Invitational and came in 24th place as a squad.
Junior Jonathan Opramolla turned in North Haven’s best showing by placing 92nd with a time of 19 minutes and 3 seconds for the three-mile race. Opramolla was followed by Jackson Frank (112nd, 19:30), fellow junior Alex Savenelli (157th, 20:33), sophomores Aidan Bergini (178th, 21:10) and John Hamling (192nd, 21:38), freshman Nick Howlett (213th, 22:23), and junior Nick Cristante (218th, 22:49).