Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Football Hangs on For Dramatic Victory; Other Teams Still Undefeated

Carter Cox and the Guilford football team hung for a a 23-21 victory over Creed-Career -Whitney Tech in a SCC Tier 3 matchup on Sept. 22. Cox batted down what would have been a decisive touchdown pass by the opposition to help preserve the win for the Indians. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Guilford football team is now 2-0 after posting a 23-21 home win against Creed-Career-Whitney Tech (C-C-W) on Sept. 22.

Guilford started the scoring with a safety, and then a strong methodical drive led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Jack Strand (11-of-29 passing for 169 yards, 1 TD). The Indians added to their 9-0 lead with a running touchdown by AJ Moscato and his subsequent 2-point conversion. C-C-W (1-2) then intercepted a tipped Strand pass that gave the visitors the ball at Guilford’s 10-yard line. C-C-W scored four plays later, right before halftime.

The Panthers got the ball to open the third quarter and scored on a 60-yard counter, closing the gap to 23-14. After Guilford punted, C-C-W drove down the field for 1st-and-goal from the 5. The Panthers eventually rushed for a score on fourth down, and the extra point cut the Indians’ lead to 23-21. At that point, the game became a gut-check for Guilford as Strand had to leave due to an injury, and sophomore Ethan Vashal took over as the signal caller. Guilford’s defense got a turnover that halted a C-C-W drive. The Indians ultimately had to punt and prepare for their final defensive stand. The Indians’ sealed the victory when their defense came up with a stop on 4th-and-inches from their own 28-yard line.

“Once again, another total team effort,” said Head Coach Anthony M. Avallone. “One play that really stood out was when one of our captains, Carter Cox, tipped a sure touchdown at the last second to force Creed to keep driving. It eventually led to our final stop. Many bright spots, but many items still in need of lots of improvement.”

Sean Russell led the Indians with four catches for 44 yards. Following him were Tyler Filley (2 receptions, 33 yards) and Corey Sondak (3 catches, 23 yards). As for the rushing game, the Indians had 44 carries for 213 yards, averaging 4.8 yards a run. Moscato had 23 rushes for 93 yards and a score, while Strand carried the ball 17 times for 91 yards with two trips to the end zone.

On defense, Anthony J. Avallone, led the Indians with eight tackles, and Miles Gabriel added three. Tom Spinner had 2.5 tackles, plus Clay Huffman, Jack Gabriel, and Carter Cox each had a pair.

Guilford faced off against two divisional foes last week, as well as Cheshire, and beat all three teams to improve to 5-0-1.

The Indians first beat Foran 7-3 on Sept. 18. Guilford then edged another division rival in Branford, 2-1, on Sept. 20 to run its SCC Hammonasset Division mark to 3-0. The Indians closed the week with a 2-1 victory over Cheshire on Sept. 23.

Guilford took on a trio of combatants last week with games East Haven, Notre Dame-West Haven, and Xavier. The Indians went 3-0 on the week and are now 6-0 overall with a mark of 3-0 in the SCC Oronoque Division.

First, the Indians blanked East Haven 5-0 on Sept. 18 in an Oronoque matchup. Then Guilford kept it up with another shutout, this time of the 2-0 variety, against Notre Dame-West Haven two days later. Guilford capped the week off by edging Xavier 1-0 on Sept. 22.

The Indians went up against West Haven, Branford, and Career this past week, and they notched wins against all three teams to move to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in SCC Oronoque Division play.

Guilford swept West Haven 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-8) on Sept. 18 to up its divisional mark to 2-0. Julia Hyman had five kills and handed out 18 assists, Jess Decensi contributed five kills, and Emma Appleman logged four kills and three aces.

The Indians then swept Branford 25-13, 25-8, and 25-13 for another 3-0 win on Sept. 20. Trinity Flynn had seven kills, plus Amanda King chipped in seven kills, six digs, and two aces. Appleman had four kills and six aces, while Hyman dished out 24 assists. Juliet Young added 10 digs and served up four aces.

Guilford closed the week with 3-0 another sweep, this time versus Career on Sept. 22.

The Indians had one game last week and recorded a one-sided win over Amity to move to 3-0-1.

Guilford defeated Amity 8-1 on Sept. 23 behind five goals from Olivia Clarke and three from Celia Mariaconda. Emily Torre had two assists, while Guilford received one each from Hannah Tillier, Mallory Peters, and Clarke. Goalies Nicolette Spotlow and Maggie Marrone combined to stop nine shots in the win.

The Indians hosted a quad-meet against Cheshire, Sheehan, and Hillhouse at the East River Preserve and swept the competition to move to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the SCC Hammonasset Division.

Guilford bested Cheshire by a 22-37 tally, defeated Hillhouse by a 15-50 final, and beat Sheehan 19-44. Meredith Bloss won the race with a new course-record time of 18 minutes and 23 seconds. Jacqui Guerra followed in third at 19:17.

The Indians had one meet last week against Sacred Heart Academy. Guilford moved to 0-5 on the season by taking a 84-80 loss on Sept. 19.

Meredith Bloss set a course record at the East River Preserve by running a time of 18 minutes and 23 seconds to help the Indians sweep a quad meet and improve to 6-0.Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier