North Haven’s Ground Game Overpowers Pomperaug; Swim Team Picks Up a Couple of Victories
Football
The North Haven football squad played a non-conference game against Pomperaug under the lights at Vanacore Field on Oct. 13 and sailed to a 42-14 victory to improve to 4-2. The Indians scored the first four touchdowns of the night on their way to the lopsided win. North Haven punished the Panthers with its unrelenting rushing attack by compiling 383 yards. Senior captain Mark Montano led the way by gaining 231 yards to go with three TDs on just 11 carries, while fellow senior Zack Orth ran 11 times for 95 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns for the Indians in the victory.
Montano got the scoring party started by breaking off a 26-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Freshman Chase DiCarlo kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. About a minute and a half later, senior Steven Erbe picked off Pomperaug’s quarterback and returned it 53 yards for a score and a 14-0 advantage. With just seven seconds left in the first, Orth scored from 12 yards out, and North Haven was staked to a 21-0 lead.
Montano had two huge touchdown runs for North Haven in the second quarter. First, he scored on a 62-yard rush to make it 28-0 early in the frame. After Pomperaug scored on a long TD pass, Montano took in a 68-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7 with 1:26 to play before halftime.
With 3:08 remaining in the third quarter, Orth ran for a 5-yard touchdown that extended North Haven’s cushion to 42-7 after DiCarlo kicked his sixth extra point is as many attempts. The score marked Orth’s 10th touchdown run of the season. Pomperaug (1-4) scored the game’s last TD in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Along with Montano and Orth’s big nights on the ground, junior Noah Pastore picked up 31 rushing yards on his nine carries. North Haven only needed to attempt one pass in the game, and it was a 10-yard connection between Shamus Meehan and fellow junior Vinny DePalma.
On defense, Orth led the Indians by making 10 tackles, while junior Nick Dodge had seven tackles. Senior Jack Corniello added a pair of pass deflections for Head Coach Anthony Sagnella’s squad. In addition to going 6-for-6 on his extra points, DiCarlo also booted a 45-yard punt for North Haven.
After a week off, the Indians will face fellow SCC Tier 1 opponent Xavier on Saturday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Larry McHugh Field at Xavier High School. The Falcons are 2-3 overall and 0-1 in SCC Tier 1 games, while North Haven is 1-2 in Tier 1 play.
Field Hockey
The Indians went up against a couple of SCC powerhouses last week and dropped both contests to move to 1-8-2 for the year. North Haven took a 9-1 loss at Branford on Oct. 10 before losing a 10-0 home game versus Hand on Oct. 13.
Boys’ Soccer
North Haven took a pair of defeats in Hammonasset Division action last week to drop to 2-9 on the season. On Oct. 10, the Indians faced Fairfield Prep at Fairfield University and dropped a 4-1 decision. Then on Oct. 14, North Haven had a game in Shelton, where the Indians were edged by a 2-1 final.
Girls’ Soccer
The Indians lost to Housatonic Division opponents Cheshire and Amity last week and now have a record of 4-6-2 this year. North Haven took a 6-0 loss at Cheshire on Oct. 10 and then lost by a 1-0 final at home versus Amity on Oct. 13 in last week’s matchups.
Volleyball
North Haven split a pair of recent Quinnipiac Division matchups to move to 4-10 for the year. The Indians took a 3-0 home loss to Branford on Oct. 10, but came back to post a 3-0 victory at Hillhouse three days later. North Haven completed a season sweep of the Academics with the victory.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
North Haven captured victories against Sacred Heart Academy and Shelton, while posting multiple season-best times along the way in last week’s action.
On Oct. 10, the Indians had a road meet against Sacred Heart Academy at Albertus Magnus College and came away with a 101-79 win over the Sharks. Two days later, Head Coach Martha Phelan’s club hosted Shelton at Gawrych Town Pool and won by a 100-78 score versus the Gaels. With these two wins, the Indians improved their record to 6-4 for the season.
“The team is producing through the toughest part of the season as the girls are tired with the daily yardage they are putting in and competing in two dual-meets a week,” Head Coach Martha Phelan said. “I am impressed with this team and am confident we will have a great postseason.”
Senior Avery Hill swam season-best times in the 200 freestyle (2:23.98) and the 500 freestyle (6:19.24) for the Indians last week. Fellow senior Jasmine Nguy went a season-best 5:40.55 in the 500 freestyle and also recorded a season-best mark of 1:04.30 for the 100 butterfly. Junior Emily Gibson delivered season-best times in the 50 freestyle (29.47) and the 100 backstroke (1:17.86). The Indians’ 200 freestyle relay of Angela Gambardella, Laura Borrelli, Riley Jooss, and Maddie Bergin swam a season best of 1:43.78.
Also notching season-best times for North Haven were junior Kelly Taino in the 100 freestyle (1:09.07); sophomores Gillian Regan in the 100 free (1:05.64) and 500 free (6:14.84), Mackenzie Montesi in the 500 free (5:48.59), and Abby Kirtland for the 100 backstroke (1:11.37); and freshmen Nicole Reynolds in the 200 free (2:34.03), Molly Coyle in the 200 individual medley (2:35.74) and 100 butterfly (1:11.98), Alyssa Laborde for the 50 freestyle (28.81), and Jooss in the 100 fly (1:05.08).