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11/23/2017 11:00 PMIn its first year with its first new head coach in nearly 30 years, the Hand football team not only finished the regular season with its best record since 2012, the Tigers also clinched a home game in the Class L State Playoffs by notching a one-sided win versus their Thanksgiving week rival.
First-year Head Coach Dave Mastroianni’s Tigers wrapped up the 2017 regular season with their annual clash against Guilford that was played on the Indians’ home turf on Thanksgiving Eve. Hand scored on all five of its first-half possessions on its way to posting a 49-7 victory on Nov. 22 to notch its best regular-season mark since going 10-0 when it won the Class L state title in 2012. The win also secured a home quarterfinal game in the Class L State Playoffs for the Tigers, who are seeded 2nd and hosted No. 7 seed North Haven (8-2) at the Surf Club on Nov. 28 (after press time).
“It’s been about that leadership from the senior class that has trickled down to the junior class and the others,” Coach Mastroianni said. “They’ve bought into what we are trying to do. They enjoy what they are doing and having fun. With every win this year, their belief grew stronger. It’s wonderful to see their attitude and them believe they will make a run.”
Sophomore starting quarterback Phoenix Billings completed five of his seven pass attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown in the Tigers’ one-sided win versus Guilford. He also ran the ball seven times for 51 yards and made two trips to the end zone, while helping Hand build a 42-0 halftime command. Sophomore Jesse Lutz had seven carries for 56 yards as the Tigers’ leading gainer on the ground. Junior Ian Butler caught two passes for 46 yards and a score to go with a TD on defense. Senior Chris Iannuzzi nabbed a pair of receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers, who averaged 33.3 points a game for their nine-win regular season.
“We are confident in our offense getting better. The guys believe in our system. It’s a matter of execution. When we do execute, we can do things like we did here against Guilford with scoring on all of our five drives in the first half,” Mastroianni said. “Even when we have bad offensive games, we still score about three times a game. As they get more and more comfortable with the offense, they will have more success if they execute.”
Guilford (4-6) was building some momentum on its opening drive, but then Butler corralled an interception, and took it to the house for a 6-0 Hand lead just 1:36 into the game. It was a 46-yard return for Butler, who set a new school record for interceptions in a single season with nine. On the Indians’ ensuing series, they were stopped in the backfield on 3rd-down-and-3 and then turned the ball over on downs.
Hand took over at its own 44-yard line, and senior Michael Tarantino made a big 13-yard catch for a first down. Then on 3rd-down-and-20, Billings took it on his own and raced 28 yards all the way to the end zone for a Tigers’ 13-0 lead with 3:39 left to play in the first quarter.
After Guilford turned it over on fourth down at the 50 on its next drive, Billings made a key third-down completion to bring Hand to the Guilford 2-yard line as the first quarter drew to a close. Senior Brian Casagrande opened the second quarter with a 1-yard TD rush just 34 seconds into the frame to put Hand up 20-0. Casgrande also blocked a punt for the Tigers.
Following another scoreless Indians’ possession, the Tigers looked to be settling for a field goal when they faced a 3rd-and-15 at the Guilford 28. However, Hand came up with a trick play that saw junior Julian Banerji throw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Iannuzzi with 7:33 to play before intermission.
A few drives later, Hand took over at the Guilford 38 and, on the second play, Billings gave a quick toss to Butler, who scattered past a scrum of players to paydirt for a 38-yard score. Banjeri then found Tarantino on the 2-point conversion pass to make it 35-0 with 3:15 left in the opening half.
When the Indians got the ball back, senior Nick Woods grabbed an interception for Hand, which quickly worked its way to the red zone and saw Billings bring home a 3-yard touchdown rush for a 42-0 advantage with 1:58 remaining.
“My philosophy on defense has been ‘Bend, but don’t break.’ We don’t blitz a lot,” said Coach Mastroianni. “Honestly, the non-offensive touchdowns relieve the burden off the offense so much. The scores on defense really get the momentum going in a game. We have playmakers on defense that have a knack of getting to the ball and doing something with it.”
With an insurmountable cushion, Hand went to its reserves for the second half. Quarterback Isaiah McNeilly threw a 22-yard TD strike to fellow sophomore Ethan Haberman for the Tigers’ final score of the night midway through the third quarter. The Indians got on the board with an 11-yard rush from Corey Sondak with 2:35 to go in the third for the 49-7 final.
Hand finished the game with 320 yards of total offense. Defensively, Casagande led all Tigers in tackles with nine, while senior Ryan Coady and junior Kevin Girardi both had six tackles with Girardi making one for a loss.
The Hand football program has hoisted plenty of state title banners in its history, but this will be first taste of the postseason for the current crop of Tigers. While the playoffs always present plenty of challenges, Coach Mastroianni and his boys are ready to face every obstacle that any of their opponents will present.
“They came out to practice after the Guilford game so motivated to the point where I didn’t have to say anything. None of these kids know the playoffs, but they are excited to still be playing football,” Mastroianni said. “North Haven is well known. They aren’t some gimmicky offense. They are well coached and physical. We have the utmost respect for what they do. It will be a battle. They have a single-wing offense that is difficult to prepare for, and they can put up points. Our defense understands the challenge and, hopefully, we can score enough to win.”
• Making the All-SCC Tier 2 Team for Hand this year were Ben Corniello on the offensive line, Brian Casagrande and Ryan Coady at linebacker, plus defensive backs Ian Butler and Macken McDonald.
• Hand now leads its all-time series with Guilford 39-5-1 and has outscored the Indians a combined 135-14 during the last three meetings.
• This marks the Tigers’ first postseason berth since 2013, when Hand took a 31-29 Class L State Playoff quarterfinal loss to eventual finalist Darien.
• With a win against North Haven in the quarterfinals, Hand would face the winner of No. 3 seed Windsor (9-1) and No. 6 Maloney (9-1) in the semifinals of the Class L State Playoffs on Sunday, Dec. 3. The championship game takes place on Saturday, Dec. 9. On the other side of the Class L bracket, No. 1 seed Middletown (10-0) plays No. 8 New Canaan (8-2), and No. 4 seed Fitch (10-0) is playing No. 5 seed Masuk (9-1).