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11/24/2017 11:00 PMThe North Haven football team had its back against the wall at the midway point of the 2017 season, but now, the Indians are heading back to the State Playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
On Oct. 6, North Haven took a 31-20 loss to Shelton to stand at 3-2 with five games remaining, putting the Indians in a situation where they had to win out to have a shot at securing a postseason berth. That’s exactly what Head Coach Anthony Sagnella’s squad accomplished as North Haven won its next four games—including a pair of epic victories against Xavier and Fairfield Prep—to stand on the precipice of the playoffs entering its annual Thanksgiving Day matchup versus Amity. North Haven ambushed the Spartans by rushing for 479 yards on its way to a 46-7 road win that sent the Indians to the playoffs for the seventh time in program history with their record of 8-2.
Mark Montano ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries to earn North Haven’s Offensive Most Valuable Player Award. Fellow senior captain Zack Orth, a linebacker, earned Defensive MVP honors by recording eight tackles with a sack and two forced fumbles. Senior tight end Steven Erbe and junior Noah Pastore both added a pair of TDs for the Indians, who are seeded 7th in the Class L bracket and played at No. 2 seed Hand (9-1) in the quarterfinals at the Surf Club in Madison on Nov. 28 (after press time).
North Haven made it to the Class L final two years ago after competing in SCC Tier 2 throughout the regular season. However, this marks the Indians’ first playoff appearance as a SCC Tier 1 team, and Coach Sagnella appreciates the way his athletes navigated the treacherous path that took them there. North Haven went 4-6 in its first season in Tier 1 team last year, losing several close games to quality squads.
“It’s really special for this group. This is the first time we’ve gone to the playoffs since being bumped up to Division 1. There was always some questioning as to some of our past teams being Division 2 and getting in, but now we’ve marched through a Division 1 schedule, and we got in, and it’s a major accomplishment for this year’s team,” Sagnella said. “The senior class, having been part of a team that went to a state championship and then battling week in and week out in our first year in Division 1 last year, that prepared them for this season. That’s why all the guys from the last two seasons can share in this, because they all had a hand in the growth of our program this year.”
It was the 22nd edition of the annual Turkey Day showdown between North Haven and Amity on Nov. 23, and the Indians defeated the Spartans for the ninth straight year by scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter and two more in the second for a 34-0 halftime advantage. On North Haven’s first drive of the game, Montano broke off a big run that set up a 40-yard touchdown scamper from junior Devan Brockamer and a 6-0 lead with 5:23 left in the first quarter. A little more than a minute later, the Indians’ defense recorded a safety when senior lineman Henry Pearson sacked Amity’s quarterback in the end zone to make it 8-0.
North Haven got the ball right back, and Montano and company capitalized as he found Erbe on a 25-yard touchdown pass and a 15-0 advantage with 2:39 remaining in the opening frame. The Spartans lost a fumble on their ensuing series, and Montano made them pay by rushing for an 6-yard TD that staked North Haven to a 21-0 lead after one.
About three minutes into the second quarter, Montano found the end zone on a 40-yard rush for his second touchdown of the morning. Freshman Chase DiCarlo kicked the extra point to make it 26-0. Then with 1:16 to play in the first half, Pastore scored on an 2-yard run to give North Haven a 34-0 command at intermission.
Erbe brought home a 27-yard touchdown run two minutes into the third quarter to extend North Haven’s lead to 40-0 before Amity scored its only TD of the game on a 1-yard run. Pastore’s 25-yard touchdown rush with 1:01 left in the third put a bow on the 46-7 blowout for the Indians, who walked off the field with a postseason bid in their grasp.
“Amity has improved over the last couple of years, and they played us very hard and were very scrappy. We had to focus on Amity and not look past them, and I was very proud of the way our team, especially our seniors, were able to keep a laser focus on them,” said Coach Sagnella. “It wasn’t until the end of the game that everyone relaxed a little bit once they knew we got in. That was a really cool feeling to be standing with the seniors before the game ended, knowing they would be going to the playoffs.”
In addition to his 188 yards and two TDs on the ground, Montano completed both of his pass attempts to Erbe for 45 yards. One of those went for a touchdown, and Erbe also had the 27-yard touchdown run for the Indians, whose ground attack was bolstered by its trademark versatility. Pastore ran nine times for 81 yards and two scores, Brockamer had five carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, and Orth carried the ball 13 times for 63 yards. Junior Shamus Meehan added 33 yards on five rushes for North Haven.
“If was nothing different than what we’ve been doing throughout the season. We controlled the line of scrimmage for the most part, and we got some balance out of our backfield,” Coach Sagnella said. “The fact that we put 46 points on the board put constant pressure on Amity to try and stop us. I think we punted once, so that makes things a little easier for our defense and makes the opponent a little more predictable when they have to start chasing. Our defense made plays and was opportunistic when they needed to be.”
North Haven’s defense saw Orth force two fumbles, with seniors Stephen Chamberlain and Brendan Ziaks each recovering a fumble. Orth and Henry Pearson both recorded a sack in the victory, while Ziaks and senior Jack Clapp each had a pass deflection. Orth led the way with eight tackles, while senior Matt Biehl and junior Nick Dodge added six tackles apiece.
Now, North Haven turns its attention to the Class L quarterfinals and a matchup against Hand, which won the SCC Tier 2 title this fall. The two teams know each other well since they’ve played multiple regular-season games and scrimmages against one another in recent seasons. The Indians also lost to Hand in both the 2007 and 2010 playoffs.
“We’re familiar with them, and they’re familiar with us. We have nothing but respect for that program and what it stands for,” Coach Sagnella said of Hand. “We’re excited about the challenge of going down there and competing in the playoffs with the Hand Tigers.”
From the Sidelines
North Haven’s 8-2 regular-season record featured victories versus Harding (54-35), Cheshire (17-14), Creed-Career-Whitney (49-14), Pomperaug (42-14), Xavier (50-49 in overtime), Foran (60-14), Fairfield Prep (35-28), and Amity (46-7). The Indians also dropped contests against West Haven (33-27) and Shelton (31-20). North Haven went 3-2 in SCC Tier 1 to finish in third place by defeating Cheshire, Xavier, and Fairfield Prep, while losing to West Haven and Shelton.
North Haven had four seniors make the All-SCC Tier 1 Team this season. Eric Milliard and Henry Pearson made it on the offensive line, Mark Montano made it as a running back, and Zack Orth earned a spot as a linebacker. All four of those athletes also made the Levi Jackson All-Star Football Team. Pearson, Montano, and Orth made it at the same positions as they did for the All-SCC Team, while Milliard made it as a defensive lineman. Senior Steven Erbe also earned Levi Jackson accolades as a tight end for the Indians.