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09/09/2018 12:00 AMFootball
The North Haven football team kicked off the 2018 season in dramatic fashion as the Indians rallied for a 20-19 victory win at West Haven in an SCC Division I clash on Sept. 7. The victory marked North Haven’s first win against West Haven in program history.
The Indians trailed the Blue Devils 19-12 at halftime. Following a scoreless third quarter, senior captain Nick Dodge ran for a 5-yard touchdown and then took in the 2-point conversion to give North Haven a 20-19 lead early in the fourth. With a little more than three minutes to play, the Indians’ defense made a goal-line stand after West Haven had 1st-and-goal from the 1. In the end, North Haven stopped West Haven just shy of the end zone on fourth down, after which the offense ran out the clock.
“We’ve played West Haven tough in past years, but fell short. This was a game that could have went either way, and it was nice to be on the winning end of it,” Head Coach Anthony Sagnella said. “When you’re waiting an entire offseason to compete, it’s very gratifying to get a win in Week 1, no matter who you are playing.”
West Haven took an early lead by returning a blocked punt six yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 advantage just 1:43 into the game. The Indians got on the board with a 4-yard TD rush from Dodge that cut it to 7-6 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
Dodge scored from one yard out to give North Haven a 12-7 lead with 9:07 remaining in the second quarter. West Haven later scored on a 1-yard run to grab a 13-12 edge with 4:51 to play in the opening half. With just 28 seconds left in the half, the Blue Devils used a 13-yard touchdown pass to take a 19-12 lead into the locker room.
West Haven hung on to its seven-point advantage until the fourth quarter. North Haven went on a lengthy drive that culminated with Dodge’s touchdown and 2-point conversion to go up 20-19 with 9:32 to play. West Haven converted a big fourth down on its final drive, but the Indians turned aside the Blue Devils at the goal line to preserve the hard-fought victory.
“When you go to West Haven, you better be tough, because they are going to be tough, and we were,” said Sagnella. “We probably had nine guys on defense who were on the field for the first time in a varsity scenario and, if we didn’t develop toughness early, it was going to be a long road for us. It’s nice to know that it’s in the kids. Now, it’s our responsibility to bring it every week.”
North Haven will host non-conference opponent Masuk (0-1) for its home opener at Vanacore Field at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.
Volleyball
North Haven started off its season by notching a 3-0 home victory over Career on Sept. 7. The Indians, who swept the match 25-18, 25-8, 25-11, are entering their third campaign with Brianna Kleckner as head coach.
Senior Giselle Zumerchik had nine kills with four aces and three blocks for North Haven in the victory. Senior Samantha Burke had nine kills and four digs, while fellow senior Olivia Petersen handed out 26 assists to go with three aces.
This season, North Haven is competing in the SCC Oronoque Division, which also includes Guilford, East Haven, Foran, and Hillhouse.
Field Hockey
The Indians began their year by hosting Sheehan at North Haven Middle School on Sept. 8. North Haven took a 4-0 defeat versus the Titans in their opener. This year marks Kim Bouffard’s fourth season as head coach of the Indians.
Girls’ Soccer
North Haven welcomes new a head coach to the program for the 2018 season. Jeff Knuth takes the reins as the Indians’ head coach following a two-year stint by Rocco Christiana.
North Haven hit the road to face Cromwell for a non-conference contest in their first game with Coach Knuth. North Haven dropped a 4-1 decision against the Panthers.
The Indians are in the SCC Quinnipiac Division with Cheshire, Mercy, and Hamden this season.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Indians came in 16th place when they competed at last week’s Windham Invitational.
Senior Jack Opramolla led the pack for Head Coach Carl Jackson’s squad by finishing in 78th place with a time of 18:47. The Indians’ other runners were senior Jackson Frank (111th, 19:32), freshman Mike Rubano (116th, 19:35), senior James Barra (127th, 19:51); junior Aidan Bergin (139th, 19:59), sophomore Nick Howlett (160th, 20:24), and senior Alex Kwieraga (174th, 20:57).
Girls’ Cross Country
North Haven opened its season by running at the Windham Invitational on Sept. 8.
Junior Reagan Forbes turned in the top performance for the Indians by finishing in 30th place with a time of 22:20. Shannon Reilly came in 119th place (26:10), while fellow senior Madeline Libero placed 123rd (26:22) at the meet.