Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Football Stays Undefeated by Blanking Xavier, 17-0; Volleyball Wins Two of Three

Tanner DiVito threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Evan Damian to help the East Haven football team notch a 17-0 victory versus Xavier that puts the Yellowjackets’ record at 4-0 on the season. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Yellowjackets’ football team remained undefeated to begin the 2018 season by posting a 17-0 shutout over SCC Tier 1 opponent Xavier at East Haven High School on Sept. 28. East Haven improved to 4-0 on the season with the win and has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 134-24 in its four victories.

East Haven and Xavier were scoreless through the first half, but the Yellowjackets scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and then tacked on a field goal in the fourth on their way to blanking the Falcons (1-3). East Haven’s defense played another great game by forcing Xavier to commit four turnovers.

“We were confident going in where, if we played well, we’d have a chance to win,” Head Coach Benoit said. “We were very pleased. Our kids expected to win the game, because they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

Xavier totaled just 70 yards of offense in the first half, while East Haven’s offense was held to 81 yards. On the opening play of the second half, the Yellowjackets recovered a Xavier fumble. A few plays later, senior captain Ryan Cordova scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to put East Haven on the board. Senior Evan Damian followed with the extra point to make it 7-0.

Later in the quarter, junior Michael Caruso recovered a fumbled punt at the Xavier 34-yard line. Two plays later, junior quarterback Tanner DiVito found Damian up the left side for a 25-yard touchdown strike, after which Damian kicked the extra point for a 14-0 lead with 3:05 left in the third.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Damian connected on a 27-yard field goal to make it a 17-0 game and solidify the victory for East Haven.

The Yellowjackets grabbed two interceptions and recovered a pair of fumbles in the win. The first turnover came at the end of the first half, when Caruso picked off Xavier’s quarterback to set up Damian’s 47-yard field goal try, which fell just a yard short. East Haven’s next turnover came late in the second quarter, when senior Michael Manning intercepted a pass on the goal line to keep the game scoreless going into the half.

“We were outstanding on defense again,” Coach Benoit said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage and ran the ball very well.”

The Yellowjackets have a bye week for Week 5. East Haven’s next game is at home against non-conference opponent Bethel at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12.

The Yellowjackets won two of their three contests last week to improve to 6-3 on the year. Both victories came at home as East Haven topped Hillhouse 3-0 on Sept. 24 and blanked Branford 3-0 on Sept. 28. In between those two matches, East Haven took a 3-0 loss at Guilford on Sept. 26.

Facing Hillhouse, East Haven won by the score of 25-7, 26-24, 26-24 in an SCC Oronoque Division contest. Sophomore Kayla Goodrich had five kills and five assists, while sophomore Carly Cordova finished with five kills and four aces for the Easties. Sophomore Megan Gaudioso added four digs and two aces in the victory.

The Yellowjackets later took a 25-20, 25-17, 25-21 defeat versus Guilford to drop to 3-1 in Oronoque Division play. Junior Isabella Ragaini finished with 18 assists, Diana Kalman had six kills, and fellow senior captain Megan Roberts added seven digs.

To close out the week, the Easties defeated Branford 25-20, 25-17, 27-25. Senior Alannah Doheny had eight kills and four digs, while junior Eliza Goldberg had nine kills and five blocks. Junior Samantha Schlottman recorded three kills and two assists to help the Yellowjackets capture their sixth victory.

East Haven split its two contests last week to move to 2-1-2 for the season. East Haven lost to West Haven and then came back to post a shutout versus Career-Hillhouse later in the week.

The Yellowjackets began the week with a 1-0 loss at West Haven in an SCC Hammonasset Division game on Sept. 26. West Haven scored the lone goal of the second half in the second half and outshot the Yellowjackets 6-3 in the win. Sophomore goalie Angelina Munoz finished the game with five saves for East Haven.

The Easties rebounded by recording 7-0 victory at Career-Hillhouse on Sept. 28 behind a hat trick performance from freshman Emily Pycela. Sophomore Bella Pilato scored twice, while seniors Jenna Pane and Victoria Meeker also found the back of the net in the victory. Emily Pycela, freshman Emily Mazzucco, freshman Kate Pycela, Meeker, Pane, and senior Ali Szwec all had one assist for the Yellowjackets, who saw Munoz make two saves in goal in the first half. Senior Kelly Wysocki played net in the second half and had five saves.

The Yellowjackets squared off against Branford on Sept. 24 and took an 8-0 defeat. The loss puts East Haven’s record at 0-6-1 for the season.

Senior Alannah Doheny recorded eight kills and four digs when the East Haven volleyball squad defeated rival Branford by a 3-0 final to earn its sixth victory of the year. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier