Printer Friendly Version - Hand Football Goes to 4-0 with 51-12 Rout Versus Harding; Boys’ Soccer Edges Cross, 2-1

Ian Butler and the Hand football team continue to dominate the competition in the early goings of the 2018 season. Last week, the Tigers claimed a 51-12 victory at Harding to run their record to 4-0 on the year. Photo by Susan Lambert/The Source

The Hand football team raised its record to 4-0 by claiming a 51-12 road win over SCC Tier 3 opponent Harding in Bridgeport on Sept. 28. Quarterback Phoenix Billings went 8-for-8 passing for 200 yards and three touchdown passes for the Tigers, who saw five different players find the end zone in their one-sided victory against the Presidents. Hand has outscored its opponents 181-30 this year and its starting defense has yet to allow a point through the first four games.

Hand scored 31 points in the first quarter and added two more touchdowns in the second to take a 45-0 halftime advantage versus Harding (1-3). Billings threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Haberman for the game’s first TD, after which Isaiah McNeilly tossed the 2-point conversion to Brad Cosgriff for a quick 8-0 lead. Billings then threw a 16-yard TD pass to Ian Butler that was followed by McNeilly’s 2-point run to make it 16-0. Later in the quarter, Chris Bartosic rushed for a 15-yard touchdown and McNeilly ran in another 2-point try to extend Hand’s lead to 24-0. The Tigers closed out the opening quarter on a 14-yard TD run by Jesse Lutz and an extra-point kick by McNeilly to make it 31-0.

In the second quarter, Billings found Haberman on a 9-yard touchdown strike for another Tigers’ touchdown. Colin McCabe followed with a 21-yard TD run to help Hand continue its offensive onslaught. McNeilly kicked his third straight extra point to give the Tigers a 45-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Jack Hughes recovered a fumble and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to give Hand a 51-0 advantage. Harding scored the last two TDs of the game in the fourth quarter.

Haberman had three receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns, Butler caught three passes for 74 yards and a score, while Bartosic had two catches for 65 yards to go with the 15-yard TD run in the victory

After a bye week, Hand returns to the field when the Tigers host West Haven for an SCC Tier 1 clash on Friday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Surf Club.

Hand recorded a 2-1 win versus Cross in an SCC Housatonic Division game at the Surf Club on Sept. 26. With the victory, the Tigers improve to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the division this year.

Jason Wallack scored a goal and also assisted Scott Testori for the go-ahead goal with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Lee Wildermann had the assist on Wallack’s goal that gave Hand a 1-0 lead in the first half. Clayton Knibbs made seven saves in goal for the Tigers, who outshot Cross 17-9.

At the 27-minute mark of the first half, Wildermann made a cross-field pass to Wallack, who slotted the ball past the Governors’ goalie for his fifth goal in the last four games and a 1-0 Hand lead. In the opening moments of the second half, Cross was awarded a penalty kick for a handball on a Tigers’ defender. Lorenzo Launia stepped up and converted the kick from 12 yards away to tie the game. Hand pushed for the go-ahead score and its efforts paid off when Wallack found Testori, who finished at close range to give Hand a 2-1 edge. Knibbs came up with several important saves throughout the game to help the Tigers secure the victory.

Hand earned road wins versus Mercy and Foran last week to improve to 5-4 on the season.

Hand started off last week by posting a 3-0 sweep at Mercy in an SCC Hammonasset Division match on Sept. 24. The Tigers won the match 25-14, 25-20, 25-12 to improve to 2-1 in the division. Kylie Corniello had 13 assists, while Emily Thornbury and Allie Nelson had seven kills apiece for Hand.

Three days later, the Tigers notched a 3-2 victory at Foran by the final score of 25-15, 25-11, 25-27, 24-26, 15-13. Nelson had 15 kills with seven digs and four aces, Corniello dished out 30 assists, and Molly Sawyer served up six aces.

Hand swept a quad-meet at Eisenhower Park in Milford on Sept. 26 to improve to 6-0 this year. The Tigers earned wins against Lauralton Hall (19-40), Foran (18-39), and Sacred Heart Academy (17-41) at the meet.

Madison Rotermund ran a time of 22 minutes and 31 seconds to take first place for the Tigers. Teammate Anna Son finished in second place with a time of 22:34, while Jade Law took third place at 22:40.

The Tigers took two out of a three in a quad-meet at Eisenhower Park last week. Hand earned a 15-48 win versus Foran, defeated Notre Dame-West Haven 25-31, and was edged 27-29 by Fairfield Prep.

Carson Hines finished in fourth place by running a time of 17 minutes and 33 seconds for the Tigers. Dante Zucconi took fifth place (17:34), Connor Parthasarthy finished in sixth place (17:46), and Lucas Kraemer came in seventh place (17:49).

The Tigers tied SCC rival Guilford and then took a loss to non-conference opponent Darien last week. Hand now has a record of 4-2-2 on the year.

On Sept. 26, the Tigers hosted Guilford and the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw. Anna Beccia scored a goal on assists from Maeve Connors and Kennedy Richard to give Hand a 1-0 lead at the 8:39 mark of the first half. The Tigers held their 1-0 lead until Guilford tied the game with a goal at the 18:43 mark of the second half. Karen Newton made nine saves on 10 shots in goal for Hand.

Hand hosted Shelton at the Madison Racquet & Swim Club on Sept. 24 and posted an 87-75 victory to improve to 3-0.

Hand’s 200 medley relay team of junior Kayla Mendonca, sophomore Ava Dougherty, junior Erin Reilly, and sophomore Ava Keane took first place with a time of 2:00.03 against the Gaels. In the 200 freestyle, freshman Abbi Chemacki placed first (2:04.93) and Erin Reilly finished in third (2:08.46). In the 200 individual medley, sophomore Emma Ruffo took first (2:28.56), Dougherty followed in second (2:32.10), and co-captain Gabby Wira finished third (2:32.35) for Hand. Junior Ruby Redlich placed first in the 50 free (26:63) with freshman Catherine Arrandale finishing in third (28.57).

In the 100 butterfly, Mendonca (1:05.49), Ruffo (1:14.06) and Arrandale (1:14.82) took the top three spots for the Tigers. Reilly (58.65), Keane (1:00.62) and junior Kylie Scarpellino (1:02.12) secured first, second, and third place, respectively in the 100 freestyle. In the 500 freestyle, Mendonca took first (5:28.60) and co-captain Sammy Tuveson finished third (5:58.59). The Tigers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Keane, Scarpellino and Ruffo secured first place with a time of 1:53.54.

Additional strong performances were put in by Redlich (1:07.02) and Keane (1:10.88) in the 100 backstroke, Dougherty (1:15.73) and Chemacki (1:17.71) in the 100 breaststroke, as well as Redlich, Reilly, Chemacki, and Mendonca in the 400 yard freestyle relay (4:00.43). Junior Grace Vest was recognized for her strong contribution to the team, including her breaking the 30-second barrier in the 50 freestyle, earning Vest the distinction as Hand’s swimmer of the meet.