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10/07/2018 12:00 AMFootball
The North Branford football team hosted Pequot Conference opponent Lewis Mills on Oct. 5 and came away with a 26-0 victory to improve to 2-3 for the year. It was an important win for Head Coach Mark Basil and the Thunderbirds, who had lost three straight games after defeating Granby Memorial in their season opener.
“We expected to be able to go out and play hard, but we didn’t play well in the first half. We played well in the second, but it was a win we expected to be able to get,” Coach Basil said. “The fact that we didn’t allow any points was a bright spot.”
North Branford took a 6-0 lead into the half after sophomore quarterback Brandon Fratta found junior split end Nate Raymond for a 32-yard touchdown pass. In the second half, senior captain Nick Mancini powered home a 3-yard run to give the T-Birds some insurance. After that, sophomore Tyler DiNapoli scampered home from 26 yards out for another North Branford touchdown. Senior Lou Raffone later found the end zone from seven yards away to put a bow on the victory.
For the game, Fratta was 15-of-27 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. North Branford totaled 189 yards on the ground with Mancini leading the charge behind 78 yards on 12 carries. DiNapoli added 59 yards, and sophomore Alex Clinton rushed for 28 yards for the Thunderbirds. Clinton also caught five passes for 56 yards, Raymond corralled two receptions for 50 yards, and Mancini hauled in three receptions for 47 yards.
On the defensive end, senior RJ Sobask recorded a pair of sacks, while sophomore Jamison O’Brien had one. Senior Cameron Dipentima grabbed an interception for North Branford.
Coach Basil said that his team has felt the effects from the loss of injured senior captain Colby Anastasio. Basil said the lineman was the heart and soul for North Branford up front, and so he and his coaching staff have been going to the drawing board to see how the T-Birds can adjust.
“That’s been our biggest loss. On the line we’ve struggled. If there is no line, it doesn’t matter who is running or throwing the ball,” Basil said. “That’s what we need to work on. Our front is just young. We’ve moved guys around, so we have to get better blocking.”
North Branford enters the bye week and will hit the road its next time out. The T-Birds are playing at undefeated Valley Regional-Old Lyme in Deep River on Friday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Field Hockey
The T-Birds won two games and also took a loss last week to improve their overall record to 6-2-0-1 this fall.
North Branford won a 4-0 decision against Morgan on Oct. 1 and then took a 3-2 defeat at Old Saybrook the following day. The T-Birds capped their week by beating Morgan again, this time by a 3-0 score, in a road game on Oct. 5.
Girls’ Soccer
The Thunderbirds won one game and also earned two ties last week to stay undefeated at 4-0-4 for the year.
On Oct. 1, the T-Birds routed Hale-Ray to the tune of a 7-1 score. North Branford followed that up with back-to-back ties against Old Saybrook and Woodstock Academy. North Branford played the Rams to a 0-0 draw on Oct. 4 and then came away with a 1-1 tie against Woodstock Academy on Oct. 6.
Boys’ Soccer
North Branford dropped a pair of contests last week and is now 0-9 for the season.
On Oct. 2, the Thunderbirds lost to Hale-Ray by a 4-0 score. Three days later, North Branford took a 5-0 defeat against Old Saybrook.
Volleyball
The Thunderbirds lost a pair of matchups last week for a record of 1-10 this year.
On Oct. 1, North Branford visited Morgan and lost by a 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-18) final. Junior Katy Pedersen had 30 serve receives and 12 digs for the T-Birds.
The very next day, The T-Birds hosted Coginchaug and took a 3-0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-18) loss. Junior Sally Cucinotta finished with 15 digs, while Pedersen added 12 digs in the defeat.