Printer Friendly Version - Morgan Football Notches Second Win of the Year; Girls’ Soccer Sweeps Three-Game Week

Senior Michael Savage and the Morgan football team earned a 23-7 victory over Ellington on Oct. 20. Savage made 11 tackles and recorded a sack in the win as the Huskies improved to 2-4 on the season. Photo by Kelley Fryer/Harbor News

The Morgan football team earned its second victory of the season the Huskies defeated Ellington by a 23-7 score in a road game on Oct. 19. The Huskies improved to 2-4 on the year with the win.

Senior captain quarterback JP Nye had a big night by completing 17 of his 28 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Liam Whelan had six receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, while senior Ryan Caldwell had five catches for 85 yards. Deven Talarczyk added a TD reception to aid the Huskies’ offense.

On defense, senior Matt Luchuk led the team with 13 tackles, including four for a loss, to go with two sacks. Fellow senior Michael Savage had 11 tackles and a sack for Morgan. Junior Michael Zingarella picked off a pass and took it back to the house for a touchdown in the win. Seniors Bryce Thomas and Zakery Johnson also had interceptions for the Huskies.

Ellington (1-5) put the first score on the board with a short touchdown pass in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. Morgan tied the score on a 7-yard pass from Nye to Whelan later in the quarter. Sophomore Kayo Barros booted home the extra point to tie the game at 7-7, which was how it stood at halftime.

The Huskies took their first lead of the game when Nye hit Talarczyk on a 6-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Barros kicked another extra point to give Morgan a 14-7 advantage. Before the end of the third quarter, Barros connected on a 38-yard field goal to make it a two-score game at 17-7. Morgan scored its final TD in the fourth quarter, when Zingarella hauled in an interception and ran it back eight yards for a touchdown to make it 23-7.

Up next for the Huskies will be a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division matchup at Lewis Mills (0-6, 0-4) on Saturday, Oct. 27 at noon.

The Huskies claimed victory in all three of their games last week to boost their record to 10-1-3 this year. Morgan notched wins versus Valley Regional (3-1), Old Saybrook (2-0), and Cromwell (2-1) in last week’s action.

On Oct. 15, the Morgan hosted Valley and claimed a 3-1 victory. Morgan scored the first goal of the contest when senior Chloe Bousquet put one in the net at the 6:24 mark. Valley tied the score at 1-1 with a goal in the 27th minute. Before the end of the half, junior Alyssa Smith gave Morgan the lead by scoring a goal from senior captain Alyssa LeMay at the 39:20 mark. Then in the second half, Smith scored on a penalty kick in the 68th minute. Senior goalie Rebecca Cockley made 10 saves for Morgan.

Two days later, the Huskies headed to Old Saybrook, where they defeated the Rams by a 2-0 margin. Sophomore Carley Schmidt scored both of Morgan’s goals on the day. The Huskies’ offense got going with a goal by Schmidt off an assist from senior Kylee Clifton at the 6:30 mark. Schmidt netted another goal at the 19-minute mark, this time off a helper from freshman Taylor Maher. Morgan outshot Old Saybrook 10-4 and saw junior goalie Natalie Novarro make four saves in the match.

On Oct. 20, the Huskies hosted Cromwell and edged out the Panthers by a 2-1 final to avenge their lone loss of the year. Morgan took the early lead with a goal by senior Madison Emmi on an assist from Smith just 7:30 into the game. Morgan held its 1-0 lead until LeMay made it 2-0 by converting a penalty kick at 61:50 in the second half. Cromwell got a goal back by scoring on a penalty kick nine minutes later, but Morgan held off the Panthers the rest of the way to come away with the win. Cockley made five saves for the Huskies, who outshot Cromwell 8-6.

Morgan recorded two more wins and also earned a draw while playing a slate of three games last week. The Huskies now have a record of 11-2-2 on the season. Morgan battled Valley Regional to a 1-1 tie, defeated Valley by a 4-2 score later in the week, and finished things up with a 6-0 victory over Portland.

On Oct. 16, the Huskies headed to Deep River to take on Valley Regional, and the two teams ended up with one point apiece following a 1-1 tie. Morgan took a 1-0 lead with a goal from senior Jhonnyer Paida off a helper by senior Ford Pender in the 68th minute. Valley tied the game by netting a goal five minutes later. Junior goalkeeper Nick Rubino made three saves for Morgan in the contest.

Three days later, the Huskies hosted Valley Regional and recorded a 4-2 victory. Morgan spread the offense around with four different Huskies netting goals in the contest. Valley struck first by scoring a goal on a penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute. The Huskies tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from senior Jon Hicks off an assist by fellow senior David Saturno in the 45th minute. Saturno scored a goal on a free kick in the 48th minute to give Morgan a 2-1 lead. The Warriors tied the game at 2 by scoring a goal in 63rd minute. Then in the 68th minute, senior Carter Skidmore put one past the Warriors’ keeper on an assist from Paida to give the Huskies a 3-2 edge. Just four minutes later, senior Sean Fitzgerald scored on a Hicks assist to make the score 4-2. Rubino stopped five shots to help the Huskies get the victory.

The next day, Morgan defeated Portland by a 6-0 score at home as junior Zach Tuccitto earned a hat trick in the game. Junior Josh Kennedy, Pender, and Saturno also scored goals. Tuccitto netted a goal 15 minutes into the first half on an assist from Saturno to make it 1-0. Three minutes later, Kennedy netted his goal off a helper from Hicks for a 2-0 advantage. Pender scored from Tuccitto in the 25th minute, after which Tuccitto scored his second goal just three minutes later on another Saturno assist for a 4-0 lead. Tuccitto and Saturno connected again to complete Tuccitto’s the hat trick in the 42nd minute. Saturno finished off the scoring with a goal in the 54th minute off a Tuccitto assist for the 6-0 final. Rubino had one save in the game.

After recently qualifying for the Class S State Tournament, the Huskies earned two wins and took a loss last week to put their record at 10-6 this fall.

On Oct. 15, Morgan lost a 3-1 match against Coginchaug. Two days later, the Huskies hosted Cromwell defeated the Panthers 3-0. Then on Oct. 19, Morgan went back on the road to battle Old Lyme and earned a 3-0 victory against the Wildcats.

Morgan competed at the Shoreline Conference Championship and finished in 10th place at Hale-Ray High School on Oct. 19.

Junior Chase Lofgren earned 27th place with a time of 19 minutes and 13 seconds for the Huskies, who also saw Aiden Maurais (54th, 20:41), senior Justin Mucha (57th, 20:57), senior Hayden Saranich (67th, 21:57), and junior Lucas Morello (71st, 22:32) hit the trails at Shorelines. Also running for the Huskies were freshman Jason Dombrowski, who placed 73rd with a time of 22:55; and senior Caleb Adams-Hull, who finished 75th at 23:55.

The Huskies sent four runners to last week’s Shoreline Conference Championship.

Sophomore Isabella Dowd finished with a time of 25:33 to take 59th place, while freshman Julia Walker turned in a time of 25:51 for 61st place. Junior Leah McComiskey posted a time of 26 minutes flat to come in 63rd place, and senior Phoebe Sullivan finished in 67th place with a time of 27:25.

On Oct. 16, Morgan lost a 7-1 contest in Westbrook. Two days later, the Huskies were on the road to face Old Saybrook and dropped a 2-1 decision. On Oct. 20, Morgan hosted Immaculate and took a 5-1 defeat.