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11/10/2018 11:00 PMFootball
The Valley Regional-Old Lyme (VR-OL) football team recorded a lopsided win over Lewis Mills when the two teams squared off in a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division game in Deep River on Nov. 9. Valley-Old Lyme thrashed Lewis Mills by the final score of 47-7 to improve to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the division. The Warriors are also in the No. 10 spot in the Class S State Playoff rankings entering their regular-season finale versus Haddam-Killingworth. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
Senior running back Nick Braga had six carries for 98 yards and three touchdowns to go with two catches for 61 yards in Valley’s win against Lewis Mills (0-8, 0-7). Senior running back Jae'Len Arnum ran seven times for 91 yards and a pair of TDs, while senior receiver Jason O’Brien returned a punt to the house for a touchdown. Junior kicker Brian Funk went 4-for-5 on extra-point attempts for VR-OL. On defense, O’Brien and senior Garrhett Watrous each snagged an interception for the Warriors, who also saw O’Brien and junior Ben Conrad both record a sack.
Head Coach Tim King said that the Warriors were bolstered by excellent efforts from their linemen on both sides of the ball in the victory.
“Our lines did an incredible job. That’s the best game our offensive line played all year. They did a marvelous job,” said King. “We’ve been jelling. I can’t remember the last time we had the starting unit all together between injuries and moving people around. We had kind of a new line come together. We’ve been juggling linemen all year. This is probably the first time we’ve had the same line play in two consecutive weeks this season.”
Valley opened the scoring with a 43-yard touchdown run from Braga, and then Funk booted home the extra point to make it 7-0. Later in the first quarter, the Spartans got an interception to put them in good field position and eventually scored on a 1-yard run to tie the game at 7-7.
In the second quarter, the Warriors exploded for three touchdowns to take a 28-7 lead. Arnum got his first touchdown on a 9-yard run to make it 14-7, after which the senior added another score a 4-yard run. Before the end of the half, Braga caught a screen pass from sophomore quarterback Jack Cox and scampered into the end zone from 50 yards away for a touchdown. Funk kicked his third extra point of the period to make it 28-7 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Braga scored on a 25-yard touchdown run to give Valley a 34-7 advantage. Later in the frame, O’Brien returned a punt 60 yards for another Warriors’ score, and Funk’s extra point made it 41-7. Sophomore running back Anthony Rosario scored the last TD of the game on a 4-yard run for the 47-7 final.
The Warriors will finish the 2018 regular season when they host divisional opponent Haddam-Killingworth (8-1, 6-1) in the annual battle for the Principal’s Cup on Tuesday, Nov, 20 at 6:30 p.m. With Valley currently in 10th place in the Class S standings and H-K in eighth place, Coach King expects the game to have a playoff atmosphere.
“It’s pretty much going to be a playoff game. We’ve got to take care of our business, and Haddam-Killingworth is very good,” King said. “We just went to see them and they looked real good [in a 42-12 win against Old Saybrook-Westbrook]. It should be a great game.”
Field Hockey
Valley Regional won its opening game in the Class S State Tournament last week, before taking a loss in their second-round contest. Valley posted an overall mark of 11-5-1-2 on the year.
On Nov. 7, 8th-seeded Valley notched a 2-0 home shutout over No. 9 seed Litchfield in the first round of states. The next day, The Warriors went up against No. 1 seed Granby and lost a 3-0 decision in a quarterfinal game on the road.
Boys’ Soccer
The Warriors competed in the Class M State Tournament last week and took a 4-3 overtime loss against Bacon Academy in a first-round game on Nov. 7. Valley finished the season with an overall record of 10-4-4.
The Warriors entered the State Tournament as the No. 12 seed and hosted 21st-seeded Bacon Academy in the first round. Michael Dilger scored two goals for the Warriors, while fellow senior Chris Morales also netted a goal in the defeat. Senior vice captain Charlie Haughton made nine saves in net for Valley.
Bacon Academy got on the board by scoring a goal 22 minutes into the game and held a 1-0 lead at the half. Following halftime, freshman Jake Burdick got a ball to Morales, who put the ball into the net to tie the game 1-1. Just 30 seconds later, the Warriors were awarded a penalty kick after a handball by Bacon Academy. Dilger scored on the kick to make it a 2-1 Valley advantage.
About 15 minutes into the second half, the Bobcats tied the score at 2-2 by putting a header into the net off a corner kick. With the teams still tied through regulation, the game went to overtime, which would automatically feature two 10-minute periods.
Two minutes into the first OT, Bacon Academy took a 3-2 lead on an own goal by the Warriors. Then with just 30 seconds left in the period, Bacon Academy scored another goal to make it 4-2.
In the second overtime, Valley drew closer when senior captain Sean Cole took a free kick that went to Dilger, who headed the ball in to make it 4-3 with four minutes remaining. The Warriors had a few chances to equalize the score during the next few minutes, but were unable to connect.
Girls’ Soccer
Valley took a 4-2 loss at Wolcott in first round of the Class M State Tournament on Nov. 5. Valley, which was the No. 26 seed, finished the season with a record of 6-9-2 following its loss to No. 7 seed Wolcott.
Juniors Sam Calamari and Ava Duval scored goals for Valley Regional in the contest. Junior goalkeeper Alexis DellaRocco recorded 17 saves in a valiant effort against a tough Wolcott squad.
Wolcott scored the first goal of the match 14 minutes into the first half to take a 1-0 lead. In the 26th minute, the Eagles extended the lead to 2-0 when they scored a goal on a long-range shot. Two minutes later, Calamari scored off an assist from Duval to make it a 2-1 game at halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles scored an insurance goal in the 55th minute for a 3-1 advantage. In the 68th minute, Duval scored on a helper from freshman Sophia Surber to trim the lead to 3-2. Valley nearly scored the equalizer on a free kick, but with two minutes left, Wolcott scored an insurance goal that made the score 4-2.