Printer Friendly Version - North Haven Indians 6th-Graders Win Shoreline Youth Football Championship

The North Haven Youth Football 6th-grade squad took the title in the Shoreline Youth Football Conference by earning a 22-20 win over Glastonbury in the championship game at the Surf Club in Madison on Nov. 11. Photo courtesy of Steve Testa

The Shoreline Youth Football Conference (SYFC) hosted its 6th-grade championship game at the Surf Club in Madison on Nov. 11. The game matched the AFC champion and No. 1 overall seed North Haven Indians against the NFC champion Glastonbury Tomahawks. North Haven won the league title by claiming a 22-20 victory versus Glastonbury in a contest that came down to the wire.

The two teams had met earlier in the regular season during Week 6 action in Glastonbury. North Haven was able to grind out a 12-6 victory in a hard-fought matchup that day. The playoffs saw both teams march through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds with their high-powered offenses and stingy defenses.

In front of a large and loud crowd on a brisk and sunny day, North Haven and Glastonbury came to battle in what proved a heart-pounding championship matchup that wasn’t decided until the last play. Following a back-and-forth first half, North Haven took a 16-12 lead into halftime. In the second half, Glastonbury took a 20-16 advantage by scoring a touchdown on a long third-quarter drive. The Indians answered back with a TD on their next possession to bring a 22-20 lead into the fourth quarter.

Glastonbury’s offense challenged the Indians’ defense right through the final play of the game. After Glastonbury’s last-second pass attempt fell incomplete, the final whistle blew, and North Haven held on for an exciting 22-20 victory. Players, cheerleaders, and fans stormed the field to celebrate the Indians’ hard-earned championship win.

North Haven competed against the toughest schedule in the SYFC and finished the season with a record of 10-1. The members of the team are Luke Asbury, Joseph Carbone, Christopher Cretella, Jeffrey Davis, Michael DeMezzo, Matthew DeNardis, Tyler DiMauro, Luca Faulkner, Alessio Fraschilla, Jace Iamunno, Cole Januszewski, Kyle Januszewski, Russell Kieslich, Christopher Kottage, Joseph Mastroianni, Parker Mazzaro, Aidan McGuire, Christian Mongillo, Brian Moran, Michael Moran, Steven Piccirillo, Benjamin Pizzano, Nicholas Romano, Adrian Santos, Brandon Stevens, Tyler Sullivan, and Nathan Testa.

The Indians were coached by Andy Kastenhuber, Ed DiMauro, Charles Faulkner, Paul Januszewski, Steven Piccirillo, Matt Stevens, and Steven Testa.

North Haven’s 6th-grade cheerleaders dedicated themselves to leading the crowd each game and performing entertaining halftime routines throughout the season. The cheerleading squad was comprised of Makara Angus, Ava Balisciano, Aubrey Bessette, Sophia Colonna, Angelina Deleon-Colombo, Grace DeNardis, Gabby Keeney, Gianna Lanza, Abby LoRusso, Autumn Miller, Makayla Mongillo, Cailyn Newson, Danamarie Quinn, Emma Sola, Katie Upton, and Alexa Wargo.

The coaches for the 6th-grade cheerleaders were Shari Cretella, Isabella Izzo, Gianna Mastroianni, and Emily Orth.