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11/24/2018 11:00 PMThe North Haven football team found itself in a familiar situation when it went up against Amity on the night before Thanksgiving: The Indians needed a win to reach the postseason. In fact, this same scenario played out just last year, when North Haven routed Amity on its way to qualifying for the Class L State Playoffs. While this year’s outcome was the same, the game unfolded much differently. North Haven fended off an unrelenting effort from the Spartans and hung on for a 28-26 victory in a duel that came down to the final minute. Head Coach Anthony Sagnella’s squad finished the regular season with a record of 8-2 to make the playoffs for eighth time in 12 years.
North Haven and Amity squared off in the 23rd edition of their annual regular-season finale at Vanacore Field on Nov. 21. The game was scheduled to be played on Thanksgiving as usual, but was moved up one day due to cold temperatures. After falling behind early, the Indians scored three straight touchdowns to take a 20-8 lead in the second quarter. North Haven extended its lead to 28-14 entering the fourth quarter, when the Spartans stormed back by scoring a pair of touchdowns to cut the deficit to 28-26.
Amity was unable to convert either of its 2-point conversions following the TDs, and so the Indians got the ball back with a chance to run out the clock. North Haven went three-and-out, returning the ball to the Spartans, who promptly made their way down field. Amity had 1st-and-goal from the Indians’ 7-yard line late in the game. However, North Haven’s defense denied the Spartans’ comeback bid by turning them over on downs, ultimately ending the drive on a sack by senior Albert Hooks. The Indians’ offense then ran out the clock to solidify their 10th consecutive victory over Amity, as well as a playoff berth.
While it’s nothing new for North Haven to get in the playoffs, Coach Sagnella said he was impressed that this year’s team achieved that feat, considering the Indians returned a minimal amount of varsity experience from last season.
“It’s becoming an expectation of the program to put ourselves in a position to compete in the postseason, but every team is different, and every team has to make its own legacy. This team is very special, because we only had four starters returning, and the majority of the guys who played significant roles for us this year were primarily JV players a year ago,” said Sagnella. “I told the kids at the beginning of the season that it was a question of how fast we would grow up to see what kind of success we could have, and that growth was evident from our first game. So, we’ve met our expectations of getting to the playoffs, and now we have that second season.”
North Haven is the No. 5 seed in the Class L State Playoffs and will play at No. 4 seed Windsor (8-2) in the quarterfinal round at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27. With a win, the Indians would face the winner of top-seeded Hand (10-0) and No. 8 seed Bunnell (9-1) in the semis at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. The Class L state final takes place on Saturday, Dec. 8.
North Haven’s offense featured a balanced rushing attack, while the Indians’ defense forced a pair of turnovers when they beat Amity on Thanksgiving Eve. Devan Brockamer was named the Most Valuable Player of the game after carrying the ball seven times for 79 yards and a touchdown, in addition to catching a TD pass from fellow senior captain Shamus Meehan, who had four runs for 20 yards and a score. Junior Albert Hooks ran seven times for 42 yards and a touchdown, and senior captain Nick Dodge had seven carries for 48 yards. Junior Corey Hooks (5 rushes, 28 yards), senior Noah Pastore (3 carries, 21 yards), and junior Max Augustine (2 carries, 13 yards) also contributed to the Indians’ ground game in the victory.
Along with Albert Hooks, juniors Noah Perillie and Joe Vitale both recorded a sack against Amity. Junior Corey Hooks snagged an interception for the Indians, who saw senior Kevin Anasoulis force a fumble that he recovered. Senior Darren Major led North Haven in tackles by making 14, while Albert Hooks and senior Lou Mineri added 10 tackles apiece. Brockamer had seven tackles, and fellow senior captain Eli Doheny added six tackles.
Amity (5-5) grabbed an early lead when Michael Young reeled off a 77-yard touchdown rush just 54 seconds into the game. The Spartans followed by running in the 2-point conversion to take an 8-0 advantage. North Haven didn’t wait long to retaliate as Brockamer scampered for a 32-yard TD that made it 8-6 with 8:33 to play in the first quarter. About five minutes later, Meehan connected with Brockamer on a 26-yard touchdown toss that gave the Indians a 12-8 advantage through one.
Early in the second quarter, Meehan scored on 7-yard touchdown run, after which Brockamer ran in the 2-point try to increase North Haven’s lead to 20-8. As time expired in the half, Amity used a 5-yard TD pass to cut it to 20-14 at intermission.
On the last play of the third quarter, Albert Hooks broke free for a 45-yard touchdown rush for North Haven. Brockamer ran in another 2-point conversion to put the Indians up 28-14 heading into the final frame. That’s when things took a turn for the dramatic.
Following a North Haven fumble, Amity took over on the Indians’ 10-yard line. A few plays later, Young threw a 14-yard TD pass to Nico Semmonella. North Haven stopped the Spartans on their subsequent 2-point conversion run and led 28-20 with 7:21 to go in the game.
North Haven’s next possession ended in another fumble, and Amity capitalized when Young found Semmonella on a 16-yard scoring strike to make it 28-26 with 3:29 remaining. Once again, the Indians’ thwarted Amity’s 2-point attempt to maintain their two-point edge.
With an opportunity to drain the clock, the Indians’ offense was unable to pick up a first down. North Haven punted the ball to Amity, and the Spartans went on a drive. Amity was on the doorstep of taking the lead and potentially ending the Indians’ season after reaching North Haven’s 7-yard line with 1:30 to play. The Spartans lost several yards on a pair of fumbled snaps and had to go for it on fourth down from the 25. Albert Hooks took down Young for a game-clinching sack to finish off the win for North Haven.
Coach Sagnella credited Amity for giving his team everything it could handle in what was essentially a playoff game for North Haven. The coach also extended credit to his defense for turning the Spartans aside when the Indians’ playoff hopes were on the line.
“Amity rose to the occasion and challenged our kids for the entire game. I think the game being competitive has to be attributed to Amity coming in and playing their tails off,” said Sagnella. “In terms of us, the thing that bothered me the most was the turnovers. Those were momentum killers that breathed life into Amity. Our defense constantly had its back against the wall, but when Amity had an opportunity to win the game, our defense held them. That was the biggest key. Even though we made mistakes at times, our kids continued to play hard, and that was most evident on the defensive side of the ball.”
Although the script read differently, North Haven’s 2018 matchup against Amity still featured another happy ending for the Indians. It didn’t come easy, but in the end, North Haven walked off the field with a critical victory that kept its season going.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we passed the test, and that’s how we have to view it,” Sagnella said. “We got the win. We rose up and played our best football when it mattered most.”
From the Sidelines
Senior captain Devan Brockamer made the All-SCC Tier 1 Team as a defensive back this season, while senior captain Nick Dodge and fellow senior Albert Hooks made the team as linebackers. Senior captain Vinny DePalma earned All-SCC Tier 1 honors as a defensive lineman.
During the regular season, North Haven recorded home wins against Cheshire (34-21), Xavier (49-14), Amity (28-26), and non-conference opponent Masuk (41-20). The Indians’ also scored road wins versus West Haven (20-19), Hillhouse (49-14), Foran (42-20), and non-conference squad Brookfield (17-7). The Indians took a 28-24 home loss to Shelton and lost a 42-20 contest at Fairfield Prep.
North Haven finished in third place with a record 3-2 in SCC Tier 1 play by virtue of its wins over Cheshire, Xavier, and West Haven, and its losses against Shelton and Fairfield Prep. The SCC Tier 1 standings were: Shelton (10-0 overall, 6-0 SCC Tier 1), Fairfield Prep (9-1, 5-1), North Haven (8-2, 3-2), Cheshire (3-7, 2-3), West Haven (5-5, 2-4), Notre Dame-West Haven (6-4, 1-4), and Xavier (2-8, 0-5).
In Class L State Playoffs, the seedings are: 1. Hand (10-0), 2. Middletown (9-1), 3. Naugatuck (9-1), 4. Windsor (8-2), 5. North Haven (8-2), 6. Platt (8-2), 7. Maloney (8-2), and 8. Bunnell (9-1).