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01/18/2019 11:00 PMThe Haddam-Killingworth football team buckled down and put its collective nose to the grindstone when the Cougars were preparing for the 2018 campaign during the dog days of summer. H-K’s commitment to excellence yielded a historic year that culminated with a run to the state championship game.
Haddam-Killingworth posted a record of 9-1 during the regular season to clinch the program’s first playoff berth since 2011, while winning the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division crown title with a divisional mark of 7-1. As the No. 7 seed in the Class S State Playoffs, the Cougars posted a 52-0 shutout over No. 2 Bullard Havens Tech in the quarterfinals, marking their first postseason win in program history. In the Class S semis, H-K edged out No. 3 seed Stafford-East Windsor-Somers by 21-14 score in overtime to advance to face No. 4 Bloomfield in the final, where H-K took a 25-7 defeat. Head Coach Mike Baklik’s squad completed its season with an overall record of 11-2.
“As coaches, we knew we had a special group here. We did the weight room, a camp at Wesleyan University, and a passing league in the summer, yet when it came down to business in August, they put in the work,” said Baklik. “Our kids were ready to play. The coaches also jelled well, too, and found their own groove.”
H-K’s senior class featured captains Tobey Callender, James Murphy, Dalton Brown, Colton Lavoie, and Aiden Maher; along with Zach Kauffman, Mike Sonski, Mike Barile, Wallace Sample, Chase Mack, and Parker Smith. Coach Baklik said that some of the defeats these players took in the early stages of their careers paid big-time dividends when the stakes were at their greatest.
“When we were preparing for the Class S semifinal, we looked at our film against Stafford from a few years ago,” Baklik said. “For a lot of our seniors, those guys were getting quality reps as sophomores, and that experience helped us.”
H-K defense and kicking game played a huge part in the team’s success this season. Junior kicker Jordan Callahan converted 46 extra points for the Cougars, whose defense was a turnover factory that forced 38 takeaways. On the flipside, H-K’s offense only turned the ball over 11 times all year.
“Jordan bailed us out of a bunch of tough situations, and [junior] Trey Callender was our long snapper and helped us quite a bit, so special teams was a big part of our program,” said Coach Baklik. “I’m most proud of that turnover margin. We gave up the ball less than one time a game. We protected the ball and made a lot of interceptions on defense.”
For postseason awards, Tobey Callender was named the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division Player of the Year and made the All-Pequot Conference Team alongside Maher, Lavoie, Trey Callender, junior Dalton Modehn, Brown, and Callahan. Earning All-Pequot Honorable Mention for H-K were Kauffman, sophomore Thomas Perry, Sample, junior Chris Moore, and Smith. For the second-consecutive year, Baklik was named the Pequot Sassacus Coach of the Year. Tobey Callender, Trey Callender, Maher, Callahan earned All-State honors for Haddam-Killingworth. Maher also made the Walter Camp Second Team, and Tobey Callender earned a spot on the New Haven Register All-Area Team.
For H-K’s team awards, Modehn was selected as the Cougars’ Offensive Most Valuable Player and Tobey Callender was named the team MVP. Modehn has more than 2,000 rushing yards for his career and is closing on the program’s all-time record. Trey Callender received the Defensive Player of the Year Award, while Callahan was named Most Improved Player and the Special Teams Player of the Year for the Cougars. Murphy and sophomore Cam Hines shared the Coaches’ Award, Maher won the Lineman of the Year Award, and sophomore Jacob Young was selected as the JV Player of the Year.
At the Pequot Conference Lifting Competition, Modehn tied for second place on the bench press, Lavoie placed third for the bench press, Mack finished second for the bench and third on the power clean, and Smith was runner-up for the bench. Anthony Corda was H-K’s best freshman lifter at the competition.
Looking back at this year, Coach Baklik is proud that H-K made history as its athletes battled for each second of every game. With an eye on the horizon, Balkik feels confident that the future looks promising, especially since the Cougars have so many people in their corner.
“When I applied for this job, the goal was to have people move to this town for football, and our youth organization is doing great things. We also have a quality school district here and are trying to follow suit on the field,” Baklik said. “This year was a group effort. I was told after the state final that our kids played hard, and they played until the final whistle all year, and we hope to get back to the state final next year.”
From the Sidelines
The Haddam-Killingworth football team’s varsity roster consisted of senior captains Tobey Callender, James Murphy, Dalton Brown, Colton Lavoie, and Aiden Maher; seniors Zach Kauffman, Mike Sonski, Mike Barile, Wallace Sample, Chase Mack, and Parker Smith; juniors Jordan Callahan, James Bobbi, Dalton Modehn, Trey Callender, Kevin Giulini, Chris Moore, Evan Ceplenski, and Colin Mack; sophomores Cameron Hines, Aiden Coale, Dan LaRosa, Brandon Bernier, Tristan Hesselberg, Drew Zichichi, Steven Zichichi, Anthony Corda, John Bruder, Antonio Calderoni, Pat Murphy, Matt Carson, Jacob Young, Gavin Barile, Brett Neilsen, and Tom Perry; and freshmen Corey Phipps, Ryan Duncanson, Matteo Piacenti, Jared Frith, Malachi Bourne, and Kevin Cavrell.
Head Coach Mike Baklik was assisted by George Callender, Rob Grasso, Barth Keck, Jared Hickey, Tyler Wilcox, and Pat Dougherty.
The Cougars’ previous state final appearance came in 1994, when H-K lost a 20-14 contest against Putnam in the Class S title game.
During the regular season, H-K earned wins versus SMSA-University-Classical (35-8), Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton (30-6), Morgan (37-22), Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman Memorial (56-13), Morgan (63-22), North Branford (27-6), Lewis Mills (42-0), Old Saybrook-Westbrook (42-12), and Valley Regional-Old Lyme (27-21). The Cougars’ lone loss came against Cromwell-Portland by a 47-19 score.