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09/22/2019 12:00 AMFootball
Senior captain quarterback Phoenix Billings and senior running back Colin McCabe etched their names into the Daniel Hand football record books when the Tigers notched a 55-6 victory over non-conference opponent Middletown at the Surf Club on Sept. 20. Billings broke the school record for the most career touchdown passes in program history, while McCabe set the record for the most career rushing touchdowns.
Hand, which is the state’s top-ranked team, led 20-0 after the first quarter and was up 49-0 at halftime against Middletown. Head Coach Dave Mastroianni’s squad improved to 2-0 on the year and has won its last 26 games going back to 2017.
Billings surpassed Nick Van Dell for the most TD passes in school history with the 51st of his career when he threw 12-yard strike to Shane Reiner at the end of the first half. McCabe set his record on a 3-yard run early in the game for his 38th career rushing touchdown, eclipsing the mark of 37 set by Jeff Farmer. McCabe went on to run for three more touchdowns to put his record total at 41 for his career.
Billings was 9-for-12 passing with 149 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 43-yard run in the victory. Billings gained 96 yards on the ground for the Tigers, who rushed for 246 yards as team. McCabe carried the ball 12 times for 154 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 3, 4, 17, and 29 yards.
Isaiah McNeilly had an 11-yard touchdown run for Hand, while Jesse Lutz took home a 57-yard TD rush in the blowout.
Hand’s next game is a non-conference contest at Wethersfield at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.
Field Hockey
The Tigers won two of their two games last week and are now 3-1 on the year. Hand defeated North Haven by 9-0 score on Sept. 17, posted a 3-0 shutout over Lauralton Hall on Sept. 19, and lost a 2-1 contest against Glastonbury on Sept. 21.
Junior Grace Goddard netted four goals for Hand in the win at North Haven. Riley Kilbourn had two goals in the win. Shea Docker, Jacqui Sandor, and Maeve Connors scored one goal apiece. Megan Hart and Maddie Kilduff split the goaltending duties with Killduff recording the lone save in the cage.
After blanking Lauralton Hall, Hand took a loss to Glastonbury in its last game of the week. Hand went up 1-0 on a goal by Goddard before Glastonbury rallied for a pair of goals later in the first half to get the 2-1 win.
Girls’ Volleyball
The Tigers split their two matches last week by defeating Cross 3-0 on Sept. 17 and taking a 3-0 defeat against Shelton on Sept. 20. Hand has a record of 1-2 this season.
Hand defeated the Governors behind set scores of 25-7, 25-13, and 25-14. Allie Nelson had 10 kills and seven aces for the Tigers. Kylie Corniello chipped in with 20 assists and five aces.
Girls’ Soccer
The Tigers earned their first win of the year by shutting out East Haven 3-0 on Sept. 19. Hand, which had previously taken a 3-0 loss to Mercy on Sept. 17, is now 1-2 on the campaign.
Girls’ Cross Country
Hand ran its record to 4-0 by earning a 26-29 win versus Cheshire on the 3.04-mile course at the Surf Club on Sept. 17.
Morgan Combs took first place for the Tigers with a time of 20:45 at the mete. Combs was joined across the finish line by Anna Stetten (2nd, 21.27), Keelin Virgulto (6th, 22.34), Anna Son (7th, 22.54), and Gigi Rankin (10th, 23.34).