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09/29/2019 12:00 AMFootball
The Guilford football team ran its record to 3-0 in 2019 s by earning a 37-3 road win versus non-conference opponent Avon on Sept. 28. The high-powered Indians’ offense, which is averaging 32.3 points per game this year, was led by senior running back Charles Walcott, who carried the ball 16 times for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Aedan McDermott went 8-of-10 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
Walcott’s 13-yard run just two minutes into game gave Guilford an early lead. Aidan Chiaia kicked the first of his five extra points on the night to put Guilford up 7-0. The Indians scored another touchdown with 5:02 to play in the first half when Walcott raced 53 yards to the end zone. Chiaia’s kick made it 14-0 at halftime.
Walcott broke off a 17-yard TD run with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter, after which Chiaia’s extra point extended the Indians’ lead to 21-0. Guilford’s defense went to work by forcing a fumble on a hit by Saut Kandic. Ryan Eldridge scooped up the loose ball and ran 30 yards for the score. In the fourth quarter, McDermott fired a 38-yard scoring strike to Shane Burns, and Chiaia followed with the extra point for a 35-3 lead. The Indians scored their final points of the game when their defense recorded a safety.
Guilford returns to action on Friday, Oct. 4 to meet East Haven (3-0) in a battle of SCC Tier 3 teams. The opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at East Haven High School.
Field Hockey
The Indians picked up a pair of impressive wins last week to improve to 5-0 this year. Head Coach Kitty Palmer’s squad defeated Lauralton Hall by a 6-1 score on Sept. 24 and then posted an 8-0 shutout against Branford on Sept. 26.
Ella Stanley led the goal parade for Guilford by scoring five times between the two victories. Hannah Tillier scored three goals, while Maddie Epke had two goals on the week. Lexi Hitchcock, Megan Fernandes, Allie Petonito, and Jaime Neleber each scored one goal.
Junior goalie Eve Young made eight total saves during the week for the Indians, who have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 51-1 this year.
Boys’ Soccer
Guilford had a busy week with three games and came away from the stretch with two victories. The Indians claimed a 5-1 win over Career-Hillhouse on Sept. 24, took a 1-0 loss to Cheshire two days later, and then notched a 3-1 victory versus Foran on Sept. 28.
In the matchup against Career-Hillhouse, Cal Stephens gave Guilford a 1-0 lead by scoring a first-half goal. The Indians broke through for four goals in the second half, including two from Evan Lemon and one each by Stephens and Niall O’Brien. Guilford has a record of 4-1-1 this season.
Following its loss to Cheshire, Guilford fell into an early 1-0 hole against Foran on a penalty kick. Stephens netted the equalizer in the 57th minute on an assist from Lemon, after which O’Brien made it 2-1 on a goal off a feed from Lemon in the 70th minute. Devlin Ahlefeld’s unassisted goal closed out the scoring and gave Guilford a 3-1 lead in the 74th minute.
Girls’ Soccer
The Indians notched their sixth-straight shutout of the season by blanking all three of their opponents last week. Guilford posted a 2-0 shutout over Foran on Sept. 24, earned a 3-0 win versus Law on Sept. 26, and edged out East Lyme by a 1-0 final on Sept. 28. Head Coach Scott McMahon’s squad is 6-0 on the year and had scored 14 goals without yielding one.
Girls’ Cross Country
The Indians boosted their dual-meet record to 7-0 with a 20-43 home victory over Hamden on Sept. 24.
Clara Wiesler was the top runner for Guilford by taking second place with a time of 19:38 on the 2.9-mile course at the East River Preserve. Wiesler was followed to the finish by Olivia Skapczynski (3rd, 20:24), Yanli Muhs (4th, 20:38), Gianna Siciliano (5th, 20:59), and Emma Bonz (6th, 21:01).
Boys’ Cross Country
After posting a 18-37 win over Hamden at the East River Preserve on Sept. 24, Guilford finished in fifth place for the Large School Division at the Ocean State Invitational in Rhode Island on Sept. 28.
Mckendry Eschinger won the race for Guilford against Hamden with senior captain Ben Crair placing second and Griffin Hughes taking third. Senior captain Jacob Shiffrin finished in fifth, while his brother Justin came in seventh place.
Crair finished 25th overall in a time of 17:08 on the 5K course at the Ocean State meet. Jacob Shiffrin placed 36th with a mark of 17:08 for the Indians, whose other runners were Hughes (17:32), Eschinger (17:43) and Justin Shiffrin (17:55).