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10/06/2019 12:00 AMThe Guilford football team took its first defeat of the season when the Indians dropped a 34-28 decision against an unbeaten East Haven team in a road game on Oct. 4. Guilford now has an overall record of 3-1 to go with a mark of 1-1 in SCC Tier 3 action following its loss to the Yellowjackets. First-year Head Coach Anthony Salvati’s squad is in the No. 11 spot in the Class L Playoff rankings heading into its bye week.
East Haven took a 7-0 lead on a long touchdown run in the first quarter, after which Guilford responded with a drive that culminated on a 7-yard TD rush from senior captain Charles Walcott. Senior Aidan Chiaia kicked the extra point to make it 7-7 after one.
Following another East Haven touchdown, the Indians tied the game again when junior quarterback Aedan McDermott connected with senior Shane Burns on a 35-yard TD pass. The Yellowjackets used a short touchdown run to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
East Haven increased its lead to 28-14 on another short TD rush in the third quarter. Guilford retaliated on McDermott’s 2-yard touchdown toss to Chiaia, but the Yellowjackets came back with a long TD pass for a 34-21 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, McDermott scored on a 3-yard touchdown run and then Chiaia kicked his fourth extra point of the day to cut it the deficit to 34-28. However, East Haven hung on for the win after stopping Guilford on its final drive of the contest.
Despite the defeat, the Indians are off to a solid start in 2019, having previously defeated Branford (20-19), Hartford Public (40-20), and Avon (34-3) in their first three games of the campaign. One of the biggest positives for Guilford has been the play of senior captain running back Walcott, who’s already rushed for 873 yards and nine touchdowns on 89 carries this season. Walcott, who leads the team with fellow senior captains Michael Clarke and Evan Russell, ran the ball 31 times for 173 yards in East Haven game.
Salvati worked with Walcott as an assistant coach at North Branford two years ago. Walcott transferred to Guilford last year and ran for more than 1,000 yards as a junior.
“When he played for me at North Branford, we could play him all over the field,” Salvati said of Walcott. “I could use Charles in the slot, at running back. He even played a little quarterback when we ran the Wildcat.”
McDermott has been making steady progress in his first season as the Indians’ starting quarterback. McDermott threw two touchdown passes to go along with his rushing TD against East Haven.
“Aedan’s your classic drop-back quarterback,” Coach Salvati said. “His arm is wide, and he can make all of the throws. He’ll be recognized by the end of the year.”
McDermott’s corps of receivers includes seniors Joe Palmer and Burns, as well as juniors Sam Huffman and Drew St. Denis.
Salvati gave a ton of credit to his offensive line for its performance this season. The Indians’ O-line is anchored by senior captain center Russell (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) and also includes Ian Rose (6-5, 250) at left tackle, Ryan Eldridge (6-0, 220) at left guard, Jake Bradley (6-3, 270) at right guard, and Saut Kandic (6-4, 250) at right tackle. Rose, Bradley, and Kandic are seniors, and Eldridge is a sophomore.
Bradley and Kandic also play on the defensive side of the ball, where Guilford features junior Nik Orton and Chiaia as defensive ends, junior James Krupp (6-3, 305) at nose guard, and senior captain Clarke at free safety.
“Michael gets our people in their proper positions on defense,” said Salvati. “He’s the quarterback on that side of the ball.”
Coach Salvati said that Guilford gained a lot of confidence from its one-point win over Branford in its season opener. The Indians rallied from a two-score deficit to get the victory, setting a positive tone for his club.
“It might sound funny, but I believe that was the turning point for our season. Our kids showed so much grit early on,” Salvati said. “Our entire coaching staff and our kids realized right away that we could get the job done, pretty much under any conditions.”
One of Salvati’s goals when he became head coach was for the Indians to pick up the tempo on offense. Salvati likes what he’s seeing from his team in that regard thus far.
“Any time you move to another program, you always take along some of what you had there with you,” he said. “I have a philosophy about the game. Our kids had to learn how to play much quicker on offense. They didn’t play like that in the past. I like the no-huddle offense, because it keeps the defense on its toes.”
Salvati is also excited about what he’s seeing away from the field, as well.
“The community and our administration have embraced what me and my coaching staff is doing here,” said Salvati. “That’s very important.”
Following its bye week, Guilford will return to action when it hosts Lyman Hall for an SCC Tier 3 contest at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 18.