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Mastroianni Resigns as Tigers’ Coach, Filippone Takes Over

Following a three-season tenure, Dave Mastroianni resigned as head coach of the Hand football team on Feb. 11. Mastroianni stepped down due to health concerns, according to the Hand athletic department. He had been diagnosed with cancer for the second time during the 2019 season.

Mastroianni has also been placed on administrative leave from his position as a social studies teacher at Daniel Hand High School. Former coach Steve Filippone is taking over as the Tigers’ head coach.

Mastroianni was diagnosed with germ cell cancer when he was Hand’s defensive coordinator in 2012. After beating the disease, he came back and helped the Tigers win the Class L state title that season.

Early in the 2019 campaign, Mastroianni learned that he had cancer of the appendix. He missed a few games and then came back to call plays from the press box when Hand earned a 37-0 victory at West Haven on Nov. 1. Mastroianni returned to the sidelines for the Tigers’ matchup against St. Joseph in the Class L state final, which Hand lost by a 17-13 score.

Mastroianni posted a combined record of 37-2 in his three years as Tigers’ head coach. Hand advanced to the Class L state championship game in all three seasons, winning titles in 2017 and 2018 and going 13-0 during the latter campaign. The Tigers won 36-straight games before losing to St. Joseph in state final last fall.

Filippone compiled a record of 223-82-5 in his 27-season run as Hand’s head coach. He won seven state championships with the Tigers before retiring after the 2016 season.

—Dean Bibens