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09/19/2021 12:00 AMFootball
The Branford football team picked up its first win of the year when the Hornets claimed a road victory versus Foran last week. On Sept. 17, Branford traveled to Milford to face Foran for its first road game of the season and defeated the Lions by the final score of 13-10 to improve to 1-1 this year.
Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, the Hornets grabbed a 6-3 lead when junior quarterback Zachary Turbert rushed for an 8-yard touchdown with 4:47 to play in the first half. Later in the half, junior safety Chase Barnikow picked off Foran’s quarterback inside the red zone to preserve Branford’s three-point advantage at the break. Barnikow snagged his second interception of the game with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter, helping the Hornets maintain their 6-3 lead heading into the fourth.
Foran scored a touchdown to take a 10-6 lead with 10:53 left in the game. However, Branford responded with a drive that culminated with a score from senior Cameron Paleski to take 13-10 lead with 4:19 remaining. The Lions were able to get into Branford territory on their next drive, but the Hornets forced Foran to turn the ball over and then hung out for the 13-10 victory.
Branford’s next contest is a home game versus Notre Dame-West Haven on Friday, Sept. 24. The game gets underway at 7 p.m. at Branford High School.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Branford boys’ cross country team opened its season by sweeping a quad-meet at Eisenhower Park in Milford last week. The Hornets posted a team score of 45 points to defeat Amity (55), Foran (58), and Fairfield Prep (60) on Sept. 14 and start their year with a record of 3-0.
Senior Wes Raymond led the way for Branford by taking second place in the 5K race with a time of 18 minutes flat. Fellow senior Peyton Moriarty ran a time of 18:42 to finish in sixth place overall. Senior Graham Reynolds came in ninth place with a time of 19:18 on behalf of Head Coach Kevin Connell’s squad. Sophomore Sam Coppola finished in 12th place (19:39), while junior Massimo Corrick took 16th place in the sweep.
Girls’ Cross Country
The Branford girls’ cross country squad competed against three teams in a season-opening quad-meet on Sept. 14. The Hornets finished with a score of 85 and took losses to Amity (24), Lauralton Hall (61), and Foran (64) at Eisenhower Park.
Freshman Peyton Gaudreau ran a time of 24:33 to finish in 11th place for the Hornets at the meet. Junior Hannah Jackson came in 13th place (24:45), and senior Bella Finta finished in 20th place for Branford. Junior Taylor Tracy claimed 23rd place, and senior Julia Duffy finished in 39th place (30:23) at the meet.
Girls’ Volleyball
The Branford girls’ volleyball team won both of its matchups via shutout last week to improve its record to 3-1 this season. The Hornets earned a win versus Career and then defeated Hillhouse in last week’s action.
On Sept. 15, Branford played a road match against Career and prevailed by the final score of 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-13). Junior Allie Bietz had 11 assists to go with three kills, three blocks, and six aces for the Hornets. Senior captain Marzia Johnson recorded eight digs, two assists, and two aces, while fellow senior Lily Stockwell had seven aces with four digs and two kills. Junior Paige Kelly posted five kills with five aces and two blocks, and sophomore Maddie Lawler had eight aces with two kills and two blocks in the victory.
Then on Sept. 18, the Hornets hosted Hillhouse and claimed a 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-14) victory to sweep the week. Johnson had 14 digs with two aces in the win. Stockwell dealt out 10 aces and also had seven digs with two kills on the day. Bietz dished out eight assists to go with four kills and two aces, while Lawler had three kills, three blocks, and four aces for Head Coach Mike Martone’s team.
Field Hockey
The Branford field hockey team gained a split of its two games on last week’s schedule. The Hornets notched a win over Lauralton Hall and then took an overtime loss to Sacred Heart Academy to put its record at 1-1-0-1.
Branford started its week by posting a 2-0 road win versus Lauralton Hall on Sept. 14. The Hornets’ scored both of their goals on penalty strokes in the victory. Senior Julia McHenry converted a penalty stroke in the second quarter to give Branford a 1-0 lead. Then in the third quarter, junior Lauren Kendrick was awarded a penalty stroke and sent it home to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Hornets.
Senior goalie Nina Shamas made five saves in net to get the shutout for Head Coach Pete Frye’s team. Coach Frye also noted that Branford was bolstered by standout performances from seniors Katie Laska and Lenora Longway; juniors Gianna Bozzi, Aryana Wilson, and Lauren McCarthy; along with sophomore Mia d’Amuri.
Then on Sept. 17, Branford played a home game against Sacred Heart Academy and was edged out by a 2-1 score in overtime. With the Hornets trailing 1-0, McHenry netted the game-tying goal on an assist from junior Scout Engstrom with 4:12 remaining in regulation to knot the score at 1-1. Sacred Heart Academy then scored the winning goal in the overtime period to get the victory.
Shamas had five saves for Branford in the game. Coach Frye noted that Bozzi, McCarthy, Wilson, Longway, and sophomore Renna Sachs played outstanding games for the Hornets in an intense contest.
Girls’ Soccer
The Branford girls’ soccer squad played a road game and a home game in last week’s action. The Hornets earned a tie with West Haven and then took a loss to Amity to put its record at 1-2 this season.
Branford was on the road to face West Haven on Sept. 14 and the contest ended in a 0-0 tie. Three days later, the Hornets hosted Amity and dropped a 2-1 decision against the Spartans.
Branford trailed Amity 2-0 following the first half of their matchup. Junior Ava Ferrie cut the deficit in half when she scored on an assist from senior Kendall Infantino in the 69th minute of the game, but the Hornets were unable to score the equalizer, and took the one-goal defeat.
Boys’ Soccer
The Branford boys’ soccer team hit the pitch to play a pair of games during the second week of its fall season. The Hornets moved to 1-1-1 on the year after losing to Hamden and tying West Haven in last week’s matchups.
On Sept. 14, the Hornets hosted West Haven and dropped a 2-1 decision at Branford High School. Senior Dimitrios Gionteris put Branford on the board when he scored off an assist from fellow senior Sebastian Verdesoto in the 4th minute of the game. Hamden tied the game with a goal in the 18th minute and the score was knotted 1-1 at halftime. In the second half, the Green Dragons took the lead by scoring the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute, going up 2-1 with less than two minutes left in the contest.
Then on Sept. 17, Branford played a road game against West Haven and battled the Blue Devils to a 2-2 draw. Gionteris scored a goal for the Horntes, who also recorded a score on an own-goal by Hamden.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
The Branford girls’ swimming team had a road meet against Amity in its season opener last week. The Horntes lost to the Spartans by a 97-67 score at the High Plains Community Center on Sept. 14.
Senior Erika Barone finished first in the 100 backstroke by swimming a time of 1:09.28 for the Hornets versus Amity. Freshman Kylie Acquarulo-Savastano claimed first place in the 100 breaststroke by timing in with a mark of 1:40.17. Branford’s 200 freestyle relay of senior Rory Jacobson, sophomore Ridhima Shrestha, sophomore Savannah Tope, and sophomore Malak Elweheshy finished first with a time of 2:41.75. The Hornets’ 400 freestyle relay of Barone, Jacobson, senior Sydney Baker, and junior Emma Hall took first place with a time of 5:03.33.