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11/18/2021 11:00 PMThe Branford and Jonathan Law football squads engaged in a high-scoring contest that saw the teams trade touchdowns when they met last week. The Hornets outscored the Lawmen 35-28 to pick up a critical win in their pursuit of a spot in the Class M State Playoffs.
Head Coach John Limone’s squad hosted Law for a SCC Tier 3 matchup on Senior Night at Branford High School on Nov. 18. The game was tied 14-14 before the Hornets scored the next three touchdowns to come away with the victory. Branford boosted its overall record to 7-2 and improved to 3-1 in SCC Tier 3 with one game left in the regular season.
Junior Nathan Chieffo rushed for 200 yards and scored two touchdowns for Branford in the win. Senior John Frawley had a big game on defense by snagging an interception and recovering a fumble for the Hornets.
Sophomore Cole Snider scored the first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run with 1:47 left in the first quarter. Sophomore Joseph Robinson kicked the extra point to give Branford a 7-0 lead after one.
Jonathan Law tied the game with a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Branford responded by going on a drive that culminated with a 1-yard TD run from Chieffo with 5:18 to play in the frame. Robinson hit another extra point, and the Hornets were up 14-7.
Law came back with another score to knot the game at 14-14 with 3:46 remaining in the first half. However, Branford took the lead for good when junior Zachary Turbert threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to senior Dylan Dupre with 48 seconds to go in the half. Robinson booted the extra point through to put the Hornets up 21-14 at intermission.
Chieffo broke off an 80-yard touchdown run for his second score of the night just 14 seconds into the second half.
Robinson’s extra point made it 28-14.
As third quarter wound down, Branford went on a drive that saw Turbert score on a 1-yard run to put the Hornets in command with 1:15 left in the period. Robinson kicked his fifth extra point of the game to give Branford a 35-14 advantage.
Law battled back and scored two touchdowns during the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 35-28. The Lawmen had one final chance in the final minutes of the game and made it deep into Branford territory, but the Hornets forced a fumble that was recovered by Frawley to give the ball back to the home team. Branford ran out the clock and celebrated a 35-28 victory over Jonathan Law (5-4, 3-1) for the team’s seventh win in its last eight games.
Chieffo’s 200-yard, two-score performance highlighted a huge night for the Hornets’ ground attack that saw team run the ball 51 times for 379 yards. Snider carried the ball seven times for 97 yards and a touchdown for Branford. In the passing game, Turbert went 6-of-8 for 57 yards and a TD in the win.
Branford is in the No. 4 spot in the Class M State Playoffs in which the top eight squads qualify. The Hornets will have a chance to make it heading into the 79th annual Beehive Bowl game against SCC Tier 3 opponent East Haven (1-7, 1-4) on Thanksgiving morning. The game takes place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 25 at East Haven High School. Branford leads the all-time series with the Yellowjackets by a 41-33-4 margin.