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11/20/2021 11:00 PMThe Hand football team played a road game against SCC Tier 1 opponent Notre Dame-West Haven on Nov. 19. The Tigers claimed a 43-18 victory at Veterans Field to improve to 6-3 overall with a record of 2-2 in its division. Hand is in contention to make the Class L State Playoffs heading into its season finale versus Guilford.
Hand was up 21-12 at halftime and then scored the next three touchdowns to pull away for its win over Notre Dame. Senior captain Ethan O’Brien ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers. Fellow senior captain Patch Flanagan threw for 114 yards and a touchdown to go with 98 rushing yards and a pair of scores. Senior captain Seth Sweitzer had six catches for 53 yards.
Initially, Notre Dame took a 6-0 lead by scoring the first TD, but Hand responded when Flanagan tossed a 61-yard touchdown pass to senior Shane Smith. Senior Mario Mazzarella’s extra point put Hand up 7-6. Later in the first quarter, Flanagan broke off a 34-yard touchdown run, and Mazzarella hit the extra point to make it 14-6 after one.
O’Brien rushed for a 24-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, increasing Hand’s lead to 20-6. Another extra point from Mazzarella made it 21-6. The Green Knights scored the last touchdown of the first half and trailed 21-12.
Flanagan scored on a 4-yard TD run in the third quarter. Sweitzer ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Tigers a 29-12 lead. In the final minutes of the third, O’Brien scampered for a 23-yard touchdown to put Hand up 35-12. Mazzarella booted the extra point through to make it 36-12 going into the fourth quarter.
O’Brien scored his third TD of the night on a 1-yard run in the fourth. Mazzarella kicked his fifth extra point for a 43-12 advantage. Notre Dame scored the final touchdown to make the score 43-18.
Senior Brendan Walsh made 17 tackles for the Tigers. Junior Ryan Milliard had nine tackles, junior John Hayden made eight tackles, and senior Sean Portley had seven tackles with a sack. Junior Alex Cushing had an interception and a blocked punt, while fellow junior Nick Lombardi also snagged an interception.
Hand finished its regular season by hosting Guilford (6-3) on Nov. 24 (after press time). Hand needed to defeat Guilford and get some help in order to have a shot at making the Class L State Playoffs. The Tigers entered the last week of the regular season in No. 9 spot in the Class L rankings, in which the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.
—Chris Piccirillo