Tigers Tame the Lions, 40-7; Several Hand Squads Qualify for States
Football
The Hand football team took down Foran by a 40-7 score in an SCC Tier 2 matchup at the Surf Club at home on Oct. 6. Delvantae Hutton gained 196 rushing yards on 25 carries for the Tigers, who improved to 4-1 overall and are 4-0 in Tier 2 contests.
Hand led 7-0 after the first quarter thanks to a touchdown pass from Chris Bartosic to lineman Kevin Hughes on a hook-and-ladder play on fourth down.
“Our offensive coordinator Mike Ciotti had the guys do a trick play segment in practice on Thursday and said he wanted to call the play in the game. We drove the ball down, and we let him call it,” said Head Coach Dave Mastroianni. “Phoenix Billings threw to Chris and he had a few defenders on him. He threw to Kevin, who ran down the sideline. We always want the football to be exciting for everyone.”
The Lions (3-2, 1-2) struck back in the second quarter with a TD on fourth down to make it a 7-7 game. Phoenix Billings (6-of-11 passing, 74 yards, 2 touchdowns) then found Brian Casagrande in the end zone to give the home side a 14-7 edge at halftime.
Isaiah McNeilly (4-of-5 passing, 50 yards, 3 TDs) came into the game at quarterback in the third quarter for the Tigers and connected with Ian Butler from 21 yards away to give them a 20-7 advantage. McNeilly then found Michael Tarantino on a 9-yard TD connection that made it 27-7. Jesse Lutz later ran one in from a yard out, after which Ethan Haberman reeled in a 5-yard catch from McNeilly to cap off the scoring.
On defense, Brian Casagrande led all tacklers with 11, Kevin Girardi and Butler had eight apiece, and Ryan Coady added five. McNeilly and Ben Corniello both recorded a sack, while Butler grabbed an interception for the Tigers.
“Foran came in scoring four or five touchdowns a game and [quarterback Jared Hubler] was averaging over 200 to 300 yards of offense himself, so to hold them to one touchdown was a huge win for us. Our defense has been good against the run and not giving up the big plays. We were able to be physical with Foran and rattle them,” said Mastroianni, whose defense held Hubler to 93 passing yards and 33 on the ground. “On defense, we are doing a great job of playing string wire-to-wire in games. Offensively, we have our lapses and our talk at halftime was about that. I don’t know if we’ve put together a complete team performance. We had 10 penalties, and that’s my fault, and we’ll work on that. To be 4-1 without that complete-game performance is encouraging, and I’m excited to see what a four-quarter performance looks like against our upcoming teams.”
Hand next hosts Bunnell (3-1) for a non-conference game on Friday, Oct. 13 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Girls’ Soccer
Hand scored a pair of 2-1 wins against Guilford and Amity this past week to punch its ticket to the Class L State Tournament, while improving to 8-1.
The Tigers posted a big 2-1 victory over rival Guilford on Oct. 2 to clinch its states bid. Taylor Scully and Kayla Howard scored the goals for the Tigers, while Riley Kokoruda and Viv Mazzarella each added an assist. Morgan Lipford made eight saves for Hand, which outshot Guilford 17-9.
For the first goal, Kokoruda won a ball in the air, Scully pounced on the loose ball and used her speed to get past two defenders, and then slid the ball past the Guilford goalkeeper. Hand scored its second goal when Mazzarella slid a ball behind two Guilford defenders to Howard, who made a nice run in and put it home. Shortly thereafter, Guilford cut the score to 2-1, but it wasn’t enough, as Hand came away with the 2-1 victory.
“I thought we played a near perfect first half. We controlled the ball well, generated scoring chances, and we were solid defensively. We had some great chances to put the game away in the second half, but Guilford goalkeeper Meghan Landon was brilliant. I also have to give Guilford credit. After we scored the second goal, they really battled back and played hard. They are the hardest-working team we have faced,” said Head Coach David Dikranian. “It was an all-around team effort. Everyone contributed and played well. Riley Kokoruda and Tara Henry did a great job controlling the midfield. One player who doesn’t get enough credit for us is Frankie Antoni. Whether she plays a lot or a little, Frankie can play at almost any position and can contribute. She would even go play in goal if we needed her to.”
Hand followed up its win against Guilford by edging Amity 2-1 on Oct. 5.
Boys’ Soccer
The Tigers claimed victories versus Hamden and Xavier last week to qualify for states with a record of 8-1-1.
Hand posted a 3-0 shutout of Hamden on Oct. 2 to clinch its berth in states. Jason Wallach netted two goals for the Tigers, while Charlie Sullivan scored their other goal.
“When we put it together, we are awful tough to deal with,” said Head Coach Stan Latkowski. “Tommy Hobin getting more confident and comfortable in goal. Nick Porte and Charlie Sullivan were great, as well. The boys’ mentality is win and move to the next opponent.”
The Tigers then won by a 3-0 final against Xavier on Oct. 6. Hand dominated the possession and only allowed two shots on goal throughout the game. John Ruggiero opened the scoring in the first half to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Spencer Hartmann put the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0. Trey Doktorski added the final goal. Hobin recorded a shutout behind the strong defense of Owen McShane, Liam Akers, Tommy LaTorre, and Cole Finke.
Field Hockey
Hand had games against Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden, and Cheshire last week, earning two wins and a tie to go to 8-0-2 overall.
The Tigers shut out Sacred Heart Academy 2-0 on Oct. 2 to lock up a spot in states. Hand then blanked Hamden 4-0 on Oct. 4. Facing Hamden, Taylor Leckey scored on a penalty stroke in the first half before Nora McCarthy notched a goal on assists from Anna Beccia and Kathryn Donahey with 7:26 to play before intermission. Erickson Richard (from Sophie Schreck) and Leckey (from McCarthy) capped off the scoring for Hand. Kylie Gargiulo made four saves.
The Tigers then played to a 3-3 draw with Cheshire on Oct. 6.
Girls’ Volleyball
Hand dropped recent contests against Sacred Heart Academy, Amity, and Guilford and is now 5-7 overall with a record of 3-2 in the SCC Oronoque Division.
The Tigers took a 3-0 loss to Sacred Heart Academy on Oct. 2, lost 3-1 to Amity on Oct. 4, and took a 3-0 defeat against Guilford on Oct. 6.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
The Tigers improved to 7-0 by narrowly edging out Shelton, 86-84, on Oct. 2.
In the victory, the Tigers’ 200 medley relay team of Kayla Mendonca, Gabriella Wira, Case Porter, and fellow co-captain Allie Mascia clocked in with a time of 1:59:71. Hand took first and fourth in the 200 freestyle with Ruby Redlich placing first (2:03:37) and Samantha Tuveson taking fourth (2:18:19). In the 200 individual medley, Emma Ruffo came in second place (2:26:16), followed by Wira in third (2:29:44). Mascia took second in the 50 free (26:83) with Erin Reilly following closely in third (27:50). Porter finished second in the 100 butterfly (1:03:08) and was followed by Mendonca in third (1:04:45). Mascia secured third place in the 100 free (58.46) with Reilly right behind in fourth (59.08). In the 500 free, Hand took three of the top four finishes behind Redlich (5:36:03), Ruffo (5:45:84), and Kylie Scarpellino (5:48:43). The Tigers’ 200 freestyle relay team of Redlich, Reilly, Ava Keane, and Mascia took second in 1:47:89, while the grouping of Grace Vest, Johanna Doerr, Tuveson, and Porter finished third at 1:57:83. Mendonca finished first with a healthy lead in the 100 backstroke, coming in under one minute with a time of 59.97 seconds. Alesandra Betts took third (1:14:68) in the event. Wira secured first in the 100 breaststroke (1:16:60) with Ava Dougherty finishing third (1:22:64). In the 400 free relay, the team of Scarpellino, Redlich, Ruffo, and Mendonca took second, coming in just .05 seconds behind Shelton’s first-place team.