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(2022 Yankee Homecoming Road Races)

(Newburyport) One runner knew the course.

The other runner didn’t.

Those facts turned out to be significant as Ruben Sanca navigated the familiar (to him) Yankee Homecoming 10-mile course to his third straight victory.

Meanwhile, Ezra Mutai, who finished second, had heard about the course and had seen a video of the route. 

The inexperience with the course influenced this excellent runner as he covered the same 10-mile course on Tuesday night.

Ezra, from Springfield and a former student/runner at American International College, took second but it was a distant second.

Ruben finished at 51:02 while Ezra finished at 52:27.

I like to start my race coverage at the one-mile point, which is down near Federal Street.

A look at this picture tells you that Ezra was in the lead at one mile and looking strong.

“The early going was good,” Ezra told me post-race. 

Ruben was close behind, however, and biding his time.  He told the PA announcer afterwards that he just tried methodically to gain a little bit of ground as the race progressed.

Then came the hills.

“Around eight miles it was too hilly,” recalled Ezra.  “That was the toughest place. I knew about the hills, but I had never run them.”

Ruben, from Salisbury (MA), often runs the streets of Newburyport and knew what to expect. On those hills was where Ruben took the lead and built on it the rest of the way. 

“This was my first 10-mile race,” explained Ezra.  “I usually run shorter distances.  I’m working toward doing a half marathon.”

Ezra told me that he plans to give the Yankee Homecoming 10-miler another try next year.  “Next time I’ll know better what to expect,” he said with a smile.

Women’s ten-mile winner, Emilee Risteen, also had limited knowledge of the course.

“All I knew was that there were hills through the middle,” she said afterwards.

Emilee (Derry NH) started fast and left all her competition in the dust early.  There were no women to chase and there were no challengers to worry about.

Emilee (1:03.10) crossed with a time of 1:03.10., four minutes ahead of Beth Dollas (Amesbury) who finished second.

“I was going for a time,” Emilee said, “but didn’t get it.  We’ll just pick it up and keep trying.”

“I learned about Mile Three that I couldn’t go for what I wanted,” she added.  “I then had to readjust and play it smart so that I could finish strong.”

Emilee was 11^th overall of 650 runners in the 10-mile event.

Emilee graduated from Moody Bible Institute (Chicago IL) and has been coaching at Concord Christian Academy in New Hampshire.

My strategy of seeing both races one mile into each of them always prevents me from seeing the end of the 5K race.

My positioning, however, allows me to see the leaders of both races about a mile into each race.  Almost without fail, the leaders then win the races or come close.

The Walsh brothers (Joseph & Timothy) from Auburn (MA) dominated the 5K race.  They were one-two at the one-mile mark.

Justin Freeman did separate them by the end of the race.  Justin won the 10-mile race a few years ago when the end of the race was near the stadium entrance.

Yvonne Bungei and Betsy Suda were close at one mile, but it was Yvonne (18:48) edging Betsy (18:57) for the win in the women’s 5K. 

Betsy has been the 5K women’s winner several times.  She may have defeated Yvonne in 2019.

The idea of starting the race at 6PM always assumes that things will be cooling down as the race takes place.  It never seems to work.  As Mark Twain said, “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it!”

Additional pictures from the two races:

(Amesbury) Lynnfield came in struggling.

They were 1-6, scoring only sixteen runs.

They had lost four straight.

But today the Pioneers got runs and a happy-ending, 10-8, win over Amesbury on Thursday afternoon.

Lynnfield trailed 8-6 after six innings but put a four-spot up and Amesbury (6-3) didn’t recover.

“Both teams hits balls pretty well and put them in play,” said Lynnfield coach John O’Brien afterwards.  “They made some mistakes.  We made some mistakes.”

Only in the Lynnfield fifth did a side go in order.

Sophomore David Tracy came on in relief for the Pioneers in the fifth inning.  He limited Amesbury to one run over the final three innings to get the win.

“David Tracy was clutch.,” said junior Alex Gentile afterwards.  “He did the job for us.”

Alex paced the Lynnfield attack.  He had two hits, two RBI, and scored two runs.

Pinch-hitter Nick Razzaboni tied the game in the 7^th with a double.  After a walk to Henry Caulfield, Alex’s long single brought in both runners to gain Lynnfield a 2-run lead. 

David Tracy gave up a double to Will Arsenault leading off the Amesbury seventh but then retired the next three batters to clinch the victory.

You sensed “long game” for Amesbury as the first inning played out.  The Indians had four throwing errors in the infield, rolling up pitches on starter Drew Scaldone’s arm and handing Lynnfield three runs.

“We gave up seven outs in the first inning,” said Amesbury coach Joel Brierley post-game.  “Can’t give a team like that extra outs.”

But Amesbury can hit, and they got two in the first and two more in the second to get the lead.  Jake Harring drove in a run in the second with a triple and came home on a bad throw from the outfield to allow Amesbury to jump ahead, 4-3.

Lynnfield regained the lead in the fifth inning.  An error, a wild pitch, and Dan Dorman’s sacrifice fly were factors.

Lynnfield gifted Amesbury back with two runs in the fifth thanks to an error, hit batsman, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.

But the Pioneers would recover and pull this one out in the final frame.

“I’m proud of the kids,” said Coach O’Brien.  “They didn’t give up even when we were down going into the last inning.”

“This was a tough loss,” said Coach Brierley.  “We’ve been hitting well and bailing out our errors.  If we’re going to be a team that plans to do something we’ve got to be able to make routine plays.”

There were sixteen walks and wild pitches and passed balls were frequent. 

Alex Gentile on his hit in the seventh: “He kept giving me curveballs in the count and I knew he was going to come back with another one.  Luckily, I got a good piece of it.”

Junior Trevor Kimball had a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Will Arsenault led Amesbury with two hits.  Both Cam Stanley and Jake Harring scored two runs.

Drew Scialdone started for Amesbury while Dan Dorman started for Lynnfield.

The weather was definitely unpleasant.  The temps were close to 50 with an unwelcome wind.

Lynnfield     3   0   0   2   0   1   4   =   10

Amesbury   2   2   0   2   1   1   0   =     8

(The pictures will enlarge.)

(Newburyport) You have to be ready….or else.

For the second straight game Newburyport swarmed an opponent early and often.

And for the second straight game an opponent needed an early timeout to try to get acclimated.

The Clippers defeated Hamilton-Wenham 20-10 on a chilly Thursday afternoon at Stehlin Field.

“I think we were a little stunned at the beginning,” said HW coach Abby Schibli afterwards.

The Clippers (4-0) had two goals in the first minute and a total of six unanswered goals after just five minutes played.

“We had to adjust to their level of play and their intensity,” added Coach Schibli.

The Generals (1-3) took a timeout down 6-0.  During those first five minutes already played, HW had only been into Newburyport territory once.

Senior Haley Hamilton (Middlebury commit) finally put HW on the board at 17:45 ending Newburyport’s seven-goal run.

Teammate Kara O’Shea and Haley combined to give the Generals their best run of scoring, transforming a 9-1 deficit into a competitive 10-5 game with five minutes left until halftime.

The Clippers however finished the half with three straight goals (two by Olivia McDonald and one by Rita Cahalane) to move ahead by eight, 13-5.

In the second half an Izzy Rosa goal at the end of a long possession put the game into running time with a 16-6 score at 17:52.

The Generals, led by Haley Hamilton (eight goals), were able to get inside the ten-goal deficit and end running time several times in the second half but the Clippers just wouldn’t allow serious runs of goals against them.

While Haley Hamilton and Kara O’Shea (2 goals) did all the scoring for HW, there were nine players contributing goals for Newburyport.

“On offense, the girls moved the ball really well,” said Newburyport coach Catherine Batchelder post-game.  “There were so many great assisted goals.”

“Assists on a goal show that we work well as a team,” said junior Izzy Rosa (3 goals, 5 assists).  “One-V-One works but assists are better for a team.”

Emily Fuller had two goals and four assists.  “On offense we played really well together,” she said.  “We did a good job of spreading out.”

Coach Batchelder saw the ten goals allowed as more than usual.  “We were trying out a new defense,” she said.  “We want to keep the team challenged and not just relying on what we always do.  As a result, we had some bumps and bruises along the way.  It’s a new zone.”

Coach Batchelder pointed out that Haley Hamilton would have been a problem against any defense.  “She plays fast and strong and we had a hard time stopping her.  She found lanes against our defense that aren’t always there.  We weren’t closing our zone as well as we should.”

“She (Haley Hamilton) is a really good player,” said Emily Fuller.  “She made some strong dodges into our defense.  Playing against a good player like her only makes us better.”

“Haley is a special player,” added Coach Schibli.  “She scores a lot but also shares the ball.  She gives everyone a chance to finish.”

Coach Schibli didn’t make excuses for the loss.  “They have skilled players and Cat does a great job with them,” she said.

The Generals were missing three players, including Riley Clarke.

“Riley is one of our best players and it was hard without her in the mid-field,” said Coach Schibli.

“I ended up with a new player in our defense and that added to the obstacles we had to overcome,” she added.

Not the way you’d want to come out against a team that dominates the draws and scores early.

Holy Cross commit Anna Affolder had two of the Clippers first three goals.  Both goals had assists attached.  The first was set up by Izzy Rosa and the second by Emily Fuller.

Coach Schibli appreciated the play of Kara O’Shea (“She lifts everyone up with her energy.”) and goalie Ava Vautour (“She had some really great saves.”).

Newburyport           13   7   =   20

Hamilton-Wenham   5   5   =   10

The weather was close to unbearable.  Two days ago, at the same place, it was in the 60’s and sunny.  Today it was in the 40’s with a chilling breeze.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

(Newburyport) Very surprising.

Both teams were 16-1 last year and both had won their first two games this year.

A girls lacrosse game between two such teams figured to be close………..but it wasn’t.

Newburyport started fast and Masconomet never recovered.

The final was 15-3 in a non-league game on Tuesday afternoon.

The entire second half was played using running time.

The Clippers (3-0) scored three times in the first 4 ½ minutes.  Masco called a timeout.  The Clippers came out of the timeout and added four more goals in the next 2 ½ minutes. This one had “long game” written all over it in a hurry for the team from Boxford.

“When we play that fast and move the ball that well, it’s even hard for another team to set up a defense,” explained Newburyport coach Catherine Batchelder afterwards.

The Clippers sped into the Masco end early and often and outnumbered their defenders.  Good passing then set up open looks and the goals started piling up.

“We played a really good team game,” said four-goal scorer Anna Affolder post-game.  “We had a lot of transition goals that were assisted.”

Anna and Izzy Rosa each had four goals.  Olivia McDonald and Lilly Pons both scored twice while Reese Bromby, Rita Cahalane, and Maeve Sullivan each had one goal.

Almost every Newburyport goal was scored from in close.

The Clippers had an 11-1 lead at the half.  Emmy Clark had the Masco goal.

Newburyport tallied two goals in the first four minutes of the second half.  Izzy Rosa’s fourth goal was assisted by Lilly Pons.  Rita Cahalane moved the NHS lead to, 13-1, assisted by Olivia McDonald.

Both teams scored twice the rest of the way as the running time limited the opportunities.

Emmy Clark had two goals in the game for Masco while Bella Juliano had a solo goal.

The Clippers defense was also very good today.  Goalie Kate Keller set the tone.  “She had an unbelievable game making nine saves,” said Coach Batchelder.

“Masco is a very good team,” said Anna.  “They are always physical, and they always give us a run for our money.”

Anna, only a junior, has committed to Holy Cross.

I heard one of the Newburyport fans chanting, “D1, D1,” as Anna went from midfield to finish with a goal.

Masco lost to Chelmsford in the D1 North finals last year.  Newburyport reached the D2 state semifinals and lost at Dover-Sherborn.

The weather was terrific with sunshine and temperatures in the 60’s. 

Newburyport   11   4   =   15

            Masco      1   2   =     3

(The pictures will enlarge.)   

   

(Newburyport) Everyone contributed.

Whether it was scoring a run, getting a hit, or having an RBI, everyone who played had at least one of those positives.

But the biggest positive, the W, belonged to North Reading, 11-8, against Newburyport on Tuesday afternoon at Pioneer Park.

The turning-point play in this game was in the Newburyport fifth inning.  The Clippers (0-2) trailed 4-0 but a walk (Lea Quintilliani), single (Nieve Morrissey), and a two-run double by Emily Meleedy cut the deficit in half.  When Emma Keefe singled to center, Emily tried to score from second.  However, Caitlin Reilly’s throw from center nailed Emily at the plate and limited the promising inning to just two runs.

“It was absolutely a big play,” said NR coach Nicole Zimmerman afterwards.  “Getting that out at home took the wind out of their sails a little bit. We had our big inning right after that.”

“The girl (Caitlin Reilly) in centerfield made a nice throw,” recalled Newburyport coach Bob Gillespie.  “There was an issue with their catcher (Kristen Galvin) blocking home plate.  The umpire said it was close, but he didn’t call it.”

The sixth inning was a run-fest for both teams.  The Hornets (1-0) sent eleven batters to the plate and collected seven runs.  Alyssa Cassarino and Jocelyn Ostrowsky each had two RBIs during this productive inning.

Credit Newburyport.  Now behind, 11-2, and having only four hits to this point, the Clippers had their own big inning. 

They sent ten batters up and had five hits that turned into six runs.  Cassidy Bolcome had two RBIs, while teammates Nieve Morrissey, Emily Meleedy, Keira Dowell, and Isla Devivo had one RBI each during this scoring spree.

“I’m proud of the way we came back,” said Coach Gillespie.  “We’ve just got to figure out how to start faster.”

Sophomore Keely Hannon went the distance for the Hornets to get the win.  “Keely did an excellent job for us,” said Coach Zimmerman.

Both teams had defensive gems in the last inning.  Newburyport shortstop Emma Keefe made a diving catch on an infield popup while rightfielder Bella Duffy made a nice running catch toward the foul line.

Just before Bella’s catch, Coach Zimmerman had yelled for her to come in closer, which Bella did.  Those extra steps in were a factor in Bella getting to the ball she caught.

“I had just called her in,” said Coach Zimmerman. “I guess I do know what I’m talking about,” she laughed.

Sophomore Jocelyn Ostrowsky led the Hornets statistically with two RBI, two hits, and three runs scored.

Caitlin Reilly (3 hits/2 runs/1 RBI) and Alyssa Cassarino (2 RBI/2 hits/1 run) also had big afternoons for North Reading.

Sophomore Emily Meleedy had three hits and three RBI from Newburyport.  Teammate Nieve Morrissey had an RBI, two hits, and two runs scored.

Coach Zimmerman: “It was definitely an interesting game.  It felt good to win our opener.”

Coach Gillespie: “We started slow and flat.  We didn’t hit the ball well and made some key errors.  We opened the door, and they came in.  The second half of the game was a lot different.  We made some plays and put the bat on the ball.  We’ll be back.”

North Reading was 13-2 last year while the Clippers were 8-6.

Newburyport has now lost thirteen straight games to North Reading dating back to 2014.

There was sun this afternoon but the late start (4:30PM) brought on the evening chill before this high-scoring affair ended.  It is early April after all!

(The pictures will enlarge.)

(Durham NH) “It was a grind of a game,” said UNH coach Bill Herrion at the post-game press conference.

The Wildcats (14-12) had enough in this close/tough game to defeat Binghamton, 66-62, on Saturday afternoon at Durham.

Both teams entered the game tied at 8-8 in the American East Conference. 

Vermont stands alone at the top of the AEC with only one loss, but second place is hardly assured for anyone.

“I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the standings,” said Coach Herrion, “but I admit knowing that each game is big.  We’re all trying to survive.  The league has never been bunched the way it is this year.”

Evenly matched teams have trouble putting consecutive points together.  And that was the case today.

There were six lead changes, and the score was tied nine times.  Breathing room was non-existent!

Things went the Wildcats way after the last tie (50-50) with 4:19 remaining in the game.

The sought-after string of consecutive offense happened as UNH scored seven straight points.

A Nick Guadarrama jump shot.  A Nick Johnson jumper (his only basket of the game, assisted by Nick Guadarrama).  And a three from Marco Foster.  The Wildcats had separation (7 points) with 1:49 remaining.

The Bearcats (11-15) stopped the run with a three, but Marco was back with another three returning the margin to seven points with fifty-four seconds left.

“Marco made two enormous three’s,” said Coach Herrion.  “He had five against NJIT and four today.  He’s a big-time shooter.”

That last-minute three was discussed at the press conference because there was plenty of shot-clock left in what was then a four-point game.

“When you have an elite 3-point shooter you have to let them go when there’s space,” said Coach Herrion.

I asked Marco about the two shots. “It felt great to make them,” he said.  “You want to hit the big one.  You stay positive.”

Regarding the shot he took with time left on the shot clock in the last minute, he smiled and said, “I was very happy that one went in.”

The Wildcats hit six straight free throws after Marco’s three to secure the victory.

The final regular-season game is Tuesday night at the Tsongas Arena vs UMass Lowell.

“It all comes down to playing well in March,” said Coach Herrion.  “We’re looking to get a home game in the tournament.  We’re 10-3 at home.  We’ve had a very good year here.”

Coach Herrion gave an explanation as to why, beyond Vermont, so many of the rest of the teams are so competitive.  “Teams are recruiting out of the transfer portal,” he said.  “Therefore, teams can reload quickly.  That’s why very few freshmen play.”

Christian Hinckson had a big game for Binghamton finishing with a double/double (fifteen points and fourteen rebounds).

UNH’s Nick Guadarrama had an impressive stat line: 16 points, 7-for-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

“Nick was terrific the whole game,” said Coach Herrion.  “He was good around the basket where we didn’t have much of an inside presence.”

Marco Foster finished with fourteen points while teammate Blondeau Tchoukulegno added thirteen points.

Binghamton lost to UNH, 69-60, two weeks ago at Binghamton. 

After that game, BU coach Levell Sanders cited the 13 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second-chance points as a key in the loss.

Things didn’t improve too much for the Bearcats this time around.  UNH had 11 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second-chance points.

Vermont has now won the AEC six straight years.

Today was Senior Day at UNH.  Tayler Mattos, Qon Murphy, Nick Guadarrama, and Jayden Martinez were honored.

Jayden had ten points today.  He needs twelve more to reach 1000 points.  Maybe at Lowell on Tuesday?

Thanks again to Mike Murphy for enabling my visit to this game.

(The pictures will enlarge.)

(Amesbury MA) Ray Cuevas was impressive.

The Ipswich junior added thirty-eight points tonight to the thirty-two he had two days ago against Manchester-Essex.

“Our game plan was to try to take away #24 (Ray Cuevas),” said Amesbury coach Tom Comeau afterwards, “but it was tough to do that.”

The Indians (10-8) found ways to succeed defensively in the third quarter and that was where they gained the permanent separation that led to a, 78-69, victory on Saturday night.

Amesbury has now clinched a berth in the MIAA post-season tournament.

Matt Welch had sixteen points in the first half but went out early with a broken nose at the start of the second half.

Matt’s departure opened offensive opportunities for senior Cam Keliher who had some of his own health issues.

“Last night at practice I had some back spasms,” said Cam.  “It was pretty rough this morning and I didn’t think I would be able to go tonight.  But I got it treated. I didn’t want to miss a chance to qualify for the tournament.”

The Indians trailed, 37-34, at halftime.  A Rocco Kokinacis layup tied things at 46-46 with 4 ½ minutes left in the third quarter.

The next four minutes, Amesbury shut down the Tigers completely while Cam went on a nine-point scoring run.

“Cam took over like he can,” said Coach Comeau.

First there was a three and then a free throw.  Next was a steal that led to a layup followed by another three.  When that dust settled Ipswich was behind, 55-46, and never fully recovered.

Ray Cuevas went back to finding ways to score after that (17 points) but Amesbury on this evening displayed assorted weapons on offense that kept Ipswich from getting within one possession the rest of the way.

Cam ended up with a nineteen-point second half and twenty-three points for the game.

“We just gave up too many points,” said Ipswich coach Alan Laroche post-game.  “They had some guys who stepped up for them in the second half.  There were big three’s at the end.”

Rocco Kokinacis (9 points) and Matt Heidt (7 points) each had three-pointers for Amesbury in the final four minutes of playing time.

What a difference a month makes.  On January 14^th, Amesbury defeated Ipswich, 80-59, in a game that the Indians led by twenty at halftime.

Ipswich’s most impressive win this season was two days ago when they defeated Manchester-Essex.  The Hornets had won nine straight and were undefeated (9-0) in the Cape Ann League, but the Tigers changed that.

“Ipswich is a real good team,” said Coach Comeau. 

Junior Toby Adams, who had nineteen against ME, had fourteen points tonight against Amesbury.

The Tigers (7-10) had an eight-point lead (13-5) in the first quarter.  In the same quarter the score was tied six times including at the end (19-19).

“24 (Ray Cuevas) was killing us in the first half,” said Cam.  “We pressed up on him and double-teamed him.  He’s a good player.”

Coach Laroche informed me that Ray has received some interest from several post-graduate schools. “Without a doubt, he can play at the next level,” he added.

“Ray is learning how to get by guys,” said Coach Laroche, “and how to attack the corners.  He’s also finding open guys when he needs to.”

Coach Comeau: “When Matty went out the rest of the team stepped up, especially Cam.  To me, Cam should be the player-of-the-year in the Cape Ann League.”

Amesbury   19   15   21   23   =   78

Ipswich        19   18   11   21   =   69

(The pictures will enlarge.)

(Ansonia CT) In eleven years you can build up a ton of frustration.

But when it ends, the elation is notable.

The Naugatuck faithful poured onto the Jarvis Stadium field after the Greyhounds stunned Ansonia, 14-7, on Thanksgiving Day.

“We don’t own the NVL (Naugatuck Valley League) anymore,” surmised Ansonia coach Tom Brockett afterwards.  “We just got beat.”

In the last 103 meetings against NVL opposition, the Chargers had “owned” the league.  But no longer.

The last NVL win against Ansonia was exactly eleven years ago.

The behavior of the Naugatuck afterwards said a lot about the stifled pain they had in falling short year after year.  Everyone was hugging someone.  Greyhounds’ coach Chris Anderson was up on the players’ shoulders. 

Comparable for me was the American League playoffs in 2004 against the Yankees.  Down three games to one with a lengthy history of losses to New York, the four-win recovery was about as sweet (for me) as it will ever get. What happened after that is a faded memory, but that playoff win over the Yankees will never die.

And I’m sure that many will recall today’s game in a similar light even though it was only a regular-season event. 

There are playoffs ahead this week for both teams.  Class L Naugatuck (#2 seed) will host Masuk on Tuesday night.  Class S Ansonia (#3 seed) gets Seymour on Tuesday night.

After today’s victory, the Greyhounds (9-1) will enter the playoffs as the NVL champions.

The NVL title was the prize for the winner of today’s game.  Ansonia (9-1) was certainly the favorite. Both reporters from the Connecticut Post picked them. Despite Naugatuck’s impressive record, you knew their history against Ansonia.

The last time the teams met on Thanksgiving (2019) it turned into a 52-8 Ansonia rout.

The Chargers also had a nine-game win streak going against Naugatuck.  The game was at Ansonia.  No reason to expect a Chargers’ surprise.

But it happened.

How?

“Our coaches had a great game plan for us,” explained Naugatuck senior Mikey Deitelbaum afterwards.  “We left everything we had on the field.”

Mikey had a remarkable game for the Greyhounds. Some of his highlights: scored the game winner in the 4^th quarter, recovered a fumble in the 4^th quarter, snapped on punts.

“It’s crazy to think that it has been so long since they were beaten in the league,” added Mikey. “For us to be the one to beat them is pretty remarkable.”

To win this game, Naugatuck had to be almost perfect.  And that they were.

Ansonia needed to be off their usual game for Naugatuck to have a chance.  And they definitely were that.

“What we did today really surprised me,” said Coach Brockett.  “What Naugy did, didn’t surprise me. They’re a good football team.”

No fumbles, interceptions, costly penalties for the visitors.  For the home team? Multiples in each area.

When Ansonia had its act together, they marched seventy-five yards in the last five minutes of the first half to a touchdown.

Key play in the drive was a catch-and-run by star tailback Darell McKnight. 

Quarterback Chris Kaminski plowed in from a yard away after Dave Cassetti nearly scored the play before.

Ansonia’s halftime lead (7-0) was significant because, despite numerous miscues, they were leading.  Also, Ansonia’s defense was able to stuff all three of Naugatuck’s first-half possessions on fourth downs.

“We knew that this game would be won on the defensive end,” said Mikey Deitelbaum.  “We allowed a first-half score off a lot of mistakes.  In the second half, we fixed those mistakes.  We shut down the run and made them a little uncomfortable and took the game from there.”

The combination of Naugatuck’s upgraded defense and a continuation of Ansonia mistakes keyed the final result.

“They made plays,” said Coach Brockett, “and we didn’t.  We dropped balls all over the place.  We roughed a punter.  We couldn’t have been any sloppier.  You play like that, and you deserve to lose.”

In Naugatuck’s productive second half, they used big plays on their first two possessions to produce points.

Meanwhile, Ansonia had THREE fumbles on their first second-half possession, and a long run called back because of a penalty.

Sophomore Jett Hall was huge in the two Greyhounds’ scores.

On Naugatuck’s first touchdown, Jett turned the right corner and outran three Ansonia defenders fifty-two yards to the end zone.

The extra-point kick evened things.

Next possession, Ansonia continued with its miscue tendencies.  Two more fumbles, a dropped pass, and a snap over the quarterback’s head, ruined this possession for the Chargers.

The Greyhounds followed with the game winner.

Jett Hall, the runner, keyed the touchdown on the previous possession.  On the game-winning possession, which stretched into the 4^th quarter, we saw Jett the passer. 

Naugatuck QB Jibree Bartell rolled left and handed off to Jett going the other direction.  The trickery enabled Jett to set himself and get off a pass to 6-5 Aidan Robertson.

Just as the ball reached Aidan, the defender slipped eliminating a battle in the air.  Aidan wasn’t tackled until the play covered forty-nine yards to set Naugatuck up at the Ansonia 12.

On the first play after the productive flea flicker, Mikey Deitelbaum entered a big hole up the middle and reached the end zone.

The EP gave Naugatuck a, 14-7, lead with eight minutes remaining.

Plenty of time left for Ansonia but their luck continued to be very bad.  Their final two possessions ended in turnovers (fumble and interception).

The interception, by Dave Bien in the final minute, put the Greyhounds into kneel-down territory and the celebrations began for Naugatuck.

A frustrated Coach Brockett certainly had it right afterwards when he said, “We didn’t take advantage of opportunities.”

“Ansonia is a great team,” said Mikey Deitelbaum.  “They’ll always be a great team. To beat them you have to leave it all out there, and we did.”

I was very impressed with Ansonia defenders Carlos Pinto and Alex Romanowski.

Mikey scored three touchdowns in their win over Woodland on November 12^th.

Naugatuck coach Chris Anderson had two state champions while coaching Woodland.  Chris was also an All-State player at Derby.

The Greyhounds have qualified for the playoffs four times since 2010.  They haven’t, however, won a playoff game since 1993. Maybe this year?

Coach Tom Brockett has led Ansonia to the playoffs in all fifteen years of his being head coach there.

In the Naugatuck/Ansonia Thanksgiving series, the Chargers have seventy-six wins, thirty-five losses, and ten ties.

The atmosphere at today’s game was special.  There was a lot at stake, and you could feel it.

Weather was perfect with temperatures close to fifty degrees with plenty of sunshine.

Continue to wonder why team rosters are so hard to find.  There was a program but only Ansonia had a roster in it.  Trying to identify players shouldn’t have to be such an adventure IMO.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)