 |
 |
 |
|
12/2: Ansonia
won the coin toss and deferred their choice to the second half.
North Branford took the opening kickoff and moved down to
the Chargers' goal line - running the ball with ease on a 14
play drive. Gary
Esposito, on a keeper, broke the plain of the goal line and then
fumbled it, but the referees ruled it a touchback as Ansonia
recovered it in the end zone. After Ansonia scored a second
quarter touchdown, they missed the extra point kick, so the
score was 6-0. The Thunderbirds
took the kickoff and drove 65 yards on 19 plays, chewing up the last nine and a half minutes of the first half. |
12/2:
They ran the outside lanes
with Anthony Sidera and Gary Esposito and pounded the ball up
the middle with Elijah Shuler. Time was running out in the half
when Esposito again broke the plain of the goal line, but was
ruled down on the 1 inch line. Rushing to the line to spike the
ball and stop the clock, the Tbirds were flagged with an illegal
procedure penalty with 3 seconds left. After moving the ball an
inch past the 5 yard line, the referees started the clock and
ran out the half.
First-half time of possession: 20:02-3:58, North Branford. |
12/2: Ansonia
took the second half kickoff and went down and scored a
touchdown and added the 2 point kick to make the score 14-0.
North Branford took the next kick and moved into Charger
territory before Esposito was intercepted. A long run back led
to a third Charger touchdown and a 21-0 score. Ansonia added a
late touchdown to cap the score at 28-0. Ansonia moves on to
Saturday's Class S Championship game versus Cromwell, who beat
Hyde tonight, 34-9. (586
Photos) |
Week 12 Games
11/26/08: Hyde Leadership Varsity 21, North Branford Varsity 13
11/28/08: North Branford JV 26, Hyde Leadership JV 6
|
11/28/08:
Week 12:
North Branford JV 26,
Hyde Leadership JV 6 |
| 11/28/08: |
| North Branford
JV |
0 |
12 |
14 |
0 |
- |
26 |
|
Hyde Leadership
JV |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
- |
6 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/28: North Branford won the toss, took the
kickoff and moved inside the 30 of Hyde with a series of runs.
After a short pass by Cory Onofrio was caught by Christian
Perrotti, he was hit and fumbled and Hyde recovered on the 28.
The Howling Wolves moved
out near midfield, but had to punt it back to the TBirds. A
couple of running plays and the first quarter ended.
As the second quarter began,
NB moved right down and scored. The highlights of the drive were
a 4th and 6 pass play from Onofrio to Cameron Smith inside the
red zone and then a short run by Robert Caron for a TD. The
conversion run was stopped, so the score was 6-0.
Hyde's next drive ended with an interception, and with the runback, the
Thunderbirds had the ball right back only 36 yards from another
score.
(759 Photos) |
11/28: Caron scored again
by breaking through the left side for the TD, but the run was
again stopped, so North Branford took a 12-0 lead into the half.
Hyde got the ball to start the 3rd, but moved backwards with a
series of penalties before it got to be 1st and 30. Kendall
Groom fired a perfect strike, 40 yards downfield over the
defender into the hands of Andrew Greene, who beat the rest of
the field with a 45 yard sprint for a touchdown. The run attempt
that followed was no good, so the score was 12-6. Shortly into North
Branford's next drive, Cedric Alston stepped in front of a short
dump pass for an interception. Hyde moved a couple of plays, but
as Groom was
scrambling, he was hit and fumbled and Trevor Orsillo recovered
it for the TBirds. |
11/28: NB made a
first
down out at their 42, and then Cameron Smith broke a 48 yard run
down to the 10. Two
plays after that, Onofrio faked into line and as he was being hit,
he
pushed a shovel pass to Smith who took it around the left side
and in for 10 yard TD. The run to the right side was good for 2 points,
making the score 20-6.
Hyde's second play after the kickoff resulted in a an
interception by Caron, who returned it 25 yards
for his third touchdown. The run that followed was no good, so
the score was 26-6. The fourth quarter saw Hyde work a
long drive deep into NB territory before turning it over on
downs inside the red zone. The TBirds worked the ball out over
midfield by converting on 4th down and then ate most of the remainder
of the period. Hyde was able to run a few plays but time
ultimately expired. |
|
|
11/26/08:
Week 12:
Hyde Leadership Varsity 21, North Branford Varsity 13 |
| 11/26/08: |
| Hyde Leadership Varsity |
0 |
8 |
13 |
0 |
- |
21 |
|
North Branford Varsity |
6 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
- |
13 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/26: Hyde won the toss and
deferred their choice to the second half. The Thunderbirds took
the kickoff and Gary Esposito earned a first down with a 7 yard
scamper around the left end, then broke off consecutive runs of
45 and 16 yards to get the ball to the Howling Wolves' 2 yard
line. From there, Sal Varca took in through the right side for a
TD, but the kick was no good so the score was 6-0. Hyde was 3
downs and out, then they shanked a punt giving NB the ball back
inside the 40. A long run by Esposito made it first and goal
from the 10, but the Thunderbirds turned the ball over on downs.
Hyde was able to move out to midfield, but came up against 4th
and 1. From there, the TBirds D stepped up and stopped them cold
to take the ball back over on downs as the quarter ended.
North Branford ultimately had to punt, but as the ball bounced,
it hit a Hyde player and was recovered by the TBirds inside the
red zone. |
11/26: North
Branford couldn't move much and ultimately missed a 27 yard
field goal, giving the Wolves the ball back on their own 20.
Hyde then marched down with a quick drive and came up against a
4th and 10 from the TBirds 20, but scored a touchdown when their
QB, Kendell Groom, took it around the right end and in. When the
conversion snap was bounced, Groom scooped it up and ran that
around the right side and in too to give Hyde an 8-6 lead at the
half. Hyde got the ball to begin the 3rd quarter and took it
right down and scored as Saladin Hason ran it in from 7 yards
out. The extra point kick gave Hyde a 15-6 lead. NB couldn't
move after receiving the kickoff, and Mitch Holcomb's booming
punt pinned Hyde back at their 25. From there Mike Picone
recovered a Wolves' fumble and then Esposito ran for 7 yards and
Sal Varca ripped off 10+ before Esposito punched it in from 2
yards out to make the score 15-13. |
11/26: It took
only 4 plays for Hyde to score again on the strength of a chop
block penalty and 2 long runs by Joe Lambert, the last of which
was after Lambert was seemingly tackled while heading right, but
was able to pull away and come back left for 27 yards to score.
The kick was blocked which made the score 21-13. North Branford
put together a couple of nice drives in the fourth quarter by
pounding the ball up the middle with Holcomb and Elijah Shuler,
but each drive was stopped by Hyde and ended by turning the ball
over on downs. The second drive got to be 4th and 4 on the
Wolves' 14, but Holcomb's run was stopped about a half yard
short of a first down and Hyde took over with a little over 4
minutes to play. (705
Photos) |
|
Week 11 Games
11/22/08: North Branford Varsity 6, Cromwell
Varsity 0
|
11/22/08:
Week 11:
North Branford Varsity 6, Cromwell Varsity 0 |
| 11/22/08: |
|
North Branford Varsity |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
- |
6 |
| Cromwell
Varsity |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/22:
The undefeated North Branford Thunderbirds, ventured to frigid
Pierson Park in Cromwell to take on the Panthers, who were also
without a loss, to determine who would win the Pequot Conference
Title and earn a bid to this year's CIAC Class S playoffs. The
Panthers won the toss and deferred their choice to the second
half, so the TBirds got the ball first. But with the cold and
whipping winds, neither team could hold on to the ball as 5
fumbles highlighted the first half. Combined with all the punts,
neither team could gain much ground. |
11/22:
North Branford was the first team to get something finally going
as they put together a nice drive in the 2nd quarter,
set up by a 22 yard punt return by Anthony Sidera and the pounding runs
up the middle by Mitch Holcomb and Elijah Shuler to get the ball
in close before Shuler carried it in (photo above) from short
range to put the TBirds up 6-0 at the half.
Although the second half ultimately was scoreless it was
far from uneventful as each team was able to move the ball but
neither was able to score.
(781 Photos) |
11/22:
Cromwell was insistent in trying to establish a passing game,
but the whipping winds made that nearly impossible, as most of
Bobby Jordan's passes fell harmlessly to the ground. When a
promising drive by the Panthers came up against 4th and short
near midfield, the TBirds front line stood firm and stopped
Cromwell cold. Shortly thereafter, Shuler broke a 40 yard run
inside the Panther's 10 and the clock kept ticking. North
Branford ultimately turned the ball over on downs inches from
the goal line, and Cromwell simply ran out of time, as the
Thunderbirds won this won, improving their record to 10-0, thus
guaranteeing them a share of the Pequot Title and a berth in
this year's Class S playoffs. |
|
Week 10 Games
11/14/08: North Branford Varsity 28, Housatonic/Wamogo
Varsity 20 (OT)
|
11/14/08:
Week 10:
North Branford Varsity 28, Housatonic/Wamogo Varsity 20 (OT) |
| 11/14/08: |
| Housatonic/Wamogo
Varsity |
0 |
6 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
- |
20 |
|
North Branford Varsity |
0 |
13 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
- |
28 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/14: Gary Esposito threw a
pair of second quarter touchdown passes to Anthony Vorio, each
of which from 18 yards out, as
North Branford took a 13-6 lead into the half.
Esposito connected with Mitch Holcomb on a 48 yard yard TD pass
in the third to push the lead up to 20-6. |
11/14:
Tanner Berset ran for a 3 yard TD and and the
conversion for 2 made it 20-14. A short time later, Berset
scored his third TD of the game, this time from 7 yards out, to
tie the score. But the
Mountaineers were stopped on their conversion attempt, so this game
went into
overtime, deadlocked at 20.
|
11/14:
The Thunderbirds got the ball first in OT. Gary Esposito scored
a touchdown with a 4 yard run and then also carried in the 2
point conversion to go up by 8. The TBirds were able to keep Housy from scoring when then had the ball to win this
game 28-20 and remain unbeaten at 9-0. |
|
118
Senior Night Photos and 341 Action photos now available on
KevinPataky.com. |
|
Week 9 Games
11/10/08:
North Branford JV 28,
Cromwell JV 12
|
11/10/08:
Week 9:
North Branford JV 28, Cromwell JV 12 |
| 11/10/08: |
|
Cromwell JV |
6 |
0 |
x |
x |
- |
12 |
|
North Branford JV |
7 |
14 |
x |
x |
- |
28 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/10:
North Branford kicked off to Cromwell and the Panthers took it
across the timeline before they had to punt it away. But when
the punt couldn't be fielded cleanly, the Panthers recovered on
the 5 yard line. A couple of plays later, Cromwell was in the
end zone for a 6-0 lead.
After taking the next kickoff, the
Thunderbirds fumbled it away deep in their own end and Cromwell
recovered. A big defensive stand kept the Panthers from scoring
and North Branford took over on downs on their own 17. |
11/10: On the first play, Joe
Perez hit Sal Varca with a short pass and Varca took it about 70
yards before being brought down. A couple of plays later, Varca
busted into the end zone for a touchdown. Cameron Smith's kick
gave the TBirds a 1 point lead at 7-6.
After a quick defensive stop, the TBirds
got the ball back and used a heavy dose of Sal Varca with
additional runs by Kevin Whalen and Joe Perez to move into the
red zone.
(385 Photos) |
11/10: When it got to be 4th
and short inside the 5, Perez threw a pass to Whalen and he
broke into the end zone for 6. The kick that followed was wide,
but the score was now 13-6. Cromwell botched the ensuing kickoff
and NB took over on the Panther's 22. The powerful running of
Varca up the middle took the ball in close, then Perez ran it
around the left end - just inside the pylon for a TD and then
repeated the same play for 2 more to give NB a 21-6 lead at the
half. |
|
Week 8 Games
11/3/08:
North Branford JV 22,
Old Saybrook/Westbrook JV 0
|
11/3/08:
Week 8:
North Branford JV 22, Old Saybrook/Westbrook JV
0 |
| 11/3/08: |
|
Old Saybrook/Westbrook JV |
0 |
0 |
x |
x |
- |
0 |
|
North Branford JV |
0 |
0 |
x |
x |
- |
22 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
11/3:
North Branford won the toss and deferred their choice to the 2nd
half. OSW received the opening kickoff but had to punt it away
as their drive stalled. |
11/3: Neither team could crack
the red zone of the other as the first half came to a close with
a scoreless tie. |
11/3: The Thunderbirds scored
22 unanswered points in the second half to win this one, 22-0.
(339
Photos) |
|
Week 7 Games
10/25/08:
North Branford Varsity 34,
Vinal Tech/Coginchaug 22
10/27/08:
North Branford JV 14,
Vinal Tech/Coginchaug
JV 6 (halftime)
|
10/27/08:
Week 7:
North Branford JV 26, Vinal Tech/Coginchaug JV 6 |
| 10/25/08: |
|
Vinal Tech/Coginchaug JV |
6 |
0 |
x |
x |
- |
6 |
|
North Branford JV |
6 |
8 |
x |
x |
- |
26 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
10/27: The Hawks
won the toss and deferred their choice to the 2nd half, and then
proceeded to try an onside kick, but it was covered up at the 45
by North Branford. A couple of plays later Sal Varca ran for 15
yards and then Joe Perez connected with Kevin Whalen on a 35
yard pass play that went for a TD. The kick was no good so the
score was 6-0. |
10/27: Coginchaug went right
down and scored with the help of a long pass from Conor Finley
which set up a short run by Ryan Scherer, who slipped around the
left end for a touchdown. The kick that followed was blocked so
the score was tied at 6.
(423 Photos) |
10/27: In the 2nd quarter, the
Hawks drove all the way to the TBirds 27, but lost possession on
downs when Finley overthrew his intended receiver on 4th down.
On the next play, Joe Perez zipped a slant pass to Anthony Vorio,
who sprinted for a 73 yard TD. Varca ran the conversion in for 2
and NB took a 14-6 lead into the half. |
|
|
10/25/08:
Week 7:
North Branford 34, Vinal Tech/Coginchaug 22 |
| 10/25/08: |
|
North Branford |
6 |
15 |
7 |
6 |
- |
34 |
| Vinal Tech/Coginchaug |
0 |
8 |
0 |
14 |
- |
22 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
10/25: Coginchaug won the toss
and deferred their choice to the 2nd half. North Branford took
the kick and went right down and scored with a 4 yard TD run by
Elijah Shuler. The kick was wide right so the Thunderbirds led
6-0. The Hawks drove deep into NB territory but were picked off
at the goal line. After a NB punt, Coginchaug worked a short
drive and scored when Nick D'Aquila ran for a 5 yard TD and then
carried in the 2 pt conversion to put the Hawks up 8-6.
After the kickoff, on their 1st
play from scrimmage, Gary Esposito faked to Elijah Shuler into
the line and then ran for 50 yards through the right side of the
line. |
10/25:
A personal foul call moved ball back to 29. After the
teams traded possessions, Esposito ran for a 30 yard TD,
using another great fake to Schuler. Esposito then passed to
John McCarroll in the right side of the end zone for 2, and NB
was up by a 14-8 count. After another Vinal punt, NB took it all
the the way down to score again. This time, Esposito had a long
run and was tripped up inside the 20. A couple more runs by
Esposito were followed by a nice run by Andrew Cottiero to the
goal line. Esposito then carried it in for a 21-8 lead, which
the TBirds took into the half.
(694
Photos) |
10/25:
The Hawks took the kickoff to open
the 2nd half and moved across the timeline, but the TBirds took
over when Alex Robertson had a big interception on a 4th down
play. NB moved down the field with short runs by Cottiero and a
dump off pass to Shuler, followed by a couple bruising runs by
Schuler. The drive culminated with a screen pass to Mitch
Holcolm who busted it in for a 23 yd TD to open up a 28-8 lead.
The Hawks worked a nice drive and scored on a 1 yard run by
Andrew Cruz to cut the kead to 28-14. John McCarroll lead the
TBird offense down for another score as Cottiero busted in for a
3 yard score to open it back up again to 34-14. The Hawks scored
once more on a 19 yd TD run by D'Aqulia, followed by a 2
point conversion - a Conor Finley pass to
Jeff Tiedemann leaping in the back
right corner to cap the scoring at 34-22. |
|
Week 5 Games
10/11/08:
North Branford Varsity 42,
Ellington/Somers Varsity 0
10/13/08:
North Branford JV 28,
Ellington/Somers JV 14
|
10/13/08:
Week 5:
North Branford JV 28, Ellington/Somers JV
14 |
 |
 |
 |
|
10/13: This one was tied at 14
at half time. In the 3rd quarter,
Sal Varca broke through the line and scored a 40+ yard TD to put
the Thunderbirds up 20-14 after 3. |
10/13:
In the 4th quarter, Rob Caron followed a nice block and made it
around the right side and sprinted for a 90 yard TD.
(368
Photos) |
10/11: Cameron Smith took the
handoff and ran it into the end zone for the 2 point conversion
to close out the scoring in this 28-14 TBirds win. |
|
|
10/11/08:
Week 5:
North Branford Varsity 42, Ellington/Somers Varsity
0 |
| 10/11/08: |
|
North Branford Varsity |
7 |
14 |
7 |
14 |
- |
42 |
| Ellington/Somers Varsity |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
10/11:
Gary Esposito threw for two touchdowns and rushed
for 2 others to lead North Branford over Ellington/Somers, 42-0,
in a battle of two previously-unbeaten Pequot League teams.
North Branford (5-0) recovered a first quarter fumble by
Ellington/Somers (4-1) deep in the Purple Knights' territory,
leading to a ten-yard touchdown run by Esposito. |
10/11:
Eddie Harris caught a 53 yard pass for a 2nd quarter TD and
Elijah Shuler busted in for a 2 yard TD to put NB up 21-0 at the
half. Alex Robertson outreached his defender to haul in a 37
yard pass for a 3rd quarter TD which increased the TBird lead to
28-0 through 3.
(29
Cheerleader Photos)
(401
Game Photos) |
10/11: Harris also returned an interception 42 yards for a
touchdown in the fourth quarter and Gary Esposito closed out the
scoring with a 9 yard TD run to make the final score, 42-0.
The Thunderbird D kept Ellington's QB Peter Vamvilis and RB Sam
Ziter in check all day. Above, Andrew Cottiero sacks Vamvilis in
the 3rd quarter. |
Week 3 Games
9/29/08:
North Branford Varsity 26,
Old Saybrook/Westbrook Varsity 12
9/29/08:
Old Saybrook/Westbrook JV
vs.
North Branford JV, cancelled
|
|
9/29/08:
Week 3:
North Branford Varsity 26, OSW Varsity 12 |
| 9/29/08: |
|
North Branford Varsity |
0 |
0 |
20 |
6 |
- |
26 |
| OSW Varsity |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
- |
12 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
9/29: OSW jumped out to an
early 12-0 first quarter lead on a 60 yard TD pass play from Cam
Dunlap to Cameron Shea on 3rd and long and a 55 yard fumble
return by Matt Bowes. North Branford put together a nice second
quarter drive, and after it stalled in OSW's red zone, they had
to head into halftime down 12-0.
(673
Photos) |
9/29:
The Thunderbirds came out in the 2nd half all fired up. After
pushing the Rams backwards on their first drive, Ed Harris took
the ensuing punt and zig zagged though traffic for a 50 yard
touchdown run. John McCarroll drilled the extra point and NB was
back in this one, down only 12-7. The Rams next drive ended
abruptly with a Jeff Rivellini interception. |
9/29:
John McCarroll followed with a 37
yard TD pass to Harris to put the TBirds in front 13-12. North
Branford continued their second half domination, allowing
only 1 first down - late in
the second half
- while Elijah Shuler rushed for a total of 118 yards including
a 28 yard 3rd quarter TD and QB John McCarroll added a 4th
quarter 1 yard
plunge to cap the scoring as North Branford went on to a 26-12
win in Old Saybrook. |
|
Week 2 Games
9/19/08:
North Branford Varsity 20, Valley
Regional Varsity
19
9/20/08:
North Branford JV @ Valley Regional
JV, 10:30am
Week 1 Games
9/13/08:
North Branford Varsity 10, Morgan (Clinton) Varsity
7
|
9/13/08:
Week 1:
North Branford
Varsity 10,
Morgan (Clinton) Varsity 7 (OT) |
| 9/13/08: |
| Morgan (Clinton) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
- |
7 |
|
North Branford |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
- |
10 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
9/13: North Branford scored an
early touchdown in this one to take a 7-0 lead on a short plunge
by Elijah Shuler. (509
Photos) |
9/13:
Neither team could move the ball throughout the game and there
was no further scoring until five minutes left in the game when
Clinton scored on a 75 yard pass play to tie the game. An
interception in the end zone ended NBs attempt to win this one
in regulation and the game went to OT. |
9/13: NB scored first on a
short field goal and held Morgan out of the end zone to set the
stage for one last play. Morgan's kick to tie went over the
right upright and the refs signaled "no good" giving NB the win,
10-7. |
|
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