The East Haven football team may not have won any championships between the lines of a piece of paper, yet when looking at the group that actually performed between the white lines on the turf, the Yellowjackets gave their all day in and day out, and never relented an inch when it came to displaying maximum effort.

The Yellowjackets welcomed Thanksgiving Day rival Branford to their home field on the morning of Nov. 23 and suffered a 49-7 loss to finish the campaign 2-8 overall, matching the previous year’s mark. Yet while it may seem at the surface that East Haven remained stagnant in growth, the boys made plenty of prideful progresses on an individual level, in terms of diligence on the gridiron and excellence in the classroom.

“Despite our record, this year was an improvement over last year, and I thought we practiced and worked a lot better,” said Head Coach Scott Benoit. “The kids had some great commitment over the summer and in the preseason. We had no behavioral issues within the team this season, and we had our best academic year with the players on the team in my tenure as head coach.”

The captains for the Yellowjackets this fall were comprised of a three-headed front of senior Rich Ackom-Brew, who ran the ball out of the backfield as a running back offensively while being a linebacker on defense, two-way lineman of Antonio Consiglio at center and defensive line, along with signal caller of junior Alex Dombrowski (also in the secondary on defense at defensive back).

“We had our first junior captain with Alex. He was a very hard-working kid and a good competitor. He leads by example, and does everything you want your captain to do as a coach,” said Benoit. “He is also a wrestler; he does a great job in the weight room and is a strong kid. Antonio had never played football before high school, but he was a two-year starter and made the All-SCC Tier 3 Team this year. [on the offensive line] He is a perfect example of what can happen when you stick with something. Rich was a three-year member of the team and was a vocal leader and a great leader. He is a scholar athlete and a brilliant student. He is just a real good soul and a friendly guy. All of our captains did a really good job when it came to making everyone feel included on the team.”

Benoit went on to praise his entire program for their ever-present commitment to the club, as a younger-look Yellowjackets’ squad never questioned what tasks were laid at their feet, and accomplished them with nothing less than power and passion.

“They were very united as a team; the kids did a good job of pushing each other as well,” Benoit said. “They did everything asked of them and practiced and trained hard. It was kind of a unique situation because we had such a small senior class, but they were outstanding and did a good job with their leadership. They were determined and did excellent.”

The table for 2024 is set up quite well for East Haven, who will be parting ways with only half a dozen pieces, including All-SCC Tier 3 Team selection and junior running back Rocco D’ Amato. Nothing is simply given to any team or individual, and so Benoit emphasized that the returning pieces, with a year more of knowledge under their belts, will have to buckle down and make it happen.

“We only lose six kids, and we essentially return almost the entire starting team on both offense and defense,” said Benoit. “But I told the kids that they have to continue to do the things they need to do in the offseason, because there is no magic wand that we can just wave and say we are going to go 10-0 and win a state title because we have all these guys coming back. They all still have to put the work in.”

Benoit, who concluded his fifth season at the helm of the Yellowjackets’ program, had an assistant coaching corps comprised of Chris Cuomo (on staff for five years), Elliott Hastings (five years), Rusty Dunne (three-year veteran), Anthony Perrotti (another three-year staple of the staff), plus two-year members Niam Coward and Reinaldo Martinez.

The 2023 East Haven football team roster is comprised of seniors Sergio Ramirez, Ackom-Brew, Cameron Green, Consiglio, Michael Lawson, Cole Soto; juniors with Nick Bilides, Antwon Oliver, Eric Rentas, D’Amato, Dombrowski, Aiden Loehmann, Nicholas Johnson, Dante Rodriguez, Mark Chabla, Daniel Lares, Matteo Martinez, Zander Molster, Davione Davis, Richard Jones, Chase Horton, Dareon Streater, Joe Allen; sophomores Josh Hutchinson, Trew Kitson, Aiden Esposito, Kevin Clancy, Aedan Webster, Will Mensah, Domenico D’Ambrosio, Blake Charboneau, Sokayden Dos; and freshmen with Tyler DeMartino, Michael Aceto, Jayden Concepcion, Khari Francis, Jaden White, Bryan D’Auria, Santino Maturo, David Sanchez, Oliver Olszewski, Chase Bussert, Takai Cokely, Talon Crisco, Michael Dattilo, and Arlen Reveron.

2023 East Haven Football Regular Season Results

Sept. 8: Harding 48, East Haven 14

Sept. 15: East Haven 35, Bassick 0

Sept. 22: East Haven 28, Northwest Catholic 7

Sept. 30; Foran 40, East Haven 6

Oct. 6: Law 54, East Haven 0

Oct. 14: Platt Tech 62, East Haven 29

Oct. 27: Guilford 56, East Haven 7

Nov. 3: Hillhouse 27, East Haven 26

Nov. 15: Lyman Hall 42, East Haven 12

Nov. 23: Branford 49, East Haven 7