Football

The Valley Regional-Old Lyme (VR-OL) football team was on the road to face North Branford for its first game of the fall season last week. The Warriors claimed a 13-7 victory versus the Thunderbirds in the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division matchup on Sept. 9.

VR-OL took the lead in the second quarter when junior quarterback Grady Lacourciere found senior DiAngelo Jean-Pierre on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Senior Jacob Rand kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. North Branford responded by scoring on a 17-yard TD run to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the quarter, Jean-Pierre brought home a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 13-7 advantage that held up as the final score.

Rand rushed the ball 13 times for 85 yards and also kicked an extra point in the victory. Junior quarterback Grady Lacourciere completed 10-of-18 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Jean-Pierre had 5 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown to go with 4 carries for 23 yards and a TD on the ground. Senior Nick Cox caught 2 passes for 61 yards for VR-OL.

Rand and senior Ford Macadam both recorded a sack for the Warriors in the victory. Senior Joseph Montazella had a fumble recovery. Cox made 9 tackles, Macadam had 6 tackles, and Rand and sophomore Max Novak added 5 tackles apiece.

VR-OL is hosting divisional opponent Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton for its next game on Friday, Sept. 16. The game gets underway at 6:30 p.m. under the lights at Blythe Field.

Girls’ Soccer

The Valley Regional girls’ soccer squad began the 2022 season by posting a shutout versus the North Branford/Hale-Ray co-op in its first game of the year. The Warriors blanked the Noises by the final tally of 3-0 for an early record of 1-0 on the season.

Senior Anna Benson scored a goal on an assist from junior Emilee Surber to give Valley a 1-0 lead over North Branford in the 27th minute. Four minutes later, senior Reagan Doyon found the back of the net on a helper from senior Kendra Cika to make it 2-0 at halftime. Senior Eileen Russell finished off the victory when she netted a goal in the 60th minute for a 3-0 Valley advantage.

Lloyd Warren is taking the reins for his second stint as head coach of the Valley Regional girls’ soccer team this year. The Warriors finished with a record of 5-9-3 while qualifying for the Class M State Tournament last season.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Valley Regional girls’ volleyball team started off the fall season by playing home matches against East Hampton and Waterford last week. The Warriors took a defeat to East Hampton and then lost a contest against Waterford to open the year with a record of 0-2.

Valley lost to East Hampton by a 3-1 (25-23, 13-25, 25-27, 19-25) score when it hosted East Hampton for its season opener on Sept. 8. Two days later, the Warriors hosted Waterford and took a 3-0 loss in the match.

Sofia Cullina returns for her second season as the head coach of Valley volleyball alongside her sister and assistant coach Katie Cullina. The Warriors recorded an overall mark of 12-10 for the 2021 campaign, qualifying for both the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class M State Tournament.

Field Hockey

The Valley Regional field hockey team hosted Haddam-Killingworth for its first game of the 2022 season on Sept. 9. The Warriors took a 3-1 defeat against H-K at Valley Regional High School to open the year with an 0-1 record.

Randy Netsch begins his debut campaign as the head coach of the Valley field hockey squad. Netsch is also the head coach of the girls’ lacrosse team during the spring season.

Last year, Valley finished with an overall record of 17-2-1, including an undefeated regular season, on its way to reaching the Shoreline Conference final and the Class S state quarterfinals. Beth McCabe Powers completed her 16th and final season as the Warriors’ head coach.