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09/27/2014 12:00 AMWhile taking a big step towards one of its goals in winning the SCC Division I East crown, the Hand football team also scored a 2-for-1 special by seeing its offense take flight to a point it hadn’t seen thus far this campaign.
The Tigers traveled to unbeaten SCC Division I East rival Cross on Sept. 26 and came away with a 37-24 victory—a season-best for the Tigers in terms of points in a single game. At halftime, the Tigers held a four-point lead, but they increased it heading into the final frame thanks to a 27-point outburst in the third to cruise to their second-straight victory.
“Our wide receivers and [junior quarterback] Nick Van Dell came through in the clutch and had a great day,” said Head Coach Steve Filippone. “All of those dropped balls in the first two games, they caught today. Our offensive line did a great job of pass protecting, but we need to get better at run blocking. We still need to be working hard on getting the run together; we have a ton of work to do there [rushing for only 31 yards as a club].”
Van Dell was 24-of-36 and passed for a campaign-high 343 yards and four touchdowns with a trio of them occurring in that crucial third quarter. Defensively, the one-sided third period was jumpstarted when senior Ben Onofrio recovered a Governors’ fumble on their first play from scrimmage for the second half, which Hand took full advantage of with a touchdown two plays after.
“We saw this from Nick all of last year; he made the big plays when we needed them,” said Filippone. “His performance has never been the question for us, and the receivers seemed to be picking it up yesterday.”
Hand (2-1; 1-0 SCC Division I East) started its first scoring possession at the Cross (2-1) 31-yard line. The Tigers reached the 10-yard marker prior to senior Tyler Phan putting his team ahead, 3-0 on a 27-yard field goal. The Hand defense then halted a Governors’ drive at the Tigers’ 43 when senior Taylor Houghton picked up a loose ball, which Van Dell and sophomore Shane Sweitzer (4 catches for 52 yards; 2 TDs) converted into a 21-yard touchdown strike to lead 10-0 after a quarter.
“Our defense played well, but Cross exposed us in the secondary,” said Filippone. “Yet when we needed a big play from them, they came through for us and did a great job on the run game.”
The Tigers stopped another Cross scoring chance, this time at the Hand 10-yard line in the second, although the Governors got on the board on their next possession to trail 10-6 at intermission.
In the third after that Cross fumble, Van Dell and the Hand offense began its aerial assault when he found junior Mark Hill (6 catches, 102 yards) on a 15-yard toss to the end zone to give the Tigers an 11-tally cushion. It only took Hand another 10 snaps to increase that lead to 24-6, as Van Dell hooked up with Sweitzer again, who left the game with a fractured collarbone, from six yards out.
The Governors did respond, though when they scored on a quick pass and 69-yard run for the ensuing possession to make it a 24-12 game. Although two drives later, Hand continued its point production when Van Dell ran it in himself for a 9-yard scoring scamper to conclude a five-play, 53-yard possession and create a 31-12 Tigers’ lead.
Cross answered on a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, yet Van Dell threw to junior Andrew Fitzgerald (3 receptions, 60 yards) on a 60-yard bomb to bring Hand to a 37-18 command as the third quarter ended. The Governors did add one more score, but it was too late, as the Tigers gained the road decision.
Hand now prepares for SCC Division II East rival North Haven with another road contest on Thursday, Oct. 2 with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Last year’s edition of the matchup saw the Tigers take a 21-6 decision at home.
“It only goes uphill from here. North Haven runs a very unusual single-wing offense, and they are defensively sound,” said Filippone. “[Head Coach Anthony] Sagnella prepares his team well and they won’t make mistakes. They will play a sound game and we have to do the same.”