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11/23/2014 11:00 PMThe Branford football team had a Thanksgiving Day tune-up when it hosted Sheehan on Nov. 20 and, despite holding an 11-point lead in the third quarter, the Hornets allowed Sheehan to score the game’s final four touchdowns and took a 31-14 defeat at the MacVeigh Complex.
The Hornets (3-7) got on the board with 2:42 to play in the first quarter when senior captain Carl Williams rushed in from two yards, although the two-point conversion run came up short and it was 6-0. Sheehan (2-8) then missed a 33-yard field goal later in the quarter and that score held up after one.
Midway through the second quarter, the Titans’ Tristen Bianco did hit a field goal and his 22-yard boot cut it to 6-3. Then with 2:15 to play before halftime, junior Zach DeGoursey and senior captain Colin Tracy combined to take down a Sheehan ball-carrier for a safety and the Hornets now led 8-3 and took that lead to the locker room at halftime.
Branford started the second half strong with DeGoursey scoring on a 1-yard TD run, yet the extra point kick was blocked and John Limone’s squad held a 14-3 advantage with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter. Unfortunately, it was all Sheehan from that point on as the Titans’ Zack Davis scored four touchdowns in an eight-minute span to help his club run away with the game. First, Davis scored on a 25-yard touchdown run that sliced it to 14-10 entering the final quarter.
In the fourth, Davis rushed in from 24 yards out to put Sheehan up 17-14, returned an interception 47 yards for a score just 50 seconds later, and then ran for a 54-yard touchdown two minutes after that as Sheehan suddenly had a 31-14 lead that held up as the final.
Williams rushed 41 times for 210 yards and a TD to lead Branford’s offense with DeGoursey carrying 15 times for 76 yards and a score.
Branford now sets its sights on crosstown rival East Haven as the squads will lock horns in the 73rd edition of their Thanksgiving Day game on the Yellowjackets’ home field at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27. The Hornets have claimed victory in 11 of the past 13 years and hold an all-time advantage of 37-31-4 in the series. However, East Haven shut out Branford 21-0 last year and so Coach Limone and company are eager to wash away the taste from that defeat.
“We tell our kids all the time that 10 years after you get done playing and you meet a guy from Branford, the first question you ask is, “Did you win on Thanksgiving?” Coach Limone said. “It’s a huge game and we’ve had a good handle in it the last several years, but now it has even more meaning for us as we’re out to avenge last year.”
Limone has been part of the East Haven game as an athlete, an assistant coach, and now a head coach and so he’s well versed in the significance of the annual Turkey Day throw-down against the Hornets’ longtime foe.
“In my time at Branford, whether as a player or a coach, it’s always been a measuring stick for a successful season. There have been Branford-East Haven games where went both went in without a win and so that becomes your Super Bowl,” said Limone. “It’s a 73-year tradition and being part of it has been a lot of fun and I’ve been lucky to have been on the better side of it more often than not. Some classic games have taken place in this rivalry, our kids are really excited for it, and I’m always excited for it, regardless of what our record is.”
In terms of East Haven’s record, the Yellowjackets sport a mark of 2-8. They won their season opener at Bassick 24-6, lost their next five games, and then won on the road again by beating Lyman Hall 30-0. Anthony Lucibello resigned as head coach following that contest and track coach Jim Vicario has since taken over. In the subsequent three contests, which were all at home, East Haven lost to Foran 42-7, was defeated by Fairfield Ludlowe 30-0, and then lost to Sheehan 42-7.
“Their running back Kikosicki [senior John Kikosicki] is a pretty good player and they run the ball and, in high school football, if you can stop the run and can run and control the clock, you can beat anyone,” Limone said. “It’s at their place, which is always a little different for us, and obviously there are a lot of emotions surrounding the game. It doesn’t matter what happened to them in the weeks before the game or what happened with our games. Anything can happen on Thanksgiving and so I guess the key is to play hard, stay the course, and don’t get caught up in the emotions of the day.”