Football

Old Saybrook-Westbrook won its second-straight thriller to start the 2015 season by posting a 27-25 win at Hyde-Career-Whitney Tech in New Haven on Sept. 19. The Rams improved to 2-0 overall and own that same mark in the Pequot Conference South Division.

Sophomore quarterback Victor Pascoe threw touchdown passes of 34, 18, and 40 yards to receiver Clay Duffy for the Rams, who used some clutch defensive plays at the end to survive their nail-biter against the Howling Wolves.

“The kids are starting to believe they can win,” Coach Mike Marone said. “At halftime, we were down 12-7 and there was no worry. Everybody was quiet and focused. This is a special group of kids and, from a coaching standpoint, this is a coach’s dream.”

Vincent Dyer was the workhorse on the ground for the Rams in the fourth quarter by chewing up chunks of yards and scoring a touchdown from a yard out to put OS-W up 27-12. The game appeared to be over late in the fourth quarter, but Hyde used some big plays to make it interesting down the stretch. First, the Howling Wolves (1-1, 1-1) cut the score to 27-18 following a touchdown on a kickoff return. Then after a three-and-out by OS-W, Hyde made it 27-25 on a long passing score. The Howling Wolves would get the ball one last time, but Dyer intercepted a pass at OS-W’s 30-yard-line in the final seconds to seal the win.

“I’m so excited for these kids,” Marone said. “So many of the guys stepped up today. Sloan True and the rest of the front seven played extremely well—captain Carl Andersen, Jack Oliveri—I could go on and on as these kids played their hearts out. I’m also very proud to get the win on the field that was named after my father, Horace Marone [Barbarito/Marone Field], who won a state championship at Wilbur Cross in 1963 and had the No. 1 ranking in Connecticut. It was a great day.”

Up next for the Rams, who are on the road for the third-straight game to open the season, is a contest at another division foe in North Branford (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m.

Field Hockey

Old Saybrook dropped its season-opening game at North Branford by the score of 2-0 and then lost a tough one on the road against East Lyme, 2-1. Natasha Tarbell scored Old Saybrook’s lone goal off an assist by Rosie Rothman in the East Lyme contest. Rams’ goalkeeper Jill Murphy had 12 saves in the opener and stopped six shots versus East Lyme.