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09/26/2015 12:00 AMThe North Haven football team has posted some big-time wins against SCC Division I opponents the past few years. Now, the Indians have another victim to add to the list after doubling up fellow Class L powerhouse Notre Dame-West Haven 42-21 on Sept. 25. Anthony Sagnella’s squad snapped a 21-all tie by scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter to leave Veteran’s Stadium as the toast of the state and a record of 3-0. Notre Dame came into the contest ranked No. 4 in The Day of New London's Top 10 State Coaches' Poll and was fifth in the GameTime CT/New Haven Register Top 10 Poll.
It was a game of surges that saw North Haven take a 21-0 lead in the second quarter before the Green Knights scored three-straight TDs for a deadlock entering the fourth. The Indians then embarked on a lengthy drive that culminated with senior Conner Suraci’s 2-yard touchdown run which gave his team the lead for good. A forced fumble by Jeremy Imperati set up Nick Ponzio’s 10-yard insurance scamper and then fellow senior Nick Campanelli took back a pick-six to put a bow on the 21-point triumph for Sagnella’s squad.
“It was a big game with a lot of emotions and a huge crowd. It had a playoff-type atmosphere and our kids responded appropriately,” Coach Sagnella said. “This wasn’t an upset. It was two very good football teams playing one another and I think [Notre Dame’s coach] Tom Marcucci would tell you the same thing. Our kids believed they belonged on the field with Notre Dame and that was that.”
The game got out to a bizarre start when the officials ruled Notre Dame’s Christian Lupoli threw a lateral that was fumbled by Nico Ragaini and scooped up by Indians’ senior lineman Mike Masnato, who returned it 40 yards for the TD and a 7-0 lead following Sabrina Fronte’s extra point. After looking at the film, Sagnella said it should have been ruled an incomplete pass, but any way you slice it, North Haven had an early advantage and fed off that momentum throughout the opening half. Not long after that, senior captain Montano grabbed the first of his two interceptions and subsequently scored on a 9-yard rush for a 14-0 advantage after one.
In the second quarter, Montano barreled in from one yard out for his second score on his way to rushing for 128 yards on 25 carries. However, the Green Knights (2-1) started to turn the tide when Josh Witkowsky converted a 1-yard TD rush to make it a 21-7 game at halftime. Notre Dame had a chance to score again before the break, but senior captain linebacker David Mikos forced a fumble that squashed that drive.
Still, the Green Knights emerged from the locker room ready to play in the second half and capitalized on an interception by Indians’ junior Jack Steinman to make it 21-13 on Kobe Wiggins’s 2-yard rush. Later in the third, Prince Books took one in from two yards out and, following a successful 2-point conversion pass, North Haven and Notre Dame were tied at 21 entering the final frame.
“We had a few mental lapses in the second and third quarters and then they controlled the line of scrimmage on their third touchdown drive. They North Haven’d North Haven. They pushed us around, punched it in, and tied the game,” said Sagnella. “Fortunately for us, we went on an 80-yard drive and took the lead back. We chewed the clock and that gave our kids some more gas in the tank. The turning point in the second half was when we went on that drive.”
Indeed, North Haven reasserted its physicality at the line of scrimmage and marched the bulk of the field, ultimately capping the time-consuming drive with a 2-yard score by Suraci (12 carries, 46 yards) for a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. Montano reeled in his second interception on Notre Dame’s next drive, although the Indians were soon forced to punt. Late in the game, as the Green Knights were driving to try and tie it or possibly take the lead, Imperati forced a fumble on a sack on fourth down and North Haven had the ball at Notre Dame’s 20-yard line. Ponzio (9 carries, 88 yards) followed by racing home for a 10-yard score and then Campanelli returned an interception 30 yards for a 42-21 command following Fronte’s sixth extra point.
The victory marked the second time in Coach Sagnella’s tenure the Indians defeated Notre Dame—a squad they could possibly see again in the postseason. Last year, North Haven and the Green Knights both qualified for the Class L Large Division State Playoffs and were eliminated by Windsor in the semifinals and final, respectively.
“To me, this game was most important for this season,” said Sagnella. “Our program has gotten to a point where we can play just about anybody, so for this season’s sake, in the big picture, it was an important game because North Haven and Notre Dame are fighting for the same thing down the road.”
The Indians’ next stop on that road is East Haven for a divisional game against a Yellowjackets’ squad that is also 3-0 after recently defeating Law 17-6. Last year, North Haven routed East Haven 48-14.
Also from the Notre Dame game, the Indians rushed 52 times for 280 yards. North Haven only attempted two passes in the contest and completed one, which was a 32-yard connection from Montano to Imperati.
Additionally on the defensive side of things, North Haven’s top tacklers were Mikos (14), senior Rob Ralston (13), Suraci (12), Imperati and senior Paul Brockamer (each with 9, including 2 for a loss by Imperati), Masnato and junior Max Sullivan (both with 8), senior Patrick Casey (7), plus Montano and juniors Kyle Melillo and Tom Dodge (with 6 apiece). Melillo added a sack for the Indians.