Football

Hand took on SCC Division I East rival Cross in its home opener on Sept. 25 and the Tigers picked up a 42-16 victory. Hand is now 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the division. Nick Van Dell was 19-of-24 passing while throwing for 305 yards and five touchdowns, breaking the school record for touchdown tosses in a single game.

“We finally put all the pieces together with pass protection, running good routes, and making catches. We were close the last two weeks, but we either ran a lousy route or dropped passes,” said Head Coach Steve Filippone. “We cleaned it all up and self-evaluated. We got man coverage and our linemen did a great job of picking up blitzes. The ball was perfectly thrown and it wasn’t a fluke. It was just what we are capable of.”

The Tigers did all of their damage during the first half in the win. First, Nate Palumbo was the recipient of a 7-yard touchdown toss from Van Dell before a missed extra point attempt. Then Ryan Kaufmann (7 catches, 140 yards) reeled in a 15-yard catch prior to Brian Casagrande running it in for the 2-point conversion to give Hand a 14-0 edge after one.

Van Dell took to the air again in the second. He reconnected with Kaufmann in the end zone again from eight yards out and later with Mark Hill (8 receptions, 142 yards) on 16- and 13-yard throws. Palumbo then scampered in from the 8-yard line to cap off the scoring display for the home side.

As Hand (332 yards of total offense) looked to its bench with the big cushion in the second half, the Governors did secure a pair of scoring drives on a 14-yard pass and a rush of 16 yards.

Defensively, Hand turned Cross (1-2; 0-1 in SCC Division I East) over four times in the opening half with Casagrande collecting two interceptions and scooping up a fumble.

“With no starters in the second half, our defense essentially pitched a shutout and the defense and its scheme are great,” said Filippone. “A team hasn’t mounted a solid drive versus our defense, but the defense hasn’t been tested yet either. Still, they will have the opportunity to be challenged and will rise to the occasion.”

The Tigers next host Branford (0-2) on Friday, Oct. 2 with a 7 p.m. kickoff for the second game of a five-game homestand.

“We felt like the first five games were versus teams we could compete against. We said that if we play well, we could be 5-0,” said Filippone. “If we can get there with no more injuries and get some guys back, then that would make for some terrific football. If you take a deep breath and lose focus in this league, then you will lose, though we will up the tempo in practice and get them physically stronger.”

Field Hockey

After edging Granby Memorial 2-1 on Sept. 21 and shutting out North Haven 7-0 on Sept. 22, Hand blanked Sacred Heart Academy 2-0 on Sept. 24 to push itself to 5-1 (2-0 in games counting toward the SCC standings). In the first half versus SHA, Erin Maxwell scored first at 10:52 off assists from Sam Pavano and Olivia Fenn. Later at 6:20, Cameron Ruberti found the back of the cage thanks to feeds from Alli Buller and Sam Pavano. Kylie Gargiulo made a pair of saves in the win with the Tigers outshooting the Paces by a 17-2 margin.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Tigers took a 3-0 loss to Amity on Sept. 21 to move to 2-3 on the campaign before a loss by the same final at division rival Guilford on Sept. 25, pushing Hand to a mark of 2-4 (0-2 in SCC Hammonasset Division).

Facing the Spartans, Amity prevailed 25-17, 25-20, 25-21. Ryann Corniello had 17 digs and five kills, Sabrina Dibello dropped in eight digs, plus Olivia Finke tacked on six digs defensively.

Versus Guilford, the Indians swept 28-26, 25-19, 25-17.

Boys’ Cross Country

The Tigers were home to Cheshire on Sept. 24 and lost by a 20-39 final to drop to 2-1. Colin Roth came in second (16:22) and Sean Collins paced himself to sixth (17:17).

Girls’ Cross Country

Hand hosted Cheshire on Sept. 24 and the Tigers were edged 23-32. Megan Phillips was race runner-up in 20:07 and following her was Colleen Caruth in fourth (20:26).