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12/03/2015 11:00 PMThe North Haven football squad didn’t throw one single pass in its Class L State Playoffs quarterfinal contest against Middletown and the Indians certainly didn’t need to. Instead, Anthony Sagnella’s team ran the ball 41 times for 597 yards and six touchdowns on its way to a 48-13 dismantling of Middletown in the program’s first home postseason game on Dec. 1.
Conner Suraci for 243 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries to lead North Haven’s ground assault in the rain at Vanacore Field. Fellow senior Mike Montano ran seven times for 133 yards and a pair of TDs to go with his 35-yard interception return for a score. The Indians led 28-0 after one quarter and 41-0 at halftime in earning their second playoff victory in program history.
Top-seeded North Haven ran its record to 11-0 by beating No. 8 Middletown (8-3) and advanced to a semifinal showdown against 5th-seeded Wethersfield (10-1)—a 33-6 victory over Torrington—at Vanacore at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. If the Indians prevail, they’ll play in their first state final against the winner of No. 6 New Canaan (9-1) and No. 7 Notre Dame-West Haven (9-2) on Saturday, Dec. 12. The title game will be held at either West Haven High School or Willow Brook Park in New Britain with kickoff at 10:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
“I think at this point in the season it’s viewed more like a second season. We finished the regular season at 10-0 and now the pressure is on to stay undefeated. So a way of looking at it is that we’re 1-0 and striving to be 2-0. At any moment, if you lose now, you’re out,” said Coach Sagnella, whose team will compete in the state semis for the third time. “I’m happy for the kids. Their goal is to be the best team they can be and mission accomplished for week one. Wethersfield is a big challenge. They’re a very good team, an outstanding program, and we’ve never gotten past this point, so it’s a big moment to try and take the next step forward.”
Against Middletown, Suraci and Montano both crossed the goal line twice in the opening quarter to help the Indians establish their 28-0 advantage. After North Haven was set up with a short field following a poor Middletown punt, Suraci rumbled in from three yards away with 8:13 left in the first. He then booked 61 yards to the house for a 14-0 lead three minutes later. A mere 24 seconds after that, Montano picked off Middletown quarterback Tyshaun James and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-0 North Haven. Then with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Montano raced in for a 65-yard touchdown that extended that damage to 28-0 after Sabrina Fronte kicked her fourth extra point of the frame.
It didn’t take long for the Indians to keep the train rolling in the second as Suraci broke off an 82-yard touchdown run for his third of the night and a 35-0 lead just 38 seconds into the quarter. With 5:22 to play before halftime, Montano ran for his third TD on a 15-yard scamper and it was all North Haven with a 41-0 cushion heading into halftime.
“I thought they would have a difficult time with us and that proved to be correct. Our offensive line immediately gained control of the game and the rest is history. The first drive, we ran inside with Conner; the second drive, we ran outside with Mike; and the third drive, we ran back inside, so it was a balance,” Sagnella said. “We’ve been blessed all year to have balance in our backfield. Conner, Mike, and Nick Ponzio are all dynamic in their own way and it’s just difficult to defend everything we do. On any given night, any one of them could have a big night and I am thrilled for Conner. He does so much for our team in terms of blocking and defending that was nice to see him have a big night rushing the ball.”
The Indians recorded their final TD on a 38-yard rush by sophomore Mark Montano (5 carries, 66 yards) 3:39 into the second half. Fronte converted her sixth PAT in seven attempts and it was 48-0.
Tywan Scharborough (3 carries, 121 yards) scored both of Middletown’s touchdowns in the fourth quarter on runs of 82 and 30 yards for the final margin of 48-13.
Also contributing to North Haven’s latest prolific offensive performance were senior Nick Ponzio (6 carries, 34 yards), junior Max Sullivan (1 carry, 79 yards), senior Paul Brockamer (3 carries, 26 yards), sophomore Joe Gargano (3 carries, 9 yards), and sophomore Korbin Pecora (3 carries, 7 yards).
On defense, senior Jeremy Imperati had a sack and recorded six tackles, senior David Mikos made 12 tackles, and senior Shane O’Connor also had six tackles. Coach Sagnella said his defense’s main objective was to contain Middletown’s quarterback and the Indians succeeded in that regard as James was 3-of-12 passing for 44 yards and ran for just 29 yards on 13 carries.
“Our ears were perked and we were ready to go. We got the response we were hoping for from the kids and they were fully tuned in mentally, which is the way you have to be to compete in the postseason,” Sagnella said. “Our defense played disciplined and I think the weather rattled [Middletown] a bit. We won the toss and deferred, so we kicked off with the wind at our back and the rain in their face and I don’t think that helped them at all. Also, they’re used to playing on turf and it was a wet grassy field and I don’t think that helped them at all. But not to take away from our kids—they executed our game-plan the way we asked them to, pressured their quarterback, and he had a tough night.”
From the Sidelines
The Middletown victory marked North Haven’s second postseason triumph in program history. The previous one was a 35-0 win at Platt in the Class L semis two years ago.
Coming into the week, the Indians were once again ranked No. 6 in The Day of New London Top 10 State Coaches Poll and the New Haven Register/GameTimeCT.com State Top 10 Football Poll.
The Indians had several athletes named to the All-SCC Division II Team. Patrick Casey made it on the offensive line, Jeremy Imperati is the tight end, Mike Montano was chosen as the quarterback, Sabrina Fronte is the placekicker, Conner Suraci and Mike Masnato made it on the defensive line, David Mikos is one of the linebackers, and Tom Dodge was selected as a defensive back.
On the other side of the bracket in Class L State Playoffs, No. 6 seed New Canaan beat No. 3 Windsor 21-6 and No. 7 Notre Dame-West Haven was a 34-0 victor versus No. 2 Harding.
For the Class LL tourney, Shelton defeated West Haven 40-20, Newtown edged Glastonbury 21-20, Darien routed Staples 41-7, and Southington beat Conard 48-7. Shelton will play Newtown and Darien will face Southington in the semis.
In Class M, Killingly defeated Stratford 31-10 and will play Brookfield, which beat ATI (Abbott Tech-Immaculate) United 35-6. New Fairfield blanked St. Joseph 24-0 and plays Ledyard, which blew out Bacon Academy 55-6.
In the Class S State Playoffs, Ansonia beat Capital-Achievement 35-13 to earn a semifinal showdown against Trinity Catholic, which won 40-12 versus Morgan. Bloomfield beat East Catholic 28-20 and faces Seymour, which doubled up Granby 56-28.