Volleyball

One week after claiming the Shoreline Conference crown, the Haddam-Killingworth volleyball team won its first two contests in the Class M State Tournament to advance to the semifinal round.

Following a first-round bye, No. 4 seed H-K defeated No. 13 Granby Memorial 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-22) in the second round of the Class M bracket on Nov. 8. H-K then faced No. 5 Valley Regional in the quarterfinals on Nov. 10 in a rematch of the Shoreline final and earned a 3-1 victory behind scores of 30-32, 25-23, 25-22, and 25-21.

H-K (21-3) next faces top-seeded St. Joseph (21-1) in a Class M semifinal on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The winner moves on to the final against either No. 7 East Haven or No. 3 Seymour on Saturday, Nov. 18 at East Haven.

Boys’ Soccer

H-K won its first two games of the Class M State Tournament to reach the quarterfinals, where the Cougars lost to Lewis Mills last week.

The Cougars began the State Tournament as the No. 7 seed and blasted No. 26 Wolcott 8-0 in the first round on Nov. 6. H-K then defeated No. 23 Plainville 2-0 in the second round. In the quarterfinals on Nov. 10 against No. 2 Lewis Mills, the Cougars took a 2-0 loss to finish with a record of 15-3-3 for a season that saw them win a share of the Shoreline Conference Tournament title.

Field Hockey

H-K took a loss in the first round of the Class S State Tournament last week and concluded its campaign with a record of 5-7-3-2. The 13th-seeded Cougars traveled to No. 4 Stonington for a first-round matchup on Nov. 7 and dropped a 2-0 contest.

Football

The Cougars’ football squad scored a huge home win over rival Old Saybrook-Westbrook (OS-W) on Nov. 10 by defeating the Rams by the final score of 14-7. H-K improved to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Pequot League Sassacus Division with the victory, while the Rams dropped to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the division.

Jake Frith rushed 13 times for 91 yards with one touchdown, which stood as the game-winner, in the third quarter. H-K’s ball-control offense, combined with a defense that stymied OS-W’s running game, led the Cougars to the upset victory. H-K’s defense denied OS-W a rushing touchdown for the first time this season. James Murphy intercepted a pass on the Cougars’ 37-yard line with just more than three minutes remaining to stop the Rams’ comeback effort. Cody Ellex had H-K’s other score in the first quarter on a 1-yard TD run.

“Trey Callender was a game changer from his defensive tackle position, stuffing the run and making several tackles for a loss,” said Head Coach Mike Baklik. “This was a big win for us. To beat a playoff0caliber team like Old Saybrook-Westbrook is a credit to the hard work of our kids and the belief they have in themselves.”

Boys’ Cross Country

H-K competed as a team at New England Championship in Belfast, Maine on Nov. 11. The Cougars came in eighth place at the regional meet.

Andrew Meredith finished in 27th place with a time of 16:14 for the Cougars, whose other runners were Dan Schumann (45th, 16:29), Jonah Spector (58th, 16:35), Matt Jennings (94th, 16:53), Conor McCabe (140th, 17:17), Kurt Sodergren (172nd, 17:31), and Alex Inkel (195th, 17:43).

Girls’ Cross Country

The Cougars ran as a pack at last week’s New England Championship and finished in 13th place.

H-K’s racers at the meet were Kelsey D’Amico (54th, 19:20), Julianne Kelly (111th, 19:59), Grace Lindell (134th, 20:17.31), Lexie Bouthillier (135th, 20:17.68), Meara Bodak (142nd, 20:22), Emma Anziano (184th, 21:02), and Maggie Fisher (220th, 21:34).