The Hand football squad got an early scare by quickly falling behind Masuk in the opening seconds of the title game of the Class L State Playoffs. However, as championship-caliber teams do, the Tigers shook off that setback and dominated the rest of the contest on their way to taking the state crown behind a 35-21 victory at Trumbull High School on Dec. 11. The victory marked the 12th state title in program history for Hand, which finished with a record of 12-1 in its first season with Head Coach Dave Mastroianni.

Masuk got on the board by returning an interception for a touchdown just 17 seconds into the game, but the resilient Tigers punched right back by scoring five consecutive touchdowns—three that came off turnovers forced by their defense—to take a 35-14 halftime command. Masuk scored one more TD in the game, but it wasn’t enough, and Hand came home to Madison with its first state title since 2012.

“Winning this is the best feeling ever. All the hard work of waking up early every day and Saturday mornings paid off. All the practices and all the lifting and hard work, I can’t express how much it means,” said Brian Casagrande, a senior tri-captain for the Tigers. “This team will keep doing this in the Coach Mastroianni era. I feel scared for other teams in the state in the future.”

Hand’s defense forced a pair fumbles and intercepted Masuk’s quarterback twice in the victory. Tigers’ sophomore quarterback Phoenix Billings ran 10 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and he also completed 14 passes for 180 yards with a pair TDs that went to seniors Matt Maxwell and Chris Iannuzzi. Junior Ian Butler had four catches for 81 yards, while senior Michael Tarantino had 60 yards on three receptions for a Tigers’ team that put a triumphant exclamation point on a turnaround campaign.

“This feels amazing after coming off of a 2-8 year last season. Our coaches and seniors deserve all the credit, and they changed the culture here,” said Billings. “We knew at the beginning of the season we were capable of doing this. No one else thought we could, but we did. After [Masuk’s opening touchdown], we calmed down and knew we could do a lot of things versus this team. We fought and grinded all night long. It’s awesome.”

On Billings’s first pass of the game, Masuk’s Michael Zuk intercepted a tipped ball and took it back 22 yards to the end zone to give the 5th-seeded Panthers (11-2) an early advantage, although that was the last time they would lead in the game. Hand started the ensuing possession at its own 30-yard line. Billings completed passes to Tarantino, Casagrande, and finally, Maxwell for a 6-yard TD reception. Sophomore Isaiah McNeilly kicked the extra point, and the game was tied 7-7 with 7:57 to play in the first quarter.

“For the second half of the year, I kept telling them to take it one play and possession at a time. One play doesn’t make or break a game, and the guys really bought into that,” Coach Mastroianni said. “We knew we could win, and I pulled them in after that interception and told them we would be fine.”

The 2nd-seeded Tigers began their next drive at midfield just one minute later, but turned the ball over on downs. On Masuk’s ensuing series, junior Macken McDonald sacked Panthers’ quarterback Matt Hersch to force a fumble on third down, after which senior Ryan Coady scooped it up and raced 25 yards for a score and a 14-7 Hand advantage with 1:42 left in the period. The turnover bug continued biting Masuk when senior Delvantae Hutton picked off Hersch just a minute later.

Just 15 seconds into the second quarter, Billings connected with Iannuzzi for a 21-yard touchdown strike to extend the Tigers’ lead to 21-7. Later in the frame, junior Tom Ferrick got in on the act by snagging an interception that put Hand on the brink of the Panthers’ red zone. On 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Billings used a second effort and the help of his offensive line to hurdle over the top and break the plane, making it 28-7 with four minutes left before intermission.

Hand still wasn’t done producing points before halftime. On the Tigers’ next drive, Billings found a opening and sprinted through it for a 55-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7 with 1:55 remaining in the half. Masuk’s offense finally got on the scoreboard by converting a 25-yard screen pass with 15 seconds left, but the Tigers still held a 21-point advantage at halftime. Hand’s defense prevented Masuk from even getting a first down until the Panthers’ final drive of the opening half.

The Tigers didn’t add any more TDs in the second half, but on the strength their stingy defense, they prevented any chance of a Masuk comeback. Casagrande recovered a Panthers’ fumble with 6:54 to play in the third and, a few minutes later, Hand thwarted a 4th-and-goal opportunity by the Panthers.

Masuk scored a touchdown to make it 35-21 in the waning moments of the game, but the Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick, got in victory formation, and then took a few knees to drain the clock and walk off the field with the Class L state plaque their grasp.

“Every day this year, you came in expecting to lay it all on the line. If you aren’t getting any better, then you’re getting worse,” Casagrande said. “We never took reps off, and I’m so proud of our underclassmen. Phoenix will be trouble for the rest of the state for years to come. We had a rough third quarter and weren’t playing focused. But in the fourth, we buckled down, and did what we needed to do. I’m so proud of our defense.”

Hand totaled 313 yards of offense and held Masuk to 254 yards. In the afterglow of the state championship, Coach Mastroianni praised the way the Tigers played on both sides of the ball as their opportunistic defense put the offense in prime position to find paydirt and spur a victory that added to the program’s legacy.

“As good as our defense was, [Masuk’s] offense has been so efficient all year, so I didn’t think we could get them to make that many mistakes,” Mastroianni said. “Our defense was opportunistic and kept winning the field position battles, and then our offense got short fields and hit home-run plays. Phoenix put the ball on the money to Tarantino a couple times. When we needed plays, guys made them, and that’s why we won.”

• The Hand football team’s 2017 Class L state champion roster is comprised of senior tri-captains Brian Casagrande, Connor Castaldo, and Kevin Hughes; fellow seniors Michael Tarantino, Chris Iannuzzi, Delvantae Hutton, Ryan Coady, Will Reiner, Matthew Maxwell, Steven Kao, Nick Woods, Tristen Dougherty, Luke Weber, Kyle Stolpe, and Joe Thomas; juniors James Vagell, Chris Bartosic, Tom Ferrick, Julian Banerji, Will Cosgriff, Kevin Girardi, Brian Flanagan, Brett Leckey, Jared Puricelli, Ian Butler, John Flanagan, Matthew Derken, Macken McDonald, and Ken Kaminsky; sophomores Isaiah McNeilly, Phoenix Billings, Joshua Dwyer, Jesse Lutz, Kade Doverspike, Shane Reiner, Austin Doyle, Trey Palumbo, Sean Scully, Drew Anderson, Lukas Wagner, Jack Hughes, Joe Sandora, Connor D’Aniello, Ben Corniello, Brandon Busca, Colin McCabe, Tyler Tarantino, Ethan Haberman, and Liam Regan; and freshman Tom Bambrick.

• Head Coach Dave Mastroianni is assisted by Mike Ciotti, Mike Davis, Dan Ives, Jack Callaghan, Don Giles, Paul Philpott, Tom Kleine, Rich Bello, and John Sagnelli.

• This marked Hand’s 18th state final appearance, and the Tigers are now 12-6 in those games. Previously, Hand defeated Windsor 23-6 in Class L in 2012, bested New Canaan 34-10 in 2011 for Class L, lost 34-30 in Class MM to New Canaan, defeated Hillhouse 34-0 in 2005’s Class M final, beat Brookfield 35-6 in Class M, defeated Ledyard 28-0 in 2003 for Class M, edged Staples 14-7 in 1997’s Class L tilt, lost to Foran 28-24 in the 1994 M final, lost 35-14 to New Canaan in 1993 for Class M, defeated Darien 34-28 in 1989 for Class MM, defeated Wilton 14-7 in 1984 for the M-I final, lost 14-12 to East Catholic in 1983 for the M-I clash, shut out East Hartford 28-0 in 1982 for the M-II final, lost to Killingly 14-7 in 1981 for the M-II final, lost 14-7 to Seymour in the 1980 M final, defeated Berlin 20-16 in 1977’s Class M final, and blanked St. Paul Catholic 29-0 for the 1976 Class M final.

• In the regular season, Hand finished 9-1 overall and went 5-0 in SCC Tier 2. The Tigers defeated Hillhouse (34-16), Hamden (28-7), Harding (37-6), Foran (40-7), Bunnell (34-6), Law (38-7), Cheshire (20-12), Cross (34-10), and Guilford (49-7). The Tigers’ lone loss came to Shelton, 21-19.

• For the Class L State Playoffs, Hand defeated No. 7 seed North Haven 35-13 in the quarterfinals on Nov. 28, and then routed No. 3 Windsor 31-6 for the semifinals on Dec. 3.