Football

The Hand football team stayed unblemished on the year and ran its record to 7-0 by dismantling Law last week. The Tigers hosted Law at the Surf Club on Oct. 26 and recorded a 68-0 shutout victory versus the Lawmen.

Phoenix Billings completed 11 of his 15 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to rushing for another score in the rout. Colin McCabe led the ground assault with 108 yards and a trio of TDs on 13 carries for Hand. Brett Leckey (7 carries, 45 yards) and Jesse Lutz (9 attempts, 59 yards) also ran for touchdowns. Ethan Haberman had five receptions for 103 yards and a TD, while Ian Butler caught three passes for 95 yards for the Tigers.

Billings started the night with a 43-yard TD toss to Will Cosgriff that was followed by 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Isaiah McNeilly then struck on defense by returning an interception return for a score, after which Hand made good on another 2-point conversion to bring it to 16-0. After Hand blocked a punt by Law (4-3), Billings found Haberman on a 15-yard TD pass to push the home team’s lead to 24-0. Billings then scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to make it 32-0 with 2:08 remaining in the opening quarter.

With 8:37 to play before halftime, McCabe raced in from nine yards out to give Hand a 40-0 advantage. Lutz later took in a 3-yard TD run that was followed by a 13-yard scoring scamper from McCabe for a 54-0 lead at the break.

Following a 25-yard TD dash by McCabe during the third quarter, the Tigers added another score on a 5-yard touchdown run from Leckey later in the second half to coast to win No. 7 on the year. On defense, the Tigers recorded eight sacks and allowed Law to gain just 79 yards of offense on the night.

Hand is now ranked first in the Class L State Playoff Rankings. The Tigers will travel to SCC Tier 1 school Cheshire (2-5) for a game on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.

Field Hockey

Hand began the SCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed last week and earned a victory in the quarterfinal round.

The Tigers hosted No. 6 seed Hamden in the SCC quarters on Oct. 26 and came away with a 3-0 triumph. Jacqui Sandor scored a pair of goals, while Jacqueline McKeown also scored a goal for Hand. Erickson Richard, Kennedy Richard, Sandor, and Grace Hartmann all had assists in the victory. Karen Newton made four saves in net as Hand outshot Hamden 10-4.

Hand (11-4-2) next travels to No. 2 Guilford (14-2-1) for an SCC semifinal game on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the final against either No. 1 Cheshire (17-0) or No. 4 Branford (9-5-2) on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Guilford at 3 p.m.

Girls’ Soccer

The Tigers finished their regular season with a victory, before taking a defeat in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals last week.

Hand earned a 4-0 win versus Amity on Oct. 22 to finish the regular season with a mark of 9-3-4. As the No. 6 seed in the SCC Tournament, the Tigers took a 2-1 loss against 3rd-seeded Amity in the quarterfinals on Oct. 26.

Next up for Hand (9-4-4) is the Class L State Tournament that gets underway on Monday, Nov. 5.

Girls’ Volleyball

Hand split its last two matches of the regular season and then dropped a decision in the first round of the SCC Tournament last week.

The Tigers lost by a 3-2 final against Foran on Oct. 22. Hand finished the regular season at an even 10-10 after recording a 3-2 victory over Ledyard on Oct. 24.

As the 13th seed in the SCC Tournament, the Tigers traveled to No. 4 seed Guilford and took a 3-0 loss (25-27, 15-25, 23-25) in the first round on Oct. 26.

Next up for Hand (10-11) is the Class L State Tournament, which begins on Monday, Nov. 5.

Girls’ Cross Country

The Tigers came in fifth place at the Class MM State Championship that took place on Oct. 26 at Wickham Park.

Anna Steffen finished in 12th place by running a time of 20:42 for Hand. Also competing for the Tigers at the state meet were Madison Rotermund (27th, 21:25), Jade Law (39th, 21:55), Keelin Virgulto (45th, 22:07), Sarah Caso (48th, 22:19), Anna Son (55th, 22:35), and Chloe Veth (78th, 23:32).

Boys’ Cross Country

Hand finished in 11th place as a team at the Class L State Championship that was held on at Wickham Park on Oct. 26.

The Tigers’ runners at the meet were Dante Zucconi, who finished in 40th place with a time of 17:55; along with Connor Parthasarthy (45th, 18:02), Carson Hines (50th, 18:09), Lukas Kraemer (58th, 18:17), Jack Scherban (86th, 19:03), Joseph Genther (94th, 19:14), and Sam Hauser (112nd, 19:42).

Girls’ Swimming and Diving

The Tigers wrapped up their regular season with a meet against Lauralton Hall last week. Hand took a 102-82 loss to the Crusaders on Oct. 23 to finish the regular season with a record of 6-4.