Football

The North Branford football squad earned its first win of 2021 when the T-Birds defeated the CREC Co-op team in a home game last week. North Branford hosted CREC on Oct. 8 and rallied for a 26-21 victory at Colafati Field to improve to 1-2 on the year.

North Branford trailed CREC 14-0 at halftime, but scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to even the score at 14 heading into the fourth. The T-Birds went on to outscore CREC by a 12-7 margin in the final frame to walk off the field with the 26-21 victory, taking the lead for good when junior quarterback Mason Provencher rushed for an 18-yard touchdown.

Provencher went 12-for-17 with 159 passing yards and two touchdowns for North Branford in the win. He also ran the ball eight times for 61 yards and the game-winning score. Junior Eric Izzo had five receptions for 101 yards. Junior Ian Kamienski had six catches for 51 yards and two TDs and also ran in a 2-point conversion.

Junior Jace Kamienski carried the ball eight times for 57 yards for the T-Birds. Freshman Tommy Hansen had six rushes for 29 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, North Branford recorded 7.5 sacks as a team in the victory. Hansen had 2.5 sacks, sophomore Luke Blomster had two sacks, sophomore Lucian DePino recorded 1.5 sacks, junior Dom Langello had one sack, and junior Dradon Brindisi had 0.5 sacks.

Ian Kamienski and Hansen both forced a fumble, while Izzo had an interception for North Branford. Hansen made nine tackles on the night, including four for a loss of yards.

North Branford’s next game is a home contest against Cromwell-Portland at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16.

Field Hockey

The Thunderbirds’ field hockey team won all of its three games last week to improve its overall record to 8-1-2 in the 2021 fall season. North Branford defeated Westbrook-Old Lyme, Morgan and, Stonington in recent play.

North Branford opened up its week by netting a 4-0 home victory against Westbrook-Old Lyme on Oct. 4. Three days later, the T-Birds played a road game versus Morgan and triumphed by a 7-2 final. On Oct. 9, North Branford hosted Stonington and claimed a 1-0 victory for its eighth win of the year.

Girls’ Volleyball

The North Branford girls’ volleyball team moved to 4-9 on the year after taking three recent defeats.

North Branford dropped a 3-2 decision against East Hampton in a home match on Oct. 4. Then on Oct. 7, the T-Birds faced Haddam- Killingworth on the road and lost by a 3-0 score. The following day, North Branford took a 3-1 home loss versus Old Lyme.

Boys’ Soccer

The North Branford boys’ soccer team took three road losses last week to move to 0-9 on the season.

In its first game of the week, North Branford took a 7-0 defeat at Morgan on Oct. 5. The following day, the T-Birds faced East Haven on the road and lost the contest by the final score of 5-2. North Branford went on to take an 8-0 loss at Portland on Oct. 8.

Girls’ Soccer

The North Branford girls’ soccer squad lost three contests last week and is now 0-11 on the year.

On Oct. 4, North Branford took an 8-0 home loss to Morgan. Then on Oct. 7, the Thunderbirds hosted Portland and lost the game by a 5-0 score. Two days later, North Branford dropped a 5-0 decision versus Norwich Free Academy in a road game.