After starting the year with four-straight losses, the North Haven football team bounced back to have a strong second half and that saw the squad finish off the 2021 season in the best way possible. In its final game of the year, North Haven claimed a 34-6 home win over Amity in a Thanksgiving Day matchup at Vanacore Field on Nov. 25.

North Haven dominated the ground game by rushing for 352 yards and five touchdowns in its victory versus Amity. Head Coach Anthony Sagnella’s squad scored 13 points in the first quarter and then added 21 points in the second to notch its 12th-straight win versus its Thanksgiving rival and finish the year with a record of 5-5.

“You look at our season and see that we started 0-4, and you think this might not be a good year, but our strength of schedule was what it was really all about. We played some very tough teams at the beginning of the season, and we were very inexperienced,” Coach Sagnella said. “We ended up winning five out of our last six contests and finished a game away from qualifying for the Class M State Tournament. There is nothing for these kids to be disappointed about. I’m very proud of the team.”

North Haven got on the board against Amity when junior Brian Lastomirsky ran for a 19-yard touchdown with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter. Senior Leo Kattis kicked the extra point to put the team up 7-0.

On North Haven’s next possession, junior Jeffrey Karavas broke off a 31-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds to play in the frame, giving his team a 13-0 lead after one.

“We controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for the most part,” said Sagnella. “We are a very run-heavy team. We don’t typically throw the ball more than five times a game, and one of our keys to success is our ability to keep the ball in our hands and control possession.”

North Haven continued rushing the ball with success during the second quarter, running for three touchdowns in the period to take a commanding advantage into halftime. First, senior Jake Langner scored on a 1-yard TD run to put North Haven up 19-0 with 9:07 left in the opening half. A few minutes later, Karavas ran for a 7-yard score to make it 25-0 with 6:49 remaining.

About a minute after that, senior captain Matthew Dodge busted loose for a 55-yard touchdown run with 5:45 to play before halftime. Kattis converted on the extra point attempt to increase North Haven’s lead to 34-0 at intermission.

Karavas carried the ball 19 times for 127 yards and two TDs for North Haven in the victory. He also competed a 38-yard pass to senior Matthew Cocco when the team was facing a 3rd-and-26. Karavas was named North Haven’s Offensive Player of the Game.

Dodge had 11 rushes for 136 yards and a touchdown, in addition to snagging an interception on defense, to help North Haven defeat Amity. Dodge was selected as the Defensive Player of the game for North Haven, which leads its all-time series with the Spartans 15-9-1.

“Matt was really a rock for us in this game and all season for that matter,” Coach Sagnella said of Dodge. “He’s the third of three brothers that has played here, and he can do it all for us, whether that be throwing, rushing, or passing. He’s also very talented defensively.”

Langer had six carries for 34 yards and a touchdown to aid North Haven’s rushing attack versus Amity. Senior Anthony Cavaliere ran five times for 28 yards, while Lastomirsky had three carries for 26 yards and a score.

North Haven didn’t score any points in the second half, but still controlled possession throughout the third and fourth quarters. Amity (5-5) scored its lone touchdown of the day on a 10-yard run with 6:43 to play in the game.

“The second half went really fast. We had two drives that chewed up pretty much an entire quarter, and one of their drives took up about three-quarters of a quarter,” said Sagnella. “We didn’t really need to throw the ball much in this game and we controlled the run game, but we’re definitely capable of passing.”

In addition to Dodge, fellow senior captain MJ DeVilliers had an interception for North Haven in the victory. Junior Daniel Thomas recorded a sack on defense. Junior Michael Masto had nine tackles, DeVilliers made eight tackles, and Lastomirsky, Cocco, and senior Stephen DiCristina contributed seven tackles apiece.

Coach Sagnella was impressed with how well DiCristina performed as a two-way lineman during his first season with the team. DiCristina made the All-SCC Tier 1 Team as an offensive lineman this year. Langner made it at linebacker, and Dodge earned All-SCC honors at the defensive back position.

“This was his first year playing real varsity football and getting solid playing time,” Sagnella said of DiCristina. “To see how much he grew over the course of these 10 games was incredible, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Dodge and Karavas were North Haven’s two leading rushers on the season. Dodge finished the year with 92 carries for 606 yards and four touchdowns, and Karavas ran the ball 100 times for 556 yards and six TDs.

Looking ahead to next year, North Haven is bringing back a strong core of players for the 2022 season. Coach Sagnella has high hopes about what North Haven can accomplish when his team returns to the field.

“I feel pretty good about our team heading into next season,” said Sagnella. “I think our strong suit is going to be both our offensive and defensive line. That’s a solid core of guys returning for us, and we’re going to have to rely on them in order to be an effective football team.”