Printer Friendly Version - Warriors’ Football Stays Undefeated with a Shutout

Senior Jake Rand and the Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team notched a 28-0 victory at Capital-Achievement last week and are now sporting a record of 5-0 for the fall season. Photo by Kenneth Marangell/The Courier

Senior Audrey Board helped the Warriors win all three of their matches last week as Valley boosted its overall record to 10-7 this year. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

The Valley Regional-Old Lyme football team remained undefeated on the season after recording a shutout victory against a divisional opponent on the road last week. On Oct. 20, the Warriors claimed a 28-0 road win over Capital-Achievement in a Pequot Conference Sassacus Division contest to improve to 5-0 overall with a record of 4-0 in the division this year.

Senior Didi Jean-Pierre rushed for 2 touchdowns and also caught a TD pass to help VR-OL earn its fifth win and second shutout of the campaign. On defense, Jean-Pierre, senior Nick Cox, and senior Andrew Yermenson each had an interception to lead a Warriors’ unit that forced 6 turnovers in the contest.

Following a scoreless first quarter, junior Grady Lacourciere threw a 14-touchdown pass to Jean-Pierre to put VR-OL on the board in the second quarter. Senior Jake Rand kicked the extra point to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead that held up at halftime.

Jean-Pierre ran a for a 15-yard touchdown for the Warriors in the third quarter. Rand hit the extra point to increase the team’s lead to 14-0 entering the fourth.

VR-OL finished off the victory by scoring a pair of touchdowns during the final frame. Rand scored on a 17-yard TD run and then hit the PAT to put the Warriors up 21-0. Later in the period, Jean-Pierre broke off a 12-yard touchdown rush for his third score of the game. Rand’s fourth extra point of the night put a cap on a 28-0 victory for VR-OL.

Jean-Pierre rushed the ball 8 times for 79 yards and a touchdown to go with 2 catches for 28 yards and a score. He also completed 3 passes for 77 yards to go with an interception and 4 tackles on defense.

Lacourciere went 7-of-10 passing for 83 yards and a TD in the victory. Rand had 8 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown, along with 4 receptions for 81 yards. Rand also made 5 tackles on defense and went 4-for-4 on extra points.

Cox ran 3 times for 28 yards and also had 4 receptions for 44 yards. On defense, Cox made 8 tackles and grabbed an interception in the win.

Yermenson had 2 catches for 41 yards for VR-OL. Yermenson also snagged an interception on defense for Head Coach Hill Gbunblee’s club.

The Warriors are playing a marquee matchup against Pequot Conference Sassacus Division opponent Cromwell-Portland on Friday, Oct. 28. Like VR-OL, the Panthers come into the contest with an overall record of 5-0 and a mark of 4-0 in the division. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Pierson Park in Cromwell.

The Valley Regional girls’ volleyball team improved its record to 10-7 this season after claiming victory in all three of its matchups last week. The Warriors earned wins versus Haddam-Killingworth, Old Lyme, and North Branford to make for a perfect week on the court.

Valley kicked off last week by posting a 3-2 home win over Haddam-Killingworth on Senior Night on Oct. 17. The Warriors edged out the Cougars by the final tally of 24-26, 25-21, 25-16, 15-25, 15-10 in the match.

Senior captain Audrey Board recorded 12 kills to go with 4 solos blocks for Valley in the victory. Senior captain Sophie Scrivo had 22 assists with 10 digs and 3 kills, senior captain Kaia Karcich posted 24 digs with 5 aces, and fellow senior Brooke Rankin finished the match with 6 kills, 3 digs, and 3 aces. The other seniors on the team who were honored on Senior Night are Raquel Farray, Addison Keyworth, Lily Frese, and Riley Burch.

The next day, Valley recorded a 3-0 shutout against Old Lyme in a road match. The Warriors swept the Wildcats in three sets with scores of 28-26, 25-19, 25-10.

Karcich tallied 19 digs and 4 aces, while Board had 4 kills with 2 blocks for the Warriors. Junior Natalie Novak punched up 6 digs and also served up 4 aces in the victory.

Valley Regional finished off last week by posting a 3-0 win over North Branford at home Oct. 21. Valley swept the match behind set scores of 25-20, 25-21, 25-9.

Scrivo dished out 11 assists to go with 5 digs and 3 aces for Valley. Junior Joanna Petrone finished with 15 digs and 3 aces in the win. Board posted 6 kills and 3 blocks for Head Coach Sofia Cullina’s team.

Valley is hosting Innovation for a match on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. The Warriors will then face East Lyme on the road at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.

The Valley Regional field hockey team hosted a pair of games on its home field last week and came away from the slate with a win and a tie. The Warriors earned a win versus Somers-Rockville and then played New Fairfield to a draw in recent action, putting the team’s record at 7-4-3 this year.

On Oct. 21, Valley hosted the Somers-Rockville co-op squad and notched a 4-0 victory in the contest. Junior Clara Shea scored 2 goals and had 1 assist for the Warriors in the win. Freshman Bella Rice had 1 goal with 1 assist, while senior Mykenzie Parker also scored a goal. Senior Fallyn Belisle made 1 save in net for the shutout.

The following day, the Warriors played a home game against New Fairfield and battled the Rebels to a 0-0 tie at Valley Regional High School. Belisle earned another shutout by making 3 saves in the game.

Valley has two games remaining on its regular-season schedule this year. The Warriors are playing a road game versus Somers-Rockville on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m. and will then be back on the road to face Granby on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon.

Junior Zackary Scott earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors when he represented the Valley Regional boys’ cross country team at last week’s Shoreline Conference Championship meet. The Warriors finished in ninth place as a team after scoring 224 points in the Shoreline meet at Hammonasset State Park in Madison on Oct. 20.

Scott finished in 24th place for Valley at the Shoreline Conference Championship. Scott crossed the finish line with a time of 18:16.1 on his way to making the All-Shoreline Conference Team.

Senior Quentin Baron was next in line for the Warriors at Shorelines. Baron came in 35th place by running a time of 18:50.3 for the 5K race.

Junior Avi Siegel finished in 52nd place (19:58.1), while fellow junior Elliot Stack took 55th place (20:08.0) for Valley Regional. Senior Jeremiah LaMark finished in 61st place (20:34.3), junior Aidan Babek claimed 64th place (21:06.6), and sophomore Lyle Pitman finished in 65th place (21:07.8) on behalf of the Warriors.

The Warriors will be taking part in the Class SS State Championship meet at Wickham Park on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1:30 p.m.

The Valley Regional girls’ cross country team competed in the Shoreline Conference Championship that was hosted at Hammonasset State Park on Oct. 20. The Warriors scored 233 points as a squad and finished in ninth place at last week’s conference meet.

Sophomore Campbell Massey led the Valley pack by taking 42nd place at Shorelines. Massey crossed the finish line with a time of 23:37.6 on her way to finishing 42nd on behalf of Valley Regional.

Senior Bailey Hilliar came in 50th place (23:37.6) for the Warriors at the Shoreline meet. Freshman Sonya Xaypanya finished in 52nd place (25:12.7), senior Emily Mezick claimed 53rd place (25:54.1), and junior Morgan Toth finished in 57th (27:07.0) for Valley.

Valley is competing in the Class SS State Championship at Wickham Park this weekend. The state meet takes place at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The Valley Regional boys’ soccer team took two recent defeats to move to 4-10-1 on the season. The Warriors lost contests against Morgan and Cromwell last week.

In its first game of the week, Valley took a 3-1 road loss to Morgan on Oct. 17. Senior Jake McKenna scored the Warriors’ lone goal of the game. Sophomore Kenny Batt and sophomore Cameron Costanzo combined to make 9 saves in net for Valley Regional.

Then on Oct. 20, the Warriors hosted Cromwell and took a 4-2 defeat against the Panthers at Valley Regional High School. Senior Michael Kollmer scored 2 goals for Valley in the contest. McKenna and sophomore Joe Welch both had 1 assist. Batt and Costanzo combined for 8 saves in goal for Head Coach Mick Fearon’s squad.

Valley is hosting Cromwell for its regular-season finale on Senior Night on Thursday, Oct. 27. The game gets underway at 6 p.m. at Valley Regional High School.

The Valley Regional girls’ soccer team took three defeats last week and is now 5-4-5 on the season. The Warriors took losses against Morgan, Cromwell, and Ledyard in recent action.

On Oct. 18, Valley took a 3-0 defeat to Morgan in a home game. Two days later, the Warriors were on the road to face Cromwell and lost to the Panthers by a 3-0 score. The Warriors then hosted Ledyard on Oct. 22 and dropped a 3-2 decision to the Colonels at Valley Regional High School.

Valley will conclude regular-season play with road games versus Westbrook and East Lyme this week.

The Old Lyme-Valley Regional-Old Saybrook (OL-VR-OS) co-op girls’ swimming and diving team competed against Fitch-Stonington-Wheeler-New London in a road meet last week. The Wildcats took an 83-71 loss in the contest that was held on the campus of UConn on Oct. 18.

OL-VR-OS has a road meet versus Suffield at Windsor Locks High School in its regular-season finale on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m.