Football

The Haddam-Killingworth football team hosted Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton (C/H-R/EH) for a divisional game on Oct. 28. The Cougars posted a 56-6 win over the Blue Devils at H-K High School to improve their overall record to 4-2 with a mark of 3-2 in the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division this year. C/H-R/EH moved to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the division with the loss.

Senior Orion Inkel scored 4 rushing touchdowns, and fellow senior Tate Callender added a pair of TDs to help H-K earn its third-straight win with a convincing victory versus the Coginchaug co-op squad. Sophomore Joe Slane scored for the Cougars a 24-yard interception return in the rout. H-K took control of the game by scoring four touchdowns during the second quarter to take a 43-6 lead into the locker room at halftime en route to the team’s fourth win of the year.

Inkel put H-K on the board by running for a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Junior Wyatt Solosky kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. Inkel later scored on a 12-yard touchdown run and, following Solosky’s extra point, the Cougars had a 14-0 advantage. The Blue Devils returned the ensuing kickoff for a 78-yard touchdown to the cut the deficit to 14-6 after the opening period.

H-K recorded the first of its four scores in the second quarter when Inkel broke off a 44-yard TD rush. Solosky hit the extra point for a 21-6 lead. Later in the frame, senior quarterback Alex Phipps connected with Callender for a 15-yard touchdown pass for the Cougars. Callender then ran in the 2-point conversion to increase H-K’s lead to 29-6.

Callender scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and then Solosky followed with the PAT to make it 36-6. H-K reached the end zone for the fourth time in the quarter when Inkel ran for a 1-yard touchdown. Solosky booted another extra point through the uprights for a 43-6 Cougars’ command at intermission.

In the third quarter, Slane intercepted the Blue Devils’ quarterback and took it back to the house for a 24-yard pick-6. Solosky’s extra point gave H-K a 50-6 lead through three.

Sophomore Gunnar Howes rushed for a 57-yard touchdown for the Cougars in the fourth quarter. Howes’s TD accounted for the only points of the final period as H-K walked off the field with the 56-6 victory.

The Cougars are currently in the No. 8 spot for the Class S Playoff rankings in which the top eight squads qualify. H-K will be on the road to face the Sport & Medical Sciences co-op team, which has a record of 7-0, for its next game at Rockville High School on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m.

After that, the Cougars are hosting Coventry-Windham Tech-Bolton-Lyman on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a home game versus Capital-Achievement at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. H-K will then host Valley Regional-Old Lyme in the annual battle for the Principal’s Cup on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Girls’ Volleyball

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ volleyball played three matches to wrap up the regular season last week and claimed victory in all three of those contests to finish with an overall record of 13-7. The Cougars posted wins over Morgan and Ellington before defeating Hand during the past week of action.

H-K began last week by earning a 3-2 win versus Morgan in a home match on Oct. 24. Then on Oct. 26, the Cougars were on the road to face non-conference opponent Ellington and won the contest by a 3-1 score. The day after that, H-K traveled to Madison to face Hand for another non-conference match and claimed a 3-1 victory versus the Tigers.

Two-time defending champion H-K is the No. 5 seed in the Shoreline Conference Tournament and will be playing at No. 4 seed Valley Regional in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m. With a win, the Cougars would play at top-seeded Hale-Ray in the semis on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. The Shoreline final takes place on Saturday, Nov. 5. Following Shorelines, the Cougars will open play in the Class S State Tournament.

Girls’ Soccer

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ soccer team completed its regular season by playing a road game against Rockville and a home game versus Cromwell during the final week of play. The Cougars earned a win over Rockville and then defeated Cromwell to finish with an overall record of 8-5-2 for the regular season this year.

In its first game of the week, H-K claimed a 2-1 road victory versus Rockville in a non-conference game on Oct. 24. Then on Oct. 28, the Cougars hosted Cromwell and edged out the Panthers by a 1-0 score in their final contest of the regular season.

H-K is participating in the Class M State Tournament that begins on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Boys’ Soccer

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ soccer team played a pair of home games to conclude the 2022 regular season last week. The Cougars came away with split of the set after taking a loss to East Hampton and then earning a win versus Platt to finish with an overall record of 7-7-1 for regular-season play this year.

On Oct. 27, H-K hosted East Hampton and took a 5-1 defeat to the Bellringers. The following day, the Cougars were back home to face Platt for their regular-season finale and notched a 4-0 shutout in the contest.

H-K will be competing in the Class M State Tournament that gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Field Hockey

The Haddam-Killingworth field hockey team took two defeats in a pair of recent home games to move to 5-8-1-1 with one contest remaining in its regular season. The Cougars took a loss to Old Saybrook before dropping a contest to Canton in last week’s matchups.

H-K played a home game against Old Saybrook on Oct. 27 and lost to the Rams by a 1-0 score. The next day, the Cougars hosted Canton and took a 4-0 loss in the matchup at H-K High School.

H-K will close out its regular season by facing Wamogo in a home game this week.