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11/07/2022 12:44 PMFootball
The North Haven football team hosted Hand for an Southern Connecticut Conference Tier 1 matchup under the Friday night lights on Nov. 4. The Nighthawks notched a 35-14 victory versus the Tigers at North Haven Middle School to improve their overall record to 7-1 to go along with a mark of 4-1 in the division this year. Hand moved to 2-6 overall and is now 1-5 in SCC Tier 1 action with the loss.
After Hand scored the first touchdown of the game, North Haven came back to score five-straight TDs for a 35-7 advantage through three quarters. The win marked the sixth-consecutive victory for the Nighthawks.
Senior quarterback Jeffrey Karavas had another big game for North Haven by rushing the ball 21 times for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns in the victory. Junior Adam Pandolfi had a fine night in his own right with 9 carries for 136 yards and 2 TDs. Pandolfi also completed a 36-yard pass to senior Daniel Thomas, who also had 6 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown for the Nighthawks.
North Haven snagged 3 interceptions on defense in the win. Junior Ryan Bernardo, junior Jake McCreven, and Pandolfi all picked off a pass for the Nighthawks, and Pandolfi also had a pair of pass deflections.
Junior Nick Harkins made 18 tackles for North Haven in the game. Senior Brian Lastomirsky had 14 tackles, junior Brendan Ryan had 13 tackles, senior Jayden Roby and senior Chayse Mangino made 12 tackles apiece, and Bernardo had 11 tackles.
Pandolfi had 9 tackles for the Nighthawks on the night. Senior Trysten Dos and senior Michael Masto each had 8 tackles, while junior Connor Rapuano finished the game with 6 tackles. Senior Declan Finkle went 5-for-5 on his extra point attempts.
Hand recorded the first score of the game on a 75-yard touchdown rush just 59 seconds into the game for a quick 7-0 lead. North Haven got on the board shortly thereafter when Karavas ran for a 35-yard touchdown with 4:35 to play in the first quarter. Finkle kicked the extra point to tie the score at 7-7.
North Haven started to take control of the game by 2 touchdowns during the second quarter. First, Pandolfi broke loose for a 47-yard TD run with 5:13 remaining in the opening half. Finkle’s extra point gave the Nighthawks a 14-7 lead.
Less than 2 minutes later, Thomas rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to put North Haven up by multiple scores with 3:32 to go in the half. Finkle hit the PAT for a 21-7 Nighthawks’ advantage at intermission.
North Haven put the game away with a pair of scores in the third quarter. Pandolfi found the end zone for the second time on the night by running for 56-yard touchdown with 9:03 to play in the period. Finkle made the kick to make it 28-7.
Then with 2:52 remaining, Karavas scored on a 6-yard touchdown rush for his second TD in the game. Finkle followed with his fifth extra point of the contest to give North Haven a 35-7 lead heading in to the fourth quarter.
Hand scored on a 3-yard touchdown run just 7 seconds into the final frame to make it 35-14. However, the was the last score that Nighthawks allowed as Head Coach Anthony Sagnella’s squad walk off the field with its sixth-consecutive victory.
North Haven is currently in the No. 3 spot for the Class M State Playoff rankings in which the top eight teams qualify. The Nighthawks’ next game is a road tilt versus divisional opponent Fairfield Prep. The contest, which will decide the SCC Tier 1 title, takes place at Rafferty Stadi-um on the campus of Fairfield University on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Fairfield Prep comes into the game with an overall record of 5-3 and has a record of 5-0 in SCC Tier 1 this year.
After facing Fairfield Prep, North Haven will finish its regular season by playing its annual Thanksgiving week matchup versus Amity. The game will be hosted at Amity High School on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving
The North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team hit the water to compete in the SCC Championship last week. The Nighthawks finished in eighth place by posting a team score of 479 points when the SCC meet was hosted at Southern Connecticut State University on Nov. 4.
Senior Mikayla Rapuano claimed third place for North Haven in the 200 individual medley at the SCC Championship. Rapuano swam a time of 2:13.03 on her way to finishing in third for the 200 IM. Rapuano also finished seventh in the 100 backstroke after recording a time of 1:02.49 in the event.
Senior Alice Scalmani took fourth place in the 200 IM for the Nighthawks in SCCs. Scalmani hit the finish line with a time of 2:13.37 en route to her fourth-place performance. Scalmani also finished fifth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:25.89.
North Haven’s 200 medley relay of senior Makenzie Alogna, Scalmani, Rapuano, and sophomore Giada Garofalo finished in sixth place with a time of 1:57.69 at the SCC Championship. The Nighthawks’ 400 freestyle relay featuring Rapuano, junior Madisen Karavas, Alogna, and Scalmani came in eighth place by posting a time of 3:59.10. North Haven’s 200 freestyle relay featuring sophomore Amelia Bautz, Garofalo, Karavas, and senior Tara Stoeffler finished with a time of 1:53.42 to take 12th place.
Stoeffler also finished 17th in the 500 freestyle (5:58.13) and 26th in the 200 freestyle (2:12.60) for North Haven at SCCs. Karavas took 21st place in the 200 freestyle (2:10.01) and also finished 22nd in the 100 butterfly (1:10.23)
Garofalo swam her way to a 22nd-place finish in the 500 freestyle (28.11) to go with a 26thplace showing in the 100 freestyle (1:02.32) for the Nighthawks. Freshman Julia Scalmani finished in 24th place for the 200 IM (2:33.43) and also finished 26th in the 10 breaststroke (1:22.78).
Alogna placed 25th in the 100 backstroke (1:09.04) and finished 30th in the 100 freestyle (1:02.58) at the conference meet. Senior Victoria Pachnik finished in 27th place for the 100 freestyle (6:13.64) for North Haven.
A few days prior to the swimming portion of the SCC meet, the Nighthawks sent two divers to compete in the SCC Diving Championship at Sheehan High School on Oct. 29. Junior Meghan DeRubeis finished in ninth place by totaling a score of 331.30 points in the SCC diving competition. Sophomore Daniella Rapuano finished 11th place with a score of 324.15.
North Haven is competing in the Class M State Championship meet this week. The Class M Diving Championship will be held at Middletown High School on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. The Class M Swimming Trials are on Friday, Nov. 11 at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) at 6 p.m.. The Class M Swimming Championship will be hosted at SCSU on Mon-day, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.
Girls’ Volleyball
The North Haven girls’ volleyball team will enter phase two of the playoffs when the Nighthawks open play in the Class L State Tournament this week.
North Haven, which has an overall record of 12-8 on the year, is the No. 10 seed in the state tourney and will host No. 23 E.O. Smith in the first round on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. If the Nighthawks win that match, they will play the winner of No. 7 seed Bristol Central and No. 26 Ledyard in a second-round contest on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m.
The Class L state quarterfinals are on Saturday Nov. 12. The semifinals are on Wednesday, Nov. 16; and the Class L state final will take place on Saturday, Nov. 19 at East Haven High School.
Girls’ Soccer
The North Haven girls’ soccer team is competing in the Class L State Tournament this week.
The 25th-seeded Nighthawks, who have an overall record of 7-9, will be on the road to face No. 8 seed Branford in the first round of the Class L bracket on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. With a win, North Haven would face the winner of No. 9 seed Bethel and No. 24 New Milford in the second round on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
The Class L state quarterfinals take place on Saturday, Nov. 12. The semis are being held from Tuesday, Nov. 15 from Thursday, Nov. 17; and the Class L state final will be hosted at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford on either Saturday, Nov. 19 or Sunday, Nov. 20.