Printer Friendly Version - East Haven Football Geared on Improving Upon Past Marks

After amassing over 600 yards as a ground gainer for the East Haven football team, junior running back Rocco D’Amato will look to figure prominently into the Yellowjackets’ offensive gameplan this fall. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

Junior Dante Rodriguez is back lining up in the slot for the Yellowjackets’ football squad this fall after hauling in a dozen touchdown catches a year ago. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

The East Haven football team is only a few weeks into the grind that is a high school campaign under the Friday Night lights of the fall season, though the foundation to forge winds of change in a utmost positive direction are already in place.

East Haven returns to the gridiron this year looking to bounce back and improve upon a 2-8 campaign in 2022. Naturally, East Haven headed into the 2023 campaign with the objective to top its win total from a year ago, and the Yellowjackets have gotten out to an 1-1 start for the thus small sample size of the season, most recently defeating Bassick 35-0 on Sept. 15. But additionally, Head Coach Scott Benoit denoted that in the process of setting sights on the win-loss goals, they also want athletes that continuously produce triumphs in the classroom and community.

“Our goals this year are to improve our win-loss record and compete for a division [tier] title,” said Benoit. “An off-the-field goal is to continue our outstanding academic performance. The 2022 season was the best academic performance [by the team] in my five years.”

The captains for the Yellowjackets this fall are a three-headed front of senior Rich Ackom-Brew, who will carry the ball out of the backfield as a running back offensively while being a linebacker on defense; two-way lineman of Antonio Consiglio at center and defensive line; along with signal caller and historic captain from Benoit’s standpoint in junior Alex Dombrowski (also in the secondary on defense at defensive back).

“Rich Ackom-Brew is an outstanding leader on and off the field, and he is a scholar athlete,” said Benoit. “Antonio Consiglio is a three-year starter who leads by example. Alex Dombrowski is my first junior captain. He is also a three-year starter who has been converted from running back. He is a vocal leader and the hardest working player on the team.”

Dombrowski is just the tip of the iceberg of a talented and promising junior class. Nick Bilides, fresh off an over-700-yard campaign rushing, returns as a three-year starter and running back/defensive back. Another junior running back and defensive back is Rocco D’Amato, who went over 600 yards on the ground in 2022 and made the Levi Jackson Team last year. In the wide receiver room, East Haven boasts Dante Rodriguez (3 year-starting veteran, 12 receiving TDs last fall as a Levi Jackson Team honoree), plus defensive lineman Chase Horton, who is back for his second year as starter, and Joe Allen (3-year starter) in the linebacking core.

For the underclassmen ranks, sophomore sparks look to come from wideout/defensive back Trew Kitson, running back/linebacker Josh Hutchinson, and dual-line threat Will Mensah. Rookie and freshman Jayden Concepcion will play both sides of the ball at tailback and linebacker.

In terms of contests this fall, Benoit knows the importance of the limited amount of matchups with a pigskin slate, as he stated “all of them” are key games. East Haven is competing this fall in Tier 3 of the Southern Connecticut Conference, with the likes of Bassick, Foran, Guilford, Harding, Hillhouse, and Lyman Hall. Coach Benoit knows that if the young men stay alert, focused, and have an upbeat mentality towards the task at hand, then things will all come together quite nicely in the end.

“We have a young, but very experienced team,” Benoit said. “We just need to stay the course and improve on a daily basis.”

Benoit, who is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Yellowjackets’ program, has an assistant coaching corps comprised of Chris Cuomo (on staff for 5 years), Elliott Hastings (5 years), Rusty Dunne (3-year veteran), Anthony Perrotti (another 3-year staple of the staff), plus two-year members Niam Coward and Reinaldo Martinez.

The 2023 East Haven football team roster is comprised of seniors Sergio Ramirez, Ackom-Brew, Cameron Green, Consiglio, Michael Lawson, Cole Soto; juniors with Bilides, Antwon Oliver, Eric Rentas, D’Amato, Dombrowski, Aiden Loehmann, Nicholas Johnson, Rodriguez, Mark Chabla, Daniel Lares, Matteo Martinez, Zander Molster, Davione Davis, Richard Jones, Horton, Dareon Streater, Joe Allen; sophomores Hutchinson, Kitson, Aiden Esposito, Kevin Clancy, Aedan Webster, Mensah, Domenico D’Ambrosio, Blake Charboneau, Sokayden Dos; and freshmen with Tyler DeMartino, Michael Aceto, Concepcion, Khari Francis, Jaden White, Bryan D’Auria, Santino Maturo, David Sanchez, Oliver Olszewski, Chase Bussert, Takai Cokely, Talon Crisco, Michael Dattilo, and Arlen Reveron.