Volleyball Falls in State Tourney, Football Collects Big Win
Volleyball
North Branford volleyball traveled to Cromwell on Oct. 14 and won 3-1. Ella Chasanoff had 11 kills, while Adriana Hills had 14 digs, Samantha Melillo had 13, and Lauren Vitarisi had 11. Vitarisi had 15 assists, and Melillo had 12.
The team then traveled to Morgan on Oct. 16 and won 3-0. Olivia Cahill had 11 kills. Vitarisi had 13 digs, Hills had 12, Payton Depino had 11, and Melillo and Alexa Snedeker each had 10. Melillo recorded 19 assists.
On Oct. 21, the Thunderbirds traveled to West Haven and earned a 3-1 win. Cahill had 20 kills, Hills had 11 digs, and Melillo had 22 assists.
The Thunderbirds closed out the regular season on Oct. 22 vs. Branford and won 3-1. Cahill recorded 16 kills, and Vitarisi had 23 digs. Hills added 14 digs, while Melillo had 12. Melillo also had 12 assists.
North Branford hosted East Hampton in the Shoreline Conference Tournament on Oct. 24 and won 3-0. Cahill had 12 kills, and Depino had nine. Hills recorded 34 digs, Melllo had 24, Vitarisi had 20, and Depino had 12. Vitarisi had 19 assists, and Melillo had 13.
The Thunderbirds traveled to Valley Regional in the semifinals on Oct. 26 and fell 3-1.
North Branford entered the Class S State Tournament as the No. 14 seed. The team played host to No. 19 Derby in the first round on Nov. 4 and won 3-0.
In the second round on Nov. 6, North Branford traveled to No. 3 Lauralton Hall and took a 3-0 loss.
Cahill earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors this fall, and Hills earned a spot on the Second Team. Melillo was an Honorable Mention.
Football
North Branford football traveled to Valley Regional/Old Lyme on Oct. 18 and took a 38-32 loss. Aj Sigel led the team in yards with 251 and threw three touchdown passes, and Tommy Hansen ran in two scores. Hansen also hauled in a receiving touchdown, as did Dylan Yarnall and Michael Gualtieri.
On Oct. 25, the team hosted Capital Prep and fell 8-7. Sigel ran in a score for the Thunderbirds and had 199 total yards.
North Branford traveled to CREC Colts on Nov. 8 and earned a big 44-14 win. Currently, Sigel leads the team with 198.8 total yards per game. He also leads in passing yards per game with 124.3, and Hansen leads the club in rushing yards per game with 143.3. Greg Ferraro leads the team in receiving yards per game with 72.8, Landen Burns leads in tackles (8.0), and Hansen leads in sacks (0.5) and points (11.0).
Girls’ Soccer
North Branford’s Taylor Allan earned a spot on the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team this fall, and Haylee Rosado was an Honorable Mention.
Boys’ Soccer
Brock Sargent was named to the All-Shoreline Conference First Team for North Branford boys’ soccer, and Javier Jara was an Honorable Mention.