Printer Friendly Version - Branford Football Spoils East Haven’s Playoff Hopes with Thanksgiving Rivalry Win

Akiel Lomotey, a Harvard football commit, was a senior captain for the Branford football team this fall as a running back and capped off his career with a two-touchdown performance in a 19-0 win over East Haven on Nov. 28. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Sound

The Branford football team may not have had the best regular season it envisioned when it broke camp over the summer. Yet the conclusion of it was the absolute sweetest on Thanksgiving Day, when the Hornets not only shut out their holiday rival at home, but shut the door on any postseason aspirations they may have had.

The Hornets hosted East Haven on Thanksgiving morning in the annual Beehive Bowl, and it was Branford who blanked the Yellowjackets and came away with a 19-0 decision. Senior Akiel Lomotey led the offensive attack for the Hornets. He totaled 213 yards on the ground while scoring a tandem of touchdowns. With the win, the Hornets also foiled their rival Yellowjackets’ playoff hopes and finished the year on a winning note with a 3-7 mark.

“It was a rough season, so the biggest motivator was for the seniors to get a win on Thanksgiving and give them a great way to finish their careers. There was also motivation for the kids who will be returning to get them a win and start things in the right direction for next year,” said Head Coach John Limone. “Everyone was motivated to put together a full, complete game. The win was huge for us on so many levels.”

The contest remained scoreless until 10:20 remained in the first quarter, when sophomore Chris McKittrick ran the ball into the end zone from a yard out to give Branford a 6-0 edge. The Hornets held firm with that lead until 4:51 before intermission, when Lomotey reeled in a 16-yard touchdown toss from McKittrick to give his team a 12-0 lead at halftime. Lomotey then struck for his second score of the day to cap the shutout for Branford.

“Getting Akiel back after he was rehabbing his knee was a huge boost,” said Limone of Lomotey. “He was excited to be back, and he gave the guys a big boost. Everyone enjoyed the moment with this game. They were loose, and we had some good practices leading up to the game. It was a terrible weather day, and it narrowed what would happen during the game. On defense, we stopped the run, and then on offense, we got a couple first downs and transferred the pressure onto them.”

The Hornets have now throttled their rival Yellowjackets by a combined score of 68-7 following a 49-7 rout in the 2023 meeting between the two sides. Branford has now also upended the Yellowjackets’ postseason hopes three of the last six seasons.

The team’s youth movement and subsequent small senior class was anchored by a trio of captains. First up was Lomotey, who concluded a tenure as a three-year starter and running back while doubling as a defensive back. He has committed to playing at Harvard upon graduation. Ryan Morales stood as a focal point up front as a lineman, while Scott Penner saw time as the quarterback behind center after starting five games at that slot in 2023.

“It was hard this year because we were such a young-player heavy team,” said Limone. “It was hard for that senior group, so they had to find their footing. Akiel had been that galvanizing figure, but then he got hurt, and it also took time for them to find their voice. The junior class also stepped up as well. We started to improve through the year, and it coincided with them getting more experience. Even if our win-loss record did not show it, it all paid off in the end. We were competitive against both Foran and West Haven at times, and we had flashes throughout the year with a lot of positivity.”

While the Hornets took their lumps in going through the growing pains, they are now on the better side of that metamorphosis for the program. The juniors took full advantage of the opportunity to defiance their character as a class seemingly a year ahead of schedule. An added benefactor for the Hornets looking towards 2025 is the fact that each grade of the underclass had varsity representation to help Branford boast more toughness and confidence.

“Our junior class took a huge step forward this year. They figured out they had to be part of the group that we always say drives the bus,” said Limone. “We also had some sophomores and even freshmen that logged varsity time. We lacked experience coming into the year, but it won’t be an issue moving forward. A lot of the guys coming back will now have at least 10 games of starting experience, and some having even more than that. We had a lot of guys progress this year, and that will be huge for us next year.”

Limone’s coaching staff was comprised of assistant coaches in Kyle Lynch, Mike Tracy, Jason Joseph, Padraic Keefe, and Mike Beckquist.

The 2024 Branford football roster was comprised of seniors Carter Anderson, Justyn Velasquez, Jaeden Konesky, Penner, Josh Brauer, Morales, Lomotey; juniors Khari Barnette, Justin Cast, Luke Torre, Jacob Kopczuk, Grayson Mills, Alex LeBlanc, Chris Aschettino, Shiloh Williams, Trent Tracy, Malachi Sessions, Ryan Booth, Jason Talalas, Samarvir Pamma, Ryan Teneyck, Mike Millici, Caden Dombrowski, Frank Zweeres, Connor Fiengo; sophomores Rahmell Fairclough, Michael Barretta, Michael Bouton, Wyatt Cavallaro, Aiden Dupre, McKittrick, Logan Cristaldi, Tide Hawley, Luke Gagliardi, Noah Morales, Braden Andrus, Nicholas Panuccio, Joseph Burgh, Michael Silva, Natan Borzillo, Finn Herget, Nicholas Marciano, Braeden Ryan, Jeremiah Larracuente, Jacob Walkley, Cayden Wheeler, Cooper Misener, Kengi Lancaster, Hazem Elweheshy; freshmen Christopher Atiencia, Landon Brown, Levi Burton, Izaiah Candelario, AJ D’Angelo, Christopher DiStasio, Zach Forney, Spencer Johnson-Lanning, Chase Konesky, Daddona Luca, Destin Miller, Chris Napoleon, Marshall Olsen, Jordan Ross, Bruce Shattuck, Asees Singh, Tyler Snider, Vince Spinato, and Aidan Tracy.