The North Branford football team’s final record may show a sub-par showing, though it is certainly in numbers early. The Thunderbirds worked diligently and stayed dedicated to projecting themselves as a hard-working program that gave the best in the state all they could handle.

North Branford played holiday host to battle with Coginchaug/East Hampton/Hale-Ray on Nov. 27 in the squads’ annual Thanksgiving Eve clash. It was the Blue Devils that emerged with a 28-19 win to give the Thunderbirds a final season record of 4-6 for 2024.

Head Coach Anthony Salvati explained that the boys entered the campaign with a lot of question marks in terms of personnel, and they lacked varsity experience. Yet he was plenty proud of how they still fought through and found themselves to set up a brighter future.

“It was a tough season, and we knew coming in we only had four seniors coming back. Luckily, we actually had another senior transfer back from Xavier as well. We did not know who we would be to start the year,” said Salvati. “For about the first four or five games, it was a feeling out process for us. We made some changes, and I would say by about the fifth game, we found our footing on defense. We played some really good defense by the end of the year. When you have an All-League running back like [senior] Tommy Hansen, I am not worried about the offense, but we found ourselves on defense.”

Junior AJ Sigel rushed 13 times for 69 yards and a score in the Thanksgiving clash, while behind center, he was 9-of-14 with 149 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Hansen added 14 rushes for 68 yards to the ground game. Junior Greg Ferraro reeled in six receptions for 135 yards and a tandem of scores. On defense, Ferraro led with 13 tackles, plus Jack Sigel added 10 and sophomore Nicolas Salvati nabbed seven.

“It was a rivalry game of course, and we were identical teams heading in and both banged up. We were both unsure of the teams we would have for the game,” said Salvati. “We were hobbled, but we expected the kids to show up with it being a rivalry game, and they did. It was a back and forth game and a battle that went into the fourth quarter. We just made some mistakes, and they capitalized on them.”

Despite the mark, the Thunderbirds were on the short end in several close contests against some of the elite clubs in their Pequot Conference. Yet Salvati and North Branford harnessed them as positives and used the momentum from displaying competitiveness to grab signature wins in the home stretch.

“We had a lot of tough losses, and I hate to say this, but those losses are learning tools,” said Salvati. “We lost to several teams by six, and then lost another game by a point. Those close losses were against teams that are now in the playoffs. I honestly think those losses, though, will help propel us in the future. We had a big win vs. Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby towards the end of the year. We entered that game with identical records, but the kids responded and played well to get us the win and get us back to .500.”

A trio of captains led the T-Birds into battle on the gridiron this fall. Jayden Giardina returned to the group as a focal piece in the trenches as a two-way lineman. Running back/linebacker Hansen was running off the heels of a 2023 campaign that saw him earn All-League honors. Sigel served as the signal caller as a starting quarterback, while also being a free safety on defense. He notched an All-League Honorable Mention accolade last fall.

“We had a small senior class, so the seniors had their work cut out for them with leading the team, and they did the best they could,” said Salvati. “Tommy was a stud player. Jayden came out to the team as a sophomore and did not play varsity until his junior year and played well. AJ was a play maker and baller. They did a good job corralling the team and pointing us in the right direction we wanted to go. They did a good job of not letting the team quit or falter.”

Salvati and his coaching colleagues strive for perfection in the standings, but of course, he knows it is not always attainable. A perfect season was not in the cards for the Thunderbirds, yet they can seek solace in the fact that they fought for every single yard and did not give up a victory to an opponent without their best effort.

“Each year, our expectation as coaches is to win every game. It is certainly not feasible, but it is our mentality as a staff,” said Salvati. “As a team, we wanted to be competitive in every single game, and I was proud of how we performed. We also started seven underclassmen on defense. Our record was not what we wanted, but the future is certainly bright here.”

Salvati’s coaching staff this fall was comprised of Jon Byrd (Offensive Coordinator), Nick Gargano (Defensive Coordinator), Nick Mancini (Linebacker/Running backs coach), Brandon Fratta (Quarterbacks coach), Jason Ryszczyk (Defensive Line coach), Charliana Criscuolo (Wide Receivers coach), and Mike Katz (Special Teams coach).

The 2024 North Branford roster was comprised of seniors Hansen, Tyler Scott, Ethan Helff, Sean Boardman, Giardina; juniors Sigel, Brandon Longo, James Criscio, Luca Landino, Ferraro, Zach Beecher, Joseph Raffone, Chase Nugent, Chris Bruno; sophomores Christian Wright, Dylan Yarnall, Landen Burns, Craig Miller, Jr, Salvati, Mario Urbano, Angelo Raffone, Daniel Frani, Jacob Hoskins, Connor Watterworth, and Frank Laboy.

2024 North Branford Football Regular Season Results

Sept. 13: North Branford 54, Weaver 13

Sept. 20: Cromwell-Portland 20, North Branford 14

Sept. 27: North Branford 34, Morgan-Old Saybrook-Westbrook 21

Oct. 4: Haddam-Killingworth 51, North Branford 21

Oct. 10: Valley Regional-Old Lyme 38, North Branford 32

Oct. 25: Capital Prep 8, North Branford 7

Nov. 8: North Branford 44, CREC 14

Nov. 15: North Branford 34, Windsor Locks-Suffield-East Granby 13

Nov. 22: Granby-Canton 42, North Branford 7

Nov. 27: Coginchaug/Hale-Ray/East Hampton 28, North Branford 19