Printer Friendly Version - North Haven Football Finishes Courageous Title Defense Year with Even Record

Michael Moran was a senior captain for the two-time defending state champion North Haven football team this fall, which finished at 5-5. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

Senior Brian Moran and the Nighthawks football team finished 5-5 overall for 2024, though they secured major moral victories while competing hard through much adversity. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Courier

The North Haven football team may not be vying for a third-straight state championship this December. Yet the Nighthawks certainly did not give up the throne without a fight–digging deep for every single inch on the gridiron while standing tall through every sort of piece of adversity flung at them.

The Nighthawks took a disappointing 19-0 loss to Shelton on Nov. 28 to finish their defense of two-straight Class MM state crowns with a still solid record of 5-5. Head Coach Anthony Sagnella said that the boys may not have made it a three-peat, but each and every week, they consistently showed courage and character well beyond their years. They took different hurdles from various sources weekly, but they never once relented or complained.

“We of course had high expectations coming in. The guys in our senior class had a hand in that, and then they also wanted to get a title this year,” said Sagnella. “I respected them so much with how they got after it. We had some growing pains because of the shoes we had to fill from graduation. In some cases, the depth was just not there for us. We came off of having back-to-back small freshman classes. In other cases, the body types we were looking for to fill certain positions were not there, so we had to develop through the younger grades. But they prepared and dealt with all the obstacles, whether they be illnesses or injuries.”

Sagnella added that the shutout loss came on the heels of an emotionally draining defeat to Fairfield Prep the contest prior. The Nighthawks gave every ounce of energy and emotion in the fall to the Jesuits, but it did not take away from the fact that the Gaels showed themselves as a squad with a very misleading mark of 3-7.

“Our tank was just empty against Shelton,” said Sagnella. “The effort they put out the game prior against Prep was amazing. They are a great team that is the top seed in Class LL, and we fought to keep our playoff hopes alive. The boys were heartbroken after that game, when you look at the emotions they left on the field vs. Prep. They played their best game that night. We needed to not only beat Shelton but also some help with other games to make the playoffs, but they were emotionally exhausted. Shelton is a proud program, and they are a better team than their record says. They really came into their own in the second half of the season. They got on us early and stayed on. It was an unfortunate ending to the year, but the boys showed a lot of growth.”

With the monumental target of being state title holders, the Nighthawks knew each and every week, they would get nothing short of the tops in terms of adversaries’ game plan and strength. This fact, coupled with all of the on-field personnel holes that needed to be filled, speaks only louder volumes to the body of work the Nighthawks were able to complete in 2024.

“They approached the challenge of our schedule with not only being a two-time defending champion but also playing Class L and LL schools each week in the SCC,” said Sagnella. “When teams beat us this year, they celebrated like they won the Super Bowl. It is stressful to know you have to play your best football every week because you know the other team will because they want to knock off a defending champion. We managed to find ourselves offensively as the year went on and started to move the ball again. The guys expected to play big roles dealt with some obstacles. They all grew and developed. We had to find a new kicker, punter, and long snapper. Our linebacking corps took a beating, but there was growth everywhere.”

The Nighthawks held four senior captains this fall. Mike Moran was a defensive lineman and fullback. Another fullback was Tyler Dimauro, who also doubled as a linebacker. Behind center was quarterback Joe Mastroianni–also taking roles as defensive back and kick returner–plus rounding out the group was returning starting offensive lineman Joe Carbone. Each young man proved themselves as terrific templates of athletes and leaders through their conduct and composure during a rash of injuries.

“They know that to be a leader, you must lead by example, and we had four excellent captains,” said Sagnella. “They led through their efforts and commitments. They managed injuries and setbacks but never lost focus. All of them played through injuries, and it was an amazing level of commitment by all four of them.”

Even with the .500 mark for the campaign, the boys showed their mettle and displayed their true heart by grinding out road victories working overtime. Of course in a game of inches, North Haven may have missed by a mark in certain spots, though the players showed such a strong measure of resolve.

“Our highlight win was beating Cheshire on the road in overtime,” said Sangella. “It was special because we did it on the defensive side, which had been vulnerable this year. We turned them over four times inside the 10-yard line. We also had some disappointments in missing a two-point conversion late vs. Notre Dame-West Haven. We were also stopped on downs against Prep on the 14-yard line. We took our best shots, but they fell just short. We ran out of time, but not courage.”

Sagnella’s coaching staff was comprised of assistant coaches in Alex Velardi, Mike Ricciardelli, Steve Narracci, Nick D’Angelo, Keith Wolkovitz, Nick Sagnella, Matt Manemeit, Ralph Inorio, Kevin Mozealous, Tom Gallagher, Nick DeMaggio, Drew Pettola, Tom Grillo, and Jake Dobos.

The 2024 North Haven roster was comprised of seniors Brandon Stevens, Mastroianni, Beckett Fuller, Cooper Connolly, Ben Pizzano, Adrian Joaquin Santos, Michael Moran, Ty Ellis, Chris Kottage, Dimauro, Chris Cretella, Brian Moran, Christian Mongillo, Luke Asbury, Nick Romano, Eli Ellis, Carbone, Russell Kieslich IV, Alessio Fraschilla, Jeff Davis, Steven Piccirillo; juniors Aaron Brown,Salvatore Ferraro, Nate Eggerling, Mehkei Archibald, Cam Samperi, Christian DeMaio, Anthony Parillo, Rayan Mamoud, Emeka Dimkpa, Domenico Carbone, Jesse Sigmon, Jeremy Morales, Chase McDade, Colton Kennealy, Noah Vitali, Jeremy Guertin, Donovan Dasilva, Shawn Nesmith, Gennaro Violano, Kevenay Santiago, Shane Ros, Nate Ori; sophomores Giovanni Bimonte, Preston Bonner, Brady Bychowsky, Cristopher Carcamo, Joshua Crouch, John Messina, Sean Millman, Brody Quaranta, Ed Ray, Joseph Rotondo, Jaden Takach-Thibodeau, Anthony Tseperkas, John Williston, and Evan DiMauro; plus freshmen Eli Reynolds and Artie McCormack.