Hornets Defeat Titans for Seventh Win


Branford Freshmen 2 7 6 7 - 22
Sheehan Freshmen 0 0 0 14 - 14

636 Photos

The Hornets traveled to John J. Riccitelli Field in Wallingford to face a very good 5-2 Sheehan High School Freshmen team in a game picked up after the Jonathan Law cancellation that was originally on the schedule. The Titans won the coin toss so Branford kicked off. Sheehan moved across midfield but their drive stalled and the ball turned over on downs after an incomplete 4th down pass. The Hornets took over and moved in close with runs by Curtis Sutherland and a clutch 4th down catch by Jared Keck. Once inside the 5 yard line the drive ended when a fumble gave the ball over to Sheehan. But shortly after, an unclean Titan handoff in the endzone resulted in a fumble which Sheehan recovered for a safety and provided Branford with a 2-0 lead.

The Hornets took the following free kick and moved right down and scored on the first play of the second quarter on a pitch to Andrew Cohen who took it around the right side and in for a 7-yard touchdown. Matt O'Neill kicked the PAT to make it 9-0.

Sheehan took the next kickoff and moved to midfield, but then fumbled it away and Branford took over. The Hornets again moved right down to the goal line, but when Keck couldn't haul in a slant pass on the goal line it went to 4th down. DJ Ryan took the next snap and rolled left, but was intercepted by Sheehan in the end zone, and the Titans took it back 40 yards. But the Titans couldn't capitalize and they ultimately turned the ball over on downs and Branford was content to take a 9 point lead into halftime.

The Hornets took the second half kickoff but could not gain 10 yards so Andy Klarman punted it away. The Titans seemed to be gaining momentum as they drove across midfield, but Justin Blood intercepted a pass at the goal line and Branford took over on their own 10. The Hornets then put together a 90 yard drive which consumed the rest of the 3rd quarter and consisted mainly of screen passes to Sutherland and another downfield catch by Keck to move across midfield before they had to punt it away. But Sheehan muffed catching the kick and Sutherland recovered it on the Titan 21. Branford scored a few plays later on a short run by Sutherland to open up a 15-0 lead.

It seemed at this point the Hornet defense was tiring as Sheehan scored twice the fourth quarter on consecutive possessions. The first touchdown included a 2-point conversion that was successful when the Titan QB made it around the right side and into the end zone to cut the lead to 15-8. The second one came on a screen pass from about 40 yards out and included several missed and broken tackles. In between, the Hornets had another nice drive which culminated with a 10 yard screen pass that Sutherland grabbed and took around the left side and in for a touchdown. O'Neill's kick was good and it put Branford up by a score of 22-8.

Sheehan's second touchdown in the fourth quarter narrowed the lead to only 8 points, but there was a little under 3 minutes left to play. After Klarman covered up an onside kick attempt, the Hornets moved across midfield and down inside the Titan 10 yard line with a heavy dose of Sutherland and the zig zags of Justin Blood. With under a minute left, Ryan took a series of "knees" to end this game.

The 22-14 final score is misleading because the Hornets really dominated both sides of the ball - limiting the Titans to only 2 sustained drives all game while controlling the ball for more than 75% of the clock. Considering the 3 turnovers inside Sheehan's 10 yard line and the series of "knees" inside the 10 at the end of the game, the score should have been much higher.

With the win, the Hornets' improved their record to 7-1 with two games remaining. Next week will be the last home game of the year and the opponent will be Foran Lions, who also run a pass orientated shot gun style offense.

 

 


Photo Ordering Guide
 

Week 10

11/19/09: EHS, East Haven, 6:00 pm

Branford Freshmen 13 28 0 0 - 41
East Haven Freshmen 0 0 0 8 - 8

500 action photos


Week 9

11/12/09: BHS, Branford, 6:00 pm

Foran Freshmen 0 0 0 8 - 8
Branford Freshmen 6 13 13 0 - 32

471 action photos


Week 8

11/5/09: Sheehan High, Wallingford, 3:45 pm

Branford Freshmen 2 7 6 7 - 22
Sheehan Freshmen 0 0 0 14 - 14

636 action photos


Week 7

10/29/09: GHS, Guilford, 6:00 pm

Branford Freshmen 13 12 0 6 - 31
Guilford Freshmen 0 0 0 0 - 0

533 action photos


Week 6

10/22/09: BHS, Branford, 7:00 pm

Lyman Hall Freshmen 0 0 0 6 - 6
Branford Freshmen 14 7 7 6 - 34

424 action photos


Week 5

10/15/09: HHS, Hamden, 3:45 pm

Branford Freshmen 8 12 0 0 - 20
Hamden Freshmen 8 0 6 0 - 14

434 action photos


Week 4

10/8/09: BHS, Branford, 7:00 pm

Xavier Freshmen 6 21 7 0 - 34
Branford Freshmen 0 0 0 6 - 6

341 action photos


Week 3

10/1/09: BHS, Branford, 7:30 pm

Hillhouse Freshmen 0 0 0 6 - 6
Branford Freshmen 8 16 6 0 - 30

469 action photos


Week 2

9/24/09: Platt Tech Soccer Field, Milford, 4:00 pm

Branford Freshmen 0 6 14 7 - 27
Platt Tech Freshmen 0 0 0 0 - 0

596 action photos


Week 1

9/16/09: NHMS, North Haven, 3:45 pm

Branford Feshmen 0 12 0 0 - 12
North Haven Freshmen 0 0 6 0 - 6

584 action photos



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