The Hornets were again depleted by last spring’s graduation, especially in terms of big men. However, they return a good number of skill players including Dante Brito, Matt Huff, Eric Warren and Cory Collins. All League and three year starter Tobi Nwangwu will anchor the defense and look for further contributions from Ale Pabon-Rey and Julian Scott. Quarterbacking duties will be shared by Dylan Pavone and Chris Breuler. Despite some lack of size on the line, the Hornets have already improved their ability to score points, edging Derby HS on a long run by Cory Collins, and then a solid win at Old Saybrook in two scrimmages.

Thursday, the Hornets traveled to Hartford for their opener and came out on top against Kingswood-Oxford. The game was a thriller and quite an offensive display with dramatic momentum shifts throughout. The Wyverns took an early two touchdown lead. But Pavone threw a 20 yard strike to Scott to close the gap. The Hornets then seized the lead on two long runs by Eric Warren, who finished with over 300 all-purpose yards on the day. K-O came back and held a 22-21 lead at half. The teams exchanged TDs in the third quarter, with Pavone, who finished the day with over 200 yards in passing, hitting Brito for a dramatic 70 reception. Eric Warren gave the Hornets the lead for good with a 70 run. The defense held K-O deep in their territory, and Warren sealed the win with a 10 TD scamper. It was a terrific win that Coach Carbone praised with emotion afterwards. The Hornets’ home opener is next week against last year’s league champs King School of Stamford at 11:00 on Coughlin Field at the Skiff St. complex.